Paul Pelosi's $17 million Is More Important Than American Samoan Lives
By Erick Posted in Democrats — Comments (31) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
UPDATE: It has come to our attention that sourcing for the claim that Paul Pelosi might have a financial stake in Del Monte via an investment in Heinz is dubious. We regret the error.
During the 2006 House campaigns the Democrats famously ran without an agenda until, toward the end, they kinda needed to say something. So what did they say?
Well, Nancy Pelosi said, "Millions of Americans are working hard and are unable to get ahead. For the first time in generations, parents worry that their children will not be better off than they are. Working families are being squeezed as their earnings do not meet their needs."
She then went on to offer their plan, which they called a "New Direction for America." To go along with this, America's Mother-in-Law proclaimed
Democrats are fighting for middle-income tax cuts - education, health care and retirement - and fiscal discipline to ensure strong economic growth. Democrats will repeal taxpayer subsidies that promote shipping jobs overseas and we will raise the minimum wage. Democrats will ensure that economic growth benefits all Americans, not just the privileged few.
Apparently, Nancy Pelosi thinks one of the following:
(1) American Samoan are not Americans.
(2) American Samoans are "the privileged few" despite 75% of its workers making less than $3.75 an hour having a 29% unemployment rate.
(3) Mr. Pelosi's $17,000,000.00 investment1 in the majority corporate owner of Starkist Tuna is more important to her than the lives of American Samoans.
(4) It is socially acceptable for Democrats to discriminate against the American Samoan minority.
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Paul Pelosi owns a $17 million investment in H. J. Heinz's company, which in turn owns ~75% of Del Monte Corp's stock. Del Monte is the parent company of StarKist. StarKist Tuna owns one of the two packing plants on American Samoa. Combined both plants employ over 60% of the population paying less than $3.75 a hour in wages. (SOURCE)
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Paul Pelosi's $17 million Is More Important Than American Samoan Lives 31 Comments (0 topical, 31 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
the Dems sacrificing our economy and hurting small business owners, which is exactly what the minimum wage increase will do. Remember, these idiots are also indexing this minimum wage hike to inflation, which may be the most insane thing about the bill.
the economy would be quite worthwhile. The wage hike could always be killed after they said it on the record.
Veritas magna est et praevalet.
first, you aren't taking the high road. You are engaged in deception.
The truthful part is that American Samoa has traditionally been exempted from the minimum wage in the 50 states. So have the Marianas.
This bill pointedly raises the minimum wage in the Marianas but fails to do so in Samoa. The obvious reason is in Erick's footnote.
So you are apparently willing to sacrifice the economy of one depressed insular territory dependent on cheap labor for its garment industry to help Pelosi make her point but unwilling to ruin an economy where she has a financial interest.
The obvious reason is in Erick's footnote.
Is the footnote true? I followed the links and read the updates and it appears the 17 million dollar investment of Mr. Pelosi is unverified and speculative.
Not trying to defend the democrats on this one, but felt compelled to point out that Erik's option #3 feels (to me) over the top. It's a reasonable arguement the amendment excluding Samoa has something to do with Del Monte being located in the speaker's district, but I don't see any facts to back up the implication it is somehow for her personal gain (or husbands).
Cheers!
is now "Bush41 flew on an SR-71 to Paris to negotiate with the Iranians."
I think Erick's footnote is a substantive as that, and the allegation against Bush resulted in a Congressional investigation.
The American Samoan economy is actually more important that the domestic U.S. economy or the economies of the other U.S. possessions and territories?
Miss Nancy specifically campaigned on making life better for ALL Americans. Please explain why, if $7.25/hour will improve the lives of Americans in Oklahoma City and Eugene, OR, why won't it improve the lives of those in American Samoa?
Additionally, I would really like to hear how the imposition of the minimum wage is going to "cripple the island's economy" when the particular employer in question is a HUGE multinational corporation, whose profit in 2006 was $170M on sales of $3.2B.
