YOU CAN TELL EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED...:

Tax breaks likely to accompany minimum-wage hike (DIANE STAFFORD, 1/11/07, The Kansas City Star)

Only about 7 percent of U.S. workers currently earn less than $7.25 an hour -- the proposed federal minimum wage that wouldn't even be reached for more than two years.

Yet the proposal, passed Wednesday in the U.S. House, now goes to the Senate, where some senators, Democratic as well as Republican, are talking about adding business tax breaks to "remove the sting of higher labor costs."

■ That despite that about half the states already have minimum wages higher than the current federal minimum of $5.15 an hour.

■ That despite that some states already have minimums higher than the proposed $7.25 an hour, and have suffered no apparent job loss or business failures because of it.

■ That despite the fact that such low-wage employers as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., supermarket chains and other industry associations support a minimum wage increase and say their profits wouldn't be harmed by it.

Still, the Senate, acting on what is a stated top priority of the new Congress, is likely to add a tax break component to its version, making it palatable enough for President George Bush to sign.