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Senator Warren Reveals the REAL Reason Republicans Won't Raise the Minimum Wage
Published on Jan 29, 2014
Her logic and honesty will destroy the GOP if they do not bend to the will of the people.
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TrollBuster9090
(5,953 posts)There are two reasons why Republicans are against raising the minimum wage.
1. Because it will cut a tiny TINY slice out of the profits of those companies owned by the hand full of plutocrats who fund their campaigns. Whatever their faults, Republicans are good servants. They never bite the hand that feeds them. And,
2. Because raising the minimum wage WILL ACTUALLY STIMULATE ECONOMIC GROWTH. Obviously they don't want that, because they'd rather see the country suffer than allow ANY positive developments to happen on Barack Obama's watch.
However, it's an extremely clever wedge issue. If every reporter everywhere asks every Republican candidate if they're in favor of raising the minimum wage, and if not, why not...it could be a disaster for them. Even the rank and file Republican base wants to raise the minimum wage. The only people who don't are the plutocrats who fund their campaigns. So, they'll be stuck! If they say NO to raising the minimum wage they loose all the foot soldiers who vote for them on election day, and if they say YES to raising it, they lose the ten eccentric, vinegar-blooded plutocrats who contribute 50% of their election funds.
My only question to the Democrats is: Why the hell did you wait until NOW to make this an election issue??? What was wrong with 2010 and 2012??? Dopes....
Triana
(22,666 posts)It's advantageous to employers/big corps/billionaires for employees and job seekers to be DESPERATE. It's a buyer's/employer's market. They can be as choosy as they want, pay as low as they want (if it weren't for that pesky minimum wage which they all want to get rid of so they can pay people even less), demand college degrees to flip burgers - be as assinine as they like and mistreat employees as much as they want, knowing they'll stick around because they are so desperate for work.
High unemployment not only makes the hated Obama the alleged "socialist" look bad by keeping "his" economy anemic, but it keeps the wealthy corprats in control and able to keep their wages lower because so many desperate people are out of work - corprats LOVE that. It's another way in which they demonstrate their abject and unmitigated GREED.
elzenmahn
(904 posts)...it's within Big Business' interest to have a BUYERS MARKET for labor.
And those same big businesses scream like banshees over anything that resembles "market distortion" like unions or regulations? They're engaging in it themselves with the labor market!
This is why we had, and need, unions. This is why we need unbought politicians who are motivated by something other than $$. This is one of the reasons for Occupy Wall Street.
bjobotts
(9,141 posts)Because they've been bred to hate dems more than vote in their own interests. If repubs said they were going to lock up their grand mothers BUT what dems were going to do is much worse...guess what...it's good bye granny.
I agree with your 2nd point. Just look at how repubs went so hard to cancel food stamps and unemployment benefits...two things that stimulate the economy the most...especially this economy...and they know it...and you're right...anything to prevent Obama from looking good at all. Treasonous behavior...going against what is good for the country and making it's citizens suffer just to gain political power is completely anti democratic.. Doing a little bit better than the next guy in a 3rd world country should just make one paranoid of being robbed or spreading diseases. America is on a race to the bottom, slave wages, slave labor, without environmental protections but hey...gays can't get married. Nothing will get better until we get repubs out of office and money out of politics...and dissolve the corporate media.
pansypoo53219
(20,952 posts)
Cha
(296,814 posts)Elizabeth makes her case very well. 
davidthegnome
(2,983 posts)Keep in mind though, that if and when we do raise the minimum wage, prices are going to go up as those same rich people pass the costs on to everyone else. When it goes up, prices will go up to compensate. I don't believe that a whole lot of businesses would shut down - if they can't afford to pay people a more decent wage, they shouldn't be in business to begin with.
My concern though, is that prices will go even higher than necessary to compensate for rising wages. Things are expensive now - if they get much more expensive, then it's not going to matter to people like me (making 8 dollars an hour) whether we increase the minimum wage to 9 or 10 dollars an hour. It would help right now, sure... but this is a process that will take time, likely years. Meanwhile, there has to be some kind of contingency plan or some additional security. Price controls, perhaps.
That said, I still think we need some kind of new "New Deal". If the wealthy and ultra wealthy insist on keeping their employees in poverty, then they need to be responsible for paying taxes to support food stamps, TANF - and other programs. There needs to be some kind of federal stipend that helps people survive as well, while they're working for these slave wages. That's something we could do with the money all of these huge companies get in tax relief. Instead of bailing out banks and corporations - the American people need to be bailed out.
Elizabeth Warren is awesome. I wish we had more like her.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)The ultra rich, anyone making above $1mil should pay at least 30%. If you can't make ends meet with $666K/yr, you're a miserable slob who can't be happy under any conditions.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Perhaps as an alternative to raising the minimum wage, we should tax these greedy fucks enough to pay for the SNAP, Medicaid and other public services that their employees require because they're paid so poorly.
