Kersten's no populist

Katherine Kersten has suddenly found compassion for individuals earning less than $45,000 a year ("Gang of 200, feel free to spend your money, not ours," June 26)?

That's funny; her Republican Party has since 1997 refused to raise the federal minimum wage. It still stands at $5.15 an hour, a whopping $10,712 a year for full-time employment. Her Republican Party insists a family of four earning more than $19,500 a year is no longer in poverty. Her Republican Party lowered the tax burden for the "zillionaires" while the relative tax burden of middle class and working poor has risen.

Yeah, Kersten is a credible advocate for the downtrodden.

AMY LANGE, MINNEAPOLIS