Posted on 02/07/2006 6:44:37 PM PST by Amerigomag
State Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, is under fire by a right-leaning arm of his own political party for authoring legislation that would increase the minimum wage by a dollar an hour.
The California Republican Assembly, a conservative activist group, has released a radio ad urging voters to call the senator -- it provides Maldonado's Sacramento office phone number -- and voice their displeasure about his bill. The ad is airing about a month after Maldonado introduced Senate Bill 1167, which would boost the minimum wage by 50 cents an hour to $7.25 this coming September, and then to $7.75 in July 2007. It's currently $6.75 per hour.
Senator Maldonado says that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked him to carry the bill, and he was happy to oblige. A $1 minimum wage increase was a key plank of the governor's 10-year, $222 billion plan for California, which he addressed at the annual State of the State speech in early January.
Maldonado voted against a minimum wage hike in 2004 that was similar to the legislation he recently proposed but broke ranks a year later and voted for the Democrat-authored Assembly Bill 48.
A 2000 report issued by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found minimum wage increases may not be the best way to help the working poor. Many minimum wage earners were the children of higher-income families, and increasing the minimum wage can encourage businesses to bump up their prices or even lay people off.
Maldonado has proved to be a centrist Republican in full support of the governor and bidding to become the state's next controller. Maldonado conceded that there may be negative effects but also stressed the benefits.
(Excerpt) Read more at sanluisobispo.com ...
Conservatives are the wrong group to ask. Ask a fascist or the Wilsonegger gang. It's a basic tenant of both group's political beliefs.
Doesn't raising the min. wage just mean that the employers will pass the cost on to the consumers?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.