Alaska's Joe Miller Wants to Abolish Federal Minimum Wage

[Judi Lynn]

Source: ABC News

Alaska's Joe Miller Wants to Abolish Federal Minimum Wage
GOP Senate Candidate Hopes to Scale Back Federal Government's Power
By JONATHAN KARL
Oct. 4, 2010

Alaska's Joe Miller now has the solid support of the Republican establishment, but in an exclusive interview with ABC News, he makes it clear he's determined to shake-up Washington and the Republican party -- in a big way.

"We aren't going there to play ball, we're going to make sure things get done," Miller said in wide-ranging interview with Politico's Mike Allen and me over lunch at the Capitol Hill restaurant, We The Pizza. Miller wants to roll back the power and size of the federal government to a degree not seen for 70 years or more.

We asked him, for example, if there should be a federally mandated minimum wage, something that has existed since Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938.

"That is clearly up to the states," Miller said. "The state of Alaska has a minimum wage which is higher than the federal level because our state leaders have made that determination. The minimum level again should be the state's decision."



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/alaskas-joe-miller-abolish-federal-minimum-wage/story?id=11790828

[Historic NY]

1. Bring back child labor!!!!!! Its cheap.

[n2doc]

4. Hell why pay people at all

Slavery is traditional American Values, ya know, ya betcha. Have Blackwater round up anyone they find outside of the gated communities.

[Historic NY]

20. Yup sell your soul to the company store.

[wilt the stilt]

2. Pay people in script

Republican wet dreams- Child labor, poor houses, paying in script, debtor prisons and sweatshops. The Gilded age-Rove's favorite.

[prolesunited]

7. And, somehow, people who already are living

near or at poverty and lack education don't think it will impact them. I love the teabaggers who are on SS or disability out there protesting or the ones who cry, "Hands off my Medicare." Do they think that since they carried the water for the GOP that they will somehow be exempt.

An evil part of me wants them to get everything they ask for -- but only if we could exempt kids and those who aren't teabaggers.

[jaxx]

3. Bad idea. Some states have no minimum.

Alabama
Louisiana
Mississippi
South Carolina
Tennessee

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._minimum_wages

Plus many more states are at the federal minimum only...so who knows what they would do.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Had no idea there were any states with no minimum. Thanks for the education! Shocking. n/t

[harmonicon]

9. according to that list, Miller is a liar.

It puts Alaska in the group of states with the same minimum wage as the federal level. One of them is wrong.

[jaxx]

10. The federal minimum wage is listed as 7.25.

Alaska $7.75 In 2009, a state law was passed to keep the state minimum wage 50 cents above the federal level.<4>
(from the wiki link)

Either way, doing away with the federal minimum wage would give states the ability to have no minimum and companies could hire at any rate. That would be deadly for the people who work minimum wage jobs....it's not a living wage now.

[harmonicon]

11. yeah, I see that now - I went by the map alone when I made the post

Still, that would legally give Alaska a minimum wage of $0.50/hour - brilliant!!

[nightgaunt]

19. At least one state pays $1.00 more an hour.

Connecticut.

[boppers]

22. Oregon's $1.15 an hour more.

Goes up to $1.25 an hour more (to $8.50) this January *and* it increases with inflation. Current highest minimum wage in the US is Washington, at $8.55.

[BlueMTexpat]

6. Republicans always seem to want to balance the budget

by cutting wages for those who earn, if not the least, the bare "minimum." And yes, there are people who earn even less than "minimum" wage in the US of A. To me, it seems like this is an area where "Trickle Down" economics might actually work. Increase taxes on the very wealthy so that THEIR obscenely net incomes are less and yes, the benefits will indeed trickle down. Government programs that actually benefit the rest of the population, especially those who are the most vulnerable, wouldn't need to be slashed. And funding could be increased so that the programs can actually function on something other than exceptional good will and voluntarism. (I'm thinking specifically of how I myself used to spend my own money for classroom materials and worked many extra and unpaid hours to tutor pupils in the public school system where I worked for many, many years. That system was one of the "good" ones, so I can only imagine what it was like elsewhere - and still is. I know that my story is more common than not for dedicated teachers.)

But no, we have a country that in many senses functions at all only because there are millions of people barely subsisting on wages and in conditions considered to be little better than slave labor in other industrialized countries. But the Joe Millers and their puppetmasters work to convince us that we are all better off than Europeans simply because we are "free" and our Government is a "democracy." Thank heavens, we are NOT that worst of all conditions: "socialists!" Thank heavens that we don't have universal accessible and affordable health care or mass transit that might make it possible for people to have options. Thank heavens that we spend more on prisons than on education!

The scam has been working for 200+ years. With Tea Baggers like Miller & Co, the scammers are really on a roll. Why quit now?

[Stuart G]

8. Great Idea Joe...maybe that idea will help Scott McAdams who is running against Joe.

Here is a link to Scotts Website..A few bucks could help derail this idiot endorsed by Palin.

Scott could win, since this comment is not the brightest..Let's help him..
Every senate seat is equal ...If Scott wins in Alaska, then someone else might lose and we still have control of the Senate..

http://www.scottmcadams.org/home/

[harun]

12. How about you commit to work for free if elected and pay for all your

own travel expenses. Save the tax payers some $$$.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

13. Let's compete with China

we'll pay $1 a day.

[DainBramaged]

14. R-Teabag

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


Everyday I get a little more confident about our chances of making history in November.

[JDPriestly]

15. Duh.... The federal minimum wage is the very minimum of the minimums.

If Alaska has a higher minimum, why make this into a states-rights issues. Do Alaskans want some other state to have a minimum wage of say $1.00 per hour and attract businesses by competing for the title of worst-paid citizens of the U.S.

Why would Miller advocate for this? It's just silly.

[KamaAina]

16. Another classic from the Joe Miller Joke Book

:eyes:

[Taverner]

17. Bring back Indentured Servitude!!!

Ever want to own a slave?

Well now you can! Our lots are FULL of folks who have gone bankrupt, and have to serve as slaves for 5-10 years to pay back their creditors!

Come on DOWN! Our slaves come in all kinds of shapes and colors!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

18. General welfare clause, dude.

The general welfare clause covers a LOT of stuff.



Yes, I am a lawyer but I don't play one on TV. :D

[marlakay]

21. the sick thing is he will probably win

and a few other weirdos, so watching cspan will be real interesting the next 6 years!

[melm00se]

23. yes he did say abolish the *federal* minimum wage but

leave it up to the states.

In Alaska, state law puts minimum wage above the federal requirement.

salient part of the article:


"(Minimum wage) is clearly up to the states," Miller said. "The state of Alaska has a minimum wage which is higher than the federal level because our state leaders have made that determination. The minimum level again should be the state's decision."

So there should not be a federal minimum wage?

"There should not be," Miller answered. "That is not within the scope of the powers that are given to the federal government."

Miller does have Constitutional grounds to stand on when he says that the federal minimum wage exceeds the Constitutional powers of the federal government. A careful reading of the Constitution doesn't grant this power to the feds nor do any of the more common clauses (the commerce clause is the one most likely to be brought up) can't really be reasonably stretched to encompass this power.

Before everyone jumps in my shit: I do support a minimum wage but, IMO, it needs to be keyed to the standard of living and needs of the locality.

[theHandpuppet]

24. GOP -- the purveyors of the plantation mentality...

... under the guise of states' rights. Seems this battle will never end.

[dmosh42]

25. Min wage just another guvmint socialist idea!