No One Is Serious About $15 Minimum Wage

OK…this is a lighthearted story, but one that is most likely to play out in the wake of “Fight For Fifteen” minimum wage hike movement:

“I’m a 23 year old young man in middle America, earning $7.50 an hour at one of America’s many fast food giants, living with my parents and riding my bike to work or hitching a ride every day. I don’t have too many bills, but Mom and Dad aren’t paying for my phone and make me pay some rent and buy a few groceries, which I don’t mind doing. They’re keeping me on their insurance for a few more years, so I can at least pay for a few things.

Lately we’ve been getting some folks talking about the minimum wage going to $15.00 an hour. I don’t know who they are, but their logic sure sounds good. That would mean I could get a place of my own, maybe split the rent with someone or get a small apartment. Everybody at the joint is excited about what it could mean for us. It is crazy that my bosses have kept us at such low wages. I’ve been working at this job a whole 6 months and I believe I should earn more money for giving this company 29 hours of my life a week. I should be able to earn a living wage here, especially if I intend to work here for many years.”

There are a few things wrong with Junior’s thinking here, but this story is more than likely truer than we want to believe. Pick a different part of the country or a different, slightly higher actual minimum wage and this story is abundantly true in every city across the country.

Ultimately, when his bosses or the state or local officials don’t budge on raising the minimum wage to $15, those people who started the conversation about raising the wage will convince Junior that he is unhappy, disgruntled and being put down as a worker. They will also tell him that he and his fellow employees should come together and act as one by joining a union where they will have more bargaining power. All along these outsiders have been acting as union proxies and have positioned themselves as trusted friends and like-minded workers in order to sway Junior and his fellow fast food workers to unite. These people are actually out there, filling the emptiness between Junior’s ears, all across the country with the same babble I stress here.

What most young workers don’t realize is the real financial impact that raising wages across the board has on a company. Consider the impact that raising the wage just $1 per hour has on a company with 100 employees open 24 hours per day.

Just $1 per hour x 100 employees x 8 hours/day = $800 per day x 5 days per week = $4,000 weekly increase in payroll, and $208,000 per year.

Think about the impact of going from $7.50 to $15.00. It would be as if the company automatically hired 100 more employees overnight. A weekly payroll of $30,000 jumps to $60,000 in one fell swoop…over $3 MILLION per year!

One college friend of mine, frustrated with the concept of college algebra, told me she would love the day she gets through algebra, because she never uses math in her daily life anyway. Obviously she’s not alone.

The unfortunate, but very realistic solution that a company has if the minimum wage is increased to such a level is to cut back on hours or workers or both. Junior is already taxed with working 29 hours per week, but if the company changes it’s hours, Junior is very likely to feel a decrease in his hours if the company decides to keep all of its employees or not. If his bosses were to cut back to 16 hours per day, but felt compelled to keep all of their employees, logic would tell him that less operating hours means less working hours per employee to get the same job done, not to mention the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in. His bosses would be wise to consider laying off at least 1/3 of their workforce and consider automation or best practices to alleviate unnecessary work or workers.

Junior also needs to realize that he is on the road to NOWHERESVILLE if he expects to work here for “many years.” Junior needs a good swift kick in the pajamas and a good career counselor to spend an hour with him about his future. Mom and Dad must not be doing it, so maybe an outside force could pinch that skin tag off and help him make some real career choices. On the other hand, by this time he may be brain-washed into thinking that $15.00/hr will sustain him and cement his long term commitment to his dead end life at this job, so intervention may be futile.

No one will tell you the truth, but the real goal of the “Fight to Fifteen” movement is to increase union rolls in the service sector by creating a rift between big bosses and employees, even though raising minimum wages is usually a legislative measure and the bosses have very little say in it. Regardless, if legislation isn’t passed, Junior and his buddies will blame the bosses because they don’t go ahead and raise their pay. A Catch-22 situation for the bosses. Union rolls have been on the decline for years and union officials are mobilizing teams as fast as possible to secure their own jobs and line their own pockets before it’s too late.

I've probably missed a few points here, but I think the main point is clear...the "Fight for Fifteen" organizers (union organizers) are not there to make life easier or better for the workers, they are there for themselves and only themselves.

OUT

Efforts to Silence the Opposing Side

Just a note on how I see the left beginning their campaign to remain in power.

