[Vision2020] Merry Christmas

[Donovan Arnold]

Ted,

You will find that many capitalists believe that raising the minimum wage is 
pointless and only causes inflation. They hold to the notion that when you 
raise the wages of the lower 10-25% of the population it cause a wave of pay 
increases to all the other workers. In order to pay for the increases 
businesses raise prices, and thus the gains (buying power) made by the wage 
increases are lost to inflation. Now, I happen to believe that this is in 
part true because the top wage earners in the company are also the decision 
makers and they are not going to take pay cuts to give decent wages to the 
workers.

I suggest what we do is stop trying to argue with them and force them to 
admit their greed by coming up with an alternative form of paying workers. I 
would require companies to pay allowances on top of small wages.

Require the company to pay housing, medical, food, clothing, and 
transportation. Every full time employee, working 32 hours a week or more, 
should get a minimum allowance for each to afford their basic needs in 
addition to their salary. For workers that receive less than 32 hours, pay 
them benefits in equal proportion, like if they work 16 hours a week, they 
get half the allowances as those working 32 hours. The allowances would be 
based on the Cost of living index for that area, within 30 miles.

This would be the best way to ensure that people are living a decent quality 
of life. Housing is becoming increasing impossible to afford, and medical 
care already is unaffordable for those living on minimum wage.

Take care,

Donovan J Arnold

>From: Tbertruss at aol.com
>To: kjajmix1 at msn.com, vision2020 at moscow.com, auntiestablishment at hotmail.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Merry Christmas
>Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 14:48:03 EST
>
>
>Keely:
>
>Thanks for your reply.
>
>I considered that Christ might be a conservative thinker who though 
>believing
>fervently in helping the poor and disadvantaged, would advocate doing it
>without the governments involvement, by giving aid directly to those who 
>need it
>or through private charity organizations.  So taxes to help the poor would 
>not
>be the approach of a conservative altruist.  But the minimum wage issue is
>different.  For those who want to earn their way and not accept charity,
>especially single parents, the low minimum wage as set by federal standards 
>(many
>states have already raised the minimum wage) is just too low.
>
>We are in an age of astonishing CEO salaries, bonuses and golden 
>parachutes,
>yet these same corporations will lobby against raising the minimum wage.  
>So
>it is OK to pay Jane Fat Cat CEO an extra million, yet if you advocate 
>taking
>that extra million, which the CEO already making millions does not really 
>need
>to feed, clothe and house her children, and suggest giving it via a pay
>increase to working single parents who are at the bottom, suddenly you are 
>a
>"liberal" advocating antibusiness policies.  Why then don't we just do away 
>with the
>minimum wage, and let the wonderful "free" market place, that seems to have
>acquired status as a magical solution to humanities problems, work without
>nefarious government regulation?  After all, ANY minimum wage is government
>regulation of business.  Many corporations would love this!  No need to out 
>source or
>move to China, just pay workers in the USA $.80 an hour.
>
>I envision Christ busting into the board meeting of a Fortune 500 
>corporation
>and raising a ruckus...
>
>I wonder....
>
>Ted Moffett
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