Author: coastcontact

I am a somewhat cranky but mostly optimistic 65 plus who refuses to give up on this maddening world. The purpose of this BLOG is to express my feelings, thoughts.

Raising the Minimum Wage is No Solution

Remember when cars cost $3,500 and a house cost $30,000?  Inflation raised your pay, the cost of that car, and houses are still just as unaffordable.

Over my many working years I have benefited from the increased minimum wage rates as well as the union won rate increases.  I have always been part of the administrative staff and always on a salary.  Some were weekly rates, some were monthly rates, and there was once even an annual salary.  I receive no overtime pay but my high pay rate is supposedly offset by better pay than the hourly employees.  Not true.

Huffington Post reports that 13 States Will Raise Their Minimum Wage For The New Year.  It seems like a good idea.  After all who could argue with the idea of increasing the pay for those least paid who clearly are in a world of hurt?  Many need food stamps and housing subsidies to survive.

Those salaried jobs of mine have not brought me to wealth.  So I can relate to the poorest paid.

The problem for me is that a pay hike for everyone still leaves the poorest paid at the bottom of the pyramid. Now they face proportionately higher cost for rent, food, and the other necessities of life.  They will be no better off than they had been before the pay increase.  Inflation will destroy their gains.

San Francisco is a city with a minimum rate of $10.55 per hour. The new rate in January will be $10.74.  The cost of living in San Francisco is 164% of the national average.  How has the high minimum rate helped the lowest paid workers?  It hasn’t!

Is there a solution?  I know of none.

Guns Are More Valuable then Lives

Despite Newtown, Aurora, Virginia Tech, and Columbine, gun owner’s rights are more important than lives in America.  That fact is supported by the lack of control legislation from our congress.

School Shooting, Grayson RobinsonClaire Davis, 17, was in critical condition after being shot at point-blank range at Arapahoe High School on Dec. 13. She died Saturday afternoon.  The killer was 18 year old Karl Pierson.  He had legally purchased his shotgun at a local store a week before the shooting and bought the ammunition the day of the shooting. Anyone 18 and older is allowed to buy a shotgun in Colorado.

Colorado has a history of shooting incidents.
1999  Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County – 13 people were killed
2006  Platte Canyon High School in Bailey – one person killed
2007  A 24-year-old man named Matthew Murray shot and killed four people in two different cities in Arvada and Colorado Springs.  The facilities included his church.
2012  Aurora at Century movie theater – Twelve people were killed
September 9, 2013  In the first recalls of state lawmakers in Colorado history, State Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron were both removed from office Tuesday by voters upset with their stance on gun control.
December 13, 2013  Claire Davis, age 17 is killed by another student

Reality TV and American Culture

With more than 300 million people in the United States, America has a diversified society.  Those people living in rural midwestern and southern states have little in common with those who were born in a big northern or west coast city.  Smaller communities are just not very diverse in terms of religion or ethnic background.

When ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Phil Robertson claims Black People Were ‘Happy’ Pre-Civil Rights it’s his view and his opinion.

We have a set of rules that allowed the American Nazi Party to parade through  Skokie, a Chicago suburb with a high Jewish population.

Our laws allow Mr. Robertson and the Nazis to say what they want and parade in a peaceful fashion even if most of us find their words and deeds disgusting.

Private enterprise has the right to protect its interests too.  Thus GQ magazine saw its right to publish the words of Mr. Robertson.  Similarly A&E cable network has the right to end its relationship with the man.  Call it the Paula Deen effect.

WordPress is a blog medium where everyone can express their views. Readers can always go elsewhere.  Some of the things David Bancroft and I have posted caused significant objection and controversy.

You are free to express your comments to this blog. We do not reject comments that offer opposing views.

Battle to Save the GOP

The United States system of government requires compromise if it is to function.  The two major poltical parties differ in so many way that it difficult to believe they are even from the same country.  There are many reasons for this situation.  Urban versus rural is the most obvious.

President Ronald Reagan “stood tough and strong against our — and humanity’s — enemies abroad, at home Reagan showed a congeniality to his political opponents. And he stood for and evinced a sunny optimism about both America and the American people. To him it was always “morning in America.””  From http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/04/bennett.reagan.optimism/   He compromised with Tip O’Neill, Democratic Speaker of the House.  

Americans want a well managed functioning government.  President Obama ran for election on the theme that he would be the man who would lead a government that would bring all Americans together. The president’s words, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America.”  It didn’t happen.  His intent was in the right place but his ability to deliver has fallen far short.

It is obvious that Americans yearn for a president who can lead all the people regardless of their political party.

During the Obama presidency the GOP has NOT been the party of new ideas.  It has been the party of NO.  That has to change if the party is to survive.

