Thomas Daschle: “This is a $2,000 increase. That $2,000 increase is probably made, in the case of many American entrepreneurs, in a…”

“This is a $2,000 increase. That $2,000 increase is probably made, in the case of many American entrepreneurs, in a matter of moments, minutes, or hours. We are talking about a $2,000 increase over the course of a couple of years. These people are already struggling to retain some form of dignity in the workplace. They are determined not to go back on welfare. They are determined to try to find ways to ensure that their children have the quality of life we all dream about as Americans. As the Senator said, how ironic it is that at a time when we have more billionaires in this country than we have ever had in our Nation's history, at a time when income has gone up exponentially for the top 20 percent of those in this country, at that very time we see potentially the lowest level of purchasing power the minimum wage has ever brought about in our Nation's history. What an incredible irony that is.”