yeah, right! I am on the government dole right now (disability). 1. I hate it! 2. because of my disability, its far harder to get work. 3. oh, and I get about $9,048 a year. 4. medicare and medicaid are a freaking joke. 5. nutrition assistance benefits? if you call $100 a month a benefit (and they keep trying to dime and nickel me down more). 6. I have about $3,000 in unpaid medical debt that isn't covered and I still have to pay on it for the next 72 months. 7. AND I am one step above homeless here. Oh yeah, because I have been unable to acquire employment (a lot of HR people think that hiring the blind would be more expensive even when it's not) I find myself month the 75% of those who end up not working. I had some skills once, but I have been out of the market too long and it's expensive as hell to go back to school. Hell, at this point, I would take one of those H1-B positions just to have more income than I do now (3x as much, really). -eric Home office of the Technomage Guild On Dec 12, 2016, at 5:59 PM, Keith Smith wrote: > > 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 --------------------------------------------------- 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