I am not a fan of Manchin, but let's be realistic.
If Manchin hadn't voted for the relief bill, it would have failed and none of what was in it would have been enacted.
As I said earlier, I am for a living wage (which means some places will be over $15/hour). However, if the $15 minimum wage bill had passed, it would have taken until 2025 to get to $15/hour and would start at about $9.50/hour. As of today, 25 states have minimum wages that are $9.50/hour or higher (almost all are over $10/hour). There are another three states that are $8.80-9.45/hour. Well over half of Americans live in states that are already over the starting point of the bill. Many wouldn't be impacted at all for 2-3 years. I'm not saying not to do it. I am showing the reality that impact would not be as great as one might think and can be fixed.
Overwhelmingly, the 22 remaining states are red states. Dems should be able to use the combination of voting against Covid, unemployment assistance, helping businesses and the minimum wage to win a bunch of seats in the 22 election to be able to do much more.
We need to add DC and Puerto Rico as states. We need a living wage. We need to open Medicare for everyone to buy into (this will lead to universal care faster than any other way) and a massively important of a new John Lewis VRA.
If Manchin hadn't voted for the relief bill, it would have failed and none of what was in it would have been enacted.
As I said earlier, I am for a living wage (which means some places will be over $15/hour). However, if the $15 minimum wage bill had passed, it would have taken until 2025 to get to $15/hour and would start at about $9.50/hour. As of today, 25 states have minimum wages that are $9.50/hour or higher (almost all are over $10/hour). There are another three states that are $8.80-9.45/hour. Well over half of Americans live in states that are already over the starting point of the bill. Many wouldn't be impacted at all for 2-3 years. I'm not saying not to do it. I am showing the reality that impact would not be as great as one might think and can be fixed.
Overwhelmingly, the 22 remaining states are red states. Dems should be able to use the combination of voting against Covid, unemployment assistance, helping businesses and the minimum wage to win a bunch of seats in the 22 election to be able to do much more.
We need to add DC and Puerto Rico as states. We need a living wage. We need to open Medicare for everyone to buy into (this will lead to universal care faster than any other way) and a massively important of a new John Lewis VRA.