Two weeks ago Pinellas County resident (and one time Occupy Tampa member) Pepe Kovanis greeted Congressman Bill Young at a 4th of July event and asked him about legislation proposed in the House that would raise the minimum wage up from $7.25 to $10.00 per hour.
Young's response – that Kovanis needed to "Get a job"- went around the world. Well, at least around the Internet. The encounter was filmed and posted by the Florida Consumer Action Network, and was then written about on a variety of lean-leaning blogs. It was a bad moment for the 81-year-old Pinellas County Representative, who appeared insensitive to a legitimate policy question.
It obviously made a mark on Young. A constituent of his sent us an email he received from the Congressman on Monday. It begins this way:
Legislation has been introduced to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.00 per hour, a 38 percent increase.
Given the fragile economy and an unemployment rate that has remained above 8 percent for 41 straight months, I am asking for your thoughts on the impact an increase in the federal minimum wage would have on your business at this current time.
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2012.
