Once again, you'd think shame and self-loathing over such a transparent motive would still their hands...

But it likely won't. That whole "we're gonna raise the minimum wage! We are, but first you gotta get rid of the estate tax and a whole bunch of other things." That whole thing? Just get a load of this:

"The CBO estimates that even under current law a mere 485 small businesses are affected by the estate tax each year — note that that's not 485 thousand or 485 million, it's 485 — and if the exemption were raised to $3.5 million, a change that even Democrats endorse, the number would be reduced to 94.

Ninety. Four. The entire business community is practically giving itself whiplash making a U-turn on the hated minimum wage in order to reduce the estate tax on 94 businesses each year. Wow."

Yeah. Think about that. 94 busineses may qualify for a tax credit that is holding hostage a raise for 6.6 million people.

Jesus wept, I'm disgusted. And you hear all kinds of blather about how the minimum wage should never be tied to inflation for automatic increases. You just can't give the lowest paid among us raises automatically. It leads to the apocalpyse or something. Well, my friends, behold this:

The estate tax exemption, which is $7 million per couple ($3.5 million per individual) in 2009 under current law, would rise gradually starting in 2010, reaching $10 million per couple ($5 million per individual) by 2015, with the exemption amount indexed for inflation after 2015. (emphasis mine) The top estate tax rate, which is set at 45 percent in 2009 under current law, would decrease gradually starting in 2010 to 30 percent by 2015.

Weird. So I guess some things, the really important things, can be indexed to inflation. Just not wages. Just not people's ability to pay their bills, or put food on their table, or provide for their families. Just not that. I repeat, Jesus wept, I am disgusted.