SMART CAPITALIST STORM CAPITAL HILL DEMAND CONGRESSS & OBAMA RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE 11FEB14

Rejecting the greed of most of corporate America, the 1%, a growing group of Bold, Progressive, Smart Capitalist are on Capital Hill demanding Congress and Pres Obama raise the minimum wage. From the Agenda Project...

CONTACT: David Berman
(914) 299-1086
dberman@agendaproject.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 11, 2014

**PRESS CONFERENCE**
11:30 AM WEDNESDAY
(Feb 12)
at the JEFFERSON HOTEL,
Washington, DC
1200 16th Street NW: Gallatin Room

SMART CAPITALISTS
STORM THE HILL TO DEMAND
HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE
Business Leaders Blanket Congress

Washington, DC -- Today the Smart Capitalists for American Prosperity, a group of dozens of the country's top financiers, business leaders and investors released a letter to the President and Congress demanding a higher minimum wage for working Americans. Tomorrow, the group will hold a press conference in DC to announce a major national campaign to raise the minimum wage. Thursday, the group will meet with Senators King, McCaskill, Pryor, Donnelly, Harkin, and Johnson as well as the office of Senators Portman, Corker, Gillibrand, Kaine, Ayotte, and Alexander to demand immediate action on this critical issue.

The "Smart Capitalists for American Prosperity" boast leaders from both sides of the aisle including: former publisher of the American Conservative Ron Unz; investor and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles; famed venture capitalist and Managing Director of Greycroft LLC Alan Patricof; real estate mogul Jeff Gural; venture capitalist and co-founder of Alta Partners Garrett Gruener; co-founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield; investor Peter Stamos; TV Host Rick Steves, media investor and entrepreneur Leo Hindery, Jr.; former investment banker and Harvard Business School professor Rob Kaplan; investor Daniel Berger; investor Lawrence Benenson; film producer Richard Food (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), and many others.

Washington is abuzz with the Minimum Wage issue as polls show the vast majority of Americans want it raise; Congress debates the Fair Minimum Wage Act; Majority Leader Reid debates the timing of a Senate vote; and political strategists weigh the impact on the 2014 mid-terms. President Obama announced last month that he intends to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour -- "America does not stand still--and neither will I," said the President.

The Smart Capitalists think a higher minimum wage is just what American businesses need to get out of the slump.

Former publisher of The American Conservative Ron Unz says: "Raising the minimum wage would drive up the demand and increase revenues for American business. It would also save taxpayers billions by ending the backdoor subsidy to low-wage businesses through food stamps and other government programs."
Leo Hindery, Jr., Managing Partner at Intermedia Partners (NY) says:
"A thoughtfully increased minimum wage would indisputably lead to an increase in total consumption and higher demand for goods, and thus to increased overall employment."
Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (VT) said:
"Ben & Jerry's succeeded for one reason: customers. Invest in America's customers--raise the minimum wage."
Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (VT) added:
"There is only so much Chunky Monkey one rich guy can eat. For Ben & Jerry's to succeed, we need more than one ice cream buying rich guy. Raise the minimum wage and everyone can have a scoop."
Erskine Bowles, Investor and former White House Chief of Staff (NC) says:
"This great nation succeeds when all Americans can succeed. A fair minimum wage will ensure dignity for our people and our families."
Alan Patricof, Managing Director of Greycroft LLC (NY) says:
"We need to make sure that people who are working full-time can support themselves and their children by ensuring that they can sustain an adequate living in today's cost structure. In the interest of basic fairness, we need to bring wages in this country to a respectable level."
SEE THE LETTER and signatories at SmartCapitalists.org.

