Yoda Speaks On Minimum Wage

Posted on February 14, 2013 | 2 comments

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Posted in Economics

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The Liberal War On Black Americans

Posted on February 14, 2013 | 2 comments

Thomas Sowell on the impact of the minimum wage as it pertains to minorities in America, specifically black Americans:

Over the years, some of the most devastating policies, in terms of their actual effects on black people, have come from liberal Democrats, from the local to the national level.

As far back as the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression of the 1930s, liberal Democrats imposed policies that had counterproductive effects on blacks. None cost blacks more jobs than minimum-wage laws.

In countries around the world, minimum-wage laws have a track record of increasing unemployment, especially among the young, the less skilled, and minorities. They have done the same in America.

One of the first acts of the Roosevelt administration was to pass the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, which included establishing minimum wages nationwide. It has been estimated that blacks lost 500,000 jobs as a result.

After that act was declared unconstitutional, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set minimum wages. In the tobacco industry alone, 2,000 black workers were replaced by machines, just as blacks had been replaced by machines in the textile industry after the previous minimum-wage law.

Fortunately, the high inflation of the 1940s raised the wages of even unskilled labor above the level prescribed by the minimum-wage law. The net result was that this law became virtually meaningless, until the minimum-wage rate was raised in 1950.

During the late 1940s, when the minimum-wage law had essentially been repealed by inflation, 16- and 17-year-old blacks in 1948 had an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent, slightly lower than that of whites the same ages and a fraction of what it would be in even the boom years after the minimum-wage rate kept getting increased by liberal Democrats.

Emphasis mine.

And who gains by the enactment of minimum wage laws?

Organized labor union.

Obama and the democrats continue to wage an economic war on a group of people in the most need of our help  in order to win the union vote and its financial gravy train.

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Posted in Economics, Politics: National

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The Continued Assault On Undereducated And The Underskilled

Posted on February 14, 2013 | 3 comments

On Tuesday night, Barack Obama announced a continued assault on the prosperity of America’s most vulnerable; the undereducated and the underskilled.  He did this in his annual State of the Union Address when he announced a desire to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour.

While the president may very well feel that he can slow the rise of the oceans:

Yes, while he may slow the rise of the oceans, he is not able to defy the laws of economics.

Now don’t get me wrong, the intentions are noble and honorable, if you are to believe politicians are capable of such things.  We all would like to see the folks who make the least be able to earn more and enjoy a better life.  We want to see a steady rise n the incomes of the poorest among us so that they too may avoid the constant worry of bills past due and the need to feed hungry children.

But that isn’t what Obama is doing.  In fact, what Obama is doing is sacrificing the very people that he claims to be helping in order to make a catchy and effective sound bit during his speech.  See, raising the minimum wage doesn’t help the people who are the ones making the least amount of money; it hurts them.

The minimum wage prevents business from hiring them in the first place.  It raises the barrier to entry past the meager skills that they posses.  At a time in their life when they should be willing to take a job, any job, to learn new skills, become proficient in new trades and crafts, during a time when they need to begin to understand the expectations of employers as it relates to employees, they are being priced out of the market.

The market is very effective at setting the value of scare resources.  And labor is nothing more than a scare resource; we all want more of it as cheaply as we can get it.  And so, in the course of voluntary trade, we set the rate at which we are willing to pay for it.  And most labor, believe it or not, is set at rates already ABOVE the minimum wage.

But for those entering the job market, such as high school kids, they are finding that they lack the skills required to demand such a wage.  And as a result, they are being left behind and find themselves unemployed.  This at a time when we need these young people working.  The years lost at the beginning of the working career are very difficult to make up.  And the longer they are out of the work force, the further and further they fall behind those in it.

If you wanted to target the poor an the undereducated, many of which are minorities, you would be hard pressed to contrive a more malicious program that would guarantee to make life worse for those folks than the impacts of minimum wage laws that Obama supports.

But who benefits?

Unions.

Barack Obama has made a decision.  He has placed a bet that he can secure the Union vote by selling out the poor, the undereducated and the underskilled all the while using words and rhetoric that would cause that group of people to support him.

It is depravity at its worst.

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Posted in Economics, Economy, Politics: National

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The NAACP – Racists

Posted on February 12, 2013 | 2 comments

The definition of the word “racist” has changed.  Today, its use has been co-opted by the left to instill a form of faux outrage against groups, or more accurately, policies that they don’t like.

To be sure, given any group of people and any sufficiently random problem to be solved, there will be disagreement.  And, in my opinion, in that disagreement lies the secret to America’s success; what a horrible horrible world it would be if it worked exactly like I wanted it to.

