It's Friday, so it's payday for untold millions of Americans. And for millions of them, their paycheck will come with the first raise they've gotten in a decade. Because this is the week when the Democratically-sponsored minimum wage hike goes into effect.
The first of three yearly raises, the minimum wage goes from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 an hour this week. That is a 70 cent an hour raise, or roughly 14 percent. Next year, another raise of 70 cents to $6.55, and then the last in two years, to $7.25. Overall, this is almost a 41 percent raise for those paid the least in our country. While 70 cents doesn't sound like much, when is the last three-year period when you got a 40 percent raise? It's even more impressive if you look at yearly figures for a full-time worker: from $10,712 to $15,080.
This story didn't get much play in the mainstream media, or the elite Washington political punditry. That's because it doesn't affect them or anyone they personally know, so the story is flying under their radar.
But it does indeed affect millions upon millions of hard-working Americans, so the story deserves a spotlight. Because, after all, it was congressional Democrats who made this happen.
This is another reason the story isn't getting much play in the media. They seem to be accepting the spin from the White House that "this Congress can't do anything but investigate and obstruct."
Congress is about to take August off, as they do every year. All the Congressfolks are going back to their home districts to schmooze with The People. If Democrats are smart, they'll open every single speech they give this August with: "If President Bush and the Republicans in Congress would stop obstructing good ideas, we could get more good laws passed, like the minimum wage hike which just took effect."
Because unlike some tax loophole passed for some giant corporation, a minimum wage hike is immediately visible in people's lives. It's concrete, tangible evidence that Democrats care more about working Americans than the Republicans -- who blocked every minimum wage increase they could when they were in charge of Congress.
So Democrats should use their time back in their home district to drive this point home. Rather than the old joke: "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" what the Democrats should ask the public is: "Who are you going to believe about the Democratic Congress's ability to make your lives better -- George Bush's spin, or your lying paycheck?"
[Join me in welcoming our new resident political cartoonist at ChrisWeigant.com -- his name is Charles W. Cunningham, and you can see his bio along with his first cartoon here.]
Chris Weigant blogs at: ChrisWeigant.com