• NateNate60@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      My home state of Oregon mandates a minimum wage of $13.20 in rural areas and $15.45 in the Portland metro area, and it adjusts to inflation. Oregon has been governed by Democrats for years. Thanks to these and other laws, I can go down to a McDonald’s and get a job that pays $16-17 an hour to start in my city. TriMet in Portland is always advertising a $28 starting wage for bus drivers (no CDL) up to $37 after three years. Rent in my city is $800-900 for a one-bedroom flat with excellent free public transit and fair bikeability. Fuel prices are reasonable. We have strong protections for tenants against abusive landlords. Strong anti-discrimination laws. Everyone has paid sick days. No regressive sales tax. Working-class people can afford a roof over their heads and decent food on the table.

      Check out the neighbouring state minimum wages.

      • Washington (Democratic government): $16.28
      • California (Democratic government): $16.00
      • Nevada (divided government): $12.00
      • Idaho (Republican government): $7.25

      But yeah, keep harping on about how both parties are the same and that Democrats don’t do more to help the working man.

      • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        My home state of Oregon mandates a minimum wage of $13.20 in rural areas and $15.45 in the Portland metro area, and it adjusts to inflation.

        I was part of that! I was on a team that made a web site that visualized the effect on poverty levels on a county-by-county basis when the minimum wage was at different levels. It made the need for a split minimum wage obvious, since the minimum wage that is necessary for metro areas is inappropriate for rural areas. Rumor has it that the legislature used it in the decision making to some degree.

        • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          I think that’s why it’s important to encourage participation in the primary process. There are the neoliberals mixed in with the social democrats and actual socialists. We should be voting for and supporting the latter in the primaries if we want to influence the party in a leftward direction.

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        That’s actually better than I thought. People in other states are so used to the dysfunction that they literally don’t believe these things are possible.

        • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Good news doesn’t spread as quickly as bad news and rage bait. “McDonald’s Workers Can Afford Flat on 1/3 of Income” isn’t a good headline but “Families Increasingly Priced Out By Red-Hot Housing Market” does.

      • rambaroo@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        None of these are living wages. You don’t get a cookie for doing the bare minimum of keeping people out of effective slavery. Give me a fucking break.

        • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Your other comment says—

          So pathetic how you claim to support democracy but shit on anyone who criticizes your precious political party and then make juvenile excuses for doing so.

          I don’t. But it’s undeniably true that one party is much better, in my opinion, than the other. They aren’t a perfect party but to equate them with the Republican Party simply because they aren’t doing a perfect (or in many cases, even a good) job is stupid.

          Right now, the choices are “bare minimum” or “nothing at all”. These choices are not the same. One is clearly better.

          If you would like a more nuanced opinion then read carefully the rest of my comments in this thread. I’m not going to repeat my points for every person who comes along with the same retort and insult thinking they’ve “got” me.

      • DessertStorms@kbin.social
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        9 months ago

        “Look at how well the democrats allow the capitalists to treat me as they ensure they can continue to exploit my labour for their own profit uninterrupted!!11”

        (seriously - start by looking at those companies profit margins for a tip of the iceberg idea of just how much they are making off of your labour before you do a happy dance over a couple of dollars more they’re willing to throw your way to keep you from demanding actual freedom)

        But yeah, keep harping on about how represented you are in the sham they call electoral politics…

        • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Yes, and that’s because the progressive and left-wing of the Democratic Party is losing a power struggle against the centrists and neoliberals. If you want to change that, be sure to vote in the party primary elections and to encourage everyone you know to do the same.

          Register to vote

    • squiblet@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      There’s an $18 minimum wage in Denver, for instance. Republicans sure as hell didn’t vote for that.