Sunday, January 28, 2007

Senator Inhofe and Coburn Vote Against Workers

Inhofe and Coburn: Fat Cats For Fat Cats
Our two Oklahoma senators voted to keep minimum wage workers below the poverty level. The House voted to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, up from the $5.15 an hour where it has been for the past 9+ years. The Senate voted down a "cloture" motion which would have cut off Senate debate and allowed an up or down vote on the measure known as HR2. While a majority of the Senate voted for the motion (54-43 with 3 not voting), the motion fell short of the 60 vote "super majority" it needs to cut off debate. So much for the Repubs claim that Democratic senators were to be faulted for not allowing up and down votes for their pet project when the Repubs had the majority.

Working people need to be reminded that Senator Inhofe sees them as little more than a business commodity. (George Will in an op-ed piece claimed that working Americans are no more than commodities.) Not only will raising the minimum wage allow millions of Americans to escape poverty, we must recognize that this act is a simple matter of justice. It is patently unjust for Americans to work full time and yet find themselve falling deeper and deeper into the poverty trap.

Senator Inhofe and Coburn, you bring shame to our state.

1 comment:

fallenmonk said...

Thanks for stopping by the Fallenmonk and thanks for the link. Hope you become a regular visitor and contributor. Lots of friends in Oklahoma and one is a teacher in Tulsa.
Both my Georgia Senators are criminals along with Inhofe and Coburn. They even voted in favor of repealing the minimum wage period. While it doesn't directly affect me it has in the past and could again and it is criminal that so many in our country are forced to live below the poverty level while the corporations just get richer and richer. I'll return the favor and add you to my blogroll as well.