Congratulations to the Kauai County Council for approving a resolution calling for a $15/hour minimum wage. Since the federal poverty level for a family of four in Hawaii is close to $28,000/year, this wage will provide a $30,000/year income, lifting
Congratulations to the Kauai County Council for approving a resolution calling for a $15/hour minimum wage. Since the federal poverty level for a family of four in Hawaii is close to $28,000/year, this wage will provide a $30,000/year income, lifting workers out of poverty and ensuring that they too can, like the “rest of us,” participate in the “American Dream.”
In our “market-driven” economy the “capitalist” is honored as the provider of money to finance a project. With this money, an entrepreneur will surround himself with qualified people to “just do it.” But then the capitalist takes as much as 90 percent of the rewards — not the entrepreneur. Not the man with the dream who has put blood, sweat and tears into making his business a reality. The capitalist has done nothing except provide the money.
Just like the board game “Monopoly,” the one with the most money wins. It doesn’t matter who does the work or how much training is required to become qualified to do what might be a difficult or dangerous job; the “money man” always wins. There should be an alternative to the “money man.”
American economic history has unfortunately saddled businesses with the costs of providing unemployment insurance, healthcare insurance, retirement and other services that, by right, should be available to every American just because they are an American.
Having recently looked at what it would take to start a business I was confounded to find multiple agencies having a say in how to run my business. At one point, I found myself in a catch-22 where I had to get simultaneous approval from two different agencies which could not agree with each other. I have a much better appreciation of how difficult running a business is.
Business owners have legitimate complaints about all the regulations placed on them by the government. It would be much easier to recognize that in a complex society everybody needs a certain level of support services such as healthcare, education and sometimes housing. Business has been providing healthcare only for their employees so the support net is full of leaks. That is not the fault of business!
Business should not be in the “business” of providing health care. It is none of their business. Business must be relieved of this obligation. The most obvious solution is to elect a government that cares for all Americans. America should not rely on the “trickle-down” largesse of the billionaire who anchors his Navy-destroyer-sized yacht in Hanalei Bay for a month to show off — while the homeless spend every night on the beach.
Still, some people are not worth $15/hour. They are unable to contribute enough to be worth the new minimum wage. They become a drag on the “rest-of-us.” On a recent project, I encountered these people for the first time in my life. Truth be told, I have always been aware of this group, but have never dealt with them in a way that I could recognize or appreciate how hopeless they are. Some were lazy, but not all.
Some were drug-addled, but not all. Some suffered from bad parenting such as fetal alcohol syndrome. Some just didn’t have the training to do the job that needed to be done. Some were just totally incompetent for thousands of other reasons. Taken together, they slowed down my project and did actual damage that had to be repaired later. One step forward, two steps back.
What do we do about these people?
When I’ve asked other business owners about what to do, they all responded that I should look for better qualified people. That answer does not address my question.
Of course, I did not continue to employ people who are unqualified, but if they weren’t qualified for the jobs I was asking them to do, they aren’t qualified to do any job. So, I ask again, “What do we do about these people?”
The cynical, sarcastic and highly hyperbolic response has been, “let them die.” Obviously, this is not the answer. However, isn’t this what happens when we refuse to provide education, healthcare and other social services so that folks cannot get the qualifications they need for a simple job and then end up living out of their car, or on the beach and dying from hunger or easily curable disease?
How can we as a society ignore the less fortunate without selling our soul to Satan? If America is a “Christian Nation” (a debatable claim which I do not support) how is this “Christian”?
Any job worth doing, no matter how mundane or simple — even digging a hole, should provide a living wage. Businesses that cannot afford a living wage are actually stealing their employees productivity and forcing society, the “rest-of-us,” to provide minimum services to keep the less-fortunate housed, healthy and educated.
These services, usually provided by the government, are often called “free stuff” in a ploy to get us to think less of our fellow Americans who, maybe, just need a break.
Without a living wage, no matter how hard someone works, they will never be able to accumulate enough wealth to climb out of poverty. As long as they live in poverty, someone has to take care of them. We do ourselves no favors in denigrating them since it just hardens us to one another and justifies a dog-eat-dog world where the sociopath, who cares only about himself, rises to the top.
“Everybody” supposedly knows that taxing the rich cannot provide all the “free stuff” required to support those incapable or unwilling to take care of themselves. Obviously, that is a lie. Half of America’s wealth is controlled by a mere 68 people. Are they sociopaths? Not all of them, but surely some of them are.
Look at the presidential candidates they support: a phony Christian who believes he is the second coming of Christ; a multi-billionaire, who inherited his wealth and cannot lose it fast enough while also going bankrupt four times; a former Forbes 100 CEO who nearly destroyed her company; a robot who has memorized his lines and repeats them when confronted with an unexpected situation while constantly changing his position on nearly every policy he “strongly” supports; a wonk who is paid over $100,000 every time she speaks before the banksters who nearly destroyed our economy in 2008.
All of them bought and paid for to promote the “free stuff” and “individual responsibility” lies that are tearing our country apart. All of them promising to “fight for you,” as if our country is in some kind of war where there must to be winners and losers. We have been “fighting” for the last 50 years and look at who is winning — not the average Joe.
We are Americans! American society is made up of citizens who care about each other and take care of one another. Society is everyone. Those who believe in the American dream are Democratic-Socialists.
They are Democrats because they want everyone to be able to pursue their own dream to advance as far as they desire and are capable of. They are socialists because they recognize that “we are all in this together.”
Democratic-Socialists take care of those who are incapable of performing at minimum standards and are not worth $15/hour. Democratic-Socialists strive to be the best they can be and provide shining examples to others encouraging them to also be better than they are.
Democratic-Socialists forgive the flaws in others and do not condemn others to the hell of homelessness and poverty or sloth. Democratic-Socialists provide pathways for everyone to be more; to do more.
Democratic-Socialists are just plain good people.
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John Zwiebel is a resident of Kalaheo.
