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"The Minimum Wage Issue Forever Illustrates How Out of Touch these Politicians Were"

The year right now is 2006. Raise you hand if you would work for 5.15. Nobody? Wrong crowd. But there are those who would, trust me. They just don't read too much, which I don't mind (don't get me wrong there are plenty who can). Try to imagine living off of that, being a homeless person having to rely on that 5.15 to get back on track.... Not pretty, is it? Politicians. The word is like the vilest epitaph. That they let it get this far is insanity. That they have voted down bills due soley to partisanship is blasphemous. They have managed through this stunning failure in their social responsibility to indict the whole status quo in my opinion, most notably the partisanship they all seem to thrive on....

They give themselves raises every five years or so like clockwork. No discussion really involved, right? Yet the minimum wage has not been raised in twice that, and they are loathe to do it. Would apply poison pill legislation to the bill to kill it. Are people so easily fooled?

Then I read great news today, Minimum Wage Bill to be Voted On. Says our lawmakers might have been driven to give in and finally pass the legislation. Then they tell of the reaction of those who do not want to vote for the bill becuase it would compromise their principles. And this is the real purpose of this essay. I wonder at the integrity of those who claim, and they are not exactly a minority, that the federal government should not set work wages at all.

They ignore the responsibilities of this government when they talk like that. The rhetoric of letting chaos reign with regard to wages, chaos at the low end of the spectrum, is anti government. The whole role of government is to protect minorities with no power like the poor from being basically financially raped and abused by the powerful throughout life. Ever been to a Chinese Sweatshop? Should that type of behavior be even potentially legal?

I agree they should not set wages but I think they should set a minimum wage to prevent against abuse. Remove the minimum wage and people in poor neighborhoods and in areas with high percentages of homeless people would be open to abuse. People think a man would decide not to work for such low rates but you would be really shocked. I spent a year living on the streets and working jobs manned by other homeless guys. They are very open to getting ripped off and it is a sad thing to see.

You need to give the poor

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