Tom Harkin: “More than 60 years we have had a minimum wage in this country. I don't have the data with me right now, but I have seen…”

“More than 60 years we have had a minimum wage in this country. I don't have the data with me right now, but I have seen the data that indicates when the minimum wage was higher relative to, say, corporate salaries and what CEOs were making, that, in fact, our country enjoyed a higher standard of living. Is it not true that if people are making a more decent minimum wage, it lifts them out of poverty; they are better able to provide food and clothing and shelter for their kids and their family, better able to pay tuition to go to college. It seems to this Senator, and I ask my friend from Massachusetts, under the underlying bill, the bankruptcy bill, we are providing all kinds of support, immunities, coverage, for creditors and especially credit card companies; we are providing them all protection, but now when it comes to providing minimum protection for the lowest income people in this country, we cannot seem to do it. It seems incongruous that we would protect the biggest, but for the smallest we cannot seem to do that.”