Andrea Seastrand: “somehow liberals in this House and the big labor union bosses here in Washington, DC, are convinced that raising the…”

“somehow liberals in this House and the big labor union bosses here in Washington, DC, are convinced that raising the minimum wage will somehow solve the world's problems. The belief in the effectiveness of the minimum wage is a triumph of fantasy over reality, of symbolism over substance. The proponents of an increased minimum wage argue that Americans need a raise. Well, if Members recall, Mr. Speaker, Republicans tried to give working Americans a raise by giving them a tax cut, and the President said no and vetoed it. Now liberals are falling, and, I might say, those big labor union bosses are falling all over themselves trying to portray themselves as defenders of the poor, the economically downtrodden. But it is all an act, and Americans know it. Even President Clinton's top economic adviser, Joseph Stieglitz, wrote in an economic textbook that, ``A higher minimum wage does not seem a particularly useful way to help the poor.'' If liberals and those labor bosses were really convinced about the poor and concerned about them, they would support tax relief, that $500 per child tax credit. They would lower interest rates by supporting a balanced budget, and also they would seek economic growth.”