Hated By Harry, Other Badges Of Honor And The Minimum Wage Scam

Harry Reid (of all people) believes that George W Bush is the worst American president in history. In speaking of Russ Feingold’s lonely effort to censure the  president

…he’s the worst president we ever had. I don’t think we need a censure resolution in the Senate to prove that…

In truth, being resented by Harry Reid is like being resented by corrupt Arab world leaders. We noted in the Culture Of Corruption And Playing In The Mud that

Mr Ethics, Harry Reid (who happily took money from Jack Abrahamoff, then denied it, then admitted it and then refused to return the money) is backing what promises to be one of Nevada’s largest real estate development proposals. In fact, Mr Reid wanted the feds to part with valuable federal lands for nothing. When that came to light, the developer- without a peep- agreed to pay ten million dollars for the land.

In fact, the developer and Mr Reid have ties that go back a long way. The developer/lobbyist, Harvey Whittemore, is a longtime friend and financial backer of Harry Reid. Of course, lawyers are always the front people for deal of this magnitude. ‘Leif Reid, who is Whittemore’s personal lawyer, has represented the developer throughout the Coyote Springs project, including in negotiations with federal officials.’ What a good daddy.

To put things in perspective, the size of the deal must be appreciated. The Coyote Springs Valley project calls for ‘as many as 159,000 homes, 16 golf courses and a full complement of stores and service facilities. At nearly 43,000 acres, Coyote Springs covers almost twice as much space as the next-largest development in a state famous for out-sized building projects. ‘ The project has been referred to as being of ‘historic proportions.’

Harry Reid also referred to former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan “one of the biggest political hacks we have in Washington.”

Bill Clinton approval of the Greenspan policies that led this nation through it’s greatest period of extended growth was unequivocal. In 2000, Mr Clinton had this to say at Greenspan’s renomination to the Fed:

Wise leadership from the Fed has played a very large role in our strong economy. That is why today I am pleased to announce my decision to renominate Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

One has to wonder why the Senator from Nevada with spectacularly questionable ethics is so antagonistic to Mr Bush and Mr Greenspan- unless of course, Mr Reid resents anyone with real ethics that might highlight his own moral bankruptcy.

It is a good thing to be hated by those who are corrupt. It is a good thing to be hated by those for whom amassing political power at the expense of serving their constituents and  the nation is a way of life. Being excoriated and vilified by hypocrites and self serving politicians only highlights their own corruption. Notwithstanding the Democrat win in the 2006 mid term elections, Congress under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi (her ethical standards can be noted here) and Harry Reid is barely above single digit approval rates. That should come as no surprise. Despite MSM determination to keep Democrat corruption of the front pages, you can’t hide the stench.

With the Dow Index hovering at the 14,000 level, the Democrats are desperate to focus economic attention to the minimum wage hike due to go into effect. Even that is not what it appears to be. We noted in the SC&A Idiots Guide To The First One Hundred Hours Of The 110th Congress

…Why then, is federal minimum wage legislation such a priority for the democrats?

The answer is simple: Union support and union votes.

Many union collective bargaining wage agreements are based on the federal minimum wage. In many industries, union wages are calculated as multiples of the federal minimum wage.

Suppose the minimum wage is $7.00 an hour. If the collective bargaining agreement calls for a 3 times minimum wage base, that means the union employee would be paid $21.00 an hour.

If the minimum wage is raised to $8.00 an hour, the same union employee would see his or her wage raised to $24.00 per hour. The additional cost to the employer union would be $6,000 per year for each employee. There are many union employee contracts that call for wages at 5 and even 6 times federal minimum wage levels.

Lets do the math. At 5 times the minimum wage set at $7.00, the union negotiated hourly wage is $35.00 per hour. At 6 time the minimum wage, that negotiated wage is $42.00 per hour.

If the minimum wage is raised by $1.00, those hourly rates rise to $40.00 and $48.00, respectively.

(Some pertinent facts about Congressional pay can be found here. The current wage package paid to Congresspersons is about 12 times that of the minimum wage.)

Even though almost 90% of all Americans earn in excess of the minimum wage, the cost of new minimum wage legislation is astronomical. Who do you think pays for all that ‘feel good’ legislation in the form of higher costs for goods?

It is the almost 90% of Americans that earn above the minimum wage that benefit most from new wage legislation- and union members with collective bargaining agreements stand to gain the most- and that is why unions support the Dems.

The Dem commitment to minimum wage legislation has never been about ‘helping’ or ‘compassion’ or even the poor. It has always been about money and votes.

The stock market is at record levels and almost 70% of Americans are directly benefiting from our strong economy. Home ownership is at record levels and the loudly talked about home mortgage failures represent less than 2% of all mortgages written (Naturally, we can only assume that the Dems that are complaining so bitterly take no issue with anyone stupid enough to take out a 110%, no money down, interest only repayment mortgage).

Now there are some Dems that want to censure the president and that’s got them all breathless. Before that, it was Scooter Libby. Before that, it was something else and before that, there was something else that was sure to ‘indict Karl Rove’ or ‘bring down the White House.’

That’s the Harry Reid/Nancy Pelosi legacy. They, like their phony and corrupt agendas, will be forgotten.