Four things are true about the minimum wage.  First of all, the minimum wage NEVER keeps up with inflation or the cost of living.  Congress never increases the cost of the minimum wage until something politically bad threatens them and they are forced to do so.  Minimum wage increases tend to come only once every ten years. 

Next, the current federal minimum wage only equals about 60% of the federal poverty line.  That means that the current $7.25 would have to increase to $12.08 just to MEET the poverty line.  The current minimum wage really is a slave wage level. 

Also, minimum wage jobs are, in almost every single case, worthless "McJobs" with no possibility for advancement or hope of future prosperity.  They also have no benefits and generally are "hard labor" jobs that require (literally) backbreaking work, sometimes under dangerous or life threatening conditions. 

Finally, it is impossible to live on the minimum wage unless a person works 16 hours out of a 24 hour day.  This means that such a worker barely has time to eat and sleep.  This leaves NO time for family, for vacations, or for anything else.  One would have to have their nose on the grindstone perpetually.  If a person is unable to work TWO minimum wage jobs, then they are also condemned to homelessness because according to information gathered by the US Census Bureau in 2007 the average RENT was about $700 per month.  That means that a person working one minimum wage job would have to spend over 60% of their income BEFORE TAXES on housing.  That is why there are now so many working poor people who are homeless.

Having a minimum wage is a wonderful thing, but only if that wage keeps up with inflation, prevents workers from falling into poverty and allows people the dignity of having a roof over their heads.  The current US minimum wage does none of that.  And don't believe the LIE that most minimum wage workers are youths living with their parents or older folks just adding income to their pension.  With the tidal wave of offshoring and layoffs, and the debacle of Wall Street raiding through pension plans, millions have turned to minimum wage jobs just for survival. 

Here's a closing thought.  By continuing to allow US businesses to pay wages that are below the poverty level, the Goverment actually ends up providing those corporations with added profits by qualifying more people for the Earned Income Tax Credit.  Just think!  All of those minimum wage employees working for the Koch Brothers and the Walton Family, and the major goverment subsidy that goes toward supporting them and thus increasing profits for the rich.  These corporations actually educate their slave-labor wage employees on exactly how they can apply for government  benefits.  After all, every dollar that is NOT PAID in a living wage, increases the net worth of the overlords who are crushing us all.

drawstrong Wrote: You guys realize he doesn't mean offshore drilling right? read the post.

Anyways, tariffs, taxes, and such should be placed to raise revenue and discourage it my opinion

I believe that "offshoring" or outsourcing manufacturing to other countries is a major threat to the security of the United States.  We don't make much of anything here anymore.  There are two serious problems with this.  Some things that are absolutely necessary to our lifestyles and security are not made here anymore--they are made "offshore".  One serious example is electrical transformers that are used in substations and power plants.  These are made in China.  If we had a major burnout of electrical equipment (caused by a natural disaster, for instance), we would have to rely on the Chinese sending us the equipment necessary to make repairs.  The Chinese could just as easily decide to base their decision to send the equipment on whether or not the dollar is devalued, some relationship or treaties with certain allies are broken, or the like.  The US government could be held hostage.  What a nightmare that could become.  The government could easily be manipulated by any foreign power that now manufactures our necessities of life. 

The other problem is that the people of the United States allowed whole factories and their equipment to be uprooted and transplanted to "offshore" locales.   We allowed the "brain trust" of the manufacturing industry, the employees, to be laid off and discarded like so much rubbish, so the majority of the people who used to know how things are made are gone.  We have no manufacturing infrastructure anymore.  If we suddenly needed to gear up to prepare for any type of national emergency, we'd be SOL.    Our national emergency might be deemed of little importance by the foreign governments who now have control over plants and equipment that were essentially funded by American taxpayers.  We could be hit by outrageous prices for needed goods or outright refusals to help at all. 

"Offshoring" of technology is also a threat.   Identity theft, piracy and other problems are only the tip of the iceberg.  I recently heard of computer chips that are manufactured offshore being deliberately tampered with so that when they are installed in equipment here they plant viruses, steal information, and cause other problems (possible interference with power grids, power plants, theft of money from banks, and other problems). 

"Offshoring" is dangerous.  We need strong measures to discourage it.  It is not just a matter of people keeping their jobs, it is a matter of national security.

Carlitos Wrote: Male rights end at insemination...all pregnancies effectively threaten a woman's life and government cannot compel births without violating the 13th Amendment. Women are not child-bearing slaves for political governments to manage. All women should have a choice...and motherhood is better for it...
Anti-abortion "small government" Republicans practice the strongest form of cognitive dissonance the world has ever known. They're like rightwing Maoists....with an "all" child policy, if you will.

Real "conservatives" support Women's Rights.

What a sound argument!  I wanted my daughter, but I was very sick for most of my pregnancy.  Then I contracted a Strep B infection that caused me to need a C-Section.  I spent 4 days in a coma.   What a risk I took with my life! Most mothers do risk their lives.  And what a CHANGE in everything for me, from my figure to my lifestyle.  Nothing was the same.  Men suffer absolutely no ill effects from pregnancy at all.  Many men actually abandon their pregnant partners.  Men really don't have a right to dictate to a woman in this matter at all, even if the man is married to the woman.  I don't like abortions at all--in fact I am pro life.  However, I believe that the choice really rests with the woman.  After all, it is the WOMAN who has the most to lose--or to gain.

In the old days, it was said that "the hand that rocks the cradle controls the world."  Of course, having the woman behind that "hand" decide whether the cradle is full or empty is the issue with so many conservative men.  To a conservative man, a woman should be uneducated and completely preoccupied with the diapers, the price of carrots and the waxy buildup on the floor--that will keep her from asking difficult questions like why there is so much injustice in the world.  Conservative men want to control female reproduction in order to keep women "busy" and out of public life.  That is why the whole abortion question has now morphed into an attempt to put an end to the availablilty of birth control.  This is why nothing at all is ever said about the responsibility of the man in the matter.  Have you ever heard any right wing pundit speak of efforts to increase the collection of child support?  Nope.  There is nothing but a resounding silence on that.   Not only do right-wingers want to end birth control, but they are now attacking any program that benefits children after they are born.  Head Start, WIC, public education, medicaid and higher education are all under attack.  The right wing simply wants a world where women are "saddled" with so many children that they cannot breathe.   It's all about CONTROL of women without a care about what happens to the children after they are born.

Carlitos Wrote:
Weiner handed the rightwing "Mean boys" of Breitbart & Co. a major p.r. victory. Instead of the Congressman's star ascending, it's now Brietbart's. What a stupid turn of events! This guy had the world in his hand and he wrecked everything. This is a disaster for Democrats.
Weiner was a unity figure in our party. He had appeal across the board. And now his lewd behavior and lies have cost us big during one of the most pivotal moments in our lifetimes. F$%# him. He's done. Throw him away. I ain't got room for that kind of bullshit.

Furious Democrat in Texas,
Kaboom

As a former BIG fan of Weiner, I am terribly disappointed and embarrassed!  Why would he flush his career down the toilet like this?!?  I am shocked at the incredible stupidity he displayed!  What is wrong with men?  Why do they do such useless and destructive things like this? incredibly