Political Quotes

“I want to talk about the minimum wage. In the last year I have been talking about the fact that in my State of Maine if I go out to a store to buy a pack of cigarettes, I will pay three taxes. If I go out and buy a can of beer, I will pay four taxes. But if I do the right thing and go out and create a job for a working person at the minimum wage in this country, I am going to pay or manage nine different taxes. I am tired of the nonsense we are hearing about the minimum wage and how we can increase it and how we are going to do wonderful things for people. I want to focus on the fact that those nine taxes at the minimum wage exceed $1 an hour. I think that is outrageous. When I talk to young people in my district, it is bad enough that many of them feel that with the payroll tax burden that is on their jobs, they are more likely to see a UFO than to get a Social Security check when they retire. It is bad enough that they are worried about whether they are going to even receive any benefits whatsoever, now they are going to be losing their jobs. The issue is not what is going on in the private sector. The issue is a government that is taking $1 an hour out of the minimum wage. I think that is the real issue, and that is where the focus needs to be in the rest of this session.”