Democrats foil GOP attempt to push estate tax cuts with minimum wage hike |
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Fri, 04 Aug 2006 11:30
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House leaders failed in their effort to push a cut in inheritance taxes, a move designed to favor the super-rich of the US. A GOP bill in which generous tax breaks on multimillion dollar estates were strategically combined with a minimum wage hike was voted down yesterday by the Senate.
Angry Democrats said they had seen through the Republican ploy aimed at giving the ruling party an opportunity to add to their dubious list of achievements during President Bush’s tenure at the White House. GOP leaders believed they could get the Senate to pass cuts on inheritance if they combined it in a bill that sought to increase the federal minimum wage by $2.1.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, touted as a worthy Republican successor to President Bush in 2008 elections, had Democrats would also vote for it. However, the bill was voted 56-42, four short of the required number for the bill to be signed as law.
The GOP believed the move would checkmate Democrats: if they voted for it they would support the Republican effort to pander to the nation’s super rich; if they voted against it they would block the minimum wage hike – something they had themselves been working to achieve.
If passed, the minimum wage hike would be welcomed by labor unions across the US. Frist urged the Senate to rethink on the vote before they meet again in September.
However, the evening at Capitol Hill wasn’t entirely disappointing. The Senate passed pension legislation and sent it to the White House for the president’s approval and signature. The new pension legislation, voted 93-5, brings a host of benefits for the working population of the US: taxpayers would be spared from paying for failed pension plans, workers would be assured of getting the retirement benefits earned and young workers would get incentives if they enroll for 401 (k) plans.
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