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GOP hits Pelosi's 'hypocrisy' on wage bill

washingtontimes.com — House Republicans yesterday declared "something fishy" about the major tuna company in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco district being exempted from the minimum-wage increase that Democrats approved this week. -No surprise here...

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  • randf, on 10/12/2007, -20/+31i expected nothing less from Partisan Pelosi, self appointed most powerful woman on earth.
    • effektz, on 10/12/2007, -17/+9After how bad the repubs messed up I actually had hope for the dems over the next two years. I can understand the reasoning, 75% of an islands work force employed by one company, and if they "can't" afford to pay the higher wages, why not go over seas (even more)? But it's not an excuse.
    • NoStoppingUs, on 10/12/2007, -9/+16culture of corruption what?
    • iam413x, on 10/12/2007, -19/+4Not surprised either. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. All we can hope for is that she won't be as corrupt as some of the Republicans.
    • anicejew, on 10/12/2007, -14/+8Solution: vote republican.
    • UGM2099, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), applies generally to employment within American Samoa as it does to employment within the United States. The minimum wage rates for American Samoa are set by a special industry committee (29 U.S.C. 205, 29 C.F.R. Part 511) appointed by the U.S. Department of Labor, as required by the Act. The rates are set for particular industries, not for an employee's particular occupation. The rates are minimum rates (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(3)); an employer may choose to pay an employee at a rate higher than the rate(s) for its industry.

      http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/americanSamoa/ASminwage.htm



      check out this PDF: http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/americanSamoa/ASminwagePoster.pdf

      Minimum wage there used to range from $2.50/hr to $4/hr
    • anicejew, on 10/12/2007, -12/+5"i expected nothing less from Partisan Pelosi, self appointed most powerful woman on earth."

      Yeah like Bush is a non-partisan archangel of moderation and justice!! My ass!! Get bent.
    • MrOrange49, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Raising the federal minimum wage is a bad idea. Raising the federal minimum wage by 40% is insane. Its amazing how many people don't see how this affects everyone, especially small business. Small companies here in the US will be hurt much worse than a large company like Starkist.
    • deadprez, on 10/12/2007, -12/+6Can you wait for something of substance to condemn Pelosi over besides some exemption for American Samoa and some cannery. Twelve years of Republican corruption/favoritism seems to have dulled me to such minor quibbles. Maybe she can molest teenagers or be paid off to support worthless billion dollar weapons systems, or possible start a war on distorted information. Then I can get right on board! Those whacky Republicans whining over American Samoa. Hard to believe they even believe it.
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6@deadprez

      Sure, we could. However, she's trying it within the "First 100 hours". That just smacks of extreme arrogance(not that there is a short supply of that on capital hill these days).
    • timbellomo, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3San Francisco's minimum wage is already $9.14/hour. (Nancy Pelosi district is *basically* made up of San Francisco)

      what's the big deal?
    • apisatrox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Come on, the current minimum wage there is 3 bucks.
    • knucklebusted, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This is EXACTLY why the minimum wage should not be raised. It will force the low end of the labor market out of work.
  • brorobin, on 10/12/2007, -14/+24Shameful, shameful, shameful!
  • LMControl, on 10/12/2007, -16/+34Barely in office a week and already she's showing what a corrupt politician she is. This is not a coincidence that the head of a major corporation from her hometown who has donated to her campaign has already reaped some rewards from Queen "P."
    • krewemaynard, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

      Said it before and I'll say it again.
  • tmessing, on 10/12/2007, -12/+34" The bill also extends for the first time the federal minimum wage to the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. However, it exempts American Samoa, another Pacific island territory that would become the only U.S. territory not subject to federal minimum-wage laws."

    "One of the biggest opponents of the federal minimum wage in Samoa is StarKist Tuna, which owns one of the two packing plants that together employ more than 5,000 Samoans, or nearly 75 percent of the island's work force. StarKist's parent company, Del Monte Corp., has headquarters in San Francisco, which is represented by Mrs. Pelosi."

    So much for Pelosi wanting an honest government.




