Tag Archives: Colorado

Gun Control

I’m guessing the tragedy in Colorado is going to get us all talking gun control again:

WASHINGTON (CBS News) The carnage in Aurora, Colorado has re-opened the nation’s debate about gun control. The issue came up after the 1999 Columbine massacre, but has largely been dormant since former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot 2011.

For the record, I think I’m moderate on gun control.  I support owning guns however I don’t think citizens need access to all forms of firearms.  Further, we should all agree that not all people should be able to own a weapon.

  • Kids
  • Felons
  • Terror watch list members
  • Perhaps controlled substance addicted individuals

I don’t know, just that we can agree that some people should be restricted.

With that, here’s my question:

Would you want the front row in that Colorado theater armed or not armed?

Or.

If you were in that front row in Colorado, would YOU want to be armed or not armed?

Minimum Wage

Got a bunch of baseball cards in the attic?  Beanie Babies maybe?  How about some old CD’s?

Now, say ya wanna sell ’em.  Everyone knows that if you start the bidding to high you won’t get any takers.  Bring the price down and you can sell almost anything.

Simple:  More expensive, fewer people buy.  Less expensive, more people buy.

Which makes this so mind boggling:

Eight states will ring in the New Year with a higher minimum wage, under state laws that require wage floors to keep apace with inflation. San Francisco, one of the few cities that sets its own minimum wage above the federal level, is also raising wages for the lowest-paid workers in the new year. It will become the first big city in the country to require companies to pay their workers more than $10 an hour.

The minimum wage increases in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington will be 28 cents to 37 cents an hour, according to the National Employment Law Project. That is an extra $582 to $770 a year for a full-time minimum wage worker, and resets these states’ minimum wages to $7.64 to $9.04 an hour.

At that higher end is Washington State, which will become the first state in the nation to set its minimum wage above $9 an hour. For reference, the federal wage floor for most workers is $7.25 an hour.

I get it, I do.  No one’s time should be worth so little.  However, by forcing businesses to pay more for labor than they otherwise should, they will buy less labor.  And lastly, should an individual be free to bargain for the value of his time?

 

Senate Race 2010: III

I have covered the open seats.  Those currently held by Democrats and those held by Republicans.  So far, I have it D-57 and R-43.

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