Do you actually think that Starkist™ will close their processing plants in American Samoa? Or that massive layoffs will result? Those actions would, in fact, result in the consequences you note. Do you think one of those is probable?
Or will Del Monte either absorb the additional labor cost and see lower margins as a result of the legislation, or will they raise the price of their tuna? Or might they raise prices in other areas of their branded business to recoup the increased labor cost?
Any ideas about that?
The Democrats are now "putting profits over People"? It's just people in one small protectorate of the US. Heck, they don't even get a vote in Congress.
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If "pro" is the opposite of "con", what is the opposite of "progress"...
$2.50 raise for 5000 People, times 40 hours a week, times 4 weeks a month = 2 million... Per month.
2 million per month times 12 months = 24 million Per year
Add in social security and that is another 1.8 million, per year, rounded.
That gives us a total of 25.8 million cost to Starkist, one company, for the "Pelosi" federal increase in minimum wage.
As stated, Current annual profit is 1.7 million (sales is not the bottom line, profit is), then subtract 25.8 million..
If my numbers are right, thats a loss of 24.1 million in the first year.
(Demobrats are not good for business.)
Starkist will raise their prices in the stores, or they will go out of business. (Or they need to fire a whole bunch of people!)
If we knew how many cans of tuna they are selling, we could calculate the new price in the stores.
Will Starkist's competition have their minimum wage raised??
God Bless.
WOOPS
Calculation correction: 170 million minus 24 million = Not a loss! But still a big hit.
My eyes were crossed early this am!
God Bless.
Let's see if the Beltway press corps will start asking hard questions about how much the Pelosi clan has invested in Heinz stock and its current worth.
Some better sourcing would help. The Wikipedia language seems to be brand new, and there's nothing verified out there.
Moreover, American Samoa is still covered by the FLSA on wages.
really isn't the issue. Samoa is allowed to set its minimum wage by industry based on committee action.
So saying Samoa is covered by FSLA when the FSLA allows a minimum wage of $3.62/hr in canneries is not helpful
But let's not be too cute here -- I'm not familiar with the RedState diary series bemoaning the plight of underpaid Samoan workers. Indeed, other than the fact that Samoans are known to do the humpty-hump, I doubt you've given them much thought before this week. This is about scoring cheap points by alleging hypocrisy or worse, but the evidence just isn't there.
As it turns out, according to the Washington Post, Pelosi has now asked that American Samoa be covered under the minimum wage increase.
Raising the minimum wages will make the Somoan tuna factories less competative and make it more likely the companies will close the factories...
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
Would raising the minimum wage in American Samoa be a good thing or a bad thing? Y'all can't have it both ways.
Having it apply to American Somoa will be a very accute example of what happens when the wage rates are artificially raised. Unfortunately, we won't hear about how doubling the wage rate caused mass unemployment on the island. If we hear any reports in the MSM about the factory closures it will be reported that the evil corporations closed the factories in order to inflict the most suffering they could on the population...
If we MUST force wages up in all other U.S. Territories, Somoa should not be exempt. After all, if Ms. Pelosi thinks the minimum wage is great for all Americans, it should apply to ALL Americans. As you say, "Y'all can't have it both ways."
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
This is about scoring cheap points by alleging hypocrisy or worse
I am shocked! to hear that politics are going on here. I'm off over to Kos where such underhanded tactics are not condoned.
Well, if it's about alleging hypocracy, Miss Nancy has nothing to worry about. After all, we all know that only Republicans are hypocrites.
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If "pro" is the opposite of "con", what is the opposite of "progress"...
It was Pelosi and ilk bemoaning the plight of underpaid workers, so long as they aren't profiting from said underpaid workers.
I had no idea Pelosi had such a large investment in the tuna company she is trying to protect. This is a gift from heaven for the Republicans, the should make sure everyone knows Pelosi is trying to protect a corporation she has millions invested in. This should take some of the gleam off the new Congress.