  • mikeg79, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23This is very disappointing.
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Only if you really expected the pork to stop. Otherwise, it's just a confirmation of what you already know.
  • Equalizer, on 10/12/2007, -6/+24Why is everyone surprised? Did you honestly think she was going to be "above board"? This is precisely what will lose them the houses and WH in 2008
  • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23Draining the swamp, indeed. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who tries to defend this is so ***** up by BDS that they truly live in a different world.
    • drterylene, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I'll tell you what the Libs' strategy will be. They will defend it by claiming the Conservatives are grasping at straws and that this is a witch hunt. They will also whine about how they haven't even given her two weeks before the attacks began and to give her time to get settled. Then they will minimize the validity of this by asking, "Since when do the Conservatives care about American Samoa? They probably didn't even know it was an American territory until it served their purpose. Now all of a sudden they care about American Samoa." I also wouldn't be surprised to hear them ask why the Conservatives are so upset since they were against the minimum wage increase anyway...they should be glad it wasn't raised in American Samoa. I guarantee you will hear some, if not all these arguments within the next few days...if this ever reaches the MSM that is.
    • bdrydyk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'd just like to note that as a California Democrat, I hold Pelosi up to a much higher standard than I ever would hold a Republican Congressman. I've already emailed her and George Miller, who drafted the bill. I've voiced my disappointment, just as I did with the 5-day work week issue.

      My point is that all the "How are Dems gonna spin this" comments are inflammatory, and in my case, absolutely off base. I do not feel the need justify the behavior of the people that represent me. If the behavior doesn't change, these individuals will permanently lose my vote.

      I've always thought that the personality traits which lead me to the Democratic party include my strong belief in the "don't throw stones..." principle. As a result, when my party takes away my ability to criticize, for example, Tom Delay pulling this same stunt with the Mariana Islands, it is a very serious issue for me.
    • robofetus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2As usual, p0s3r, you miss the mark.

      I have no love for Pelosi, or even for a federally mandated minimum wage. The fact is, however, that there are plenty of good reasons not to extend a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to a territory whose per capita GDP is $8000 (substantially lower than other American territories, like Northern Mariana, Guam, Puerto Rico), and dominated by a huge mainland business--ironically, most of them are the reasons that Republicans were trumpeting when they opposed raising it (or do you still? I can't even tell anymore). Small businesses would get destroyed--the only business that could even exist in AS if you were to enact this minimum wage increase there would be StarKist.

      Is that what you're advocating, just because you think it makes Pelosi look bad?
    • wiggles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@robofetus

      Ahh, but you forget your economic theory. Since Del Monte is the largest injector of capital to the Samoan economy, by increasing the minimum wage, they will be forced to inject 120% (not sure on that figure) more money into the Samoan economy. That money will trickle down to the small businesses through the Del Monte employees they support, growing the economy substantially. Conversely, if Del Monte would pull out, then the money they inject into the economy would dwindle until the economy was destroyed -- see many of the rust belt factory towns to see what happens when the big company pulls out of a small community.The down side is that they'll be forced to pass their additional labor cost on to consumers, which means that the price of tuna will go up by some percentage.

      This is straight-up Keynesian Economics 101.

      For more info, see this article on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplier_effect
    • wiggles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3As a corrolary to my above argument, this is one of the few places I agree with a minimum wage law. Minimum wage laws are unnecessary when the median household income is well above a liveable standard, such as in the mainland US. But in an area where average annual income is somewhere around $8k, this can only be a good thing for the local economy at the very small expense of the aggregate US economy.
  • DanThePainter, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8In its old "Charley the Tuna" ads, Starkist used to say that it doesn't want tuna with good taste, but rather tuna that taste good. To the extent that Starkist doesn't want House Speakers with good taste, it seems to have what it wants in Nancy Pelosi........>>
    http://powerlineblog.com/archives/016478.php
  • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13Watch this get buried.
  • zizzybaloobah, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15Best quote from the article: "A spokeswoman for Mrs. Pelosi said Wednesday that the speaker has not been lobbied in any way by StarKist or Del Monte"

    Ok, then at least tell us why American Samoa and Starkist/Del Monte deserve an exemption and why these exemptions were not open for debate by the full house.
    • ldkronos, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2I thought the following quote was better:
      "I was troubled to learn of this exemption," said Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, Illinois Republican.

      So what exactly are the requirements for being a congressman, given that literacy is obviously not one of them. How can you vote for something you haven't even read? Do you just read the title of the proposal and say "eh...that sounds good enough. If there were any critical details, I'm sure they'd be put in large print."
    • kamiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@ldkronos

      The "Read the bill act" needs to get passed so this stops happening.

      http://www.downsizedc.org/read_the_laws.shtml
  • xGORDOx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16The hypocrisy is simply amazing. Can you imagine if this was (R)'s within their first "100 hours"???
    Matt lauer would disapprove, I assure you!
  • diggdog185, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12Do as I say, not as I do.
    Love,
    Nancy (aka: Chicken of the Sea)
  • PoserDad, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10And it begins...
    Same lies, misdirection and corruption, different leadership.
  • musicmantrs, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I better see a KO "special comment" about this...
    • xGORDOx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Yea right.
      (Blatant sarcasm)
      That guy is a shill for the Dems.
  • andydumi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12" Some Republicans who voted in favor of the minimum-wage bill were particularly irritated to learn yesterday -- after their vote -- that the legislation did not include American Samoa. "

    So they voted without reading.... not surprised.
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It was a damned if you do, damned if you don't.

      Anyone who votes against it (including democrats) would be labeled as hating the poor. If they tried to speak out saying "BUT THERE WAS AN EXCEPTION TO CHARLIE THE TUNA..." they'll be drowned out.

      Classic "PORK"

      Just like how Nancy got her San Fran buddy a $1 million project slapped onto the Iraq war declaration. Corrupt to the core. Just a different letter after her name.
    • xGORDOx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Classic "PORK"

      Just like how Nancy got her San Fran buddy a $1 million project slapped onto the Iraq war declaration. Corrupt to the core. Just a different letter after her name."

      QFT!!
  • djSyndrome, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11"Some Republicans who voted in favor of the minimum-wage bill were particularly irritated to learn yesterday -- after their vote -- that the legislation did not include American Samoa."

    I love how our elected officials - from both parties - are voting on legislation that they have *not even read*.
    • kittynipples, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Happens all the time...
    • jdfoote2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6In reality, the sheer volume of bills makes it impossible to read them all thoroughly, but their staffers really should have picked up on this before the bill was passed...
  • DeepDoo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Go Team Jackass!
    Can someone explain to me how this is not a policy of corruption?

  • phiya, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7ya this is so much more devious than getting our country into a trillion dollar war that served no purpose other than to introduce more unstability in the middle east and free iran from the threat of iraqi aggression. DAM THOSE DEMOCRATS!!
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Devious though this may not be. What else will happen down the line since they showed how quickly their hypocrisies will surface?
  • kittynipples, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Minimum wage, if there is going to be such a thing, should be a state (or territorial) mandate, and not passed at the federal level.
    • UGM2099, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Right... do you know how low wages would be in some places if this were the case?
    • superheroboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4So people would go live where wages were higher. Let the states compete, I say.
    • kittynipples, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Or they could elect people locally who better represent their interests. But instead, we currently have representatives from California and New York telling the people in Oklahoma and Nebraska what is best for them. That's not how federalism is supposed to work.
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@UGM2099: Do you realize how quickly people will catch a $40 greyhound bus ride to the next state?

      New York State is losing population because of high taxes. It works the same way.

      Don't pay enough, people leave.

      Take too much away from people, people leave.
  • UGM2099, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Suck it up, Big Tuna. Pay your workers. I don't look forward to Solid White Albacore costing $2.99 a can but oh well...
  • Automatt, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8You think the minimum wage should apply in AMERICAN SAMOA? It never has before.
    • jhubsch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4It never has before in the other territory they extended it to, thus breaking this long-standing exemption.

