"Utter nonsense. My wife, after I related your idea to her, made another point that is equally valid(after she stopped chuckling at it). Do you have any idea how much, for example, fast food would now cost folks? If, at every step along the way, a minimum wage of $25 was in effect, you’d be selling
$20 double cheeseburgers. Unlike the 30’s, the profit margin in most businesses is FAR less, as a percentage of labor costs. I have no problem with the rise in MW that we’ve seen, rising from the $1.60 per hour I got at a restaurant in the 1970’s to the current rates, but $25/ hour is laughable. You would have, in an global economy, essentially NO INDUSTRY in this country. And, loss of industry is already a major problem with our national economy.
Further, you merely ‘duly note’ the change in national attitude? Cite what laws or changes to the law, made folks feel entitled to every last gadget, designer clothing and such, even folks at lower wage levels? What ever happened to families working, saving and climbing up the economic ladder, as opposed to peeing away their capital on ‘things’? Do these changes in laws hinder, for example, the Indian/Americans I work with? It seems that many of them started in this country, living in cramped quarters, working at any job they could get, and saving their money. Now, twenty years later, they are buying businesses, sending their kids to Ivy League schools, and following pretty much the same script that Americans followed for a couple centuries, successfully. No, Stefan, it’s not the laws, it’s not ‘the man’ keeping folks down, in a lot of cases. It’s a lazy, entitled, dumbed-down public, avoiding education, and blaming others for their shortfalls, all the while running their lives on borrowed money, that have contributed to many of our societal problems. To blame it all on ‘the rich’, or ‘the corporate elites’ is just a cop-out. Sometimes, a society has to look in the mirror and realize that it is ALL OF US. And, making this thing a complete circle, pulling out of our nation malaise requires consensus from all of us, less finger pointing and unrealistic expectations. Oh, and yes, one hell of a lot of hard work. I don’t see where you intend to help. And, that, my friend, is not Progressive, because your path won’t actually achieve Progress."
I've been harping on 'consensus building' amongst the more left-wing types every bit as long as I've been doing so with the extreme right-wing tards. And, Pud, if you're reading this, Stefan's proposal of a $25/hr minimum wage might have actually beaten out your 'America was founded by Conservatives' remark as the stupid post of all time. Maybe, but it's still close.