"Dear Mr. President and Honorable Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives,

We are writing to ask you to advance growth, prosperity, and economic freedom by raising the minimum wage to at least $10.10 per hour and indexing it to inflation. We make this request as investors, business owners, and employers who are members of the so-called Top 1%. We make this request for the following reasons:
1. IT'S GOOD FOR AMERICAN BUSINESS. Workers with higher wages are consumers with greater disposable income. More customers with more money=higher profits for American businesses.
2. IT'S GOOD FOR AMERICAN TAXPAYERS. Minimum wage earners don't make enough to support their families and as a result many rely on government programs to make ends meet. A decent wage would increase the number of self-reliant Americans and decrease government expenditures.
3. IT'S GOOD FOR AMERICA'S GLOBAL LEADERSHIP. The U.S. is the richest country in the world but its minimum wage significantly trails that of other developed countries. In order to maintain its global leadership, the U.S. must ensure decent earnings for its working citizens.
Raise the minimum wage.
Thank you
Smart Capitalists for American Prosperity"
The Smart Capitalists are available for comment and/or television and radio booking. If you would like to speak with a Smart Capitalist or host one on your program, please contact David Berman at dberman@agendaproject.org or (914) 299-1086; or Erica Payne at 917-239-6065 epayne@agendaproject.org.

The Facts

• The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.
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• A full-time minimum wage employee earns $15,080 a year.
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• 76% of Americans are in favor of raising the minimum wage
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• If the minimum wage was indexed to inflation from its 1968 level, it would be $10.77 an hour.
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• If the minimum wage was indexed to average productivity from its 1968 level, it would be $21.72 an hour.
• -
• If the minimum wage was indexed to average productivity from its 1968 level, it would be $21.72 an hour.
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• Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2016 would increase wages by $35 billion, boost GDP by $22.1 billion, and create 85,000 new jobs.
• -
• Women represent nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers. Nearly four in ten female minimum wage workers are women of color.

RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

Dear Mr. President and Honorable Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives,

We are writing to ask you to advance growth, prosperity, and economic freedom by raising the minimum wage to at least $10.10 per hour and indexing it to inflation. We make this request as investors, business owners, and employers who are members of the so-called Top 1%. We make this request for the following reasons:

1. IT’S GOOD FOR AMERICAN BUSINESS. Workers with higher wages are consumers with greater disposable income. More customers with more money = higher profits for American businesses.

2. IT‘S GOOD FOR AMERICAN TAXPAYERS. Minimum wage earners don’t make enough to support their families and as a result many rely on government programs to make ends meet. A decent wage would increase the number of self-reliant Americans and decrease government expenditures.

3. IT’S GOOD FOR AMERICA’S GLOBAL LEADERSHIP. The U.S. is the richest county in the world but its minimum wage significantly trails that of other developed countries. In order to maintain its global leadership, the U.S. must ensure decent earnings for its working citizens.

Raise the minimum wage.
Thank you,

Agree? Sign Our Letter

Naomi Aberly
Investor
Dallas, TX

Dick Beattie
Senior Partner, Simpson, Thatcher and Bartlett, LLP
New York, NY

Paul Beirne
National Managing Director, AllianceBernstein
New York, NY

Lawrence Benenson
Executive Vice President, Benenson Capital Partners, LLC
New York, NY

Daniel Berger
Attorney and Partner, Berger & Montague P.C.
Philadelphia, PA

Erskine Bowles
Investor and Former White House Chief of Staff
Charlotte, NC

Brady Brim-DeForest
Investor
Santa Monica, CA

Ben Cohen
Co-Founder, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream
South Burlington, VT

Cynda Collins-Arsenault
Investor
Superior, CO

Thomas Congdon
Oil and Gas CEO, Retired
Denver, CO

Roy Crawford
Owner, R. R. Crawford Engineering, Inc
Whitesburg, KY

Quinn Delaney
President, Akonadi Foundation
Oakland, CA

Scott Delman
Blue Spruce Productions, LLC
New York, NY

David desJardins
Investor
Burlingame, CA

Antonio Elmaleh
Owner, 21Cent Directions
Princeton, NJ

Andrew Faulk and Frank Jernigan
Investors
San Francisco, CA

Richard Foos
Founder and CEO, Shout! Factory
Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Gail Furman
Investor
New York, NY

Ron Garret, PhD
Co-Founder, Spark Innovations, Inc
Emerald Hills, CA

Linda Gottlieb
Film Producer
New York, NY

Jerry Greenfield
Co-founder, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
South Burlington, VT

