November 4, 2015--Election Day: Carol

The diner is right across the road from Town Hall where people came yesterday to vote.

"Is it a terrible thing that I don't vote?" Carol asked shyly. "I mean, I think I'm a good person and should vote but . . ."

"But what?" Rona asked.

"Shouldn't everyone vote?" She said.

"Maybe yes, maybe no," I said, "I'm OK with people not voting if they have no confidence in the candidates or as a form of protest."

"To tell you the truth, I'm nor sure I agree," Rona said, I think it's important to be an active citizen. Not that I'm criticizing you," she said to Carol who avoided eye contact.

"But in a way you are," Carol said. "That's what I was saying. That I should. So I deserve the criticism. Though . . ." she trailed off. "I mean, like I said. I'm conflicted. And you're right. If I live and work here and pay my taxes here, I should be a better citizen."

To shift the conversation, I said, "Well, what's on the ballot this year?"

"I'm embarrassed to say I don't know. Do you?" she asked Rona.

"You got me," Rona said smiling. "I suppose it's no excuse that we're here only half the year and are registered to vote in New York so . . ."

"So what's on the ballot today? In New York I mean?" Carol smiled.

"You got me again," Rona said, also smiling.

"Can I get you a refill?" Carol asked. "That's part of my problem," she said.

"Your problem?"

"I work all the time. Waitressing here and at the other place in ___ . I barely have time to put gas in my car much less think about voting. I mean learning about all the issues." She shrugged and turned to get more coffee.

When she returned, voting was still on her mind.

"I think there's something on the ballot about the minimum wage."

"I think so too," I said.

"That should motivated me. I mean, to vote. I couldn't live on the minimum wage. I would like to have a baby but even making what I make, thank God more than the minimum, I can't afford it. I'd need childcare or preschool but they charge so much I'd be working to pay them. I wouldn't have enough left to pay rent for a decent place. Forget for now my being able to buy a place."

"I don't know how people do it," Rona said, "Having kids, paying for a place to live, heat one's house, and as you said, afford childcare. Unless you have a mother who can help out . . ."

"My mom works harder than me," Carol said. "I have this friend. She has a two-year-old. Her husband, the baby's father, died when she was in her eighth month so after the baby was born there was obviously less income than they had been planning. If it wasn't for the two sets of grandparents chipping in to help--with money and babysitting--I don't know what would have happened. My friend's not comfortable with food stamps and things like that. She feels it's important to work and pay her own way. But, it's so hard. So hard."

"Like I said, I don't know how people do it. And I do know that many people are not comfortable asking for help. Especially not from the government. Partly because of all the nasty comments from some of our politicians about people taking advantage of the system. Not wanting to work to support themselves."

"There has to be a better way," Carol said. "I mean I don't begrudge people making a lot of money. I'm not in favor of everybody making the same thing. People who go to college, people who became doctors, shouldn't they be allowed to make more than someone working in a restaurant or whatever? I'm for that. But in this country shouldn't everyone without having to ask be allowed to make a least a living wage? So they can have a kid if they want to?"

Mentioning that again, I sensed how deeply she was feeling that desire. "You would be a wonderful mother," I said.

"You know, I'm thinking," Carol said, "that maybe I do have something to vote for. Maybe I need to find the time to inform myself about what's on the ballot. If it's to increase the minimum wage here I should be supporting that. But first I need to know more. I can't just complain about things and should be--how did you put it--an active citizen. I think I'm beginning to like that idea. And, you know, I think if I could get myself going, I'd be pretty good at it."

April 20, 2015--Minimum Wage

Republican candidates for the presidency are being asked about the minimum wage--whether they are in favor of raising it. This in the context of concern about inequality.

Even GOPers are taking note of widening disparities in income and saying we have to do something to help the middle class close the income gap. Basically what they recommend is cutting corporate taxes and taxes on job-creating high earners and getting government off the backs of small businesses so they can grow and then hire more people. In other words, 2015-style trickle-down economics.

Hillary Clinton and other Democrats for the most part see raising the minimum wage as one part of a strategy to reduce inequality.

There is a lot of demagoguery and made-up economic theory and data being flung around--mainly by conservatives--that are going substantially unchallenged by the press covering the various campaigns.

Jeb Bush, for example, campaigning in New Hampshire late last week, was clearly uncomfortable when asked by Kasie Hunt of MSNBC if he favored raising the minimum wage. In addition to claiming it's a issue for the states, not the federal government, he added that he personally is against it since it will cost jobs. Rather than being required to pay a few more dollars an hour companies will take their businesses overseas. Just how a McDonald's in Tulsa might do that he both wasn't pressed about.

