Sure it was surreal for Scott Walker to claim $7.25 is a living wage, especially if you count government assistance (which Walker is trying to cut).
But it appears our GOP party of business whores will justify anything if given an industry study filled with industry spin and campaign contributions. Money is corrupt free speech.
International Business Times/David Sirota: Scott Walker Based 'Living Wage' Ruling On Restaurant Industry Study.
That official government finding, according to documents reviewed by the International Business Times, was largely based on information provided by the state's restaurant industry -- which represents major low-wage employers including fast-food companies. The restaurant association's study argued that a minimum wage increase would harm the state. It did not actually address whether workers can survive on the $7.25 minimum wage.
Dan Cantor, the national director of Working Families, one of the groups that has been leading the effort to raise the minimum wage in Wisconsin. "In Scott Walker's world, regular people don't matter, only corporations." Walker's election campaigns have taken in more than $200,000 from donors in the restaurant industry.
Of course wouldn't it be nice if everyone made two to three time the minimum wage? Forget about the tens of millions working in poverty now. Let's shoot for the future.
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, and issued a statement saying: "Governor Walker wants jobs in Wisconsin that pay two or three times the minimum wage.
Ah, we can dream, can't we. It's hard to argue with the following study, "stand with Walker" Borgites:
McDonald's corporate documents effectively admitted that its low-wage jobs do not provide adequate income. The company advised its workers to take second jobs. The internal "McResource Line" suggested selling unwanted Christmas gifts on eBay or Craigslist to bring in some cash, and told workers to break their food into smaller pieces in order to stretch out meals yet still feel full.
And who can forget Walker's campaign partner Chris Christie's memorable comment:
This week, they slammed Gov. Chris Christie for saying he is "tired of hearing about the minimum wage."
Or this moment of honesty from the GOP Gov. candidate in Illinois:
They have criticized Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner for saying he wants to eliminate the minimum wage.
That's where Republicans want to take us. Of course, Walker is getting away with breaking the law. Anyone? AG Van Hollen?
In a September 24th filing, Wisconsin Jobs Now (representing more than 100 state residents) argued that the current minimum wage violates state statutes requiring "every wage paid" in the state to be a "living wage" -- a term defined as enough to "enable the employee" to maintain himself under "sufficient" conditions and welfare.
Using real numbers:
Wisconsin's current minimum wage provides an annual income well below the federal poverty line for a two-person household. According to data compiled by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Amy Glasmeier, a single parent with one child would need to earn more than double the state's existing minimum wage to cover essential expenses such as housing, food and health care.I don't usually get into Robert Reich videos, but the one below says what I've been saying for some time now, especially after dissecting Paul Ryan's yearly updated-reworded plans; Republicans want a desperate low wage working class for big business:
UPDATE: One source, and a lobbyist, provided the data for Scott Walker's decision to stay clear of a rise in the minimum wage. Even worse, Walker's opposition is based on his wish that everyone should make three times as much. Is that just crazy?
Time to go to court:
Wisconsin Jobs Now plans to sue Gov. Scott Walker's administration Monday as part of an ongoing effort to force an increase in Wisconsin's minimum wage. Peter Rickman, who leads the effort to raise the minimum wage said he had mostly received back the group's own complaints along with a study from the Wisconsin Restaurant Association on the effects of a minimum-wage increase. He said the lawsuit to be filed Monday in Dane County Circuit Court will ask a judge either to force such an investigation on the part of the state or to issue a finding that the minimum wage doesn't meet the standard for a living wage as defined in state law. Rickman pointed to a study this month by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy and the Economic Policy Institute. That study found that some 700,000 state residents make less than $11.36 an hour, the amount it says is needed to keep a family of four out of poverty.
That study found that the "13 states that raised the minimum wage at the beginning of 2014 experienced subsequent job growth equal to or better than states that did not."
It's hard to calculate exactly what a living wage might be, but we can take an important clue from the Wisconsin Legislature. They have calculated, with some exactitude, that what it takes to keep body and soul together comes to exactly $88 dollars per day, which is what they pay themselves every day that they are in session. That comes to $11 dollars per hour of an eight-hour day, and that's what should be the minimum wage for everybody.
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