>A question. Minimum wage is one of the areas where an incremental
>approach has meant a steady _lowering_ of the minimum wage over time.
>The cost of living goes up (arbitrary not real figures) 2%, the minimum
>wage goes up 1% (to much boasting from DP supporters), and meanwhile the
>cost of living has gone up another 1/2%. Total cut of 1.5% in minimum
>wage. (And this, of course, constitutes a drag on the entire wage
>structure: it is a transfer of wealth from the whole working class to
>the whole capitalist class.)
>
>Is there any conceivable program in this area which could give it the
>appeal and political power of universal (cross-class) programs?
Raising the minimum wage significantly - not by pennies but by dollars - and indexing it to inflation has massive approval in the polls - in the 70%+ range.
Doug