what you want is legislation that readjusts the minimum wage on a yearly basis relative to inflation, after you set a floor that is considered liveable.

the united states has a magic check book and can borrow all it wants, and that sounds incredible, but so long as it's the hegemon, it's true. that is not true in any of the satellites, like canada, which are subject to fiscal discipline by the imf in terms of ratings degradations. it follows that whether is pollin is right about the longterm effects of borrowing or not is a function of whether america can retain it's hegemony, which is not clear. if i was an american policy maker, i wouldn't put all my eggs in the assumption of perpetual hegemony, at least.

taxing the rich is so painless for them that the state should be really pushing a mass education campaign about it, targeted at the higher tax brackets....including educating them about what happens if the status quo carries forwards.