You gotta hand it to the Repubs. There is no bottom to their deviousness and cynicism. Now, finally, after years of resistance, they say they’ll approve a minimum wage increase. But only if it comes coupled with estate tax breaks for billionaires. So far they haven’t figured out a way to work gay wetback flag burners into this calculus, but give them time.

UPDATE: Here’s the NY Times story. Raising the limit on estates? Fine. Giving those with more than $25 million estates a 33 percent tax cut in return for giving working poor people a raise up to an hourly wage not enough to sustain life? Typical Republican B.S. This is literally a multi-billion dollar gift to the Waltons, who’ve been paying to wage this battle. Are we really going to throw scraps to poor people to feed the silver-spoon Walton heirs. How about we increase the minimum wage commensurate with their gains in the estate tax?

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UPDATE II: Only Rep. Vic Snyder among Arkansans voted against this sleazy ployh. Reps. Ross and Berry were among the 34 Democrats who joined hands with Republicans to use poor people as a fig leaf to grease the wealthy.

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