Obama to Raise Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors - CNN

reply to post by darkbake

Okay this is perfect to reply to thanks Beezer - I actually fully expect Obama's pushing for Executive Action on the minimum wage issue to lead to impeachment trials, we haven't actually talked much about this, but that was originally one of the main reasons I posted this thread.

That is a very interesting way to look at this. I'm sure he doesn't see it that way and I differ with folks who would say he's deterred by such things now. The man has personally, directly and in real time..overseen the murder of American citizens as well as his OWN direct subordinates....then lied about everything that happened (Benghazi is one..but not the only case of murder by proxy he's been directly hands on to..before or after the deaths)

I think that previous brush with the ultimate crimes and nothing bad happening to him as a result has an ego problem here with a danger behind it like our nation has ever seen or experienced in it's history, at this stage. He may well do this thing and do it by King's decree rather than Congressional legislation as our system is designed for.

If so, you may just be right.... Perhaps this is the separation of powers event that people will react to. It'd be nice if people reacted to something. So far, he's hurt this nation in direct, meaningful and ongoing ways without the ADD nature of the public being capable of focus beyond 1-2 news cycles.

The only thing worse than a bad President is a bad President who thinks he's totally beyond accountability to anyone. We're seeing that now, I fear.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


There we go - I agree with you on that aspect -

Can Obama Unilaterally Raise the Minimum Wage?

This article is interesting because the whole thing is written looking at just that aspect - it talks about how some Republicans want to abolish the minimum wage, in Texas, for example - how LBJ did something similar back in 1965 -

The chairmen of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Reps. Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison, wrote a letter that urges the president to circumvent Congress and sign an executive order to raise the minimum wage for workers employed through federal government contracts with private companies. This letter comes months after 49 members of the CPC requested the same thing from the president, only to hear radio silence about it from the White House.

"It's frustrating," says Ellison, who hand-delivered the letter to the president after his speech Wednesday. "We know his heart is in the right place and he wants to do something, and this is something he can do."

Also, I see... this is where this came from. So I wonder if he would go farther without congress...

reply to post by ketsuko


I have to somewhat agree with you there after watching the austerity measures in Greece -

reply to post by Ahabstar


CNN: War on Poverty Video

See... this video off this lady Ann Valdez summarizes my viewpoints more than Obama does - she mentions how poverty is demoralizing and how being dependent on the system is demoralizing - she wants work, well has wanted it for years. She also knows the value of perseverance and education.

People who are out of the work force need to get back into it - an object in motion stays in motion - and they need to be able to earn a living wage. Both those things. No, I don't think the Democrats / Obama really get it, either - I agree with Wrabbit - having the option to earn your way in life is important - having a growing number of people dependent on the system is stressful for them, however, there has to be a way to get them off dependency without hanging them out to dry.

And yet another response to Vic. There is growing intolerance in the work place of people who are unique - I think this is scaring a lot of people from wanting to really join the establishment, there is a sense that it is too totalitarian - well, I think there should be more options for people of all different sorts to find work that fits their needs and personalities. So that would make me much more of a Republican than a Democrat on that.

Wrabbit - sorry I got your name wrong again! LOL! Changed avatar :p

reply to post by darkbake


And here is the trick to combat poverty. You have to actually combat it.

1) Unemployment. Give an unemployed worker an option at the beginning of unemployment. You can either go the 36 week route in which UI benefits are 100% tax free at 100% of your previous pay. At the end of 36 weeks, there are no extensions. Option two is the 104 week route in which you receive at 60% of previous pay and a 100% tuition paid loan to a technical/trade school for training. The requirement is to maintain a passing grade to keep benefits.

2) Food Stamps. Ohio is doing some good oversight in this area in checking for replacement card applications, unauthorized uses by retailers, etc.

3) Section 8 and other subsidized housing. Stricter guidelines and monitoring of the properties. Litter, vandalism, maintenance are big things on property owners. Drug arrests, violent crimes and domestic calls are big things on tenants. Both need to work on occupancy numbers relative to the property. 20 people in a place meant for 2-4 doesn't cut it.

4) Other waste, fraud and abuse. Every person receiving something has their address listed. If local police officers drive by a house of a man on full disability for a bad back and they are chopping down a tree with an axe with no problem...that needs corrected.

5) Employer incentives. Pass some common sense labor laws. Give tax break incentives to companies that hire workers that have been unemployed for more than six months. Give tax breaks to companies that have more than xx percent of the employees making more than 150% of minimum wage. Give tax breaks to companies that have more than xx percent of their employees that are US citizens. Remove tax breaks from companies that have a XX percentage of their employees paid less than 150% of minimum wage. And remove tax breaks from US companies that have less than xx percent US citizens as employees. --That should fix companies like Walmart and Tyson that follow their labor models.

6) Individual Income Tax. Either eliminate it completely or at the very least adjust the tax tables to either reflect inflation since 1931. That less than $5000/yr table in which the worker is exempt from payroll withholdings was because in 1931 everyone making less than $5000 was exempt. That would be $72,375.46 in today's money by the way or roughly $34.80/hr.