SkydiveJonathan

The public is overwhelmingly behind the increase. This June, a Zogby Analytics survey of likely voters found seven out of 10 supporting a raise above $10 an hour (including 54 percent of Republicans). Notably, 71 percent of young people (18 to 23 years old) favored it. Likewise, last November's "American Values Survey" by the Public Religion Research Institute showed two-thirds of Americans in favor of a $10-per-hour minimum.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22283-america-2050-population-change-threatens-the-dream.html New Scientist's analyses of US Census Bureau data reveal large and stubbornly persistent disparities in wealth and educational achievement. If these are not narrowed, predicted population change could undermine the US's future prosperity. But the nation may yet avoid a cycle of decline – if it improves educational opportunities for young Hispanics. At this year's Democrat and Republican conventions, the presidential candidates talked a lot about how voters were making a choice for a better future. They did not say much about the challenges posed by demography, however. Perhaps they should have attended the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, held in San Francisco in May. The association's president, Daniel Lichter of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, delivered a sobering address, warning: "Our failure to effectively address policy questions of persistent racial and ethnic economic inequality… may lead to new cultural and economic fragmentation." Some researchers believe that Lichter paints an unduly pessimistic picture. But even the optimists agree that today's decisions will have far-reaching consequences. "We're really at a watershed moment in American society," says Richard Alba, a sociologist at the City University of New York. Demographic transition is now under way. In illustrating the US Census Bureau projections for 2050, New Scientist chose a scenario with relatively low rates of future immigration. Yet despite the political heat surrounding this issue, a similar picture will emerge whatever happens at the US border.

do you think she should get paid more for the same work than a single mother with one kid? just wondering Raising it to $10 an hour would elevate 30 million hardworking Americans now paid a poverty or near-poverty level income. While it would still be tough to raise a family on a $10-an-hour wage ($20,800 a year), it does move our country a lot closer to the principle that work ought to be fairly rewarded, restoring a measure of ethics to the work ethic.

A study last year by Chicago's Federal Reserve Bank found that every dollar increase in the minimum wage produces an immediate bump in the next year of $2,800 per recipient in consumer purchases of everything from kids' shoes to vehicles. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported in a 2009 study that even a boost to $9.50 an hour would result in $30 billion a year in new consumer spending.

"The only people paid the minimum," goes one of their oldest dodges, "are teenagers working part-time summer jobs for extra cash." In fact, only 6.4 percent of these low-wage employees are teen part-timers. Contrary to the stereotype, the typical minimum-wage worker is an adult, white woman (including many single moms) whose family relies on her paycheck.

Nearly 4 million Americans are being paid at or below the desiccated federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. For a single mother with two kids, that's $4,000 a year beneath the poverty level. Where are the ethics in a "work ethic" that rewards so many with paychecks that deliberately hold them in poverty?

You'd blame a flat tire on the minimum wage being set too low. If it was higher more workers would pay income tax.

Sounds like he wants a lot more people to pay a lot more tax. Just not him. I blame the minimum wage being set too low.

On August 22nd, for instance, a foreclosure on Kim Mitchell’s house in a low-income part of San Francisco was prevented by a coalition made up of Occupy Bernal and Occupy Noe Valley (two San Francisco neighborhoods) along with ACCE, the group that succeeded the Republican-destroyed ACORN. It was a little victory in itself -- and another that such an economically and ethnically diverse group was working together so beautifully. Demonstrations and victories like it are happening regularly across the country, including in Minnesota, thanks to Occupy Homes. Earlier this month, Occupy Wall Street helped Manhattan restaurant workers defeat a lousy boss and a worker lock-out to unionize a restaurant in the Hot and Crusty chain. (While shut out, the employees occupied the sidewalk and ran the Worker Justice Café there.)

And this ruling will be overturn in Fed court No it won't.

A Wisconsin judge has struck down the state law championed by Gov. Scott Walker that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers, ruling the law violates both the state and U.S. Constitution and is null and void.

