Sun Sep 03, 2006 at 08:11:58 PM EDT
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| For all the talk of Mike Ferguson (R-NJ7) being beholden to Tom DeLay's crowd, Jack Abramoff, President Bush and the lobbyists who fill his campaign accounts, we often miss the fact that his votes usually benefit himself as the son of rich parents who have already given him a million dollars and will give him more as inheritance.
The recent House vote on the minimum wage is a perfect example. Ferguson had the opportunity to do good for the working poor of our nation, and instead tried to do well for himself.
The original idea was fairly simple: raise the national minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years. This means a person working 40 hours a week with no vacations or days off would get a raise from $10,775 to $15,175 (approximately).
It's not a lot, but an extra $4,500 or so is nothing to sneeze at for someone making $50,000. For someone making $10K it's a huge increase. It would also be the first increase in the national minimum wage since 1997.
Just for reference, 2006 federal poverty guidelines put the poverty level for a single person at $14,700. Even with the increase (and assuming the poverty level doesn’t rise) this increase would mean a person working full time with no breaks would make less than $500 more than poverty in 2009.
Mike Ferguson voted against this bill, refusing to bring it to the floor for an up or down vote. |
| blue7thpac :: Ferguson Won't Give Working Poor A Raise Unless He Gets A Tax Break |
| Why? Because the Republican leadership wanted to tack on an Estate Tax Cut to the bill, which would give the children of rich parents a massive tax break when they inherit the family wealth. Ferguson voted for that bill, tying a minimum wage hike allowing the working poor to exceed poverty by less than $500 so he could get a tax break on the family wealth.
Remember, this is a guy who has voted repeatedly to accept raises himself. He made $141,300 in 2001 when he first took office, and in 2007 will make $168,500. That's a pay increase of $27,2300 -- more than twice what a full-time minimum wage worker makes today.
Even worse, New Jersey raised its minimum wage to $7.15 as of this October so by blocking a national minimum wage increase he is allowing employers in surrounding states to pay lower wages, taking jobs out of New Jersey at a time when employment is hard to get.
He accepted his own raises, but refused to give the working poor a raise unless he also got a massive tax break on his inheritance.
Wrong choices, wrong Congressman. Mike Ferguson. |
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