2.9.2007+Do+I+Smell+Waffles?

By: Lauren Greenwood

Bill O’Reilly once said, “Our philosophy is ‘we call it as we see it.' Sometimes you agree, sometimes you don't. Robust debate is good.”

Like most of what Bill O’Reilly says, this is correct and I can only hope that his statement is true for our 110th Congress. Since the Democratic party has control of both chambers for the first time in over a decade, we can only hope they know what they’re doing with the responsibilities of being in the majority position. Given that they were in the majority for quite a while, maybe they know a thing or two, and maybe they've learned from their mistakes.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi had promised that the new Democratic era would get off to a quick start prompting many quick changes. But these quick changes have yet to be seen regarding what the Democrats have been complaining about for the past three years: Iraq. In Pelosi's first 100 legislative hours, her priorities included such things as a minimum wage increase and the adoption of the September 11th commission's recommendations.

Aside from the fact that raising the minimum wage will devastate the economy because it generates unemployment among workers willing to supply labor at the minimum wage rate, the fact that the wage is inadequate for anyone to live off of no matter how high it is raised, and the major fact that minimum wage is a give-away because an individual should receive the value of his or her productive contribution, this is proof that the Democrats have already lied to us. But have they really lied to us, or are we deceiving ourselves? Did we, or rather can we expect the same sluggish bureaucracy to actually change? The minimum wage protects workers from employers that would seek to devalue their "productive contribution." In order to abolish a minimum wage, we'd have to assume all employers are looking out for the best of their employees and have no thoughts about the bottom line of their business. Were it a perfect world, that would make sense, but here-- here we have to watch not to get burned.

Seeing as Steny Hoyer (the House Majority Leader) has said, “The Iraqis have to understand that there is a time frame,” and “Our commitment is substantial, but it is not unending,” one would assume that the first priority of Democrats would be regarding Iraq. But apparently minimum wage is more important than a war…go figure. Ah wait. I remember. There is a huge division about the war. And it won't be fixed in a second, or even a year. It would take a lot more than 100 hours to get even a respectable dialogue going. And seeing how Hoyer had said that our commitment was not unending (but that means will end and needs an end date) yet he wants a time-table (for the aforementioned end date), a device used to signify when our commitment will end, does not make my predictions for a Democratic failure any less substantial. But still, there is hope. If we are not willing to give up on the 110th Congress, and not condemn them to wafflery with our preconceptions.

Do I smell waffles?

No, it’s just a Democratic takeover…Same thing? Think again.