Comments due Nov. 15, 2014
Democrats have greatly misunderstood the politics of the minimum wage in
a way that hurt them in the 2014 elections.
They’re right about one big thing: Minimum wage increases are
popular, at least to modest levels under $10, even in red states where
Republican lawmakers have blocked them. Voters in four red states voted on
minimum wage increases Tuesday and they all passed, three of them by
wide margins. If what Democrats want is a higher minimum wage, they can
keep putting the issue on ballots and most likely keep getting their wish.
What fights over the minimum wage did not do is deliver any advantage
to Democratic candidates for office. Perhaps the best example of this comes
from Illinois. The state has a Democratic governor and a Democratic-held
legislature. If Democrats wanted to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour
from its current $8.25, they could have.
Instead, they put an advisory question on the ballot, asking voters for
nonbinding guidance about whether the minimum wage should be $10. The
idea was to fire up liberal voters by asking about popular Democratic
positions; the ballot also included nonbinding questions about taxing
millionaires to pay for education and requiring health plans to cover
contraception.
All the nonbinding questions passed by wide margins. And the
electorate that voted with liberals on the issue questions simultaneously
rejected Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, in favor of his Republican challenger,
Bruce Rauner, who has mused about cutting the state’s minimum wage. (Mr.
Rauner also opposes a millionaire’s tax.)
Here’s the thing about the minimum wage: Most voters don’t live in
households where anyone earns it, or are even close enough to it to get a
raise when it goes up. If you ask people whether they favor a higher
minimum wage, most will say yes, and even vote that way on a binding
referendum. But if a politician opposes raising it, middle-class voters won’t
necessarily get angry, and their votes may not be moved.
The lesson of Tuesday’s minimum wage votes is that Democrats can do
more on the minimum wage, not that they can help themselves politically by
talking about it more. Just because a proposal is popular does not mean it
can be a keystone in your economic agenda. As Kevin Drum of Mother Jones
has noted, Democrats have an economic agenda that is heavily attuned to
the poor; it’s much less clear what they would do for the middle class.
Many policies that help the poor are favored by the middle class. But if
politicians want to win the votes of the middle class, they have to campaign
on issues that affect them directly. Minimum wage increases do not serve
that political end. (The Upshot NYT)
13 comments:
Minimum wage is being being changed all around the country. Washington brought it's middle wage up to $15 an hour, and other states are looking to do the same. Increasing minimum wage this high is not necessarily a great idea. This will barely move the nations average income, because most people that make minimum wage are teenagers and illegal immigrants. Neither of these types of people are counted on the national average, but the money they are getting has to come from somewhere. Business now have lower profits which effects our nations GDP which then changes international trade rates. Assuming this is the route it would go, raising minimum wage would would hurt our society as a whole.
Using minimum wage as a tool to help you gain support from the voters is a risky choice. Especially if you don't follow after you won the election. I agree that many people do want a higher minimum wage, but its sometimes those same people who barley work and or doesn't effect them regardless if the wage increase or not. This article talks about how people would more likely lean towards a candidate if they make a issue about minimum wage
I agree with the fact that a lot of people do want a higher minimum wage even if it doesn't have any effect on them. This articles main message is that Democrats can do more on the minimum wage. Democrats have a agenda that is aimed at the poor so it isn't really clear what they could do for the middle class. But many of them who help the poor are in fact favored by the middle class. Meaning they would have to campaign directly to the middle class in order to win their votes.
Minimum wage is an issue that has been quite major for voters nowadays. As discussed in a previous blog post, the issue of increasing the minimum wage (from a federal level rather than state) can still leave many people at a disadvantage when it comes to their income (lower income families). However, people overall will always want to have a higher minimum wage, especially for the workers who constantly fulfill such jobs. Due to this, I agree with Lauren. Historically, democrats have always made efforts in their campaign to show how much they can help the poor, whereas this is an issue that affects the middle class.