      Only, they let it stand in the one territory where the Speaker of the House has ties with a company there, thus saving her money.
  • Barbarino, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Business as usual.
  • TheInfamousOne, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2On front page now, Digging up for all to see. Most Politicians are corrupt, R/P doesn't matter.
    • zizzybaloobah, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Whadda you mean most? I think it's much much higher than that!
  • drjekelmrhyde, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5If this is all the GOP can come up with they'll catch hell in 08
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well, since it happened during their "First 100 hours," it's just begging to be pointed out.
    • zizzybaloobah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4All depends on whose measure of 100 hours you're using. Apparently they didn't mean 100 elapsed hours (I think that was rather obvious), but who woulda thunk they meant '100 legislative hours' and weren't going to include time spent on anything other than the items they intended to pass. What a crock of sh**. But what else would you expect from politicians?

      http://digg.com/political_opinion/Clock_ticking_on_Democrats_100_hour_agenda
  • mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -10/+7Haha, the conservative crack team from one of the right-wing websites has invaded the digg comment section.
  • robofetus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14I agree that it looks suspect, but don't you guys think it's possible, just possible, that American Samoa's economy is pretty different from the mainland's, and that changing the minimum wage there might have adverse effects that wouldn't apply here (particularly for Samoan small businesses)?

    Chill for a second, and think this through. Equally troubling in this article is the revelation that many Republican (and presumably Democratic as well) congresspeople voted for this bill without even reading it thoroughly enough to realize that it wasn't what they wanted. Where's the outrage on that one?
    • mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5There's a right-wing website dedicated to spreading propaganda on digg. They managed to twist the truth around to make the story appear as something it's not.
    • kittynipples, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Since when did economics play any significant role in the actions of politicians?
    • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Please explain what possible economic differences that could justify not giving these people the same minimum wage that is being applied to every other part of the United States and all of it's territories? What could make America Samoa so unique? Besides the fact that company that employs 75% of the populace also happens to be headquartered in the Speaker of the House's hometown?
    • amightywind, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1Why *****? Because the people there have brown skin?

      'One nation under God with liberty and justice for *all*'
    • kittynipples, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Well, you could probably start by doing a cost of living comparison, but that's just the voice in my head talking...
    • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Did the voice in your head suggest they do the same thing to all the other regions affected by the new minimum wage? No? Funny that.
    • kittynipples, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Lol, you must have skipped over the comment of mine where I don't support a "one size fits all" federal minimum wage in the first place.
    • robofetus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Right, I'm racist because I'm suggesting possible reasons behind this that are economic, rather than sleazy.

      The truth is that American Samoa's GDP per capita is about $8000 (or, in other terms, slightly lower than Turkmenistan's). Raising the minimum wage there to $7.25 wouldn't be a kind gesture, it would be catastrophic for their economy. Small businesses would be virtually unable to function. Bear in mind, I'm not an economist or a genius, nor do I claim to be. I just thought about the issue for one damn second before I started spouting off nonsense.

      Now maybe you could make an argument that you think that Del Monte should be bound by the minimum wage laws in their HQ's location (although it wouldn't be backed by any legal precedents, so far as I know). At least they'd be able to pay it (although this type of measure too would devastate the American Samoan economy, as it would grossly destabilize it).
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3MrMANASS sounds paranoid. What is this "right-wing" website that has a sole purpose of commenting on Digg?

      Come on... tell us.
    • xGORDOx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Yea right? A website dedicated to influencing Digg? - I thought Daily Kos was a "left wing" website.
  • panhandle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3

    I'll never understand how the American political system works... How can you even justify passing minimum wage legislation that would exclude some people.

    Then turn around and complain about all the illegals working in your country.

    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It's hard to get Mexicans to swim to American Samoa I guess.
  • reed311, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Guys, the United States owns other territory besides American Samoa. They also own Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. None of those had their minimum wage increased either, so stop making this out to be a big conspiracy.
    • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Read the article. All territories are affected except AS.
    • drterylene, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Looks like reed311 is just another Liberal who can't read. Maybe he should run for Congress.
  • apisatrox, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6 AS (American Samoa) has always had special minimum wage:

    http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm
  • mrgreen4242, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Not looking for flames, or trying to be a troll, just an honest question: was the American Samoa already exempt from minimum wage laws? Sounds like there were two exempt territories before and now just one. If that was the case I can see this being fishy (no pun intended) but not outright crooked. If the bill, however, removed min. wage laws from the Samoas and added them to this other territory then it's pretty bad.
  • ChiefUCF, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2"With great power there must also come great responsibility."

