Tag Archives: Democrats

08.06.13
by

Dual Minimum Wage

There are at least two types of workers that are competing for minimum wage jobs.  As I see it, from a purely unscientific perspective, the two large groupings of these workers are part time and full time workers.  The defining criteria between full and part time are chiefly and not  the number of hours worked.  Given that the 8 AM to 5 PM 40 hour work week is morphing into 30 hours a week averaged across a week, the universe of full time employees will surely be expanding. 

For better or for worse, because it is the current state of our country’s economy, even after the ACA goes into effect in 2015 there will still be those who depend on fast food, retail, or other minimum wage, unskilled employment as their primary source of income.  At the risk of over-generalizing the profile of a part time worker, I see those that seek part time employment as simply desiring to add income.  While this list is clearly not comprehensive, part time employees would include full time students, people with other full time jobs, retirees; stay at home moms looking for work while the kids are at school – basically anyone looking for supplementary income.  These types of workers optimally would not depend on part time work as their primary income source.

Full time workers, conversely, are those people that are working for the sole purpose of generating a primary income.  It is these people, and their families, that deserve earnings above the subsistence level.  In addition to health insurance, a full time worker who devotes their time and indeed their spiritual energy to the success of their employer should be deserving of at least a living wage. 

I believe there is room for a dual minimum wage – one for part time workers that have other primary sources of income, and one for workers that meet the criteria of “full time” under the Affordable Health Care Act. 

The other piece of that puzzle is what to do about companies whose business models depend on part time, low wage workers (shout out to Walmart).  One would hope that if a dual minimum wage were implemented along with the new ACA “full time” standard that there would be a mass exodus from the Walmarts of Kentucky to companies offering employment along with a little bit of dignity.

At the end of the day, isn’t it about dignity?  Don’t most of us want to feel proud of whatever activity into which we invest our time and energy?  If I work like a dog for a company that won’t invest in me I’m not sticking around long.  And while I DO stick around my work product might not be the best.  Once again, it seems like Democratic principles such as a decent living wage, health care to support a healthy workforce, and compassionate business models CAN and DO lead to better business overall.  What company doesn’t want a healthy, strong, loyal workforce?  Democratic principles, forged into our working psyche by labor unions, express and lead to a strong motivated workforce, and a healthy sustainable economy.

07.27.13
by

The QOL Covenant

What is quality of life?  We all have a broad concept of what it means; however when it comes down to constructing an actual definition “quality of life” (QOL) is different things to different people.  In its simplest form we could say that QOL is the wellbeing, or absence thereof, in a society.  Nonetheless, the CDC has identified social, mental, and environmental constructs that all contribute, negatively and positively, to the overall QOL of a culture, political region, or civilization.

Wellbeing is the state of being happy, healthy and prosperous, and that is the promise that leaders and potential leaders make to their constituents. “Vote for me, and I promise to vote for your wellbeing.”  It is the covenant, or promise, that exists between an elected leader and his/her voters.  When God made His covenant with the Israelites, he promised to take care of them and lead them to the Promised Land.  In exchange all they had to do was honor and worship Him, and follow the rules that He laid down (see the Ten Commandments, should anyone need a refresher on this).

So it is with our elected officials.  We promise to elect them over and over and over and over, and they promise to vote with our best interests in mind – to take care of us.  Three people who have promised to vote with Kentucky’s “best interests” at heart have voted to:

  1. Abandon the most vulnerable women and children in Kentucky by voting against the Violence Against Women Act.
  2. Repeal the Affordable Health Care Act
  3. Desert fellow Americans in New Jersey by voting against federal disaster relief
  4. Continue America’s dependence on fossil fuels and Big Oil by voting against bio-fuel refinery development
  5. Disallow agricultural reform and increased funding to grow fresh fruits and vegetables
  6. Prevent jobs coming home
  7. Thwart small business tax relief

These government initiatives represent critical elements of Quality of Life.  Who says that the government should step aside and let people take care of themselves, regardless of how vulnerable and helpless they are?  We have all been helpless although we don’t remember it.  When we were infants, most of us were not told to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and take care of ourselves.  Those of us who were blessed enough to have parents or guardians to care for us were nurtured and guided until we were able to fend for ourselves.  Hopefully we were prepared to nurture and guide the successive generation. 

How exactly is that different than the government providing assistance to at risk children, people whose homes have been destroyed, families, seniors and veterans who need federal nutrition assistance through SNAP, and giving tax breaks and other economic development opportunities until they too can stand on their own?  Shouldn’t our goal be to prepare all Americans to nurture and guide successive generations toward prosperity, wellbeing, and the best QOL possible?

Take a look at the above list of seven government bills and funding initiatives, and tell me that each of these don’t support QOL.  You can’t.  Nobody can.  Because they do.  Democrats are about QOL – we want those vulnerable populations to be supported until they can stand alone.  We want a strong, healthy nation which can be achieved by assuring everyone has access to basic healthcare.  We want a secure nation with a foundation of economic strength and national security.  All of these are QOL issues, and all of them are supported by legislators other than the three Kentucky representatives on the Hill.

Those legislators have already broken their covenant with us, their constituents.  Let’s make a new covenant with candidates who truly will act in Kentucky’s best interest.