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gergroy on 25 October 2012
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bluesinG said:
gergroy said:
bluesinG said:
gergroy said:

No, my original claim was that romney consistently supported raising the minimum wage to match inflation.  As in change minimum wage to change every year based off of inflation.

you evidently didnt read my original statement very well.

Ok, in that case the US inflation rate was 3.2% last year, and is averaging about 2% this year. So if Romney were being consistent, he would have said that, right now, he supports a 2 or 3% increase in the minimum wage--from $7.25 to $7.45 per hour. Or, since the current minimum wage was set in 2009, he could have said that supported increasing it to $7.72, to account for inflation since 2009. Instead, he said "Right now there probably isn't a need to raise the minimum wage."

That isn't being consistent.

Source: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/historical-inflation-rates/

It's consistent when somebody says to you, but there is no inflation, or at least it is very minimal, and you say that PROBABLY means minimum wage doesn't need to increased.  You see, you are falling victim to politicanese.  The language politicians use to express opinions that conflict with their base.  What romney is doing in this whole interview, is just qualifying his position, but not abandoning it.

Here is an article from the NYtimes that is pretty good about explaining romney motives and ideology on the matter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/us/politics/mitt-romney-pulled-in-2-directions-over-economy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Here the key section of that article:

When he endorsed inflation indexing during his 2002 campaign for governor, he said it would let businesses plan better than they could with intermittent minimum wage increases at the whim of politicians. “I do not believe that indexing the minimum wage will cost us jobs,” he said. “I believe it will help us to retain jobs.”

He said that again in 2008, during his first presidential campaign, and in January while campaigning in New Hampshire.

But under fire from conservatives, he modified his position, saying that automatic increases in the minimum wage should be suspended in some circumstances, like periods of high unemployment.

So Romney has "modified" his position. You think that modification isn't big enough to say he's been inconsistent. I think it is. I guess we'll have to leave it at that.

One other note: I agree with you, and with the Mitt Romney of 2002-2011, that indexing the minimum wage to inflation is a good idea. And I bet Obama would agree, too.

Obama probably would, but like romney said in the video, democrats like to increase it every few years and make a big "hooplah" out of it. :) As far as i know, Obama has just recomended raising the wage to 9.50.  I like romneys plan better, because, like he said, it gives businesses the ability to plan better because they can better budget in wages and workers will get consistent inflation raises every year.

As far as his modification, yeah we can agree to disagree, because he still supports indexing the minimum wage.