Minimum wage across the U.S. is looking at the possibility of being raised. Politicians relying on the increase of minimum wage may not be a safe bet to gain voters. Most middle class families won't be affected by the increase, therefore, the increase or lack of won't sway the voters decision. Most people agree that minimum wage should be increased but in the long run, the majority vote won't be influenced one way or another.
The majority of people support the raise of minimum wage. In Illinois The democrats could have raised the minimum wage but instead used it as a tool to get more votes. The majority of what the democratic party does is aimed towards the lower class. Some neglect towards the middle class is present. But however, a lot of the support for the increase in minimum wage comes from that of the middle class. The democratic party did this to obtain votes. This can be either a positive or negative thing.
It seems that most American citizens are in favor of increasing the minimum wage. It makes sense now that since both parties can agree on it, that topic won't have a huge effect on the outcome of the next elections. Politics have gotten out of hand. The political parties don't care about their parties anymore, they care about the people who are on the fence. These are the people that will shift the outcome of the elections. In order to get these votes, the minimum wage topic won't be the priority. The Democrats were pushing this topic thinking it would have a huge effect, but they will have to come up with another game plan.
-Jack Madden
The majority of what the democratic party does is aimed towards the lower class. Many people do want a higher minimum wage and it is an issue that has been quite major for voters nowadays. I agree with Phontayne and Lauren about how democrats have always made efforts in their campaign to show how much they can help the poor- and it is true, whereas this is an issue that affects the middle class.
In this struggling economy a lot of people support the increase of minimum wage. As the article said "Democrats have an economic agenda that is heavily attuned to
the poor". I feel if the democratic parties came up with a more appealing offer not just for the poor, but also the middle class, we can get the right people in office to help make the economy better.
At this point in our economy today it is very easy to be able to want a higher minimum wage. I would say most people do want to higher this wage, but it doesn't affect everyone. The people that are constantly working will in fact see changes. Nevertheless, not everyone does work which is painted very vividly throughout this entire article. Overall, minimum wage has both positive and negative results on the economy.
This article is all about how the nation is steadily changing throughout the nation. For example the state of Washington has increased the minimum wage to an entire $15 dollars...meanwhile New York is still $8. Currently it is a hot political issue whether or not we should raise the national minimum wage for the entire nation. It is the democratic party that usually favors raising the minimum wage while the republican party opposes it. Those who are often found in these low wage positions (such as fast food workers) are the ones who usually rally the raising of the minimum wage more frequently and this tends to slant their votes towards the democractic party because they feel that the democrats in office will achieve this.
Minimum wage is a constant ongoing battle across the country. Each state has their own set minimum wage making it a continuous problem because a change for one state does not mean a change in the rest. For example, the state of Washington has brought the minimum wage up to $15 and now other states are looking to do the same. Campaigning for a raise in minimum wage as a part of a democratic strategy must be done properly and effectively and the democrats may not be doing that. They aim minimum wage mainly toward helping the poor although many middle class people are also in favor of a raise in minimum wage. Overall, majority of people would agree on minimum wage increases regardless of if it would be beneficial to them personally. The democratic party has promised and campaigned a raise in minimum wage in order to win votes, this isn’t necessarily a problem until it comes down to keeping their promises after election time is over.
I can see why candidates would see a potential gain from appealing to those in our country earning minimum wage. But this creates a clear inherent problem. Yes, they do represent a great number of potential voters swinging in their direction. No, this move does not represent something positive for the country. As stated, the middle class and upperclass families that represent a massive chunk of our country don't benefit from a increase in minimum wage. These Austen Verhulst...
are the families with the large income, income that DOES have an affect on our economy. A problem that presents itself with the portion of the country that earn minimum wage is that on the whole they are young. They represent teenagers that are working in the mall and burger king. Also, the minimum wage bracket probably don't understand much about the economy anyway, and how a minimum wage increase could cause a domino effect resulting in a negative outcome on our economy.
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