Strike Debt is among the strongest campaigns poised to take advantage of the S17, treating the anniversary not as an end, or an end in itself, but as a beginning. Strike Debt organizers have strategized all summer about launching a multi-pronged offensive against the predatory debt system, with the eventual goal of sparking a nationwide debt-resisters’ movement that would strike at the foundations of capitalism as a whole. Strike Debt has created a sophisticated press and propaganda unit, with articles and interviews seeded throughout the progressive media landscape, along with dynamic visual materials and performative actions. A key node in these interlocked efforts is issue 3 of Tidal: Occupy Theory, Occupy Strategy, in which the theme of debt resistance is woven throughout.

Led by Sam Walton's only daughter, Alice, the family spent $3.2 million on lobbying, conservative causes and candidates for last year's federal elections. That's more than double what it spent in the previous two elections combined, public documents show. The Waltons have joined a coterie of wealthy families trying to save fortunes through permanent repeal of the estate tax, government watchdogs say. The election of President Bush and more conservatives to Congress gave momentum to the long-fought effort. The Waltons add more.

Until the union gets the upper hand.

Sam and James "Bud" Walton now possess total wealth equivalent to 49 million American families, 42 percent of the total. As it turns out, that shocking number will grow much larger if Mitt Romney wins in November. After all, would-be President Romney not only wants to deliver another massive tax cut windfall for the wealthy, but wants to eliminate the estate tax altogether, a move that on paper would divert over $30 billion from the U.S. Treasury into the vaults of the Walton family.

In many states across the country, Walmart is the employer with the largest number of employees and dependents using taxpayer-funded health insurance programs.

Until the union gets the upper hand.

The three years of wealth data from 2007 to 2010 provides an extreme example of how the economic fortunes of Walmart’s owners have diverged from those of typical American households. Concretely, between 2007 and 2010, while median family wealth fell by 38.8 percent, the wealth of the Walton family members rose from $73.3 billion to $89.5 billion.

And they are free to join a union.

It is now the case that the Walton family wealth is as large as the bottom 48.8 million families in the wealth distribution (constituting 41.5 percent of all American families) combined.

http://www.commondreams.org/further/2012/09/13-1 Yesterday about three dozen employees of a Southern California warehouse that stores goods for Walmart walked out on strike. According to their organization, Warehouse Workers United: Workers face inadequate access to clean water, work under scorching heat that reaches well over 100 degrees, and have little access to basic healthcare, regular breaks, and properly functioning equipment. Their wages are low –$8 per hour and $250 a week, or $12,000 per year. Workplace injury is common. But when workers tried to offer solutions to fix these abuses, they have been met with illegal threats and intimidation by management.

Mr Bernanke’s main eye is on America’s intractable jobs blight – “a grave concern, not only because of the enormous suffering and waste of human talent it entails, but also because high levels of unemployment will wreak structural damage on our economy that could last for many years”, he said. The Fed has switched to targeting jobs – not prices – sure that the headwinds of debt-deleveraging will check inflation.

America's central bank said it will purchase $40bn (£25bn) of mortgage-backed bonds a month to stimulate the housing market and keep long-term interest rates low. In a major departure from the two previous rounds of stimulus, the Fed said it will persist with the policy until the outlook for the job market improves "substantially". The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor's 500 both climbed after one of the most-eagerly awaited decisons from the Fed's rate-setters in months. "They are targeting mortgage bonds in an effort to drive rates lower," said Stewart Cowley, head of fixed-income at Old Mutual Asset Management. "But they are writing a blank cheque." Economists at Capital Economics estimate that the new round of QE could see the Fed buy more almost $1.5 trillion of debt, assuming the unemployment rate stays close to current levels for the next three years.

Depends - the International roots will be more important than the US electoral cycle. At the moment it looks like Europe, the US and China are going to have a 3 way 'hard landing'. Horray!!! ? A hard landing is a hard landing. Lots of unemployment and tough times looking likely for many years to come. It would be hard for a global grassroots counter movement not to thrive in such times. I have every confidence that this group of potheads will prove you wrong. It's about 50/50. Place your bet.

It's how the increase in wealth from the increase in productivity is distributed. In this historical cycle the bulk of the increase in wealth (due to an increase in productivity) has gone to the already very wealthy. Must be discouraging to the average worker to see their productivity gains sucked away by the rich who have hacked into the money printing machine - it's almost like a tax on the worker imposed by the rich.