109th Congress & the Minimum Wage

Quick, yet insightful.

When the 109th Congress convened in 2006, one of their promises (aka: Six for '06) was BETTER AMERICAN JOBS - BETTER PAY. Their Democratic Directive - A New Direction - prohibited their Congressional pay raise until the nation's minimum wage was raised.

Well, it took them over a year to accomplish it but ultimately they did manage to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage.

The minimum wage was raised to $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007 and raised again to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; another raise is scheduled for July 24, 2009.

With that pesky little campaign promise fulfilled, Congress members then voted themselves a pay raise of $4,100. Bringing their salaries to $169,300. Except for the Grand Dame of the Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who got a pay raise from $212,100 last year to $217,400. Must be for the exceptionally good job she is doing.

Seems the promise of BETTER AMERICAN JOBS - BETTER PAY was actually referring to the Congress and not the actual working class. Remember that the next time you are trying to decide whether to eat this week, or fill the car to get to your minimum wage job.

By the way, for those of you interested in the numbers, at $6.55 an hour, you would have to work full time (40 hours) for 15 1/2 weeks to equal their pay raise.... Kudos’ to you Congress!!!!!!!!

Andrew,
The Angry American