That burger and fries just may become a bit more expensive soon

[kevin1]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/28/minimumwage.ap/index.html

A bill to raise the federal minimum wage and cut the inheritance tax has passed in the House of Representatives , though Senate dummycraps have vowed to kill it . Is even having a mandated minimum wage a good idea to begin with ? Shouldn't workers have to make themselves attractive to employers without driving up the cost of everything for everbody?



Your thoughts ?

[CalHunter]

I think the idea of increasing the minimum wage (MW) isn't always bad nor always a good idea either. Whether or not it's a good idea should depend on the particular state and areas affected. For instance, the current FEDERAL minimum wage is only $5.15/hour but some states (like California with $6.75/hour) have higher state mandated minimum wages. Raising the fed MW would likely have little to no effect on states with higher state mandated MW levels but the proposed federal increase in the MW to $7.25/hour might create some economic issues for states that use the federal wage level.

I think reducing the death tax, however, is an excellent idea whose time is long overdue. The Democrats keep saying the Republicans are eliminating the death tax and helping only the wealthiest 7,500 Americans (see below quote) but that is pure BS and a lie.

"Just think of what it is to have a bill that says to minimum wage workers, 'We'll raise your minimum wage but only if we can give an estate tax cut to the 7,500 wealthiest families in America,"' said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.

Pelosi's statement misses the boat on just how many people have wealth over $1 million. Depending on whether you add their property assets or not, America has between 3 million and 8+ million Americans worth over $1 million. While this may sound like a lot of money, consider that many of these Americans' wealth consists of owning their own house, an Ira or some kind of retirement investment account and other savings, possessions like vehicles, boats and RVs, etc. In short, there are many "millionaires" who obviously don't have $1 million just sitting in the bank.

If you look at the specifics of the proposed legislation, it is trying to roll back the death tax in a manner similar to Reagan's tax cuts during the 80's from approximately 70% maximum to 28% (Note--today's maximum tax bracket is 35%). Many people have held different real estate in their family through different generations and seek to pass it down to their children and/or heirs. It isn't that hard anymore for a person to exceed this million dollar amount on an estate when you consider all of their holdings (cash, property, etc.) which is what the government does in the death tax. The proposed death tax reduction will benefit many people in middle income brackets and also benefit our country on the whole.


"Under current law, the estate tax is phased out completely by 2010, but jumps back to 55 percent on estates larger than $1 million in 2011.

The bill passed Saturday would exempt $5 million of an individual's estate, and $10 million of a couple's, from estate taxes by 2015. Estates worth up to $25 million would be taxed at capital gains rates, currently 15 percent and scheduled to rise to 20 percent. Tax rates on the remainder of larger estates would fall to 30 percent by 2015."

[s. il. hntr]

DON'T CARE UF THAT BURGER AND FRIES IS MORE EXPENSIVE. I DON'T EAT THAT S#!!

[Whitehorse]

ORIGINAL: s. il. hntr

DON'T CARE UF THAT BURGER AND FRIES IS MORE EXPENSIVE. I DON'T EAT THAT S#!!

Picky picky! Ok, let's say your tofu sandwich with mongolian sprouts will be more expensive...[8D]

[Canuck_Buck]

that means the prices will double up here, at least.....dam it all to hell....[&:]

[Canuck_Buck]

now that's a burger

[BenGarrett]

Most interesting to me is the fact that the Democrats have praised Clinton's efforts to raise minimum wage during his tenure (as if he were solely responsible for it) and cut down Bush and the current Republican Congress for not raising minimum wage.

Now they attempt to push through a bill to raise minimum wage and the Democrats are vowing to kill it?

How anyone can support the current lot of Democrats in power is beyond me.

As for whether it's a good or a bad thing, I think it's great.

[s. il. hntr]

ORIGINAL: Whitehorse

Picky picky! Ok, let's say your tofu sandwich with mongolian sprouts will be more expensive...[8D]

Yeah, very picky. LOL Never had tofu, never will[:'(]But, my burger comes from the deer I shoot and my taters come from the garden. You can have the McDonalds worm burger. (no s#!*, they actually contain earthworms for a preservative, along with most commercial beef jerky)

[Charlie P]

Now they attempt to push through a bill to raise minimum wage and the Democrats are vowing to kill it?

I believe they are trying to kill it because of the death tax.

[kevin1]

ORIGINAL: Charlie P

I believe they are trying to kill it because of the death tax.

Yup , that was the poison pill for them .

The maneuver was aimed at defusing the minimum wage increase as a campaign issue for Democrats while using the popularity of the increase to achieve the Republican Party's longtime goal of permanently cutting estate taxes.

That left Democrats fuming.
"Just think of what it is to have a bill that says to minimum wage workers, 'We'll raise your minimum wage but only if we can give an estate tax cut to the 7,500 wealthiest families in America,"' said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.

I think the demmies are blowing it slightly out of proportion since these days it isn't all that unusual for a "working man" who has invested properly to leave an estate worth well over a million once all his net worth is accounted for .