Moostache
(9,895 posts)Its too toxic and too much an ingrained meme in this country - "tax and spend" liberals, setting up failed programs, blah, blah, blah...
Taxing the rich is necessary for a whole lot of reasons - funding infrastructure modernization, funding energy research on NON-POLLUTING, NON-CARBON BASED RENEWABLE SOURCES, funding a transition from a military with MILLIONS of employees and THOUSANDS of bases to a public service corp with civilian application and tasks, paying down the debts we have incurred fighting wars of choice and on and on and on...
The rich business owners who claim to be "job creators" need to be compelled to become "community creators"...giving someone a job at slave wages and guaranteeing only poverty, miserable working conditions and stealing their lives away from their families to work in multiple shitty, low paying jobs is NOT "job creating", let's call it what it is - "serf creating". Our entire economic model is fundamentally broken because people allow the conversation to be hijacked by emotional issues instead of rational analysis of the overall situation. We need to change the discussion already...who the hell really wants a "JOB" anyway? People want the things that a job should be the vehicle to obtaining - housing, food, leisure time and the chance to be a part of the larger community in a meaningful way. Even someone who serves fast food should be able to know that A) they won't be exploited, B) that they are providing a service to the community that is invaluable at the time it is used by a harried mother trying to feed her family or a person just looking for a snack. We treat "JOBS" as an end in itself...they are NOT, they should be what they always were supposed to be - A MEANS TO AN END!
If we allow the taxes to be increased to pay for the things that owners should be compelled to do by simply being the owner, we will LOSE the argument yet again to the shrieking histrionics of the Media noise machine and the bought and paid for hacks that defend the 1%'s interests at the expense of everyone else . Its time to tell them all: you are a "job creator", right?, well, then ACT like you care about what you're creating instead of fleecing those who do the work to enrich only yourself. Stop exploiting people to enrich only yourself and start using your success to build the lives of your workers and the health of your community. We need to stop making taxes an evil word and make it more of a duty. You want more money? No problem, make more, make as much as you can, work as many businesses and investments as you can manage, but do so knowing full well that the renumeration comes with a price and the price is a fair treatment of those who help you achieve ANYTHING. The act of "OWNING" should not be the same as a later-day divine right of kings...
That is NOT creating, its stealing. People are so brainwashed into accepting "THE MARKET" and "CAPITALISM (unregulated)" that they cannot see it for what is has become - neo-feudalism. I say raise taxes and tell people EXACTLY what those funds would be used for and then change the rules of this game we call "CAPITALISM" to tilt the balance from self-enrichment to community-enrichment and building and maintaining the one thing that has allowed so many to live so well in the last 100-150 years - SOCIETY. It is a stable society that makes everything possible, NOT CAPITALISM!@@$#@#!$!#@$%!
Scuba
(53,475 posts)elzenmahn
(904 posts)"Keep in mind though, that if and when we do raise the minimum wage, prices are going to go up as those same rich people pass the costs on to everyone else. When it goes up, prices will go up to compensate. "
Prices will only go up if the market will bear it - that is, if consumers are willing to pay the extra cost. If the product/service in question is something that people can cut back on, then a price hike will discourage people from buying in the first place. If it's a necessity, like key groceries like milk, butter, or meats/vegetables, then I can see this maybe being an issue. But these items usually have tight margins, so again...
davidthegnome
(2,983 posts)Let me put it this way. I have a Boss who owns two hotels, three or four vehicles, two or three homes. Probably a lot more I don't know about. This man is in the top 5% at the very least - and is always complaining that he's broke. I know what people like him will do - because I have been working for them my whole life. Consider what the market bears right now. I live in a very economically poor, struggling part of the Country. The hotel I work for charges 115 per night as a standard rate. It's a three star.
I know of precious few people locally who can afford that rate - so in my case, we tend to rely on non-local customers.... business has been dreadful this year - but it hasn't stopped the rise in cost. Local businesses are dying here - but this does not stop the wealthy from raising the prices. That should tell you something. It should indicate that the same kind of people that caused the financial crisis in the first place are still in charge.
Consumers will pay what they must. A local grocery store will raise the price of bread perhaps 30 cents - and Walmart will raise it by 10. People will pay it because they must. Something similar to that scenario is how I see things playing out. Perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps logic will prevail or the rich will simply take the profit cut without passing it along to the consumer, perhaps they'll be inclined to worry about the market's ability to bear the price increase... but somehow I doubt it.
Where has all of our "economic recovery" gone? Where have most of the cuts to "balance the budget" been coming from? What did we do as a result? Did we help American workers or consumers? Not quite. We spent truly disgusting amounts of money bailing out financial institutions and large corporations.
