Molly Ivins: The politics of greed. A good read, btw

[madokie]

Tuesday, July 11, 2006; Posted: 12:03 p.m. EDT (16:03 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/11/ivins.greed/index.html

AUSTIN, Texas (CREATORS) -- I don't get it. What's the percentage in keeping the minimum wage at $5.15 an hour? After nine years? This is such an unnecessary and nasty Republican move. Congress has voted seven times to raise its own wages since last the minimum wage budged. Of course, Congress always raises its own salary in the dark of night, hoping no one will notice. But now it does the same with the minimum wage, quietly killing it.(snip)

Anyone who doesn't think this is a country where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer needs to check the numbers -- this is Bush country, where a rising tide lifts all yachts.(snip)

Since 2000, the number of Americans living below the poverty line at any one time has risen steadily. Now, 13 percent -- 37 million Americans -- are officially poor.

Bush's tax cuts (extended until 2010) save those earning between $20,000 and $30,000 an average of $10 a year, while those making $1 million are saved $42,700.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Think about it, put it in perspective, a person earning the

mw can afford 8 packs of cigarettes a day. Think about working all day long at perhaps a dirty crappy job and being able to purchase 8 packs of cigarettes. That's alot of work for a bunch of nothing.

[madokie]

3. in that perspective it sure is.

The minimum wage should be at least enough to make it through the day without outside help in any way at the very least.

[Toots]

6. How nice that someone with almost no money would choose to burn what

little they have on poison to themselves and those around them. It would be one thing if they at least got high from it but all they get is yellow fingers and a stink that surrounds them wherever they go.

[unblock]

8. not to defend cigarettes, but the pricing analogy is useful

i wouldn't encourage anyone on minimum wage to piss away their money on something like that. in fact, i wouldn't encourage ANYONE to piss away their money on cigarettes.

but while 8 packs a day is an insanely huge habit, 2 packs a day is not unheard of. and to think that on minimum wage, that would chew up 25% of your PRE-TAX earnings, does put things in perspective. after all, cigarettes are supposed to be abundantly available and a cheap, legal drug for the masses. it's not like anyone's complaining about how hard it is to afford cocaine on minimum wage.

[Th1onein]

11. Judge not, lest ye be judged, my friend

Nicotine is more addictive than cocaine and heroin combined. It is a legal drug in this country and has been for decades. The tobacco companies encouraged young people to begin to smoke and worked very hard at getting us hooked and keeping us hooked. And the American government subsidized the tobacco growers. Now, the government sues the tobacco companies, gets millions and millions, and spends NOTHING to help nicotine addicts overcome their addiction. Instead, cigarette prices go up and up and up. We are victims twice over. Then, there are people like you, who have never walked in our shoes, wanting to demonize us.

Why don't you go push a street bum into an oncoming bus?

[Cleita]

12. As an ex-smoker I can testify to the fact that even the most

rabid chain-smoker I ever knew did not smoke 8 packs of cigarettes a day. He was lucky to do four.

[thepurpose]

2. In your opinion who are the majority of employers paying $5:15 an hour?

I know the spin is that its small employers, but I think its more large employers in the service industry where turn over is naturally high in the first place. The one's who have contracts to clean office buildings, stadiums and malls. And I think these same employers are the ones hiring a lot of illegal aliens and looking the other way on the law.

[madokie]

4. I always worked for the small businesses and never had to work for minimum

wage so I would say from my experience it would be the larger employers. imo

[pooja]

5. Min. wage sets the bar. If it $7.50 an hour... a person wanting

experienced help and good help will raise the bar on their own wage to compete for better quality workers. There aren't a lot of people at 5.15... Its a measure that lets employers big and small realize that if they want to keep the people they have, they have to pay more.

[bigtree]

7. kick

[lonestarnot]

9. class war at its finest Madokie.

[madokie]

10. that is the driving force behind their economic policy, imo

[exlrrp]

13. IThe MW is $7.25 here in OR

Thats why I love this place--not the minumum wage, the fact that its a hip Blue State.
Oh, I also love it because its beautiful and friendly