Taking a moment to remember all those poor Poverty Jet Setters who slug away at those soul-sucking minimum wage jobs (even if you don’t now, you probably did once). This well-written rant comes via email from our lovely correspondent in the fields of San Francisco, Hilary:
From: J~
Reply-To:
To:
Subject: cloaked minimum wage cut
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 11:59:17 -0700
alrighty folx. if you haven’t realized yet, i gotta break it to you. i’m kinda political from time to time. yeah, that’s right. while ordinarily i’m a fairly congenial person, interested in shooting the shoot most any day, there come occasions when i might, say, ask you to harass a politician, vote for candidate, or sign a petition. sigh.
anyway, it has just been brought to my attention that our federal house voted late last week to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15/hr to $7.25/hr, over the next 3 yrs (the first increase since 1997). sounds good, right? after all, the buying power of the minimum wage is at its lowest in over half a century. anyone attempting to raise a family on minimum wage is mathematically guaranteed a life of poverty. but wait, here’s more.
in classic u.s. bureaucratic style, this move is actually tied in w/ a few other issues, such as increased cuts (& even complete exemptions) in many estate taxes, but most noteworthy (from where i stand), a complicated twist that amounts to a *cut* in wages to millions of minimum wage earners.
here’s how it works: while proponents of the bill make themselves appear attractive by raising the min. wage, they at the same time write in some bizness that makes it illegal for states & cities to enforce a min. wage higher than that of the national. but wait, there’s still more.
they also add language that enables tip-earners (defined as those who receive $30 or more /mo. in tips) to be paid still less than the minimum wage. $2.13/hr, to be exact. need i mention that tips are a voluntary reward for good service (look it up, otomaniacs), not a guilt-gift from customers to make up for crap-wagery.
i’m a minimum-wage-plus-tips earner, oh so thankfully in the promised city of san francisco, where the min. wage is 30% higher than the state, & 70% higher than the fed (assuming this art major’s math is right there). we also have no tip-earner exceptions. my wage is still well below a living wage ($10-$12 last i heard), but far better than the state from which i came, as well it should be considering our higher cost of living.
i shudder to think what would happen if a san francisco resident had his/her pay cut from $8.82 to $2.13 /hr, considering i already pay half my earnings (*including* tips) just to rent alone. & i live in a rent-controlled building topped by cell-phone towers located just a block away from a busy freeway (don’t get me wrong, i like my flat).
& what about states’ rights! union of independent democracies indeed!
the bill is h.r. 5970. it passed the house on saturday by a vote of 230 to 180. it’s now in the senate. may i suggest that you write your senator (ex-patriots write your home-senators too) asking them to oppose this bill.
find your senator’s email here.
you might say it won’t do much, but i say it doesn’t take much, & until we start a revolution, i don’t see you or me doing much else to stop this bill (don’t make me run for office again).
btw, no one ever has to take my political advice in order to maintain friendship. i’ve heard “j~, i’m sorry! i just couldn’t vote for x,” & i’m like “ok”. so hey, no sweat alright.
luhv ya. cheers.
sources:
SF Gate
Counter Punch
Mass Live
TPM Cafe