Wage hike self-defeating

Self-defeating

The best way to eliminate young people from the job market is to raise the minimum wage to $15.

Young kids start their work lives in "starter" jobs. Starter jobs are not meant to be career jobs, nor jobs whose wages can allow one to fund a family or buy a house. They are for young kids, simple unskilled jobs, where they can learn four things. They learn to get up in the morning and be on time, they learn how to take orders from the manager, they learn how to get along with their colleagues, and they learn how to interact with customers.

These jobs require minimum skills and, accordingly, are paid minimum wage. When the minimum wage is raised to an unsustainable level, two things happen. The first is that companies find ways to eliminate jobs by mechanizing, and secondly, seniors, already retired, see $15/hr for easy work as a good way to earn a second income.

The net effect is that your grandpa is competing with his grandkid for a starter job. And who do you think an employer is likely to hire … a senior with prior work experience, or a 16-year-old who might not wake up on time in the morning?

Politicians need to stay out of the free marketplace … they only poison the well with their good intentions. Just let the free market decide on what the wages should be.

Critical moment

If the American government cuts health care for its citizens to offset a tax break for the wealthy, has it reached the tipping point where we were a country of the people for the people, to being a kleptocracy ruled and exploited by the rich?

Division or unity

Is the division of our Republic simply a "political disorder syndrome," a manifestation of "political rhetorical terrorism" or more properly the case, political principles devolving into Potemkin partisan polemics? This dysfunctional division is between those who support President Trump and those who have sworn a vendetta "to take him down," between right and left, between parties, between a Judeo-Christian vs. a liberal progressive secular society, and factual narratives vs narratives of false news. "We look down on each other, increasingly hate each other."

How do we build the future together, to be builders of civility? The only alternative to the civility of encounter is the incivility of conflict -- there is no other way. We must assume good faith in one another, decry ad hominems and express our views with respect, charity and "refuse to incite." We must condemn verbal and physical violence — the Julius Caesar play in the park, the Trump beheading, the shootings in Alexandria, Va., and the media and politicians "losing their heads," inciting rage which is infecting our lives like a malware virus.

We should reflect on the words of the legendary Speaker, Sam Rayburn: "A jackass can kick down a barn. But it takes a carpenter to build one," or Gandhi's words of wisdom: "You cannot shake hands with a closed fist."

Hope can begin with "one you." When there is an "us" a revolution can emerge — could hope become a "new norm"? "There are many things as a nation and as individuals we can come to understand but only after we come to know that we don't understand."

Eco-unfriendly

Sunday, June 18, the Chattahoochee River Warden Henry Jackson posted on Facebook a most disturbing discharge from the Phenix City Wastewater Treatment Plant into the Chattahoochee River. Mr. Jackson vividly describes the discharge as "nasty, smelly and disgusting."

Phenix City Utilities apparently remains totally oblivious to the meaning of the term conservation stewardship, as this is not the first time this has occurred, and Mr. Jackson reports this "dumping" as the second in two months.

The state of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are the rightful owners of this waterway, and are assigned responsibility for its maintenance and the quality of aquatic life therein. The conduct of Phenix City and its utility department seems to abysmally suggest the converse.

I would encourage all concerned citizens wishing to preserve this precious heritage to get in touch with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources or the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Mr, Jackson’s video speaks for itself, and he solicits your support. These "out of control cowboys on the west bank" must be shown that there is a new sheriff in town.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Wage hike self-defeating."