A friend of mine was recently told that his Facebook posts were "too political" by one of his other friends on Facebook. I believe him to be a conservative minded, compassionate and discerning  person whose opinion I have long valued. Having read most of his posts over the years, I can't remember any that I felt were over the top or inflammatory in any way. Most of them were "liked" news bits and articles that he agreed with and felt important enough to share on Facebook...as many of mine are.

After the "too political" comment, he decided to be more cautious in what he was posting. I can understand being cautious in posting distasteful, belligerent or untruthful material. I also understand that some of my friends on Facebook do not hold the same political views that I hold. My advise to my friend is to remain strong in his views and to express his opinions freely. I believe in telling the truth in an open and free society. I believe in spirited debate and open dialogue on all issues facing us in the future, including, and especially, the direction of our country.

I hope my friend does not bow to the voices of opposition to his views. I believe this kind of opposition is the beginning of the Democratic plan to silence our side in the run-up to the 2014 and 2016 elections. I hope that our posts will be informative and show others the lengths the left will go to in order to hold on to power and the destructive direction they are turning us. If our voices are silenced, we deserve the shackles they will most certainly chain us to.

More to follow...

Dr. Ben Carson...ALREADY?

I saw a tweet today about whether I thought Dr. Ben Carson would be a good candidate for President or not and would I vote for him or not. I will say this--if he is the Republican candidate, YES, I will vote for him. In the race up to the nomination though, I need to see who all of the other candidates are.

I don't have all the info I would like to have yet and I do have some questions as a veteran about his willingness to pull the trigger if he needs to, but I WILL NOT vote for a democrat. Not after the debacle of the last 5 years!

I'm sure he may be able to fix the catastrophe that is the Affordable Care Act, AKA "Obamascare." Hell, anything, including never having passed this monstrosity, would be a fix. Maybe Dr. Carson could even reach across the aisle and bring Congress's approval rating into double digits finally.

I want more information on the man...but so far I'm leaning in favor.

I know it's been a LONG time since I have been in the Blogosphere. I decided to go to college back in 2011 and I will be in my last semester starting in January. WOOHOO! I will walk across the stage in May with a BS in Economics...GO FIGURE! Economics? I spent 30 years in the Navy as an electronics specialist and leader. Can you say C U R V E  B A L L? What a great country we live in! In my spare time I am writer for my local newspaper where I pen a monthly "Sportsman's Corner." Nothing game changing, just my ramblings and frustrations as a hunter and fisherman here in East-Central Kansas. So, I thought I'd share my January piece with all of you.

Happy New Year to all! Once again we embark on a new year of hunting, fishing and other outdoor adventures. All of our schedules are chock full of hectic, frenetic stuff and sometimes we actually get the time to enjoy the outdoors. No doubt it is always best when we get to share it with those we care about, whether friends or family. How will you enjoy the outdoors this year? Have you sat down and thought about how you will get out and what your goals will be for the New Year? What will you do different this year that takes you out of your comfort zone? Will you take up bowhunting, buy a new shotgun, try fly fishing for the first time, or will you decide to hike somewhere you've never explored before?

I will be the first to tell you to be realistic in your goals. Setting improbable and impossible goals does nothing for your psyche and isn’t being in the outdoors supposed to be about helping with your peace of mind and vitality of spirit? Any hunter or fisherman who says they don’t have the dream of a 12-pointer walking under their treestand or catching a state record fish is fibbing…me included. Hunting and fishing is sometimes frustrating and often disappointing when you don’t reel in a lunker or take down a trophy, but being in the wide open spaces is rewarding in other ways too.

Where else can you perch yourself 20 feet in the air for hours at a time, sitting on a hard 6”x4” foam covered seat, on a platform that is strapped to a tree that is swaying in the wind, waiting for dinner to walk close enough to you to skewer it with your trusty bow & arrow? OR Where else do you use a 5 gallon bucket to sit next to a fishing rod that has the stinkiest glob of goo and guts you can find as bait, to catch the ugliest fish in the water? We are not demented, we are not addled, we are not insane…we are hopeful!

We also find those hours to be some of the most peaceful times in our adventuresome lives. Free from work, free from school and free from the worries of which channel to watch or app to download. In those hours we can contemplate the wonders around us, always mindful that the world that we normally inhabit is just over the hill and not too far away. Most of the time though, we are listening, watching and anticipating the big strike or huge antlers walking out of the brush so we can spring into action. Unfortunately, I have more time to contemplate the world’s problems than I care to have since I have not had the good fortune to spy those big antlers this year…yet (it’s December 26^th). Still a few days to go.

