[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1871-S1872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, many of us in the Senate on both sides of 
the aisle support an increase in the minimum wage, and it is clear that 
the vast majority of the American people support an increase, too.
  Last month, the Los Angeles Times conducted a poll of citizens across 
the country. As the results demonstrate, raising the minimum wage has 
extraordinarily high support across the entire spectrum of income 
groups, political party, and every other category, with the possible 
exception of the House Republican leadership.
  Mr. President, I believe that the Los Angeles Times poll will be of 
interest to all of us in Congress, and I ask unanimous consent that it 
may be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the poll was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:
       As you may know, the federal minimum wage is currently 
     $4.25 an hour. Do you favor increasing the minimum wage, or 
     decreasing it, or keeping it the same? (``Eliminate'' was a 
     volunteered response)

[[Page S1872]]
    THE LOS ANGELES TIMES POLL--NATIONAL SURVEY; JANUARY 19-22, 1995    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Keep                              
                           Increase    the   Decrease  Eliminate   Don't
                                      same                         know 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total sample.............       72       24        1          1        2
                          ==============================================
Gender:                                                                 
  Male...................       67       28        1          1        3
  Female.................       76       21        1          -        2
Age:                                                                    
  18-29 years old........       76       19        1          -        4
  30-44 years old........       74       23        -          1        2
  45-64 years old........       69       27        1          1        2
  65 year and older......       69       28        1          1        1
Ethnicity/Race:                                                         
  White..................       67       29        1          1        2
  Black..................       92        5        -          -        3
Income:                                                                 
  Less than $20,000......       80       15        1          1        3
  $20,000-$39,999........       76       21        -          -        3
  $40,000-$59,999........       69       26        1          1        3
  $60,000 and more.......       60       38        -          1        1
Education:                                                              
  High school or less....       79       18        1          -        2
  Some college...........       67       28        1          1        3
  College graduate.......       59       36        1          2        2
Religious background:                                                   
  Protestant.............       72       24        -          1        3
  Catholic...............       72       26        1          -        1
Party affiliation:                                                      
  Democrat...............       85       13        -          -        2
  Independent............       67       28        2          1        2
  Republican.............       62       35        1          1        1
Political ideology:                                                     
  Liberal................       82       16        -          -        2
  Moderate...............       77       21        -          -        2
  Conservative...........       63       33        1          1        2
Voter registration:                                                     
  Registered to vote.....       69       27        1          1        2
  Not registered to vote.       80       16        1          -        3
92 Presidential vote:                                                   
  Clinton................       79       18        -          -        3
  Bush...................       57       39        -          2        2
  Perot..................       64       32        2          -        2
Location of home:                                                       
  City...................       76       21        1          1        1
  Suburb.................       67       29        -          1        3
  Small town.............       72       24        1          -        3
  Rural..................       72       25        -          1        2
National region:                                                        
  East...................       76       21        1          1        1
  Midwest................       67       28        1          1        3
  South..................       74       21        -          1        4
  West...................       71       27        1          -        1
Union membership:                                                       
  Union member...........       82       16        -          -        2
  Nonunion member........       69       26        1          1        3
  Union household........       80       17        -          -        3
  Nonunion household.....       69       27        1          1        2
Gender and party                                                        
 affiliation:                                                           
  Democratic men.........       82       17        -          -        1
  Independent men........       60       35        2          1        2
  Republican men.........       60       36        1          2        1
  Democratic women.......       87       10        -          -        3
  Independent women......       75       21        2          -        2
  Republican women.......       64       35        -          -        1
Gender and age:                                                         
  Men 18-44 years old....       72       23        -          1        4
  Men 45 years and older.       61       35        1          2        1
  Women 18-44 years old..       77       20        1          -        2
  Women 45 years and                                                    
   older.................       76       21        1          -        2
Party and ideology:                                                     
  Liberal Democrats......       85       13        -          -        2
  Other Democrats........       84       13        -          -        3
  Conservative                                                          
   Republicans...........       55       41        1          2        1
  Other Republicans......       73       26        -          -        1
Working people and                                                      
 gender:                                                                
  Working men............       66       28        1          2        3
  Nonworking men.........       71       27        1          -        1
  Working women..........       77       22        -          -        1
  Nonworking women.......       76       19        1          -        4
Class and gender:                                                       
  Male upper class.......       53       45        -          1        1
  Female upper class.....       66       33        -          -        1
  Male middle class......       66       30        1          2        1
  Female middle class....       77       20        1          -        2
  Male working class.....       72       21        -          1        6
  Female working class...       81       16        1          -        2
Gender and race:                                                        
  White male.............       63       32        1          2        2
  White female...........       71       26        1          -        2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(-) Indicates less than .5 percent.                                     

                     HOW THE POLL WAS CONDUCTED

       The Times Poll interviewed 1,353 adults nationwide, by 
     telephone, Jan. 19 through 22. Telephone numbers were chosen 
     from a list of all exchanges in the nation. Random-digit 
     dialing techniques were used so that listed and non-listed 
     numbers could be contacted. Interviewing was conducted in 
     English and Spanish. The sample was weighted slightly to 
     conform with census figures for sex, race, age and education. 
     The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus or 
     minus 3 percentage points. For certain other sub-groups the 
     error margin may be somewhat higher. Poll results can also be 
     affected by other factors such as question wording and the 
     order in which questions are presented.
     

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