Or if it worked exactly like YOU wanted it to.

However, some of us engage in an especially caustic form of objection.  See, it’s one thing to disagree on merit, to debate rationally, emotionally even, but in a realm of reality.  But that doesn’t always win elections, it doesn’t always move people to act, to anger or to vote.

To do that, you have to make it that your opponent is “against” something.  And one of the most often used targets for that is race.

See, if I can make it look like your position on an issue is racist, I win.  Not because my position is stronger or more valid, not at all.  It’s because I have successfully cast you as a racist.  And who is for racism?

No one.

And this is how the left, liberals and democrats operate.  They ignore the merits of the policy and instead, and effectively, manipulate race.

And here in North Carolina we have an elected official going after the source:

Raleigh, N.C. — A Republican House freshman will be in the spotlight Friday at an NAACP press conference for an email he sent to the state organization, calling the group and its leader “racist” and “race-opportunists.”

Rep. Michael Speciale, R-Craven, along with all other state lawmakers, received an emailed version of a statement last week by NAACP state president William Barber on proposed voter ID legislation.

In the statement, Barber calls voter ID initiatives “national propaganda efforts by the far-right to justify the obvious tactic to suppress the votes of minorities, youth, disabled and the elderly,” and urges Republican legislative leaders to abandon their push for such a law in North Carolina.

Sing it brother!

The e-mail in full:

Dr. Barber,

This is as insulting a diatribe as I have seen in years. The NAACP has a proud history of working on behalf of black Americans to address the problems of society directed at them. You tarnish that with your racist diatribes and your race-baiting attitude. The photo requirement to vote is to prove that one is who they say they are. Nowhere in anyone’s minds but yours and your fellow race-opportunists is race, ethnic background, or color of one’s skin mentioned, insinuated or inferred regarding the proposed voter ID laws.

You do minorities and the elderly a disservice when you assume that they are incapable or incompetent to the point that they cannot provide a photo ID to vote. Photo ID’s are required in nearly every aspect of American life, and most Americans over the age of 16 have some form of photo ID. Your talking points make no sense, as you ramble on with Constitutional phrases to give an impression that you know what you are talking about, and it is apparent that you are grasping at straws. Your attempts to make minorities and the elderly believe that they are victims in this effort is contrary to common sense but apparently necessary to your economic survival

Your comments, both today and in the past are racist and inappropriate, therefore, I request that you remove me from your email list.
Michael Speciale

The new definition of racism, the “urban-dictionary” version of racism, calls out anyone that would use race as a reason to promote a policy.  Anything from immigration to voter-id to pre-k education to unemployment reform to you name it, if you don’t agree with it you can defend your position best by calling racism.

And it’s about time that someone called the left on it.

When someone uses “racism” as a lever to push an agenda that they disagree with, they are as guilty of this “urban dictionary” version of the definition as those they themselves accuse.  In this case it’s voter-id.  The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP is calling out state officials for engaging in racist policy as it pertains to voter requirements.  Yet they are silent on ID requirements for alcohol, cigarettes, the lottery, sudafed, and -as I learned today- mailing packages in a box through the mail.

Is it true that voter fraud is a problem in North Carolina?  Probably not.  Is it true that we want people who are casting votes to be able to prove who they are?  Probably so.  Given the economic circumstances is it the best policy to pursue at this time?  Debatable.

But is it racist?

If you ask that question, think that question, in those words, you don’t know what you are talking about.

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Posted in Liberty, Politics: North Carolina, Race

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Team vs. Policy

Posted on February 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a relative new comer to following politics.  And certainly, this is the first time that I’ve followed and paid attention to politics real time.  So I’ve never been in the circumstance of having to critique a republican president.

To be sure, at the end of Dubya’s term, I was aware and didn’t appreciate the lack of end-game concerning the two wars, I didn’t like the fact that we were detaining suspects with no real intention of trying them and I didn’t like the stimulus.

However, now we’re into Obama’s 2nd term and I’ve noticed a definite lack of prosecution regarding the subject of drones, drone strikes and the use of such as it concerns targets; foreign and domestic.

I would have guessed at such silence.  After all, politics is, in many ways, a zero-sum game; the other guy wins when you lose.  So  liberal to take Obama to task for such abuse of power is counter-productive to their “cause”.  I get that.

But this?

“We trust the president,” former Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan said on Current TV. “And if this was Bush, I think that we would all be more up in arms because we wouldn’t trust that he would strike in a very targeted way and try to minimize damage rather than contain collateral damage.”

This isn’t a critique of policy where one side “attacks” the other guy and silently disagrees with our guy.  This is a case where the policy is okay in the hands of our guy but wrong in the hands of the other.

