Democrats vow to block pay raises until minimum wage increased
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A week after the GOP-led Senate rejected an increase to the minimum wage, Senate Democrats on Tuesday vowed to block pay raises for members of Congress until the minimum wage is increased.

"We're going to do anything it takes to stop the congressional pay raise this year, and we're not going to settle for this year alone," Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said at a Capitol news conference.

"They can play all the games the want," Reid said derisively of the Republicans who control the chamber. "They can deal with gay marriage, estate tax, flag burning, all these issues and avoid issues like the prices of gasoline, sending your kid to college. But we're going to do everything to stop the congressional pay raise." YES - SOMEONE SAID IT!!!

The minimum wage is $5.15 an hour. Democrats want to raise it to $7.25. During the past nine years, as Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to increase the minimum wage, members of Congress have voted to give themselves pay raises -- technically "cost of living increases" -- totaling $31,600, or more than $15 an hour for a 40-hour week, 52 weeks a year, according to the Congressional Research Service.

In floor debate last week Republicans argued the raise for low-income workers would hurt small businesses. They offered an alternative measure to raise the minimum wage that was tied to tax breaks for small businesses.

The main proposal fell eight votes short of the 60 it needed to pass with 46 opposing; the alternative measure mustered only 45 votes in favor, while 53 senators opposed.

Reid wouldn't spell out the specific tactics he would employ to block the congressional pay raise -- which is triggered each year with the passage of an appropriations bill not by a vote on a stand alone bill to increase pay for members.

But he warned, "I know procedure's around here fairly well."
Question: How can they possibly justify raising their own pay $30,000 and not a single penny for those making minimum wage?

Answer: Minimum wage earners do not contribute to republican election campaigns. However, big companies that pay miminum wage to their numerous employees donate hundreds of millions of dollars to republicans, to get them elected, so they can vote down raises to the minimum wage that would cost their huge corporations a lot more money than the campaign contributions they gave to the republicans in the first place.

In other words, republican politicians are whores who fuck the american public for money, and then feel they've done such a good job of fucking America, they give themselves raises every year as a pat on the back.

Or another way of putting it is that its a lot cheaper to buy a republican whore politician than it is to pay your employees enough for them to feed AND provide medicine for their children.