Minimum Wage Debate

Why the Minimum Wage Won't Go Up Anytime Soon

This past week, Senate Democrats made an aggressive move to retake the congressional agenda by threatening to block any congressional pay raises without a substantial increase in the minimum wage for their constituents. Senator Harry Reid and others weren’t specific about the tactics that would be used, but certainly filibusters and other administrative methods would be employed. The reason why Democrats are so keen on pushing this tactic and passing the minimum wage bill is certainly not altruistic; rather, they are looking for yet another bargaining chip with the public in the 2006 midterm elections and in the 2008 presidential elections. However, the Republicans will prevail in this particular battle because they are still better at controlling the agenda than the Democrats. The Republicans in 2006 have been able to put such “culture war” issues as flag burning, gay marriage, and English as the official language on the docket and though they were unsuccessful, it has distracted the mind of the American public. These issues are nonsense, of course, when taking into consideration the facts about the minimum wage situation and the need for financial relief among the American public.