Tuesday, March 30, 2021

GOP FINALLY GOES OVER THE EDGE!

Republicans seek to remain in or gain back power but not for the reasons you think.

They are less interested in governance than in just having the power over your lives and the means to live worry free.

The position of power affords them the luxury of ruling in favor of those who can best reward them with gifts and luxury items to feather their political beds.

But being in the minority in America means they must go to extreme lengths to get elected and that is where the immorality and downright un-American tactics come in.

The most obvious way Republicans have gone after their brass ring is to alter the way we vote and who is allowed to exercise that most important democratic right.

Here a few of the ways in which GOP lawmakers are plying their trade:

·       Restrict voter’s rights.

o   Especially and mainly if those targeted are thought to lean left.

o   Target minority communities who historically vote Democratic.

o   Felons who have paid for their crimes may not be allowed to vote.

·       End early voting.

o   Early voters tend to be more Democratic

·       Close or consolidate selected polling places.

o   Make it harder for the poorer communities to get to the polling places.

·       Shorten the hours on election day.

o   Closing at 8pm or earlier rather than traditional 9pm so working class cannot make it there on time.

o   This will make lines longer in an attempt to discourage voters.

o   AND THE BEST – NO FOOD OR WATER ALLOWED TO BE HANDED OUT TO THOSE ON LINE!

§  What possible reason can these bastards give for this addition??

·       End voting by mail

o   While this could inconvenience some of their own voters it hits the Democratic voters much harder, especially those without cars.

·       Require more IDs to vote.

o   Photo IDs and Driver’s License and in some cases notarized letters are out of reach for minorities and the poor communities.

o   Not accepting student IDs for out of State voters.

o   But do accept gun licenses as proof of citizenship!

·       Signatures must match spot on.

o   As we age out signatures change.

o   This allows scrutiny by polling officials to throw out voters they don’t like.

·       Must have a valid mailing address.

o   This clearly targets the homeless whose numbers have swelled over the years.

o   This is also a slap to Native Americans who live on ‘reservations’ and tend to vote Democratic.

Stoking hate and fear in the common man and woman is one of the more enduring tactics the GOP uses to get people to vote for them.

·       The Dems want to take away your guns

o   Then you won’t be able to fight against a corrupt government

o   You also won’t be able to protect your home from those aliens.

§  They want your jobs.

§  They want your daughters.

§  They want your money

·       The Dems are in favor of abortion!

o   We need to control your bodies!

·       We are the family values party.

o   Even though most of us have more than one wife.

o   We also have several mistresses.

o   We also love to separate families at the border.

o   And coupled with our no abortion stance you’re on your own taking care of your children!

·       The Dems are tax and spend!

o   Of course, Repubs always drive up the deficit

§  But not to worry, your kids will pay for it after we’re gone!

§  We will have to cut your social services to pay for it.

§  Any pennies left we will gift to the neediest billionaires!

o   We will never raise your taxes!

§  We will, however, lower the taxes on the wealthy.

§  We’ll make you pay in other ways.

So vote for us and we will Make America Great Again!


BUT IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE ABOVE MAKE SURE YOU NEVER VOTE REPUB AGAIN AND TRULY MAKE THE COUNTRY GREAT!

Monday, March 8, 2021

A FAIR WAY TO FIGURE A FAIR MINIMUM WAGE

One of the more contentious fights our government has had through the years is the one concerning a federally mandated minimum wage.

The desired wage being debated in Congress now is $15 per hour.

Republicans and Conservatives don't wish to guarantee anyone, other than themselves, any minimums and apparently could not care less if the needy just drop out of society and off the face of the Earth.

Democrats and Liberals feel that all workers should be paid a fair 'livable' wage commensurate with the cost of living.

But therein lies the rub.

The cost of living is quite a bit higher in California (CA) and Hawaii (HI) than it is in Mississippi (MS) or Arkansas (AR).

In fact, while MS is around 15% below the national average cost of living, HI is nearly double the rate.

A simple solution to fix this inequity could be to use a coefficient multiplier based on actual costs people incur in their particular State.

I used an insurance website to determine a fair estimate of the current costs a resident in each state would face. (You may click the above link to read their analysis.)

The website analyzed the following eight factors to gauge the COL:

  • Miscellaneous goods & services
  • Housing
  • Groceries
  • Transportation
  • Utilities
  • Health care
  • Car Insurance
  • Home insurance
MS is currently the State with the lowest cost of living at 15.22% below the national average.

If we wish all States to be on equal footing, then let's use $15 per hour as the pre-configured national average.

So if we multiply that $15 by the difference between the MS cost of living and the national average, we come up with a proposed minimum wage for Mississippians of $12.72 per hour.

Likewise for Hawaiians, who must contend with a cost of living that is 95.8% higher than the national average, their minimum wage would become $29.37 per hour!

People living in either of those two States would then have equal local buying power.

I suggest the minimum wage then be recalculated every 10 years around the same time as the U S Census so as to remain fair and relevant.

Based on the most recent figures for costs of living, the following list shows the fairest minimum wage for workers by State:

MS    $ 12.72
AR     $ 13.28
NM      $ 13.33
OK     $ 13.47
TN     $ 13.58
MO    $ 13.59
AL       $ 13.60
IN     $ 13.60
OH    $ 13.65
KS     $ 13.72
IA     $ 13.74
NE       $ 13.96
WY   $ 13.97
KY    $ 14.02
NC    $ 14.03
IL       $ 14.07
SC      $ 14.12
ID    $ 14.21
TX    $ 14.27
UT   $ 14.52
GA   $ 14.53
MT   $ 14.62
WI   $ 14.63
ND     $ 14.69
SD   $ 14.76
LA   $ 14.86
AZ   $ 14.93
MI   $ 15.07
WV   $ 15.10
MN  $ 15.46
FL     $ 15.65
VA    $ 15.73
PA   $ 15.86
DE    $ 16.06
NV    $ 16.13
CO   $ 16.38
NH   $ 16.69
ME   $ 17.09
NJ     $ 17.10
VT     $ 17.33
CT     $ 17.87
RI     $ 17.91
MD $ 18.15
WA $ 18.57
AK    $ 18.61
MA    $ 18.67
OR   $ 19.71
CA     $ 22.05
NY    $ 22.88
DC    $ 23.66
HI    $ 29.37

If Congress would actually take a look at this, they might like it but tweak it in a way to lower the nationally desired average to say $14 instead of $15.

But whatever number they decide upon the method to calculate the differences between States would remain the same.

The same idea used to calculate a State's minimum wage could also be used to figure the cost of healthcare and the rate of unemployment insurance etc.

One main problem that will always loom in the background of this FAIR AND EQUITABLE list is the 'State's Rights vs Federal Mandates' argument.

The States will say, 'don't tell me how to run my business' or my State.

And even though this is the best idea yet, if I do say so myself, it will be ignored and never implemented!

Pity!

What do you think?

Let me know in the comments.