Feb
13
2007

Sad News from DC

The Guns 'n' Butter blog is reporting a story with a local angle, involving my (I guess, former) Congressperson:

WASHINGTON -- A month after she voted to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour, first-term Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., was laid off in a cost-cutting measure by House leadership.

Typically, Congress itself is immune from wage and price control legislation it passes, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, having vowed to make this Congress the most honest and ethical in history, has ordered that Congress subject itself to the same regulations as everyone else, no matter how burdensome.

To quote Woody Allen: I really have mixed feelings about this.

In slightly more real news, the Arizona Republic reports on the result of Arizona's minimum wage increase from $5.15 to $6.75 last month:

Some Valley employers, especially those in the food industry, say payroll budgets have risen so much that they're cutting hours, instituting hiring freezes and laying off employees.

The new policy is not without winners, and the reporter found one:

Liliana Hernandez brings home noticeably more under the new law. The 18-year-old, who attends Metro Tech High School in Phoenix and works part time at Central High School, is saving the extra money, maybe to put towards buying a used car.

… but everyone else mentioned in the story was either making more than the new minimum already, or involved in employment cutbacks.


Last Modified 2012-10-19 3:08 PM EDT