from Democracy Now!
In 2008, Barack Obama pledged to raise the minimum wage every year once elected, but the hourly rate of $7.25 hasn’t increased since 2007. Low-wage workers now make far less than they did four decades ago. Last week Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. introduced The Catching Up to 1968 Act of 2012. It draws its name from the idea that the federal minimum wage would be $10.55 an hour now if it had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years. While the bill has about 20 co-sponsors so far President Obama has yet to endorse it. We speak to longtime consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader.
Nader on 2012 Race, Wisconsin Recall and the Attack on Pensions & the Supreme Court
As the presidential race heats up, the focus is increasingly on the nation’s slow economic recovery. Last week, President Obama was widely criticized for saying the private sector is “doing fine,” while Mitt Romney attacked public sector unions by calling for fewer teachers, firefighters and police officers. We talk to Ralph Nader about the 2012 election and the lessons of last week’s victory by Scott Walker, governor of what Nader dubbed “WisKOCHsin.” Nader also looks ahead at the Supreme Court’s upcoming rules on healthcare and Arizona’s anti-immigrant law.
Tags: 2012 elections, Barack Obama, Democratic Party, economy, employment, HR 5901, Jesse Jackson Jr., jobs, legislation, minimum wage, Mitt Romney, Occupy movement, pensions, presidential debates, Ralph Nader, recall, Scott Walker, tax reform, The Catching Up to 1968 Act of 2012, U. S. House, U. S. Supreme Court, Wisconsin, www.timeforaraise.org
