Minimum Wage Bill (Republican-Style)

After numerous attempts by Republicans to block a minimum wage increase proposed by Democrats, they have finally caved-in, but only in the most embarassing of ways.

The AP writes:

Republican leaders are willing to allow the first minimum wage increase in a decade but only if it’s coupled with a cut in inheritance taxes on multimillion-dollar estates, congressional aides said Friday.

The estate tax — aka the Paris Hilton Tax — benefits only the ultra-wealthy. This year, only 5 out of every 1,000 people who die will pay the tax.

Sen. Edward Kennedy said, “It’s political blackmail to say the only way that minimum wage workers can get a raise is to give a tax giveaway to the wealthiest Americans. Members of Congress raised their own pay — no strings attached. Surely, common decency suggests that minimum wage workers deserve the same respect.”

There would be $300 billion in tax investments lost over the coming year with the bill as such, money that could be used, among other things, towards Health Care, Social Security and/or renewable energy research.