"In the House debate last week, opponents again claimed that the small business community is vehemently opposed to an increase. They think small businesses will suffer or collapse even with our modest increase. "That's preposterous. A recent Gallup poll found that 86% of small business owners don't think that the minimum wage affects their business-at all. In fact, small businesses have historically prospered after past increases. More than half the states have already acted to increase minimum wages above the federal level today, and these states are generating more small businesses than states with a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) also compromised with Republicans in order to get the sweeping ethics legislation passed last week -- isn't it amazing how much you have to compromise with the GOP to get an ethics bill passed? -- and has promised to bring a measure by Judd Gregg (R-NH) to give a line-item veto to the president to the floor for a vote this week. The Senate's not about to give the line-item veto to the most incompetent president in U.S. history and it is my hope that Democrats will soundly reject the bill calling for more business tax cuts and pass a clean minimum wage bill to help the five million additional Americans who have slipped into poverty during the Bush years. With the minimum wage at its lowest buying power in 50 years and with a presidential election and more huge Congressional elections coming in 2008, I say let the schmucks on the other side of the aisle filibuster or vote against it. Then we simply hang that giant rock around their necks for the next election and, being the majority party and all, simply keep bringing economic justice to the floor of the Senate until it passes. Said Kennedy in the Senate yesterday: "Americans understand the issues of fairness. They understand the importance of work. Americans have believed, for a long period of time, if you work hard and play by the rules, you should not have to live in poverty in the United States of America." You can read more from Bob at BobGeiger.com.