If peace was more profitable than war we would not have many conflicts. So many decisions in congress seem to lack diplomacy while supporting the profits of war, this is wrong and an unethical way to spend our tax dollars. What goes around comes around, he who lives by the sword dies by the sword. Implements of war, weather we are directly involved in a conflict or not, should be limited to cost of production. The U.S. should not be arms dealers.

Despite the raising of the minimum wage in New Jersey this past election, those such as myself working for the minimum wage or in pay structures based on the minimum wage have suffered for too long. The minimum wage should be enough to live on, not one to keep someone in poverty. Join me in showing support for raising the minimum and sending a message loud and clear to Rep. Leonard Lance of New Jersey and other Republican Congressmen and Congresswomen who don't have the courage to help those in need.

The Tax Reform Act of 2014 section 1207 proposes to tax student loan debt forgiven under Public Service Loan Forgiveness as income. That means someone who has spent 10 years of their career serving the public will have to pay taxes on "income" they never earned. Many individuals taking advantage of PSLF would have to withdraw from the program because they simply could not afford the tax bill.

Members of my family are working hard every week while struggling to get by on poverty wages. Increasing the minimum wage would help thousands of workers pay their bills and feed their families. Rep. Steve Southerland should do the right thing and side with working people over big corporations.

I’m a hairstylist and under the Labor Law Act hairstylists are allowed to be paid below minimum wage. Hairstylists should be exempt from the tipped wage ACT because we, unlike any other tipped employees, are different. We are required to have 1500 hours of school and be state licensed. In addition, we also are required to have continuing education hours in order to maintain our licenses. We supply all our own tools. Our scissors alone, cost anywhere from $100 to $500. THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE for the future of those attending beauty school and having to pay school loans of up to $15,000. PLEASE HELP US TO BE EXEMPT FROM THE TIPPED WAGE ACT UNDER THE LABOR LAW.

The working poor need help being lifted out of poverty. Shame on the GOP for not helping hard-working Americans.

Members of my family work two jobs and struggle on poverty wages as well as members of my community.

The Central Valley has been hit incredibly hard by the great recession and many are finding it impossible to make ends meet. We need a representative that will help our community, not hurt us further. Rep. Jeff Denham needs to represent the needs of the people in our district by supporting the extension of long-term unemployment benefits and by supporting an increase of the minimum wage. Recent votes or current positions of Rep. Jeff Denham that hurt our community: * voted to shut down the government which cost our country millions of dollars * voted to let the U.S. default on its bills (even after more sensible, reasonable member of the Republican party eventually made the right decision to prevent it from happening) * Currently opposes extending long-term unemployment benefits even with the Central Valley's current 14.5% unemployment * Currently opposes raising the minimum wage which would help raise working poor families in the Central Valley out of poverty

In New Jersey, the minimum wage is $7.25. This amount is insufficient for any quality of life. Raising it to $10.10 per hour is a step in the right direction.

In a USA Today poll in January, 2014 close to three-quarters of Americans said that they would support an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. But even though a majority of Americans at least want this issue decided by Congress, House Speaker John Boehner will not allow it; precisely because the vote wouldn’t go his way. More than 4.4 million Americans currently earn federal minimum wage or less; more than half are adults and 284,000 of them are college graduates. Two-thirds are women, and almost 60 percent of minimum-wage women over 25 are the sole bread winner in their household. Two-thirds work for businesses that have at least 100 employees; so much for the argument that raising the minimum wage would devastate small businesses. Congress voted to bail out financial institutions; it is time to improve the lives of mainstream Americans. 71% of Americans support raising the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to at least $10.10 an hour, according to an January 2014 poll. However Representative Renacci has chosen to listen to special interest groups. After nearly half a century of neglect, today the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is decades out of date. In terms of purchasing power, its value is 30 percent lower today than it was in 1968. On the other hand, many corporations are posting record-breaking profits. The Wall Street Journal reported. Join us by signing this petition and hold Congress responsible for helping the middle class. Representative Renacci; it’s time to raise the Minimum Wage.

I've worked at many minimum wage jobs and they're all hard work little pay no benefits and thankless jobs-people deserve to earn a fair wage-Rep Kinzinger may want to switch jobs with one of the poor souls and see-hit the gas pump too and see how that goes as part of the budget-this is some of my thoughts on minimum wage work

I want to encourage a more positive view about the importance of paying taxes. The current narrative seems to be that candidates for public office should always promise to lower taxes or prevent any new taxes. But if people are employed and make money, that's a good thing. Paying taxes is a sign of financial well-being. Let's make the day that taxes are due a day to celebrate the many ways we contribute to one another and keep growing as a nation.