Sen. Kennedy shows outrage on minimum wage

It's been 10 years since the federal minimum wage was raised to $5.15 per hour. The House Democrats made raising the federal minimum wage one of their top priorities during the recent "first hundred hours" push. It passed.

As the measure moved over to the Senate, Sen. Edward Kennedy, the longtime Massachusetts Democrat, pushed hard for its passage. Yet, the bill has faced numerous amendments and offers of tax breaks for small businesses, making the passage difficult. The situation has frustrated Democrats, to say the least. And to say Kennedy was upset is an understatement. He went to the Senate floor Thursday evening and raged about the situation -- raged. He gave a red-faced and fiery speech that should be electrifying to everyone.

Kennedy's outrage should be echoed by every decent person in a position to help America's wage workers. Despite the fact that many states have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum, that we allow employers to pay someone $5.15 for an hour's work is shameful. Washington state's minimum is now $7.93, the nation's highest, and there has been little evidence of the higher wage slowing the state's economy.



-- Wenatchee, Wash.