Though Democrats now seem determined to push a proposed minimum wage increase this year, lifting the federal rate from $7.25 t o $10.10, the chances of giving millions of workers a raise—even an increase that progressives see as not nearly enough—is likely dead in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

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And speaking of ‘dead’—and according to The Hill on Friday—that’s exactly what Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) would prefer to be, if forced to choose between ending his life and giving low-wage workers even in the most minimum of wage hikes.

With the headline, ‘Boehner: I’d rather kill myself than raise the minimum wage,’ the newspaper reports that the GOP leader’s opposition to the measure is so strong historically that he once told The Weekly Standard he would “commit suicide” before voting ‘Yes’ on a clean minimum wage increase for workers.

The story serves as a reminder of a typical—yet not to be forgotten—scenario in Washington. In this case, a minimum wage increase that would still leave workers barely scraping by is put forth by Democrats in order to give them electoral leverage going into the mid-terms, but even that half-measure is categorized as leftist, anti-business fanaticism by their Republican counterparts (also scoring points with their base). Likely to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate—where it heads to floor as early as next week—but not even receive a vote in GOP-controlled House, currently led by Boehner, the increase remains stranded and workers continue to suffer under wages that haven’t budged in nearly forty years.

That’s Washington.

In Seattle meanwhile, a spirited grassroots campaign to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour is receiving growing popular support. A recent poll by a city business alliance showed that 7 out of 10 local customers favored the dramatic increase, one which economists says gets workers much closer to a truly living wage.

As The Stranger, a local newspaper, reported: “These numbers may be off the charts, but they’re rock solid.”