That brings us to the group of potential candidates for the 2016 primaries. Who among the many can convince Americans that they can lead a divided nation?

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan clearly is a well known participant who wants to prove to Americans that he could lead our politically divided nation.  So even though he is an avowed conservative, who has been reported to be an admirer of Ayn Rand, he wants to convey the idea that he could lead the nation even if the Democrats controlled one house of Congress and the Republicans controlled the other.  Thus, Mr. Ryan has forged a budget agreement compromise with Democrats.  It’s not something like President Ronald Reagan reaching an agreement with Democratic leader Thomas (Tip) O’Neill despite what Chris Matthews tries to imagine but at least they were talking to each other.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is another possibility along with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.  After all both of them are holding office in states that are typically Democratic.

That leaves out Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.  All have been strong conservatives.  None has shown any inclination for compromise.

Still the budget agreement is an indicator that Republicans are beginning to understand the path to their success is their willingness to reach agreement.  That ought to translate into agreement on the debt ceiling and immigration reform.

If the GOP says NO to those issues they can say goodbye to winning national elections.

Nelson Mandela

nelson-mandela-timelineThe overwhelming tribute to this man was a colossal mistake. I have attempted to read every article written about this man.  Not one article I have read tells us anything more than he was incarcerated for 27 years.  That he was a leader in the African National Congress.  That he was an inspiration to the Black people of South Africa.  He did not look for revenge but sought reconciliation.  All good things but do those things make him a great leader?  I do not believe that his contributions deserve the accolades that has received. I am not alone in this opinion. 

South Africa is in tatters.  Most of the black township areas consist of poor people who do not appear to have any path to better lives.  Thousands of White people have emigrated to other nations.

The New York Times March 22, 2012 article only begins to tell the story.  Anthony Bordain’s Parts Unknown on CNN shows some of the poverty.  Without an educated society there is little chance for progress.

Great speeches, smiles, and friendliness are wonderful attributes.  They alone do not make a great person.  This man’s accomplishments were few.  Black Africa needs a leader.  Perhaps this memorial will motivate someone to step forward to fill that position.

Sandy Hook Anniversary

This is the one year anniversary of the now well documented shooting at Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

Since the Sandy Hook tragedy (20 children and six adults killed by a deranged young man) there have been at least 19 similar events.  In addition gun violence in big cities continues.  All this in what many people say is the greatest nation in the world.  Apparently the access to guns and the “right” to have a gun takes priority to making the United States the safest nation in the world.

The American Skills Gap

The skills gap in U.S. manufacturing has hit a vast array of industries that are having trouble filling their workforce needs with properly trained workers who can step right in and help companies.

As an example, across the jobs spectrum in the laser industry, from designing equipment, to finding workers to install and repair laser machinery, to manufacturers that need skilled employees on the plant floor, the lack of workers with the necessary skills has become a major problem.

To believe an exhaustive new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the skill level of the American labor force is not merely slipping in comparison to that of its peers around the world, it has fallen dangerously behind.  A new OECD study finds that the US is well behind its global competitors in math, reading, and computer skills.

The highly skilled in the United States earn a much larger wage premium over unskilled workers than in most, if not all, other advanced nations, where regulations, unions and taxes tend to temper inequality. So if the rewards for skills are so high, why is the supply of skilled workers so sluggish?  The answer is not clear.

Socioeconomic status is a barrier. Not only is inequality particularly steep, little is done to redress the opportunity deficit of poorer students. Public investment in the early education of disadvantaged children is meager. Teachers are not paid very well, compared with other countries. And the best teachers tend to end up teaching in affluent schools.

To speed growth, we must close the widening skills gap that exists in all of our industries.  Washington lawmakers do not appear to be inclined to take the proactive lead that is necessary.  This means that large companies and industry organizations will have to take the lead.  That can be accomplished through lobbyists in the capitol or sponsoring training programs.  The question is will private industry take the lead when labor costs are so much lower in other nations?

Sources for this article is news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2013/12/10, The New York Times,OECD  

Rising riches: 1 in 5 in US reaches affluence

Despite all the tears shed over the income gap in the United States this article is a reason for hope.  Maybe you won’t become part of the 20% earning $250,000 or more but you just might find a path to recovery.

By HOPE YEN
From Associated Press
December 09, 2013 5:47 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fully 20 percent of U.S. adults become rich for parts of their lives, wielding extensive influence over America’s economy and politics, according to new survey data.

These “new rich,” made up largely of older professionals, working married couples and more educated singles, are becoming politically influential, and economists say their capacity to spend is key to the U.S. economic recovery. But their rise is also a sign of the nation’s continuing economic polarization.

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