Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 3940. With great fanfare, this Democratic majority increased the federally mandated minimum wage as one of its first acts. At the time, many of us warned that without adequate financial relief or transition time, especially for small businesses, workers would be harmed by a proposal that was intended to help them. We warned that teens seeking their first job and the chance to build work experience would have fewer opportunities. We warned that unskilled workers would be replaced by a smaller number of more highly skilled workers. And we warned that regions with comparatively low wages and living expenses would be especially hard hit because of the added cost to job-creators. With nearly 15 million Americans searching for work, it's a terrible time to have to say we told you so. In July 2007, when the first phase of the wage hike took effect, the national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent. For teenagers, the unemployment rate was 15.3 percent. Today, while the overall unemployment rate stands at an unacceptably high 9.6 percent, the figure for teens is far worse: more than one- quarter of all teens are unemployed, a total of 26.3 percent. Young African-American men perhaps bear the greatest burden from this irresponsible tinkering with the free marketplace.…”