Political Quotes

“ever since my first day in Congress I have been fighting to raise the minimum wage. The simple truth is that the purchasing power of the minimum wage today is 26 percent less than it was in 1970, which means that our minimum wage workers today are much, much poorer and harder pressed than they were in the past. The fact of the matter is that millions and millions of American workers cannot survive, cannot live in dignity on $4.25 an hour, and I am glad now today, finally, we are going to be raising the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour, although in truth, we should be raising it higher than that. The reality of the American economy is that more and more of the new jobs that are being created are low-wage jobs, they are part-time jobs, they are temporary jobs without benefits. Today we are saying to those workers that at least you are going to be getting $5.15 an hour and that is long overdue. The second part of this bill, which is also a positive step forward, is that we are saying to small businesses in Vermont and all over this country that we understand that you and not corporate America who are taking our jobs to China and Mexico but you, small businesses, are the people who are creating the new jobs in Vermont and in California and all over this country, and that you and not big business are entitled to the tax breaks that you desperately need so that you can reinvest in our communities and create more jobs.”