The Albuquerque city council passed the minimum wage compromise 6-3. The ordinance will raise the minimum wage in the city to $6.75 an hour next January 1, to $7.15 a year later and to $7.50 in 2009. Albuquerque joins Santa Fe, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., as the only cities with a municipal minimum. The federal minimum has been $5.15 an hour since 1997.
For some reason NewMexiKen’s laptop would not connect to the wifi in the council chamber and I had to do my live blogging with a borrowed computer (thanks again, Chantal). I’m not certain I had anything much to say anyway, (but check out the good work by the others listed below). Enabled I might have given into an impulse now and then to make some snide remark about someone’s uninformed or ill-informed comment.
For example, one councilor said we are currently enjoying the greatest level of home ownership and “we have the free market to thank for that.” Hmm. I thought we had a high level of home ownership in this country because the tax code permits us to deduct mortgage interest payments. That would seems like government interference in the free market of the first order, but what do I know?
Thanks to Chantal Foster and Duke City Fix for planning and coordinating tonight’s blog-in.
‘Burque Babble
M-Pyre
Democracy for NM
Albloggerque
Duke City Fix
New Mexico FBIHOP
SWOPblogger
Erik Siemer’s Loose Pages