Garrett Gruener
Founder of Ask.com, Co-Founder of Alta Partners, and CEO of Nanomix
Oakland, CA

Jeff Gural
Chairman, Newmark Knight Frank
New York, NY

Leo Hindery, Jr.
Managing Partner, Intermedia Partners, LP
New York, NY

Robert Steven Kaplan
Professor of Management Practice and Senior Associate Dean, Harvard Business School
Boston, MA

Rochelle Kaplan
Investor
Salt Lake City, UT

Woody Kaplan
Investor
Boston, MA

John Katzman
CEO, The Noodle Companies LLC
New York, NY

Michael Kieschnick
President and CEO, CREDO Mobile
San Francisco, CA

Dal LaMagna
CEO, IceStoneUSA.com
Brooklyn, NY

Art Lipson
Managing Partner, Western Investment LLC
Salt Lake City, UT

Ryne D. Manahan
Partner – Vice President, PPO Check, Ltd.
Houston, TX

Win McCormack
Publisher, Tin House Magazine and President, Tin House Enterprises
Portland, OR

Terence S. Meehan
Chairman and CEO, Azimuth Investment
New York, NY

Dennis Mehiel
Chairman and CEO, U.S. Corrugated, Inc.
White Plains, NY

Diane Meyer Simon
President Emeritus and Founder, Global Green USA
Santa Barbara, CA

Robert McKay
McKay Investment Group
San Francisco, CA

David Mitnick
President, DomainSkate.com
New York, NY

Scott Nash
Founder and CEO, MOM’s Organic Market
Rockville, MD

F. Chris Nelson
CEO, Oxford Consulting Group
Barrington, RI

Larry Nusbaum
Investor
Phoenix, AZ

Frank Patitucci
CEO, NuCompass Mobility
Pleasanton, CA

Alan Patricof
Managing Director, Greycroft LLC
New York, NY

Morris and Barbara Pearl
Investors
New York, NY

William and Marian Penn
Investors
Carmel, CA

Judy Pigott
Investor and founder, Personal Safety Nets
Seattle, WA

Stephen Prince
CEO, National Business Products
Nolensville, TN

Andy Rappaport
Investor
Menlo Park, CA

Tarrus Richardson
CEO, IMB Development Corp
New York, NY

Great Neck Richman
President, Richloom Fabrics
New York, NY

Jonathan F.P. Rose
President, Jonathan Rose Companies
New York, NY

Janet T. Roth
Investor
Oakland, CA

Steve Roth
Co-founder, Thunder Lizard Productions
Seattle, WA

James Rucker
Investor
San Francisco, CA

Paul Rudd
Owner, Adaptive Analytics
New York, NY

Guy Saperstein
Investor
Piedmont, CA

Richard Schottenfeld
Founder and Chairman, Schottenfeld Group Holdings
New York, NY

Jeff Smulyan
Chairman and CEO, Emmis Communications
Indianapolis, IN

Peter S. Stamos
Chairman and CEO, Stamos Capital Partners
Menlo Park, CA

Cathrine Steck
Investor
New York, NY

Rick Steves
Travel Writer, TV Host, and Tour Organizer
Edmons, WA

John Stewart
Chairman, The John Stewart Company
San Francisco, CA

Simon Strauss
Investor
New York, NY

Andrew Tobias
Author, The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need
New York, NY

Aimee B. Troyen
Investor
New York, NY

Ron Unz
Chairman, UNZ.org
Palo Alto, CA

Robert K. Utley III
Chairman of the Board, The Utley Group
Dallas, TX

Philippe Villers
Co-Founder, Families USA
Concord, MA

Scott and Christy Wallace
Co-Chair, Wallace Global Fund
Washington DC

Peter Weinberger
Programmer, Google
New York, NY

Amy Ziering
Chain Camera Pictures
Los Angeles, CA

Tal J. Zlotnitsky
Chairman and Co-CEO, iControl Universal Collaboration Solutions
Trinity, FL

 http://smartcapitalists.org/