The Republicans should threaten to derail the bill if Samoa is not included, and raise Pelosi's financial ties every time possible.
It's a win-win for Republicans. If the bill does pass with Samoa included, their entire economy collapses. An entire island's economy collapsing will make a much bigger impact in the American psyche on the destructiveness of raising the minimum wage than our total unemployment rate rising a few tenths of a percent.
Hopefully, 70% of the American public won't support an increase in the minimum wage next time the Democrats want to raise it.
"Back in the thirties we were told we must collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich. "
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Raises in the minimum wage, historically, have not caused a an economic catastrophe or even a recession. In the macro level, at worst, a hike of this size will slow economic expansion slightly. On the micro level, however, many low skill employees will lose their jobs and small business owners will not be able to grow their businesses as quickly as they should be able to. This will be a certain painful fact for this group of people regardless of the macro impact.
it will just cause inflation. It won't do much harm but won't actually help anyone either.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
(though I prefer not inserting artificial drags) it will mostly just harm the very group of people it's intended to help.
Socialism doesn't work. It looks nice on paper, but it's been tried and it's failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
go interview all the union workers at her hotel and vineyards. May not be much of an interview but it could be fun watching someone looking for those employees.
"Damnant quod non intellegunt."
According to the wiki, it is, the very same H.J. Heinz Company that gave us Theresa ( or Teresa, if you prefer) Heinz, the widow of John Heinz, former Senator from PA, and current wife of John Kerry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._J._Heinz_Company
I don't know that Theresa and John have much influence with H.J. Heinz, but neither do they have a lot of concern for the Somoans.
Del Monte is headquartered in San Francisco and guess who is a Rep from San Francisco? It seems Pelosi wanted to protect a constituent from the minimum wage increase, hence the hypocrisy.
Heinz has what, $9 billion in annual sales? And we are supposed to believe that raising the minimum wage at one plant in a subsidiary of a subsidiary is going to materially affect the stock price?
Free advice - don't become a stock portfolio manager.
Respectful request - please don't turn RedState into World News Daily, loaded up with sensationalistic and misleading headlines.
The minimum wage is a bad enough idea on its own merits. Why cloud the issue?
Relax. Politics isn't rocket surgery.
In a blatant play to help Starkist.
We should be calling for Congressional Investigations. You're right, of course, that this issue won't impact Del Monte or Heinz one way or the other. So maybe it impacts somebody else, like Paul/Nancy getting paid off by somebody. There should be a complete and thorough investigation of the Pelosi's finances. And hopefully it will take at least two full years.
_______________________________
If "pro" is the opposite of "con", what is the opposite of "progress"...
Why isn't the Speaker of the House required either by rule or tradition to place all of her family assets into blind trust, as the President and Vice President are? This episode shows that she is in a clear position to self-deal through her control over legislation. She most certainly has created the appearance of self-dealing, which would be enough for the MSM to demand (and most likely receive) her head, were she a Republican.
In the private sector, people go to Federal prison all the time for this kind of thing. The insider-trading laws are among those that are more equal than others, and the SEC vigorously enforces them. If their victims are rich and famous enough (Mike Milken, Martha Stewart), they don't even have to be guilty of anything but minor technical violations.
I prefer to take the high road on issues. Pelosi and company certainly do plenty to hang themselves without presenting stories with relevant background missing. This story and others I've read imply that she and the Dems just inserted this into the bill on the sly, when it's actually been a long-standing practice there.
Some good articles on this from "The Hill" that I think is a fair representation of the real background behind this:
The GOP needs to be careful on this one, because if the proposed federal minimum wage was mandated there, it would effectively double the wages there and cripple the island's economy, at a time when it's hurting pretty bad as it is. The Democrats could call their bluff and remove any loopholes American Samoa enjoys now, leaving the Republicans unable to later push any exceptions there without being labeled as hypocrites or flip-floppers.
Sacrificing American Samoa's economy is too high a price to pay to just embarrass the Democrats.