New Normal
Written by Nick Carraway
“Thankfully, some things are returning to normal. One of those things is the leaked 1.9 trillion dollar Relief Bill that Joe Biden has proposed. In the bill, citizens would get 1400 dollars to get to the 2000 that was previously proposed. Health care entities and schools would get much needed funds to help get people vaccinated and open schools.
Perhaps, the most controversial measure would roll out a $15 dollar per hour minimum wage at the federal level. Obviously, this is one of the major planks of progressives and throwing it out there out of the gate would send a major message to progressives.
Of course, the trouble with any major legislation is the full knowledge that every president has only so much political capital to spend. Is the minimum wage the best place to spend that capital? That’s a good debate to have and such a normal debate to have. It’s comforting going back to the feeling to debating policy without having to talk about the norms of behavior a president is supposed to have.
There will be a lot of such debates over the coming months. Much will involve the Justice Department and exactly how much and how hard they should pursue Trump and his administration. After appointing Merrick Garland, Biden has promised not to be involved. Again, that’s refreshing. It looks like happier days are finally coming.”
Nick
After four years of his majesty and his cronies, Biden’s “to do” list must be long. I hope he remembers that he may only have two years to get everything done unless Dems. can find some realistic and good candidates. He can project calmness in front of the cameras, but he and his administration need to be working 24/7 behind the scenes!
1Grandma Ada: WE need to be working hard 24/7 behind the scenes. No more depending on too few people at the top to “save” us. We need to be, however unequal our efforts, millions of Stacy Abrams working to get people registered, the voters to the polls, voter suppression reduced if not ended. We have had good candidates over and over that did not get elected.
2“Is the minimum wage the best place to spend that capital? That’s a good debate to have…”
3Unfortunately, we know what happens when millionaires in the Senate debate raising the minimum wage. The millionaires are certain in their knowledge that they are looking out for the poor by rejecting a higher minimum wage because they “know” employers will hire fewer workers. Not that that has ever actually happened when the minimum wage was raised.
We need to redefine what a profitable business is in this country. As a business owner, if you can’t make money paying a living wage, you are a predator and a leech, not a successful entrepreneur. You pass your costs of doing business off onto the safety net support systems and the taxpayer.
Wally,
Unfortunately, political realities often get in the way. In isolation, raising the minimum wage is long overdue. The ACA was long overdue and the public option seemed to be a no brainer until it wasn’t. I guess the question is whether the minimum wage is more critical than universal health care, the green new deal, or any of the other progressive planks millions have been pining for.
If we look at a legislative agenda as having no many bullets in the chamber, what makes the short list of legislative priorities. That is especially true if we are looking at this as a two year window instead of a four year window.
4“…the most controversial measure would roll out a $15 dollar per hour minimum wage at the federal level. Obviously, this is one of the major planks of progressives …”
Something never mentioned by anyone in favor of raising ‘minimum wages’ to $15/hr or whatever, is the disastrous effects such a change will have on people who live on fixed incomes [mostly retirees].
The wage increase would have an immediate effect on prices, COLA, and be a major inflationary factor.
There are tens of millions of retirees, many/most of whom have Social Security as their sole or primary source of income [and many of those SS beneficiaries are receiving much less than an ‘equivalent $15/hr].
Any inflationary pressures in the economy will have a serious effect on them unless mitigated somehow, and we know how slowly and pecuniarously Social Security compensates for inflation/COLA.
[I’m fortunate enough as a retiree to have four major sources of income, but only one of which I could reasonably increase [under ideal conditions]; the others are beyond my control [like SS, pension, market investments], and would be adversely affected.]
5Nice line of reasoning: sacrifice the workers to the seniors.
No positive aspects to it? More money into Social Security?
We call them “Got Mine-rs”
6This “Of course, the trouble with any major legislation is the full knowledge that every president has only so much political capital to spend. ” is EXACTLY wrong. As soon as you deliver a good policy, you gain political capital. Swamp the opposition. Deliver a cascade of good policy so fast they can not keep up. Do not be timid. There is no such thing as “political capital”.
7Keith Kennedy @7: Well said.
I think $15 min wage is a great place to start. For a lot of young people not involved or just becoming aware of politics, it answers the question, “What has the government ever done for me?” We’ve had 40 years of GOP efforts to prove that government can’t do anything right, while they try and drown it in a bathtub. Biden is never going to be uber-progressive, but combine $15 min wage, universal preschool, a serious infrastructure program, and a voting rights bill, all of which are barely left of center, and he’s the most progressive president since LBJ. (Admittedly that is a low bar.) Combine that with staffing the government with effective administrators and 2022 could be much bluer than the conventional wisdom.
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