Cynicism Roolz!
Yesterday, I posted on the House of Representatives' plans to vote on a minimum wage bill. While I suspected that the bill would include other provisions to make it hard for Democrats to vote for it, I didn't anticipate an outright poison pill. Boy, was I ever naive, if not downright wrong! From the Washington Post:
The House last night voted to boost the minimum wage for the first time in nearly a decade while also permanently slashing the estate tax, a coupling that GOP leaders calculated might garner enough Senate support to become law.
In the rush to bolster their party's accomplishments before leaving today on a five-week summer break, House Republican leaders effectively took a gamble. If the Senate follows the House and passes legislation shoring up the pension system, raising the minimum wage, permanently cutting the estate tax, and extending such measures as a research-and-development tax credit, Republicans can say they departed for the summer in a flourish of accomplishments.
But the maneuvering by House and Senate GOP leaders to package the measures over the objection of some Senate chairmen caused severely bruised feelings. Lawmakers from both parties said last night that the legislation could easily collapse in the Senate, underscoring Democratic contentions that Congress has become dysfunctional.
Democrats were incensed that the GOP leadership would couple the minimum wage hike, the first increase since 1997, with an estate tax cut that would reduce federal revenue by $268 billion over the next decade, to the overwhelming benefit of the country's richest families. [Emphasis added]
To be fair, there's enough in the bill to make conservatives in the Senate unhappy, but surely the temptation to put the Democrats in the position of having to vote against a hike in the minimum wage during an election campaign will overcome the objections of even the most rabid pro-business, anti-deficit hawks. The GOP is gloating. The Democrats have been had. Or at least that's what it looks like.
The Democrats do have a chance to turn this around. The word "extortion" should be added to all campaign rhetoric from this point on. In order to get the poor working class a long over-due raise, one that will help get them just barely over the poverty line, the government is giving another freebie to the richest one per cent of the nation at a cost of nearly $300 billion over ten years. It's another tax cut at a time when the deficit continues to rise, making the debt the rest of our children and their children will inherit almost insurmountable.
A cynical move by the GOP? I think it more akin to pure evil.
The House last night voted to boost the minimum wage for the first time in nearly a decade while also permanently slashing the estate tax, a coupling that GOP leaders calculated might garner enough Senate support to become law.
In the rush to bolster their party's accomplishments before leaving today on a five-week summer break, House Republican leaders effectively took a gamble. If the Senate follows the House and passes legislation shoring up the pension system, raising the minimum wage, permanently cutting the estate tax, and extending such measures as a research-and-development tax credit, Republicans can say they departed for the summer in a flourish of accomplishments.
But the maneuvering by House and Senate GOP leaders to package the measures over the objection of some Senate chairmen caused severely bruised feelings. Lawmakers from both parties said last night that the legislation could easily collapse in the Senate, underscoring Democratic contentions that Congress has become dysfunctional.
Democrats were incensed that the GOP leadership would couple the minimum wage hike, the first increase since 1997, with an estate tax cut that would reduce federal revenue by $268 billion over the next decade, to the overwhelming benefit of the country's richest families. [Emphasis added]
To be fair, there's enough in the bill to make conservatives in the Senate unhappy, but surely the temptation to put the Democrats in the position of having to vote against a hike in the minimum wage during an election campaign will overcome the objections of even the most rabid pro-business, anti-deficit hawks. The GOP is gloating. The Democrats have been had. Or at least that's what it looks like.
The Democrats do have a chance to turn this around. The word "extortion" should be added to all campaign rhetoric from this point on. In order to get the poor working class a long over-due raise, one that will help get them just barely over the poverty line, the government is giving another freebie to the richest one per cent of the nation at a cost of nearly $300 billion over ten years. It's another tax cut at a time when the deficit continues to rise, making the debt the rest of our children and their children will inherit almost insurmountable.
A cynical move by the GOP? I think it more akin to pure evil.
posted by Diane at 4:40 AM
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