Kentucky Democratic-Controlled House Plays Politics with Minimum Wage Bill

source: creamcityradio

The usual politics surrounding the minimum wage increases was played by Kentucky Democrats in the House, which passed an outrageous bill that would boost the minimum wage in the state from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers rightly blasted the bill for focusing on the low end of an approach to helping the state create jobs. The idea that increasing the minimum wage would help is a fallacy that Federal increases prove have resulted in the loss of jobs.

"Our goal is ... how we create good-paying jobs," Stivers told reporters. "And if they want to keep a very narrow approach of how are we just going to keep minimum-wage jobs around there, that's their prerogative. We want to look at a much broader, more optimistic picture."

The fact is minimum wage jobs are entry level positions, and are there for the purpose of helping people learn to work while preparing for higher level opportunities. To think raising the minimum wage in Kentucky would help lower income earnings is dishonest, as it would only raise the cost of doing business, as well as increase the costs associated with government jobs.

Democrat House Speaker Greg Stumbo is only playing politics before the elections later this year in order to make it look like the Republican Party opposes helping the poor. It's the usual thuggish politics and tactics of the Democratic Party.

There is no doubt it's an attempt to increase the chances of Alison Lundergan Grimes in her race to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Grimes is also calling for a increase of the minimum wage at the federal level, even though it hurts the changes of young people to get hired.

Kentucky Republicans and Democrats with integrity and understanding need to totally reject this bill. What we need is less taxes and state employees starting to pay more into their own pension plans, which is what is causing the state to operate with budget shortfalls.