Letters for Sunday, July 24, 2022

Watching TV is not as easy as it used to be

I thought a stream was a body of running water. Now when you say “stream” it means to transmit or receive over the internet as a steady, continuous flow.

The first time I was invited to stream a Buffalo Bills football game with a Facebook group I belong to I had no idea what they meant. I thought the group went fishing and watched the game together. That was back in 2017. I now stream every game with this group that is not nationally televised. We watch as a group and comment, talk story, and say words you never heard in the bible. I have also recently learned how to mirror the Facebook stream from my smartphone direct to my TV without any cords.

Watching TV is not as easy as it used to be. When I was growing up there were three primary networks, most TVs were black and white, and no remotes to change channels. For a good picture, you would wiggle the rabbit-ear antennas with makeshift tinfoil for even better reception.

Then came cable. No more free TV. It seems like every month there’s some increase that sneaks into the cable bill.

Now streaming has become mainstream. You’ll need a smart TV, which most people already have, or a conversion device like a Roku or Firestick to convert your TV to a smart TV. You’ll need Wi-Fi supplied by a router, which you most likely have if you have internet service in your home.

Streaming basically put Blockbuster and all the ma-and-pa video stores out of business, since now nearly everyone has an unlimited video library stored right in their smart devices. I recently spoke with a Spectrum technician, and he told me he no longer has cable in his home and only streams. Of course, the stream is Spectrum. My point is before long cable will be outdated and a dinosaur, as are those rabbit-ear antennas.

You can cut the cord and not deal with the cable company and save a few bucks and not pay all those federal taxes. Hulu, Fubo and YouTube offer live TV streaming including local news and sports along with hundreds of other stations.

Hulu also has a cheaper streaming version, no live TV, but lets you see your favorite TV shows a day or two later with 1,000s of movies, classic TV shows and more. If you’re a member of Amazon Prime and get all your merchandise delivered for free, you are automatically enrolled in their streaming service, which this coming fall will feature exclusively NFL Thursday night football! Netflix is probably the most-popular streaming service for less than $10 a month.

There are many free streaming services, too! My favorite free TV streaming service is Pluto, it lets me stream two of my all-time favorite TV shows for free, “The Love Boat” and “Touched by an Angel!” There is also Headline News and various versions of Fox, CBS and NBC News, all for free. They can do this for free because there are commercials.

There are so many choices it’s overwhelming. By the time I watch the trailers and read the reviews about what I may want to watch the night is almost over and I have already dozed off in my easy chair. Technology is awesome, but sometimes I relish the good old days with three basic TV stations, no remote and those rabbit ear antennas with tinfoil!

To stream or not to stream: that is the question. Whether tis nobler to cut the cord or continue on the road of cable and take arms against a sea of troubles and wonder where TV will be in 50 years.

The joke goes, “a dumb person bought a smart TV, but it didn’t help.”

James “Kimo” Rosen lives in Kapa‘a with his dog.

Federal minimum wage is poverty wage

The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 per hour for 13 years. That’s just $15,080 a year if you work full time.

Prices are up. Corporate profits hit record highs. But the minimum wage has stayed at $7.25 since the last increase on July 24, 2009.

We’re deep into the longest period without a raise since the federal minimum wage was enacted in 1938.

Every day without a raise is another day the minimum wage is a poverty wage instead of the anti-poverty wage it was intended to be.

The federal minimum wage was enacted through the Fair Labor Standards Act, which aimed to eliminate labor conditions “detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well-being of workers” and detrimental to fair competition among businesses.

Twenty states have minimum wages that are no higher than the $7.25 federal level: Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Five of those states — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee — don’t even have a state minimum wage, and in Georgia and Wyoming the minimum wage is $5.15, so the higher federal $7.25 minimum wage applies.

Workers and businesses in those 20 states and many others are counting on a federal raise. Minimum-wage increases are vital so workers can afford the basics. And they boost the consumer spending that businesses depend on.

Every day without a raise is another day the minimum wage falls further behind the cost of living.

The federal minimum wage peaked in purchasing power in 1968, when it was worth $13.86 in 2022 dollars (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator).

Imagine time traveling back to 1968 and telling people that the minimum wage would have less buying power in the far-off year 2022 than it did in 1968. They would be shocked and wonder what catastrophe had befallen the United States.

Fortunately, 30 states now have minimum wages higher than $7.25. But most of them are still below the value of the federal minimum wage in 1968, adjusted for the cost of living. When the minimum wage is set too low, workers can be earning more than the minimum and still struggle to pay rent and put food on the table.

For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly wage for a fast-food cook in Alabama was $8.90 in 2021. That means half of all fast-food cooks earned less than $8.90. The median hourly wage for child-care workers was $8.95. For cashiers, it was $10.76.

