Press Release

Contact:
Nathan Atkins
Candidate for Minnesota State Representative
District 63A
Nate Atkins for State House
5508 Bryant Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55419
natkins99@gmail.com


For Immediate Release:
DESPITE POOR JOB NUMBERS AND A SPUTTERING RECOVERY, DFL CANDIDATE KELLIHER WANTS TO RAISE MINNESOTA’S MINIMUM WAGE

June 9th 2010, DFL gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher announced Friday she wants to boost the state's minimum wage by $1.50.

Lagging behind in the polls, DFL endorsed gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher took the opportunity Friday to take a shot at her Republican challenger Tom Emmer and his suggestion of lowering the state’s minimum wage for hospitality employees who earn tips. Not be to be outdone however, Kelliher, who wasn’t merely willing to concede in leaving the minimum unchanged, stated she actually wants to raise the state’s minimum.
Kelliher’s proposal would bring the minimum wage to $7.65 for employers with annual sales more than $625,000. The minimum wage would rise to $6.75 for small employers, with annual sales less than $625,000.
Stating her contention that Emmer was “out of touch with the challenges facing hard-working families struggling in this economy”, Kelliher went on to state that during “these difficult times we shouldn’t be cutting wages for middle-class families.”
“Kelliher would far better serve the people of the state of Minnesota were she to take a basic economics class,” says Nathan Atkins, candidate for the State House of Representatives in District 63A. “I don’t honestly know how you can keep a straight face in citing hard-working families who are struggling while telling some of them you’ve every intention of raising their labor costs. I think what is truly out of touch is Kelliher’s insistence that middle-class families are the ones holding minimum wage jobs. According to U.S. Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics), the bulk of workers at or below the minimum wage in earnings are young individuals not families as Kelliher contends. Further still, half of those workers are under the age of 25. A quarter of those workers are between the ages of 16-19. ” Atkins goes on to state, “Raising the minimum wage will do nothing but prevent unskilled workers from the opportunities of gaining employment. Furthermore, if Kelliher believes that raising the minimum wage will help middle class families, why not raise it to $10 per hour? Or, better yet, $15? That may require employers to pay their now minimum wage workers more money but they will compensate for such a requirement by laying others off, and hiring far fewer – resulting in rising unemployment.”

As Candidate for Minnesota State Representative in District 63A, I have a different idea about what our state needs in a representative. We need representatives who can understand the immediate and long-term impacts of their actions and decisions. While most politicians only care about winning the next election and hence only seek to examine the short-term impacts of their actions, I care about the future generations of Minnesotans and will understand how my decisions will affect the future as well as the now.