WASHINGTON - The Republican-controlled Senate smothered a proposed election-year increase in the minimum wage Wednesday, rejecting Democratic claims that it was past time to boost the $5.15 hourly pay floor that has been in effect for nearly a decade.
The 52-46 vote was eight short of the 60 needed for approval under budget rules and came one day after House Republican leaders made clear they do not intend to allow a vote on the issue, fearing it might pass.
The Senate vote marked the ninth time since 1997 that Democrats there have proposed — and Republicans have blocked — a stand-alone increase in the minimum wage. The debate fell along predictable lines.
"Americans believe that no one who works hard for a living should have to live in poverty. A job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass. He said a worker paid $5.15 an hour would earn $10,700 a year, "almost $6,000 below the poverty line for a family of three."
Yes, but how many people who earn $5.15/hour are part of a single-income family of three?
Anyway, this was a good move. Personally, I don't see the need for a minimum wage. Employers can get away with wages only as low as a given employee is willing to accept. Markets should dictate wages. Period.
But, if people are going to insist that we have a minimum wage, it should be controlled at the state level. As I've pointed out before, compensation levels and cost of living vary from state to state. Here in North Dakota average wages are a lot lower than they are in California, but cost of living is lower as well. Things like rent, gasoline and food aren't as expensive here as they are in California, thus a dollar goes further. Yet the federal minimum wage takes a one-size-fits-all approach to setting the wage. There is no fluctuation to compensate for the variances in local economies throughout this country.
Let the states decide this issue. Many states already have their own minimum wage laws. Going that way would allow the minimum to more accurately reflect the needs of the region.
On a somewhat related note, you gotta love this headline for the article above:
GOP-run Senate kills minimum wage increase
It might as well read: Republicans Hate The Poor!