A full-time worker with no children in Alabama needs $15.91 an hour just to afford the basics, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator.

In 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2025. But action stalled in the Senate. More than 30 million workers would have gotten raises.

Minimum-wage raises go right back into communities and the economy, as workers have more to spend at local businesses.

Many businesses support raising the minimum wage and pay more now because they know that a fair wage is good business. It helps them hire and retain workers. It brings increased productivity and better customer service, which keeps customers coming back.

Action by businesses is essential. So are state and local minimum-wage increases, wherever possible. But it’s long past time for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage.

Without a federal raise, millions of Americans will be left behind.

Holly Sklar is the CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national network of business owners and executives who believe a fair minimum wage makes good business sense. Learn more at businessforafairminimumwage.org.

Caregiving often a thankless job

Has anyone ever given a “shout out,” or even a slight pat on the back, to an individual caregiver?

Yes, I specifically said “individual.” No, not you who is hired by the hospital, long-term care or a nursing home. A private home would only care for those needing minimal amounts of care, but are paid handsomely. I mean the person who is responsible and would care for a loved one.

Yes, you who involuntarily were chosen because you’re retired, kids are all grown up and have long moved out, plus you worked part time to supplement your small, meek, fixed retirement income and, frankly, just to occupy some of your bored, retired time of 24 years. Above all, you are the most likable, sensible and reasonable person. And the way your siblings perceive you, you are indeed the most who’d be able to tackle the job as a caregiver.

And with all of the excuses your family gave you, like: they just started a family, got a mortgage to pay, and must work to pay for it. Raising a family is a lifetime job, and caring for a loved one is a 24/7 thing that, the possibility to care the loved one is out of the question.Those were perfectly and legitimately good reasons. And, to think of it, you said nothing, but accepted it with open arms.

You did see the elderly affairs department if they could pay you for caring for the loved one, but because of your income they wouldn’t. But if you’d put the loved one in a long-term facility or a nursing home, they would gladly pay them along with some of your loved one’s money. No, they can’t pay you, because it isn’t the way the government works. Isn’t this a strange thing?

And why wouldn’t you want to have a loved one in one of those facilities? That’s a possibility, and it is a good idea. But if you look at those personnel working in the facilities, they are hired people who are trained to do a job. It is a job, and it may be that they are assigned to so many rooms and people. They do what they must do, because it is a job, and there is no doubt that they do the job very well.

The way they would care for a loved one isn’t the same way that you would do for your loved one.

Example: If the personnel assigned to take care of your loved one who needed to be tended to, but is occupied with another, unless someone covers for the personnel, the loved one must wait until she is free. But if the loved one did the business, that would be too bad. The loved one must just wait. But looking at the other side, since you’re there to care for the loved one, the loved one gets the attention then and soon. And, honestly, you know you would do a better job in whatever needs to be done.

The life of a caregiver is tough and demanding. You’ve become everything that you took for granted many years ago, and never thinking you end up doing all those things. You’re the maid who makes sure the house is cleaned and everything is in order; you’re the nurse’s aide who makes sure the loved one brushes those choppers, bathes, gets cleaned up when deemed necessary; the chef, who makes sure the loved one eats and gets those meals and snacks; the laundry person, who has to be sure the beddings and clothings are washed and cleaned, and many more, which needs to be done.

You’ve learned to adjust your time when caring for the loved one. You sleep when the loved one sleeps, and you take advantage of that time. The previous nights, not once, but many times, were really bad, especially when the dementia sets in and the loved one may slip into her sundowning, hallucinating, combating moods, which is something very difficult to deal with; and when you need to do some errands, you’d get someone to cover for you.

Well, do you think the caregiver still needs a pat on the back? Of course. Think about this.

While you do those multi tasks and do not get paid, but is done with love, all those who did not, won’t, and could not be the caregivers, are making all those monies and are benefiting from what you do.

Of course you don’t mind it, because you’re doing something positive so others may gain by it, but you love doing it. Although it may sound incredulously phony, there’s no grumble here. Just stating facts.

It was unfortunate that you’ve witnessed a couple of incidents where the one of five family members, who was the alternate to care for the loved one, was screaming, yelling and making the loved one feel bad. The loved one does not know or understand, but is clueless why the loved one is in that condition.

If you feel POed for watching the loved one, well, this is the good time for you to put the loved one in a nursing home or the long-term institution. Don’t blame the loved one. Like the saying goes, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” You must have the attitude that you love doing it, and you don’t mind spending the time caring for the loved one.

The shout out, or that little pat on the back, is deserving. And, really, it is not a sin to let the caregiver know how you feel and think. So, just take a small moment of your busy time to do that. Shout out or give him a pat on the back.

Ray Domingo is a resident of Lihu‘e.