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Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin
I'm always skeptical of anything any of these people say. Just the other day, Senator Frist was being interviewed and was saying how the republicans want to pass a bill to raise the minimum wage but the democrats are aginst it. If I was as gullible as you guys, I would eat this up and belive that the republicans must want higher wages and the democrats must not. I actually don't know if what Frist said is true or not but I assume it's one of those half-truths that you constantly get from politicians. Even thought I normally like Bill Frist, I have a strong suspicion that he was only telling half the story.
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Hey, Rupert!
I know EXACTLY what this is referencing, so I'm happy to shed a little light-- the Republicans in Congress, who have been objecting to raising the minimum wage for several years, put in a bill to raise it-- in the same bill pushing to repeal the estate tax. The estate tax, of course, affects the estates of only the super super rich (top 2 percent) and ending it would really affect the gov't revenue, and eventually, support programs for people who don't have multimillion dollar estates. What the Dems are objecting to is not raising the minimum wage, but repealing the estate tax. But since the Republicans were crafty and put them in the same bill, by voting down the one they vote down the other. So, that's why Frist claims the Dems don't want the minimum wage raised. It's not that. It's that they don't want the estate tax repealed. They're making a hard decision-- voting down the immediate benefit of the working poor so as not to hurt them farther down the road, with the loss of the estate tax income. And I think they're hoping they can regain Congress soon, and get it raised without having to give dead rich guys a handout, too. They're in a tough position though. Hope they do the right thing.
As angry as this move by the Republicans makes me (putting the wage raise in the same bill as the estate tax repeal) I have to admire their craftiness-- they really know how to play the game to make the opposing side look like the bad guys, because they figure most people won't take time to explore the full story. Good for you for not taking it at face value.
Here's an interesting essay on the estate tax.
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060515&s=trb051506
DTS, I'll read the article in a few days. This is the first I've even been on DT today-- very busy at work! Miss you all much, my favorite libbers, cons, and swingers.
