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good afternoon everyone this is daniel marrinson take action news we we'd like
to do the big shots all our listeners in chicago and promising grand rapids
michigan
and oklahoma
we've got a great straight hour coming up right now uh... we're gonna be joined
by jp charlie michelly editor in chief of take action news
one the biggest news items and last night anant this week's to the union
address was that president obama
propose raising the minimum wage raising the minimum wage to nine dollars from
seven dollars and twenty five cents
but not only that
he proposed indexing it to inflation thereafter
now this might seem like a common-sense proposal
but is extremely controversial and there are some questions as to whether it will
weather will get through congress all
charlie thanks for joining us again
outlawed troy mitchell theory joining us in just a moment but
to me and he
the case the president made was extremely compelling to those of us who
are sympathetic to this issue the idea that that someone works forty hours a
week or even more than that
could only learn in there and in in the entire year forty thousand five hundred
dollars as far under the poverty level even
especially so for someone who has any kids at all it's really a pressing issue
and people are saying that this is long overdue
many things are next inflation social events
once people get was sitting there in texas lasion
and uh...
and and uh...
and and and and text back using this information
the idea that the basic wage that we insists that impose provide for people
at the very margins
is not indexed to inflation is sort of
too many of us is is sort of destruction are being to raise our strong image was
editor in chief of take action is charlie i doing i'm doing a great quick
speaker
sicily
this to me the proposed increasing the minimum wage and then indexing to
inflation there at the wall
is completely on controversial in my mind in terms of policy
was by far
perhaps the most audacious proposal at the president made in the city the union
address
doesn't have a designed a snowball's chance in hell in congress
well this will mobilized purposes community activist group obviously
the business community bites every proposed increase in the man who may
have been minimum wage every single time regardless of how many years
elapsed between the truck items that you raised a and as you pointed out
becomes
less and less meaningful as time goes on because it isn't indexed to the uh... to
the increases that inflation i think that this will run into tremendous
opposition there is a chance that the minimum wage itself could be raised
about eight dollars and so far about suggested as he proposed i think the
indexing
is of much harder filter climb
and i think that even even the minimum wage increase probably has to happen in
the context of
something else of a broader economic feel on its own
the house republicans would be
pretty well united against it and it what it would just be very difficult to
get through the house i think it was helping the senate but the house with
block it
injustices most respected about their is
the minimum wage in nineteen sixty eight
it was more than ten dollars in in today's uh... dollars so
we're talking about uh... the minimum wage literally having gone down
signaling in the in real dollars despite our g_d_p_ being
five six seven times what it was at that time
chose not to to see any sort of
what with the bring it to vote on the house floor is only to use as a
political weapon against democrats
what will this get a vote
i think they'd be out republican leadership would probably to altered it
could
to avoid hitting a photonic so
i think they feared
somehow it give it becomes
pi legislatively with some other issue where it becomes part of the
grander bargain on something that's where it has a chance
and i i think big
really the business community allies of the republican party are going to hurt
their friends in congress to
fight to the bloody that to prevent dismissed indexing thing that's a you
know about that would be a cost of their
budgets that they're not willing
to accept uh... so
i think it's a tough fight i think it's general it rhetorically dei laid out
the grounded or baba wants but the fact that he feels that the country a
majority of the country is on his side of these things
and i think you know the polling would probably show that the majority of the
country
supported both increasing the minimum wage in trying it for the retreat
inflation but then you get into the reality of
the way the process is going to work on capitol hill and if something bad
opponents
almost certainly would be able to block