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When thousands of people donate no more than $100 per person per election, we can build a campaign without money from special interests. _______________________ But it's about more than money. We need your energy and your enthusiasm, too. Sign up to volunteer on Jim Hansen's campaign for Congress.
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| Raise federal minimum wage |
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| posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 |
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Congress should raise the federal minimum wage to help Idaho families with the increasing cost of living, Jim Hansen, candidate for 2nd District Congress, said Monday.
The number of people living in poverty in Idaho has increased from 11.8 percent in 2000 to 13.9 percent in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Hansen contends that Congress’ refusal to raise the minimum wage for a decade has pushed more families into a financial crisis.
“America’s economy has expanded over the last 10 years, but more and more people are being left behind. I believe we have a moral obligation to ensure everyone is included in economic growth,” Hansen said. “Why hasn’t it happened? Congress has become so tangled up in partisanship that it cannot accomplish even this one simple thing.”
Hansen said Congress kowtows to big-money interests instead of supporting some of America’s hardest workers. “It’s another example of how badly the system in Congress is broken,” he said.
Hansen, a Democrat and former Idaho legislator, refuses to take money from political action groups (PACs) and the other special interests that fund most congressional campaigns. He accepts contributions up to $100 per election cycle from individuals only.
Congress has kept the minimum wage at $5.15 an hour since 1997. The minimum wage is the lowest it has been in 50 years, relative to the cost of living.
Hansen said his opponent, four-term incumbent Mike Simpson, is part of the problem.
“My opponent said he supported raising the minimum wage, then voted against it,” Hansen said.
By comparison, lawmakers have raised their own salaries seven times since 1997, for a total increase of $31,000 to $168,500.
“With their popularity falling, some members of Congress recently tried to fool Americans to think that they were actually doing something about the minimum wage,” Hansen said.
In June, Simpson voted for an increase in the minimum wage when it came before
the House Appropriations Committee (the amendment failed), then voted against it when
Democrats proposed another measure with identical language.
Simpson then voted in favor of a last-minute House bill before the August recess that tied an increase in the minimum wage to $7.25 over three years to a reduction in the estate tax. That bill died in the Senate.
“It is the height of hypocrisy that while Congress fussed about raising the minimum wage, my opponent and other members tried to give the ultra-rich another tax break,” Hansen said.
A higher minimum wage would benefit 5.6 million workers, while the estate tax break will benefit just 8,200 multi-million-dollar estates, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. An estimated 93 of those wealthy taxpayers reside in Idaho.
“This small number of multi-million-dollar estates have enjoyed reduced tax burdens in eight of the last nine years and have reaped the lion’s share of the economic benefits of growth,” Hansen said.
If incumbent congressmen were not obligated to large contributors, it is unlikely they would try to tie more tax cuts for the most wealthy to critical bills like the minimum wage, he said.
“If incumbent congressmen were not so dependent on special interest money to fund their campaigns, perhaps they would have the moral courage to vote up or down on these issues separately,” Hansen said.
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