Whatever you decide about what you plan to do in 2014, please feel fortunate to live in a country where these freedoms are not impinged upon. Where you have the freedom to walk and travel where you want, tote the firearm you desire and shoot the game you pursue. As a veteran, I wish to thank those men and women of our military on the pointy end of the spear this time of year. I spent a few of them out there too and know the sacrifices they make for the freedoms I mentioned. To my fellow outdoor adventurers, I wish you health, wealth and abundant harvests in 2014. Stay safe!

To those who follow my blog, I wish you all of the above also. If you are a blogger, I wish you inspiration and enlightened thought. Cheers and Happy New Year!

What the hell does that mean?

I saw a quote from Ron Paul this morning and it struck me as almost incoherent. I have heard him say the same thing in various forms over the past few years, but as I parsed the statement this morning, I felt like I was trying to do Chinese arithmatic.

"I am just absolutely convinced that the best formula for giving us peace and preserving the American way of life is freedom, limited government and minding our own business overseas."

Does anybody else think these generalizations are as vague and impossible to achieve as "world peace." I know the intent was to fire up a Libertarian base, but gimme a break.

We already have more freedoms than any other people on the planet, so I ask Mr. Paul to be just a little more specific in his definition of freedom. Felons want freedom too.

I agree that we shouldn't be involved in bombing Libya and ought to be loading up to leave Iraq and all the "stans" in the world, but we do have a global economy and our presence does stablize and comfort. I'm not a globalist, but I'd rather be the big dog on the block than the smartass in the shadows. He might say he's not an isolationist, but if he expects to trade freely around the world, he should expect that those we trade with would expect some protection if they need it.

I think I know what limited government means, but I'd like to hear real answers and not sound bites. Realism needs to be part of his world. To believe he could eliminate the Department of Education is not being honest with the people for one thing. I'd like to see it too, but I think it would be easier to change the direction it's heading than dissolving the behemoth.

I just don't believe Ron Paul really believes he has a chance to be more than he is.

The Higher Priority Today...

A lot of stuff to wrap my brain around.  The TV was filled with Egypt last week, CPAC straw polls peeked out from behind the curtain, Barry dropped his budget on us and asked us to believe it's gonna do good things for our economic situation, Mick Jagger made his Grammy debut and it's Valentine's Day.

It's not hard to figure out what is static today and what isn't. The events in Egypt have faded away as fast as Gary Condit faded after 9-10-2001. CPAC has given us another false and ridiculous result from their band of college preppies. The Donald said it best..."Ron Paul has no chance of winning!" Come on CPAC!

Barry's budget is as loaded as it is thick! I haven't read it, but do you really think he's suddenly decided to cut anything from the bloated behemoth government spending plan he has been famous for so far? He'll tell us his favorite programs are being cut and he's freezing something so it will grow more efficient, blah, blah, blah Barry. Spending (investing) is your mantra Dude...WAKE UP!

Mick really didn't do us any favors in his debut last night, so it's really a passing thought and not very newsy anyway.

The questions at the front of my brain right now are where do I get flowers, a card and where do I take my wife to dinner tonight. All that other stuff will evolve without my intervention. I will have time to think more about it tomorrow. As usual I have kicked the can down the road regarding my Valentine's Day duties and am scrambling once again to pull off a win. I'm actually getting pretty good at it, but next year I gotta do better. Yeah, right.

Who's out there?

I am becoming increasingly concerned about where we will be a year from now.

Right now every potential Republican challenger to President Obama is posturing, conducting research, visiting foreign capitals and getting their faces on any TV outlet that will call them. That's OK.

They are scrubbing statements they've made, reviewing positions they've held and scanning every article they've ever written to figure out where they stand or where they need to stand for the next 21 months. That's OK.

I really like a couple of these guys, but I really want them to grow backbones and forget about what the mealy-mouthed lefties will say when they stumble...and they WILL stumble at some point before the election. We all have, and we will in the future.

Life will throw curves and the lefties do it better than anyone. I want my next Republican president to stand at the plate and have the courage to swing for the fences, even when a curve is thrown. If they practice swinging at them now they can hit them well in 2012!

I want a straight talking, tough minded person who doesn't shy away when tough questions or tough positions are posed to them...and if they do it drinking a beer every now and then, GOOD ON EM!