PrintNovember 12, 2009
Graph of the Day for November 12, 2009
"Last year, the New Direction Congress enacted the first minimum wage increase in a decade - which is being implemented in three steps... The previous Republican-controlled Congresses blocked minimum wage proposals from being considered. In 2006 alone, Republicans blocked minimum wage legislation from coming to a vote 11 times. The minimum wage increase passed by the Democratic-led Congress is the first pay raise for working Americans in almost 10 years. This raise is part of our New Direction towards shared prosperity, and is a down payment on a broader American agenda for working families."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in 2008.
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics: Minimum wage, Teen Unemployment.
Hoven's Index for November 12, 2009
Unemployment rate in December 2006 (last month of Republicans controlling both houses of Congress): 4.4%.
Unemployment in October 2009 (after 34 months of Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, and three minimum wage increases in those 33 months): 10.2%.
Source: BLS.
