Paul Daugherty: Living on the (de)fault line

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Living on the (de)fault line

Straying from sports to real life, here's a fabulous and sobering story about those among us who try to live on or close to the minimum wage. It's the sort of story all of us need to read, if only for perspective. It's also the kind of thing newspapers still do better than anyone else. Give it a look and count your blessings:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901812.html

15 Comments:

at 8:11 PM

Anonymous said...

Wow, Doc...Good find and an interesting read. Certainly makes you think and appreciate what you DON'T have to worry about...

at 1:35 PM

Anonymous said...

Labor is a commodity like anything else and for government to arbitrarily set the price for labor is a mistake, same as if they did it with anything else....a socialized, central planned economy doesn't work, it's been tried already and failed. Haven't we learned this lesson yet? The thing that is "sobering" to me after reading this is the hundreds of thousands of teenagers who won't get hired now because the price of their labor is more than the return received in skill level, i wonder how many of them will seek out trouble with too much time on their hands then? And which of us will complain about them? Mike Barrier/Clifton

at 2:10 PM

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the perspective. Kind of flies in the face of all those people who try to portray low-wage jobs as being held by high school kids just making extra spending money, doesn't it? What do you think the odds are that his Dodge Neon will still be running in 2012 when he gets finished making payments? Or that the trailer will be worth anything when the 20-year mortgage is paid? Or that either one is worth now what he owes on them?

at 10:51 PM

matty buckets said...

You got it Mike B. Around 54 percent of all minimum wage workers work for companies with less than 100 employees and 2/3 work in companies with less than 500 employees. Thus, the minimum wage is basically a tax on small businesses.

at 8:31 AM

Anonymous said...

Think the minimum wage should be increased? Ever complain about having to use the stupid self checkout line and it never working. Raise the cost of labor and machines/computers will replace them. Not only do they have to pay the increased cost for that worker, but they are still paying the unemployment, SS, and whatever benefits for that worker. Raising the cost of labor will actually drive up unemployment. It's just going to create more problems. But hey, then the democraps can blame that on the republicans and they will have something new to fight about right?

at 1:04 PM

Anonymous said...

I wonder if you will be concerned for the loophole Pelosi just gave to the tuna industry. They will still only make $3.60 an hour. Something smells fishy and it ani't tuna. Excuse me, I have to go throw up now.

at 9:31 PM

Anonymous said...

Allow me to make a couple points that'll win me the Golden Callous Chalice from today's politically-correct-saturated populace.
Choices have consequences. I admit upfront that I know nothing about the protagonist's history, so I do not know if this applies to him (since the article says nothing about this)...but, what choices DID he make in his life leading to the "only" options he had in life were low-wage jobs?
I've lived in a third world country; that's not a brag or a banner for me to hang, I simply have seen the poor in other countries. Folks, it doesn't compare. We have poor in our country who are obese...poor in many other countries means ribs showing on babies with mothers' who have tears in their eyes as they wave away the flies that try to land on their starving child's eyes. This isn't hyperbole. It's fact. Our poor, though mostly truly disadvantaged compare to the "haves" in this country, do have some opportunities, particularly when they are young. Did this young man strive and work hard in school? Does he have a record that prevents him from getting a "good" job? I'm not doubting things need to be done to improve our system, but this was an article that solely focused on perceived problems in "the system"...there was nothing about choices made that may have contributed heavily to his only having the ability to go after these types of jobs. Just a thought.

And I am a Democrat, but not to the point where I don't see the valid arguments made by Republicans at times...one thing I do not like about "my" party is that we blame too much, instead of celebrating what ALL humans can do, no matter what the odds. Embrace what your country offers...born into poverty? WORK--from kindergarten on--out of it.

You are not bound by birth conditions in this country, as many are in many countries are.

at 3:24 PM

Anonymous said...

Lighten up. All he did was link to an article about what life is like on minimum wage.

at 11:32 PM

Anonymous said...

bobestes...
Weak. Very weak. "Lighten up..." is the response of one who can't refute a logical argument. All points by anon. 9:31 were refreshingly valid. It was a lengthy article, 9:31 gave some very good food to feed upon concerning possible, and often usual, unseen mitigating factors.

at 9:11 AM

Anonymous said...

And there are a hundred other mitigating factors why people on minimum wage deserve our sympathy, not scorn. "You should have gone to college" is not a good solution for dire economic circumstances.

at 1:18 PM

Anonymous said...

annonymous @ 11:32 said to bobestes...

"Weak. Very weak. "Lighten up..." is the response of one who can't refute a logical argument."

Anyone using 'anonymous' must have something to hide but obviously not tire, out of context, pointlessly logical arguments.

Even Bill O'Limbaugh uses his name.

Or possibly you're at work stealing your company's pay and driving up production costs?

at 1:41 PM

Anonymous said...

reddicks--
"pointlessly logical..." that's a good one...get educated, would you? um, can you explain what you mean? I'm laughing at you!

Oh..my name is Mark Rainsford, by the way...my question is, is reddicks your real name? Kind of funny.
And actually, I work for the government, and I'm typing right now on work-time, so to double the insult, you are paying me to shred you, which, by the way, I am doing. Report me!

at 1:57 PM

Anonymous said...

The real irony about the minumum wage increase is that the people who would get it are the people who never bothered to learn and understand the long term impact of it and why it doesn't work -- and the very reason they never bothered to learn the long term impact of it and why it doesn't work is the same reason they need it.

at 12:38 PM

Anonymous said...

Mr. Daugherty,

"Mark Rainsford"

I got no way of getting to this guy. Not in local phonebook. Google doesn't fit his self description. Google says he's either a lawyer, actor or lives in Great Britain.

Heck, I'd like to invite him to a workout at the Shamrock Gym.

Can you help.

at 8:42 AM

Anonymous said...

Mr. Reddicks-
You state that you're having a problem "getting to this guy"...And finally, you are correct.

You couldn't handle being slammed in writing (though much, much harder) after you started things, and now you continue your tears by implying you're going to...um, what?...beat me up at the boxing gym? Wow. Words are cheap, so I won't go into what I'm quite positive I could do to you...but it's funny. I showed your note around at work (while taxpayers were paying me), and those who know me were only uttering, "If this guy only knew..." I'll end with the same...If you only knew. Quit crying like a stuck pig, would ya? Man-up for godsakes and learn how to take what you can dish. I'm done...quite simply, you aren't worth the time.

Love,
Mark

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Living on the (de)fault line

15 Comments: