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- A Sure Path To Economic Health
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- Dick Meister
It's time to raise the minimum wage to help millions of poverty stricken Americans and help stimulate the sagging economy.
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Piece Description
It's time to raise the minimum wage to help millions of poverty stricken Americans and help stimulate the sagging economy.
Broadcast History
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Transcript
It's way past time to raise the pitifully low federal minimum wage. That would provide badly needed help to the millions of people who are living in poverty or near-poverty at the current rate of $7.25 an hour. And a raise would help all Americans by stimulating the sagging economy.
Democratic Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois are carrying bills that would set a new minimum of $10 an hour. They're pressing hard – as they very well should – to get the general public and their allies in Congress to fully appreciate the widespread good that would come from helping some of the country's neediest workers.
Jackson noted that "we've bailed out banks, we've bailed out corporations, we've bailed out Wall Street, we've tried to create sound fundamentals in the economy." Now it's time to bail out working people who work hard every day and stil...
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Intro and Outro
INTRO:Commentator Dick Meister says America's poorest workers need a pay raise.
OUTRO:Dick Meister is a longtime labor and political journalist.
