I didn’t ask Fred Upton to contact me about raising the minimum wage, but I got a taxpayer funded letter from him recently.

As background, currently we have over 45 million U.S. citizens living below the federal poverty line. The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour or about $15,000 per year, before deductions including Social Security and Medicare. The proposed $10.10 per hour (by 2016) would raise the yearly wage to about $21K before deductions.

Fred didn’t come out and say he would not support the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, but he did say the following:

• “The CBO said that while the FMW Act would raise wages for millions, it would cost 500,000 jobs.” The CBO also said there would be an increased demand for goods and services, as millions will have more money to spend in this economy.

• “Many of us started on a minimum wage job.”

Really Fred… us? The bigger point is that this isn’t the ice cream stand of yesterday; this is a full time salary for millions of American workers.

• “No one has suggested that one can raise a family on a minimum wage salary. You can’t. I would also note that the typical minimum wage earner is not the head of household, nor the primary source of income for that family.”

Right. Tell that to all the middle-aged heads of households working full-time, often two jobs. Many still needing taxpayer funded assistance programs to survive. Most of these heads of households are women.

• “The FMW Act was introduced by a Democrat and has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, of which I am not a member.”

Rep. Upton will be asked to vote on this issue at some point; and we have a right to know what that vote will be.

• “My top priorities are job creation and economic growth; reigning in federal spending; reducing the size and scope of government and rolling back federal regulations and mandates.”

So, what do you think? Will Fred Upton vote to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016?  You can call him in St. Joe at (269) 982-1986 or in Kalamazoo at (269) 385-0039 and ask his staff.

Bet you won’t get a yes or no answer.

In the salutation of the letter, Fred crossed off Ms. LaPointe and wrote in Cathy, then signed it with his characteristic FU scrawl. I didn’t ask for that either.

 

Cathy LaPointe

Cassopolis