Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:20 am
Vice President Joe Biden said Congress should raise the minimum wage because it’s good for people, business, women, and the economy. He thinks you ought to call your do-nothing representative and ask why they’re not passing a raise for the people. Smokin’ Joe also burned a certain Speaker by saying that Congress ought to do it because it’s what the people want.
But I’m sure Joe knows that Speaker Boehner (R-OH) can’t be bothered with what the people want. After all, he’s got an itty bitty circus tent full of extremists’ egos to stroke in an election year, since they’re the only people who vote Republican anymore besides the party’s actual base — the top 1%. Republicans are very busy obstructing the economy to get back at President Obama for winning again.
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The Vice President got right down to business, “There’s no reason in the world why an American working 40 hours a week has to live in poverty. But right now a worker earning the federal minimum wage makes about $14,500 a year. And you all know that’s incredibly hard for an individual to live on, let alone raise a family on.” Preach it, Joe.
Biden laid out why raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would be good for the worker – they’d be making “$20,200 a year—and with existing tax credits would earn enough to bring that family or a family of four out of poverty. ”
But heck, it’s not just the workers who would benefit. Nope. Business too.
Joe pierced Republican hearts by pointing out that actually, fair wages are good for business, “There’s clear data that shows fair wages generate loyalty of workers to their employers, which has the benefit of increasing productivity and leading to less turn over. It’s really good for the economy as a whole because raising the minimum wage would generate an additional $19 billion in additional income for people who need it the most.”
But… But… Maybe the entire American workforce are just bad negotiators, like Republicans say women are. So it’s their fault and too bad for them!
Joe wasn’t having that either because it’s not just the workers. It’s the economy, stupid. “The big difference between giving a raise in the minimum wage instead of a tax break to the very wealthy is the minimum wage worker will go out and spend every penny of it because they’re living on the edge. They’ll spend it in the local economy. They need it to pay their electric bill, put gas in their automobile, to buy fundamental necessities. And this generates economic growth in their communities.”
This is no fun. Now Republicans can’t justify punishing the hardworking American populace, pretending they’re unworthy of a living wage.
In case Republicans need to hear it from those who are ostensibly their own kind, “And I’m not the only one who recognizes these benefits. Companies big and small recognize it as well. I was recently in Atlanta, Georgia, and met the owner of a small advertising company, a guy named Darien. He independently raised the wages of his workers to $10.10 an hour. But large companies, as well, Costco and the Gap—they’re choosing to pay their employees higher starting wages.”
Then Biden pointed out that governors were doing this on their own — a cooperative, regional initiative the governors started as a go-around the do-nothing Republican-led House.
Joe summed it up for the slow House, “It’s good for business. It’s helpful to the overall economy. And there’s one more important benefit. Right now women make up more than half of the workers who would benefit from increasing the minimum wage. Folks, a low minimum wage is one of the reasons why women in America make only 77 cents on a dollar that every man makes. But by raising the minimum wage, we can close that gap by 5 percent. And it matters. It matters to a lot of hardworking families, particularly moms raising families on the minimum wage.”
Well, okay, we all know that talking about helping struggling moms is only going to make Republicans hate this idea more. Republicans have made it clear that women shouldn’t be working, so this is really their own fault. And since they think single mothers are the bane of America’s existence, the thing to do is ignore and punish both them and their offspring. But also, no contraception will be covered, thanks so much.
Oh, wait. “And one more thing, folks—it’s what the American people want to do. Three out of four Americans support raising the minimum wage… ”
Joe thinks you should ask your representatives what gives, “So ask your representatives who oppose raising the federal minimum wage—why do they oppose it? How can we look at the men and women providing basic services to us all, like cleaning our offices, caring for our children, serving in our restaurants and so many other areas—how can we say they don’t deserve enough pay to take them out of poverty?” Yes, do it. DO IT.
Raising the minimum wage makes sense, it’s good for business good for people good for women and good for the economy. Call your do-nothing representative, write your local paper, tweet, and ask WHY NOT.
Joe’s work here is done for today.
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Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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