Political Quotes

“Thank you for giving me a moment to ask those questions. I rise to address an important issue--just as we were asking some questions back and forth--that would help 49,000 Alaskans, raising the minimum wage. The bill before us would increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. The minimum wage, as mentioned by my colleagues a little earlier, has lost its purchasing power by one-third over my lifetime. The increase will lift millions of Americans out of poverty, reduce their reliance on the safety net, and literally pump billions more into the economy. I know I look at this a little differently. I come from the business world. I come from the small business world. My first business was at the age of 14. I have been in it ever since in some form or another. You can probably name the business--retail, real estate. I have been a publisher. I have owned different companies, and I have even owned a small, very small, percentage of a restaurant. I felt like I was a 100- percent owner at one point because it is a tough business. I was in there moving the slop buckets and doing a remodel to the kitchen on a Saturday night. I am there like everyone else working double time and trying to make sure we get the job done. My wife is a small retailer. Her business is selling smoked salmon on a counter or a cart--no bigger than two of these desks--and building her business now to 5 retail stores, 30-some employees. I might note none of our employees are paid minimum wage.…”