Here’s what I don’t understand about folks like Massachusetts senator Elizabeth “Fauxcahontas” Warren pushing for a minimum wage hike to $10.10 an hour. Why be so stingy? Why stop at $10.10? Why not $20 an hour? Or $30? Heck, why not make it $50 – after all, if children are indeed our most vulnerable, why not make sure their mommies and daddies bring home serious dough-re-mi to make sure they have all the necessities like, y’know, IPhones, big-screen TVs in their bedrooms, etc? If it were up to me there’d be no minimum wage – let employers pay what the market will bear. Minimum wage jobs ought to be just that – getting unskilled workers experience so they can learn work skills and improve themselves for something better. If folks don’t want to do more or earn more by moving on to better opportunities that’s their choice. But let’s not fool ourselves – increasing the minimum wage will result in lost jobs and an even more depressed job market than there already is.
…but I think deep down that’s what the progressives want – more people more dependent on big government programs.
Surprised this story hasn’t gotten more national press. Frequent commenter Jana can tell me if the Louisville Courier-Journal covered it in greater detail. There’s so much helplessness and hoplessness out there in the African-American community, and the problem has gotten worse – not better – under America’s first black president. I know Bill O’Reilly has been pushing this topic on his show quite a bit, but the only response from the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons of the world is to blame on conservatives and Republicans for not throwing more money at the same programs that have failed generations of blacks. In my view, the problem lies in the breakdown of the family unit, hip-hop and gang culture, the diminishing influence of inner-city churches, generational dependence upon government programs, and a general climate of corruption that has turned inner cities into little third-world backwaters. And if you try to call attention to it, as Paul Ryan did a couple of weeks ago, you’re labeled a racist. But that’s because Democrats and liberals are more than satisfied with the ways things are – after all, they know come election day they can largely count on African-Americans to vote the same way they always. It’s a vicious cycle that will only start to get better when things spiral out of control and people say, “Enough!”.
I read this story and wonder what the point of it is. Seems to me (and believe me, I’m a simple guy) that if folks lived within their means and reduced the complexities in their lives there would be a whole lot less stress and folks living happier lives. I’ve always believed that life is about choices and understanding that you can’t have it all. The big house, the nice car, the Disney vacations, letting your kids run you ragged with soccer, karate, hockey, and practice – I mean, it’s madness. And I know from talking with all kinds of folks that that’s exactly what is going on out there – madness. This country has lost its soul and, as a result, has lost its sense of what is truly important. Our priorities are totally screwed up, and we’re quickly losing what it means to interact with people in a meaningful and communal way, hiding behind the various social media technologies that seemingly occupy our every waking moment.
I find this story beyond ridiculous. Whatever happened to common sense? I guess it’s not so common anymore.
I find this story totally disgusting. I guess at some point human life has become so devalued to the point where nothing really surprises people anymore.
Back to happier stuff tomorrow.
that incident has made people go to extremes in terms of saying downtown and the riverfront are no longer safe. This incident was the end result of a stabbing of a kid on a bus by a man who intoxicated and provoking some kids who then became physical. The Grand Jury did not indict the man as there is a video of him being attacked. The gang of 200 had “gathered” to have a memorial for the dead kid and who knows what happened but it was a wildfire situation. Someone said, “let’s…..” and then it caught fire with more and more and then the mob mentality took hold and got out of control.
Now people are taking this to extremes and comparing downtown with Detroit. Get a grip.
Comment by jana — March 26, 2014 @ 5:24 pm
Actually, I wasn’t comparing what happened in Louisville with Detroit at all, just linking to an article that shows violence among black teens is not being reported by an over-protective and supportive media.
I did and will say, however, that the first black president of the USA has done nothing to improve the socio-economic situation of black America, and their undying support for him and his party is entirely unwarranted. All one has to do is look at the Democrats push for immigration reform and see what flooding inner cities and the job market with additional cheap labor would do to an African-American community already devastated by unemployment.
I will also say that much of the state that black America (for want of a better term) finds itself in is entirely self-inflicted. For the reasons I pointed out (and I forgot to include abortion, which has decimated the African-American population – a “woman’s right” wildly supported by elite white liberals, BTW) the African-American community has chosen slavery to their new plantation owners – the federal government – over freedom and independence.
Until African-American leaders and groups like the NAACP stop blaming Republicans and conservatives for their plight and take a cold, hard look in the mirror at themselves and the system and political party they have become subservient to, there is little hope for the Democrats’ favorite minority come election day.
Comment by The Great White Shank — March 26, 2014 @ 8:36 pm