Talk about Class Warfare

This is a pretty pathetic attempt to get voter support in an election year. Basically, working poor are being given a $2.15 raise over 3 years. That comes to barely more than a $1,000/year raise, which will still do nothing to keep people out of poverty. If the poverty line is CURRENTLY $20k/year for a family of 4, a single working mom with three children who makes minimum wage in 2009 will still fall shy of the 2006 poverty line by nearly $5k. It's also worth noting that the minimum wage has not been raised in this country for nearly a decade.

At the same time, the same bill cuts the estate tax. This is a piss-poor example of a compromise. I hate to sound like an echo chamber, but it's obvious that Democrats in Congress and the Senate have given up so much power that even their attempts to help the poor turn into half-steps and underfunded good thoughts.

This bill essentially shifts the burden onto businesses, despite the estate tax cut. And really, it's small businesses that will suffer the most because they have the highest overhead generally. Simultaneously, and perhaps ironically, small businesses also provide 90% of the jobs in this country. That's a fact that right-wingers like to throw around because it makes it look like supporting all business means supporting big business. Cutting the estate tax, of course, only affects the upper 1%, and most small business owners live quite shy of that percentile.

I truly hope that voters recognize this as a ploy and vote for the candidates that truly have their interests in heart (in other words...VOTE GREEN!).

Seriously, one of the issues that attracted me to the Green Party was their stance on a living wage. No person in this country should have to work 2-3 jobs to barely make it out of poverty. Period. Each job should pay enough to keep someone out of poverty. Granted, some people make poor living choices and do not know how to manage their money. My answer to that, as it is with everything, is to provide better education at all levels.

So, not only should we provide a living wage, but we should also provide job and life skills training to any one who wants/needs them.