Obama issued an executive order to raise the wages of federal contractors to a minimum of $12.15/hr after the Pelosi/Schumer Congress fumbled the ball. Biden was reluctantly unopposed to signing a $15/min national bill, until the Manchin/Sinema Senate quashed it back in '21.
And it should be noted that the Min Wage hike Bush signed was only on his desk when Pelosi stapled it to the Bank Bailout of '08.
So this isn’t a Dem/Rep thing, so much as it is a particular moment of convenience when certain progressive politicians can choose to exert leverage over their more conservative colleagues.
I don’t think Pelosi personally cares if the min-wage is $7 or $15. But its not something she’s willing to fight for. It’s a concession she’s willing to make in exchange for something else.
As to Biden’s veto threat, its hard to express how much folks already on Medicare hate and fear the idea of Medicare for All. They see it (not incorrectly) as a policy that would involve diluting a pool of money that only ever seems to get smaller for them over time. The veto threat guarantees Biden keeps the elderly votes, in large part because so many old-heads are poisoned against the idea of a broader social safety net.
Obama also made the deliberate choice to bow to Big Pharma and Big Insurance by killing single payer.
The military budget’s interesting, though. We spend more and more every year, trillions, but if you look at the war budget as a percentage of our GDP, it’s actually lower than it’s been in the past.
(Which still pisses me off, but it’s an interesting fact.)
deleted by creator
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/minimum-wage
Obama issued an executive order to raise the wages of federal contractors to a minimum of $12.15/hr after the Pelosi/Schumer Congress fumbled the ball. Biden was reluctantly unopposed to signing a $15/min national bill, until the Manchin/Sinema Senate quashed it back in '21.
And it should be noted that the Min Wage hike Bush signed was only on his desk when Pelosi stapled it to the Bank Bailout of '08.
So this isn’t a Dem/Rep thing, so much as it is a particular moment of convenience when certain progressive politicians can choose to exert leverage over their more conservative colleagues.
deleted by creator
Yeah, if people could eat Democrats’ excuses no one in this country would go hungry.
I don’t think Pelosi personally cares if the min-wage is $7 or $15. But its not something she’s willing to fight for. It’s a concession she’s willing to make in exchange for something else.
As to Biden’s veto threat, its hard to express how much folks already on Medicare hate and fear the idea of Medicare for All. They see it (not incorrectly) as a policy that would involve diluting a pool of money that only ever seems to get smaller for them over time. The veto threat guarantees Biden keeps the elderly votes, in large part because so many old-heads are poisoned against the idea of a broader social safety net.
deleted by creator
We can’t, because they dictate who gets to govern in the Senate.
Congress is just a stepping stone to further personal fortune.
deleted by creator
Thanks Obama
And he had a supermajority for a time, which makes his inaction that much worse.
deleted by creator
Obama also made the deliberate choice to bow to Big Pharma and Big Insurance by killing single payer.
The military budget’s interesting, though. We spend more and more every year, trillions, but if you look at the war budget as a percentage of our GDP, it’s actually lower than it’s been in the past.
(Which still pisses me off, but it’s an interesting fact.)
deleted by creator