For Immediate Release
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Senate Minimum Wage Bill A "Cynical Ploy" To Secure Tax Break for the Super-Rich
WASHINGTON —Gerald W. McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, issued the following statement today as Senate Republican leaders braced for failure in their efforts to pass an $800 billion inheritance tax giveaway for the wealthy by tying it to a proposed increase in the minimum wage:
“Senators know a cynical election-year ploy when they see one. This was a transparent attempt to dangle a minimum wage increase for families struggling to make ends meet to secure yet another Texas-size tax handout for the wealthiest among us.
“It is reprehensible that Republican leaders would seek to use relief for low-wage workers as cover in order to sneak through yet another tax boondoggle for their rich friends. Funding a minimum-wage hike by draining $800 billion from public budgets used to fund programs like Social Security and Medicare is not a solution for low-income Americans. It is a new problem. Congress owes it to all low-wage workers to raise the minimum wage with no strings attached.
This gimmick would have been especially disastrous for the more than 1 million low-wage workers who rely on tips to earn a living. They faced wage cuts under this legislation. For them, the only thing this bill would have raised is their stress level.”