Even if the price increase only IS for necessities, that's going to be more than enough to break a good number of people. Raising the minimum wage to 10 dollars an hour or so is a step in the right direction (it's not enough, but it's a start), but by itself, it will not accomplish what is required. We need to do more if we're going to help the working class truly move forward.
Personally, I'm inclined to expect the worst from our ruling class.
bjobotts
(9,141 posts)Look at anytime the MW has been increased and you'll see prices did not go up but the economy was stimulated and small businesses did very well as a result. Saying "prices go up" is a GOP talking point that has been discredited every single time by history. Check Thomm Hartmann for more references.
bjobotts
(9,141 posts)Raising MW has never caused prices to go up but has caused the economy to be stimulated and get much better with even small businesses thriving as a result. This GOP talking has been debunked every time by historical facts...check with Thomm Hartmann for more references on this point before you state more misinformation.
What happens is CEO pay goes down and stock prices go down but the price charged for selling an item will always be what the market will allow regardless of the cost of making it...or the taxes paid.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)sorry, but the sound quality was very poor, and my old lady ears don't hear so good any more.What did she say?
another_liberal
(8,821 posts)I paraphrase, of course.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)
SunSeeker
(51,509 posts)But of course, raising the minimum age will not cost the rich money. It will INCREASE their wealth becuase it will increase demand for goods and stimulate the economy.
But what it will do is flatten income distribution just a little bit. It appears the rich, the irrational wealth hoarders that they are, want the WHOLE pie, even if it means getting a smaller pie.
ReRe
(10,597 posts)... justice demands that their reasons for keeping wages low must be overcome by our reasons to raise them. This situation is out of hand and it must be stopped and reversed. Too many are hurting, going hungry, and dying. 
another_liberal
(8,821 posts)They had better give in on the minimum wage increase or, as Walmart is already finding out, it is going to cause a rebellion against the very sources of their wealth.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
reformist2
(9,841 posts)
randr
(12,409 posts)As a faith based culture, the Republicans have an unwavering adherence to outdated beliefs. It is their stubborn belief that they are right in their assumptions that blinds them to the real problems facing America and to any solutions that may help.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts) Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)
The Wizard
(12,535 posts)is a failed experiment that must be reversed immediately to avoid civil unrest (guillotines and head baskets). We are the victims of Reagan's folly. Ishmael Reed's satirical 1982 novel The Terrible Twos takes Reagan to task for creating the imbalance we suffer today. Reed foresaw the inequity in Reagan's goal to return to a system of lords and serfs.
Elizabeth Warren would be President if we had a fair electoral system.
elzenmahn
(904 posts)...Dennis Kucinich would still be in office, and would have been taken more seriously as a presidential candidate during the times he ran.
This country would be far more progressive than it is - and the Repugnantcans know that.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts) Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Moostache
(9,895 posts)But I cannot shake the feeling that she will be assassinated or the target of a "lone nut" before it is allowed to happen...
She is the biggest threat to the power structure since at least Carter and probably RFK. Carter was never killed, but his presidency was attacked mercilessly and ridiculed for decades before some people finally started to question the "official" story of the era and see that Carter was right, about a lot of things. RFK was obviously silenced before he could take over the Democratic Party and the United States government in '68, but he was on a path to fundamentally change the entire direction of the country, and I have no doubt that in a world where RFK lived and won the presidency, America would be a completely different place than what it has become...
While she is not quite as eloquent as RFK (and then again, its my opinion he was one of the 10 greatest orators of all time at the end of his life), she carries the same passion for helping people that made RFK such a magnetic personality to so many like myself who were born after his death and can only think "what if..." ruefully, while watching the speeches and appearances of a man so unlike ANYTHING we see today.
The closest we have seen in my lifetime was President Obama back in 2007 when he came from nowhere to overtake Hilliary...and by the time he took office he was a wholly owned subsidiary of the DLC and has done pretty much none of the things he promised in that campaign. I give him credit for ACA and for the death of DOMA and DADT. Beyond that, Gitmo is still open, the Afghanistan travesty is STILL on-going and we are STILL trying to establish permanent bases there, torture and Patriot Act still exist, taxes and the economy are still beholden to the Wall Street criminals that crashed the whole thing in the first place and the Keystone XL project still has a pulse and a high likelihood of eventually being built.
I beg Senator Warren to stay off of any small planes or chartered aircraft, avoid impromptu appearances at small venues and stay as well protected as humanly possible.
I guarantee that there are sick people right now plotting her demise to protect their money, infected with the sickness of greed...a sickness that cannot be quenched and cannot be treated. The cure is Elizabeth Warren and the policies that she would champion and enact. We NEED her ideas to become the thinking of the power structure of this country. PLEASE BE SAFE SENATOR!
bjobotts
(9,141 posts)CEO wages and stocks go down but prices remain constant. (Let's see if this one will post as the other replies didn't)