In other words, the act of killing Americans, foreign suspects and innocent civilians isn’t wrong a priori, it’s only wrong in the hands of President Bush.

The only thing more surprising than thinking this?

Saying this.

 

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Posted in Idiots on Parade, Liberty, Politics: National

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Proof The Market Doesn’t Always Work

Posted on February 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

I may have to reassess my belief in the power of the free market:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –  The producer of Maker’s Mark bourbon is cutting — likely permanently — the amount of alcohol in each bottle to stretch every drop of the famous Kentucky whiskey. The alcohol volume is being lowered from its historic level of 45 percent to 42 percent — or 90 proof to 84 proof.

The brand known for its square bottles sealed in red wax has struggled to keep up with demand that more than doubled the past seven years. Distribution has been squeezed and the popular premium brand has had to curtail shipments to some overseas markets.

“Over the last 100-plus days, there are many, many instances across lot of different cities where bars, restaurants, package stores have run low, run out,” Rob Samuels, chief operating officer for Maker’s Mark and grandson of the brand’s founder, said Monday.

“Given the surge in demand outstripping supply, what we’ve decided to do very carefully is to slightly reduce the alcohol volume.”

Of course, the other solution would have been to increase the price.

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Posted in Economics, Fun

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We’ve Got Spirit Yes We Do! We’ve Got Spirit How ‘Bout You?

Posted on February 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Minnesota has seen a democrat resurgence of late.  What once was a red governor and house and senate is now blue through and through; fitting for the state that had voted for the democrat presidential candidate for the most consecutive elections.

And Wisconsin isn’t that.  We all know the battles that have been waged in the badger state.

But this is awesome:

A Wisconsin legislator is using Gov. Mark Dayton’s budget proposal to try to lure business across the state border.

Republican Rep. Erik Severson, of Osceola, has sent a letter to hundreds of Minnesota businesses, including Best Buy, 3M and UnitedHealth Group.  Severson urges the businesses to relocate to Wisconsin and avoid higher taxes.

Dayton’s proposal raises about $2 billion in additional tax revenue by lowering the state sales tax, but expanding it to more items and to services. The St. Paul Pioneer Press says Dayton’s office has responded to Severson’s letter by saying job growth is not dictated by taxes and that Severson should focus on his own state. The statement from the governor’s office also says Minnesota’s economy has fared far better than Wisconsin’s in recent years.

For what it’s worth, the Minnesota Wisconsin football rivalry is the single longest consecutive years played match-up in college football.

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Posted in Economics, Fun, Politics: National

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Money Can’t Buy Happiness

Posted on February 11, 2013 | 2 comments

It may not buy you love either, but it sure makes it easier to drink good beer.  I don’t know exactly what this means, but I think it’s a combination of the ability to earn money and then the measure of the power of that income via the  availability of inexpensive goods that makes that salary more valuable.

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Posted in Economics, Economy, Fun

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We’re Gonna Ration

Posted on February 11, 2013 | 4 comments

The allocation of scare resources: Rationing.

There are a lot of ways of doing it; time, money, connections even luck.

Some of us think that rationing by money optimizes quality and supply.  Others think that rationing by time does the same thing.  I disagree:

SACRAMENTO — As the state moves to expand healthcare coverage to millions of Californians under President Obama’s healthcare law, it faces a major obstacle: There aren’t enough doctors to treat a crush of newly insured patients.

So, California is going to ration on time.  And one of the metrics that time based rationing optimizes is – low quality:

Some lawmakers want to fill the gap by redefining who can provide healthcare.

They are working on proposals that would allow physician assistants to treat more patients and nurse practitioners to set up independent practices. Pharmacists and optometrists could act as primary care providers, diagnosing and managing some chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and high-blood pressure.

Now, to be sure, allowing non-doctor health care providers could very well be positive; after all – why do we need an MD to refill a prescription for blood pressure medication?  However, I’m sure that California isn’t embracing this is an open-market mindset.  Rather, docs are just fleeing the medicaid business.  In fact, in California, only 57% of doctors are accepting new medicaid patients.

 

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Posted in Economics, Health Care, States Behaving Badly

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Catastrophic Global Warming Summed Up

Posted on February 11, 2013 | Leave a comment

Global warming.  Which means not that the planet is warming, rather that we are facing catastrophic consequences unless we tax the buffalo on the nickel till it chokes.

Global warming.

The vehicle to bring us all sorts of “solutions” that have nothing to do with the end of days.

Global warming.

The cause of asteroids:

The stupid knows no bounds.

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Posted in Climate Change, Environment

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