    - Stan Lee
  • bloodguard, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4Meh, Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. I'm more surprised at how shocked people are about this.
  • amightywind, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2What sleaze! It will be interesting to follow the trail of Starkist money to the pockets of the dems. This might give President Bush an opportunity to veto. I demand a full investigation!

    I am surprised Barney Frank acted so angrily. People who are 'light in the loafers' are usually more affable.
    • armyvet, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2He had something stuck in his mouth. He was upset because he had to pull it out to talk.
  • stfudumbass, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3This is pure bull *****. They come in all holier than now, bitching about special perks and cutting down lobbiest infulence...and then they pull this crap.

    2 years of more lies....never believe a politician
  • armyvet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Hey, look at it from the positive side. While everyone else is raising their prices to cover the increase in paying minimum wage workers (those that actually HAVE minimum wage workers), StarKist Tuna won't be raising the price of their tuna since they can continue paying their non-union illegal alien workers below minimum wage.
    -------------------sarcasm off------------------
    Man, the real question is, which side of this the demlibs will come down on. Support Bela Pelosi or support illegal alien workers who are not represented by a union or support the union who are against hiring illegal aliens. I'd hate to be a liberal.

    Off course, they'll raise their prices. Perfect opportunity!
  • marklj, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4And story has been buried.

    Good job dems, way to exercise your right of censorship.
  • zevgreen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1disgusting. Unless they can explain why A.S. is somehow different, I can't see why they would be excluded except for nefarious reasons.
  • DigiRaven, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3why is this article getting buried?
    • marklj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Seriously, do you really have to ask that question?
    • xser, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4It frames the bill in a grossly inaccurate way. While many facts are included, it is biased as a political attack, while ignoring the real story of why American Samoa has not been included in this or previous minimum wage bills.
    • drterylene, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Actually, the real reason American Samoa has been exempted is crystal clear. More Libral hypocrisy and underhanded dealing.
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@xser

      As opposed to the last 6 years of reports about bush? It's been a while since I've read an unbiased article.
    • xGORDOx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1There are inbiased articles on Digg?
      I'm new here - just wondering.
    • DigiRaven, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yes why is this buried that I asked. First 100 hours and we already see some sort of corruption. Why not? Article is buried do to the fact it was negative towards a democrat? If that is the case then digg has become very sad indeed.
  • William01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1At first I doubted the veracity of this, as the source is the newspaper equivalent of Fox News and owned by a cult leader. But here is the same story in the Washington Post:
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/08/AR2007010801641.html

    I'm no fan of WaPo, but they're distinctly more reliable than the Washington Times. We should all (Democrats and Republicans and everyone else) raise a stink about this and have Samoa included.
  • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2You're kidding me. American Samoa? Why don't you go over there and check the standard of living.

    Applying the US minimum wage there could easily cause massive inflation in the entire economy by raising the minimum wage to higher than the average wage, or even the wage of high earners.
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They didn't calculate the standard of living per area, they just applied a blanket increase.
    • justthisguyyano, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It will do the same thing here on the mainland. Inflation and Higher unemployment will follow.

      I work for a medium sized University and we are already making decisions about which students workers to let go when the wage hike hits. Forget Tuna fish, how much is your Big Mac gonna cost when the burger flipper is pulling down $7.25/hr?
    • vhold, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think we'll see fast food places cutting back on the hours but not necessarily the number of overall employees. They want to be staffed for the lunch and dinner rushes, and they don't want to sticker shock the customer with high prices, just expect to get worse service on the off hours.

      I already see this in the Bay Area where some fast food places will have a single employee manning the entire restaurant during drive-thru only hours at night. When they take their government mandated break, they basically replace the drive-thru screen with "Please Wait", the whole thing halts and people are trapped in the line.
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Everyone should go and ask their boss for a $2 an hour raise. Without getting a raise to match minimum wage increase it, you'll have just gotten a pay CUT after inflation rears it's ugly head.
  • warmonger48, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I think there is something weird going on here that should be investigated, but I don't buy the fact that the Republicans are trying to act all offended about one area not getting a minimum wage increase. They've been freezing minimum wage for almost 10 years now on the whole country, I guess they're equal opportunity jackasses. They did managed to give themselves a 3000 dollars a year raise last year.

    I also think Pelosi wasn't the right choice for speaker, shes a nutjob but instead of being from a red-state shes from a blue-state. Same $hit different party.
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's called calling out your "enemy's" hypocrisy when you see it.
    • xGORDOx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yup. If it had been the (R)'s, the (D)'s would have already had a press conference.
      Serioulsy.
  • xser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It seems people are reading this as a new exemption. One exemption was removed while the other was not.

    "The bill also extends for the first time the federal minimum wage to the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. However, it exempts American Samoa, another Pacific island territory that would become the only U.S. territory not subject to federal minimum-wage laws."
    • dygel, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Correct.And as to why they wouldn't allow an amendment, that would take the bill off the floor for the time being. When you're trying to get 6 pieces of legislation passed and out the door, that won't happen if you're taking bills off the floor.

      Fishy? Maybe. I've seen nothing that suggests Pelosi actually benefits from this arrangement. Pelosi also did not write the bill, nor was she listed as a cosponsor. Corrupt? Please. Don't waste my time with your knee jerking. Like the Republicans would ever get off their ass to introduce wage hike legislation for anyone, let alone the American Samoans, of their own accord?
    • SkaGoblin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Exactly right, the minimum wage doesn't apply to American territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, etc.) The exemption was lifted for the Northern Marianas because it was rife with worker abuses. Garment workers with forced prostitution and abortions, slave wages, and dormitories surrounded by barbed wire. Garment workers whose products could be labeled "Made In America" because it was owned. The whole thing was a pet project of Abramhoff and his backers, and supported by Delay and his ilk. Delay even said that the the Marianas were a beacon for capitalism and stands for everything the Republican Party stands for (I am technically paraphrasing because I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but it is damn close)
  • DerekV, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4Alright by reading the first paragraph in this article it makes it seem like she exempted a company in her district from the minimum wage laws. But not so, the minimum wage just didn't go up in American Samoa.

    "The minimum wage rates for American Samoa are set by a special industry committee (29 U.S.C. 205, 29 C.F.R. Part 511) appointed by the U.S. Department of Labor, as required by the Act."
    http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/americanSamoa/ASminwage.htm

    So if their is a special industry committee to set minimum wages in America Samoa why should minimum wage be set in this federal law Pelosi pushed? Oh and its nice to see republicans are voting on ***** they haven't even read.

    Keep trying republicans, keep trying
    • xGORDOx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The parent company is in San Fran - guess which company doesn't have to pay more to their employees??

      Hint: The company is in San Fran.

      Guess who represents San Fran?

      Hint: Pelosi

      Black & White to me.
  • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Pelosi is trying to push through all sorts of legislation w/o debate as part of the "100 hours" promise. I wonder how many other carve outs and NoCal hand outs are stuffed in there.
  • dime, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I personally love this...

    "I am shocked," said Rep. Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican and his party's chief deputy whip, noting that Mrs. Pelosi campaigned heavily on promises of honest government. "Now we find out that she is exempting hometown companies from minimum wage. This is exactly the hypocrisy and double talk that we have come to expect from the Democrats."

    Replace "minimum wage" with "corporate accountability" and "Democrats" with "Republicans" and it's a line I heard three months ago. The best part about it is all the halfbreeds throwing their arms in the air screaming "OH MY GOODNESS!", as if the Republicans haven't been doing it for 6 years. Face it, suckers, both parties are two sides of the same coin... and the country will continue to go down the ***** until we toss partisanship aside and actually act in the best interests of America.

    Of course, that'll never happen, so we may as well enjoy it while it lasts.
    • musicmantrs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It is the "Holier than thou" attitude that Pelosi and other Democrats have had. They claim it will uncorruptable (guess we didn't read the fine print that said except for Pelosi) and will have a true 5-day work week; you may know that they have yet to have a 5 day work week. Two wrongs don't make a right.
    • chriskzoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Not only that, they have really only stretched the 2-day work week to 2½ days. Personally, I say collapse it to 0 days to give them less time to ***** things up.
  • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Wow, the diggerals buried this story faster than a Jew in the West Bank. Unreal.
  • kenwestin, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Flagged as inaccurate, this is too much of a stretch. To blame Pelosi for this is far fetched. American Samoa has been exempt from minimum wage laws for quite some time and the primary reason for this is due to competition from overseas, primarily from South America and South Asia. Their representive Eni Faleomavaega is the one fighting to exempt American Samoa not Pelosi. If the minimum wage is raised, the canneries will leave Samoa which would destroy the economy of American Samoa and leave them on welfare. 40% of the islands population are employed by these canneries.

    If this is the best Republicans can "digg" up regarding Pelosi? Come on there has to be something better.
    • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Why does that work for the canneries in AS, but not for the rest of the businesses in the US & it's territories? Is everyone else somehow shielded from foreign competition?
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Everyone pins anything they can to bush.

      It's just amusing to see the same treatment of a Democrat. And of course, all her supporters pop out of the wood work just like bush's do.
    • vhold, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What's inaccurate about this story? Maybe what the GOP said is inaccurate or misleading, but this story is reporting that people did in fact say these things. You're just shooting the messenger and the message.
    • kenwestin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Geography and industry.It is the elected representative of Samoa fighting to not raise minimum wage. In most cases in other regions there are other industries that would soften the blow if manufacturing for example was wiped out (as it has in the US), workers can be retrained, move to a different location etc. This is not so easy in American Samoa. I am not saying it is right, just saying why, but to pin this on Pelosi is just *****.
  • timbellomo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2San Francisco's minimum wage is already $9.14/hour. (Nancy Pelosi district is *basically* made up of San Francisco)

    what's the big deal?
    • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Umm... b/c this isn't about SF? It's about America Samoa. Did you bother to read the article?
    • timbellomo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@p0s3r

      Has the federal minimum wage in the past ever applied to American Samoa? No. It doesn't seem unusual that it wouldn't suddenly be included... Having said that, do I think it ought to be included. Sure; but I'm not going to mudsling and cry "scandal" and pretend that this is equivalent in any way to no-bid contracts for Halliburton, or Constitutional violations, or cover-ups of inappropriate sexual misconduct with a minor.

      I'm refuting the description and first part of the article that say that Pelosi exempted her district.
    • p0s3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"House Republicans yesterday declared "something fishy" about the major tuna company in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco district being exempted from the minimum-wage increase that Democrats approved this week. "

      Where in there does it say her district was being exempted? It says a major tuna company in her district. Which it is, Starkist's cannery in AS is being exempted. If they all of a sudden included every single other territory that hadn't previously been under federal minimum wage laws, why would they leave out AS?
    • armyvet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0timbellomo said, "inappropriate sexual misconduct with a minor."

      Good point, we'd certainly want to clarify that so as not to include a certain president who conducted inappropriate sexual misconduct in the Oval Office uh?
    • timbellomo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1@armyvet
      Keyword is MINOR!

      There you go again trying to compare apples to oranges
    • armyvet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0timbellomo,

      Actually, there you go again...trying to disregard inappropriate sexual misconduct. I'm not excusing former Rep Foley. But it sure seems like you're excusing a certain former President.

      So, there YOU go again, typical liberal
  • DannoJyD, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I believe that the hypocracy is blatant as those working feverishly to give Pelosy a pass would be raving if it was the Republicans doing this.

    Democrats are always allowed to be held to a lower standard by America's liberals. This topic proves that assumption quite well.
    • chriskzoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2That's because their entire power base is "lower standard."
  • SamMcPhy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Pelosi has now demonstrated she is just as crooked as ex Texas Representative Tom DeLay (R). However, I doubt Delay had a corrupt self serving provision in the first bill the Republicans submitted when they took over from the Democrats. Rush Limbuagh usually corrects people when they call our system of government a Democracy saying we are a Constitutional Republic. Maybe on paper we're a Constitutional Republic but I say in practice we're a Plutocracy (government by the rich for the rich). A start like this makes one wonder what's next.
  •  

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