Minimum Wage and Death Taxes

The Senate bill is an interesting play of politics. The Dems are pissed because the Repugs strapped Estate tax reforms onto the minimum wage hike. I haven't found any evidence of a competing Dem proposal, which surprises me somewhat, as the min-wage thing is one of their favorite party favors.

"Americans are too smart to be tricked into foregoing middle class tax relief, so America can borrow hundreds of billions of dollars to give tax breaks to a wealthy few," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

According to Reid, the bill would have "bankrupted" the country by adding $800 billion to the national debt.

"It's unimaginable Republicans would deny millions of small business a research and development tax credit, it's unimaginable Republicans would deny 15 million workers a $2.10 raise, it's unimaginable Republicans would deny millions of middle class families tax relief, if 8,000 of their wealthy friends don't get billion-dollar tax breaks first," Reid said.

Reid said the American people will "see through these political games."

Now, I can't stomach Harry Reid. This statement is a perfect example of why. Note how he postures the min-wage hike as being for the middle-class and the Estate tax reform as only for the wealthy. The Repugs note that the Estate tax reform will effect the middle class far more than the wealthy, and from all evidence I've found, that is true. The wealthy already have the vast majority of their estates protected from government taxation, while the middle class business or farm owner can't do that.

I also don't understand how he postures the middle class as earning at the minimum wage. I'm betting that is far less frequently seen. I don't like the fact that Reid seems to think that the government should be forcing pay raises for those at the min-wage. The employment market should be what decides what the low level of pay is. If a person doesn't want to work for the minimum wage, they can go and find a job for more. Government intrusion into the pay scale does little beyond artificially increase the business overhead and in many cases will cause a certain level of job loss.

As for his contention about bankrupting the country, give me a sodding break. The way these politicians piss away money on every little pork project that floats past their flat noses is what is increasing the debt, not tax relief. Neither party shows any serious control on spending and until they do Reid's contention of bankruptcy is clearly farcical.