The UTK Living Wage Task Force recently calculated that, had the minimum wage kept up with the cost of living since its (the minimum wage's) inception, it would be approximately $9.75/hour. That's about equal to the Living Wage for our area - calculated for a family of four, and without benefits.

What frustrates me most is the new Republican talking point about this being an election year stunt by the Dems...no mention of the fact that the Dems have tried to bring this issue up EVERY year...and it's been shot down EVERY year...so the Repubs have not just screwed the working folks this year...it's every year...ad infinitum.

yet they still find the chutzpah to give themselves a raise every year...

link 

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But Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the minimum wage is just one more issue on a long list that Democrats have unsuccessfully seized upon during a year-and-a-half of trying to damage Republican prospects in advance of the 2006 elections.

"The Democrats are still struggling to find something that will work," Forti said. "They've tried Social Security, ethics, rubber stamp, stem cell, gas prices and now they say it's going to be minimum wage."

"You can't fix stupid..." Ron White

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