Also unchallenged by Ms. Hunt was his claim that raising the minimum wage costs jobs and leads to more unemployment. There are challenging questions to ask about that, challenging questions derived from a myriad of studies that show doing so does not lead to loss of jobs. In many instances, the opposite. More motivated workers are generally more motivated and productive than those who feel underpaid and taken advantage of.

Before glancing at some of these studies, what is at issue in regard to the current situation?

The federal minimum wage as of July will be $7.25 an hour. (A number of states such as California and Massachusetts  pay more--$9.00.) This means that if someone works a 40-hour week, 50 weeks a year, her or his pretax income in July will be $290 a week or $14,500 a year. Far from enough to live with even a modicum of security or comfort.

The poverty rate, as a point of comparison, for a family of four is an annual income of $23,283. So working full-time at the July minimum wage will mean living considerably below the poverty line. Not impressive in a country with the strongest national economy in history.

The best study published in the Review of Economics and Statistics of the effects of raising the minimum wage is by a team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of North Carolina, and UC Berkeley, "Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous Counties." It closely analyzed 16 years of employment trends among various categories of low-wage workers in the retail and food services industries, where most minimum-wage workers are concentrated.

Key to the study was to track data from geographically adjacent counties where the wages were different to see if there was a migration of employment opportunities to the higher-wage sides of the borders and as a result an increase in the unemployment rate.

The study shows conclusively that increasing the minimum wage had no negative effects on high-wage employment, significantly increased the income of workers, and had no impact on unemployment rates.

There are many other studies that reach similar conclusions. So when candidates such as Jeb Bush claim the opposite to be true they should be confronted by the findings of studies of this kind and pressed to move beyond their factless talking points.

February 19, 2014--The $44.2 Million Man

In this land of plenty, salaries are outrageous. Especially at the low end.

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 and hour, which means that if you have a 40-hour-a-week minimum-wage job you make $15,080 a year. Well below the poverty level of $23,550 for a family of four.

At the other end of the spectrum, they are even more outrageous.

Corporate CEOs are among the most extravagantly paid.

Jamie Diamond of JPMorgan Chase, in spite of the fact that on his watch the bank agreed to settle federal lawsuits for $20.0 billion, in 2013 was paid $20.0 million in salary and bonuses. That comes to a neat $9,615 an hour.

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, in spite of the fact that Goldman was successful sued by the Feds for upwards of $1.0 billion, was paid $14.7 million last year.

Michael Duke, CEO of Walmart, with thousands of stores and hundreds of thousands of employees worldwide, with annual sales topping $470 billion, was paid $20 million in 2013.

The new CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra, will earn $14.4 million this year, partly because GM doesn't want to be accused of sexism if they paid her anything less.

At the higher end of the CEO scale, Tim Cook of Apple, netted a cool $40 million in 2013.

Turning to sports, LeBron James of the Miami Heat is earning earned $19.1 million from the team and will bank much more than that from his various endorsements and TV commercials.

If Alex Rodriquez were permitted to play this year for the New York Yankees, he would have taken home a cool $25 million. Instead, he is suspended for the season because of illegal drug use and will take home zilch. But not to worry, after 2014, the Yanks will still owe him $61 million, whether or not he ever plays another game.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig made less than A-Rod. "Only" about $18 million.

Gary Bettman, National Hockey League commissioner made a measly $8.3 million in 2012, the last year figures were published.

Then there is the $44.2 million dollar man--Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, where star quarterback Payton Manning makes "just" $18.0 million per.

Not a bad deal for a league that plays a 16-week season and then a month of playoffs, culminating in the Super Bowl.

What does the NFL commissioner do to justify receiving such an annual fortune? How many auto plants around the world is he responsible for? How many trillions in investments does he manage? And for that matter, how many touchdown passes did Goodell complete? How many quarterback sacks? And has he ever had any concussions?

And what are we talking about? Over-steroided post-adolecents running up and down a field in shoulder pads and helmets. To oversee this they give the commissioner more than $40 million a year? How we have lost our way.

To top off the Goodell story, as reported in the New York Times, there is a part of the NFL that is set up as a not-for-profit. All well and good if that is to fund charitable activities; but it also appears that it is a cover-operation to slip tens of millions to Goodell, whose on-the-books, for-profit salary last year was a paltry $3.5. The rest, nearly $40 million, came from the non-profit organization.

As I said--outrageous.