You've convinced me. I need to let the government take care of things. It would be much easier. They tax me just a few bucks more and I quit giving - I come out ahead. I'm done. On 2016-12-12 13:14, Steve Litt wrote: > On Mon, 12 Dec 2016 09:32:39 -0700 > Keith Smith wrote: > > >> I was thinking about this over the weekend. Here is what I came up >> with. Raise the minimum wage to $15/hr and ensure all other parts of >> the economy will stay in check, such as no loss of jobs and no >> inflation. > > If I had the power to do this type of thing, I think I could raise the > minimum wage to $12/hr without serious side effects like those you > mention. > >> >> Then make sure I'm the guy at U-Haul that takes care of the rental >> returns. Give my wife the same job. My wife and I would work that >> job until we are 70. I'd love that. No stress, no hassle, no >> leaning new technology. I could BBQ more often. Camp more often and >> just enjoy life. I'm all for it. Can you arrange it? > > I think so. Obviously you and your wife would need to live very > frugally, but BBQ and camping are pretty cheap. Also, it's obvious that > I couldn't guarantee you U-Haul exactly, but some form of > rental/leasing paperwork for $12/hr. > >> >> Here is the down side. I would not be forced to grow, learn and >> contribute. > > This is true. You could continue to live just like you always did, and > contribute nothing. Because you wouldn't be forced to do so. You also > would not be forced NOT to, and I have a feeling you and your wife > would grow, learn and contribute, outside of your profession. Because > that's who you are. It's even possible that, freed from the monthly > scrabble to meet the budget, you might grow, learn and contribute more. > >> As a Christian I believe God has given each of us unique >> talents and skills. > > This is obvious from simple observation. > >> These talents and skills are for us to make a >> living and for making the community better. God requires that of us, >> not the government. > > Yes. And I think God takes the broader perspective that improving the > community needn't be linked to how you get your food. Jesus' major > contribution wasn't carpentry/construction/crafting. His day job gave > him the time and ability to persue his real talent. > > There's no telling the benefit of a $12/hr minimum wage's release of > creativity among the masses. Perhaps, as a whole, our gifts of talent > and skill would be magnified by a $12/hr minimum wage. > >> >> By messing with the market's equilibrium, you mess with a God made >> system. Man is fallible and government is even more fallible. > > Well yeah, but remember, God gave us brains sufficient to mess with > systems. Brains sufficient to wipe out smallpox. Smallpox was made by > God but apparently not endorsed by God. We messed with God's system > when we cured Polio and Leprosy. Could it be that God is testing us so > that we pick the right God given systems to mess with? > >> >> In the above $15/hr example my wife who is a nurse would quit her job >> and I would quit struggling with technology. My wife and I would lose >> our desire to find what we are good at and we would lose our desire >> to use our God given talent to better our community. > > Or, perhaps, with her basic needs met, your wife would start a nursing > system for those locked out of our healthcare system. Perhaps you would > put aside programming, and do that one thing you always really wanted > to do, and do it well enough to benefit society. > >> >> Struggle is good. > > That's true, as any history book shows. > >> Struggle creates change. > > That's not only true but obvious. > >> What I see is some want >> to make things perfect. I say let us feel the pain, let us struggle >> so we are strong. > > Me too, although I'd characterize it more as desire than pain. The most > successful people weren't those in real, unending pain. They were > people who envisioned something better, and followed their desire to > follow through. > >> I keep hearing about all these stats and how my >> experience is anecdotal, that my total life experience and watching >> those around me is anecdotal. I must be some kind of freak. I must >> not have live an American life. > > Nobody said that. Your life story is fairly typical of your age. > Statistics take into account the people born later. > >> >> Remember failure is a good thing. History is full of failure that led >> to success. Failure is a great teacher. Once we stop failing we >> stop being successful. > > Yes. > >> >> It is up to us the people not the government. Government should only >> be in place to protect the rights of the people and minimum wage is >> not a right. Owning a home is not a right. Health insurance is not >> a right. Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness are rights. > > Let me ask you this: If the minimum wage were repealed (as suggested 20 > or so posts ago), and for some professions pay goes down to the point > where shelter is unaffordable, to what degree can a born-poor person > pursue happiness sleeping all night in the rain and snow, then working > for enough money to afford a loaf of bread and a few hot dogs? Now > contemplate the degree of happiness pursuit accorded to which a person > whose parents put him through college to get a decent job that yields > food, clothing and shelter. Did our constitution really mean degrees of > happiness pursuit should be based in great part on accident of birth? > Can we not make a few additional tweaks to more fully implement life, > liberty and the pursuit of happiness? > >> Now having said that it is up to each of us to help make our >> community better by helping those in our community do better or to >> help them up when they have fallen. > > Yes! I'm proud to have received many emails from readers of my books, > thanking me for improving their careers. I've always believed on a > personal level that if I'm not part of the solution, I'm part of the > problem. > >> >> It is you and I that are failing and we make it worse by delegating >> our responsibilities to the government. > > You sure you're failing? Looks like you're doing just fine to me. Far > as I know I'm not failing. I'm not looking to the government to pull > *me* up, I'm looking to the government to pull up those who are > temporarily down. > >> >> We need to take responsibility. Don't like businesses that pay low >> wages, don't buy their goods and services. I'll bet not one of you >> that support raising the minimum wage will stop buying Walmart. > > You're right. I buy almost nothing at Walmart because of how they treat > their employees, how they dump their employees' welfare on the state, > and how they put local businesses out of business. I understand that > some of my "made in America" policies will mean I pay $2000 for a > computer that costs me $500 right now, and that's well worth the cost > to me. But of course I'm not going to be paying $2K while everyone else > is continuing the problem by buying the $500 foreign computer. This is > one place where government regulation is needed. > >> >> I will stand up against injustice with you, however YOU must be >> willing to stand up and pay the price. > > Truer words have never been spoken. > >> If not do not ask me to >> sacrifice. > > I envision very little sacrifice on your part if the minimum wage is > raised to $12/hr. > > > SteveT > > Steve Litt > December 2016 featured book: Rapid Learning for the 21st Century > http://www.troubleshooters.com/rl21 > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss -- Keith Smith --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss