Minimum Wage

Dear Editor, Ben Pixley's response to the minimum wage hike was emotionally valid, but his logic fell a little short of the mark in that it was not inclusive enough. The fact is everyone - without exception - receives a pay decrease when minimum wage hikes are enacted. Everyone but our beloved state government, initially. I have been disabled and living mostly on Social Security Disability for 17 years. I am on a fixed income, as are many elderly. We receive no additional funds when minimum wage increases raise the cost of goods and services; nor do my parents, who own a small business; nor, generally, do people on salaries.

Dear Editor, I never thought the day would come when I would agree with Brian Cooney. No sir. Republicans do not care about the working poor. I am 65 years old, and in all of my lifetime, no Republican administration in the White House of Washington, D.C. have ever raised the minimum wage for the working poor. Liberal Democrats are the only ones who have any compassion for the working poor now, and in the future. We can find things unethical and wrong with both parties if we look close enough, but to keep the minimum wage earner $2,500 below the poverty line (for a two-person household)

Dear Editor, The majority of people in minimum wage jobs are trying to be financially independent. There are families in this country where both parents are working two minimum wage jobs just to feed their children. To suggest that they don't care about their children is wrong and demeaning. Mr. Martin's arguments fail to consider the many educated people whose jobs have been outsourced to other countries. In the era of Reaganomics, we were told that tax cuts for the wealthy would "trickle down" to those at the bottom of the wage scale.

Dear Editor, I am 65 years old and counting. No Republican administration in the White House has ever raised the minimum wage for the working poor in my lifetime. If it gets raised at all, you can say it was liberal-minded Democrats who care for the little man. I may have changed from a Democrat in 2004 to a Republican, but it doesn't mean I am a team player regardless of what my party stands for. David Sparrow, Mike Harmon, Ron Pemberton, Leroy Hardin and John Long are all good people that I personally know, and it's a hard decision this election as to whom I should vote for. M. Wendell Anderson Danville

Kentucky lawmakers missed a rare opportunity last month to lead the nation on a matter of basic social justice. Granted, the legislature did pass an increase in the minimum wage before Congress could do so, and Gov. Ernie Fletcher signed it. But the bill they ended up with could best be described as "the minimum. " The original bill, filed last November by Democratic Rep. J.R. Gray of Benton, would have been one of the most progressive versions in the country. It would have raised the state's wage floor from $5.15 an hour, where it has been stuck since 1997, to $7 an hour this year, then increased it to $7.25 in 2008.

Dear Editor, In your Oct. 23 issue, Mike Harmon commented he had left his job to go to the Kentucky legislature, and I assume this move was because he felt he could serve there for the good of the public. This statement might encourage applause from his constituents if, in fact, one of his desires is to raise the minimum wage. However, according to his recent letter to the editor, this does not seem to be on Mr. Harmon's agenda. Records show that in 1950, 56 years ago, the minimum wage was $.75 an hour.

Some people have been arguing lately that Kentucky should raise its minimum wage. But raising the minimum wage to eradicate poverty is not a solution. It is a Band-Aid ? and a poor one at that. We can all agree that poverty is a problem, but most of the time liberals and conservatives clash over how to solve it. In particular, I have seen some recent comments by liberal pundits regarding the issue of raising Kentucky's minimum wage, and I think they are way off base. To start with, some have made the assertion that no one can afford to live on $5.15 an hour.

Dear Editor, The minimum wage for working people in the United States has been $5.15, or $10,700 a year, for nearly a decade. The salary for a United States senator is now $165,200, and the salary has increased about $30,000 in the same time period. Our Kentucky senators voted against any raise in the minimum wage for working people in our country. Tommy Ellis Liberty

What would it be like to live on minimum wage? Let's say you and your spouse both earn $5.15 an hour. You work full time, and she or he gets just under 40 hours most weeks. Together you would bring home about $20,000 a year before taxes. On that income, it isn't likely you could own property in Winchester, but you might rent a two-bedroom apartment in a drafty old house for about $500. Utilities would cost another $200 if you kept the heat turned down. Cable TV and telephone service would be luxuries.

The Clark County Fiscal Court again discussed pay raises for employees at the county road department, but took no action. Clark County Judge-Executive Henry Branham told Fiscal Court members he wants the best employees to do important county jobs, and discussed the employees' low morale due to the lack of pay raises. Road Department Supervisor Kevin Wilson said he never received an answer to his question during the Feb. 13 meeting regarding pay raises. He asked why the jail employees, who have an incentive to stay with a 75-cent raise after six months of uninterrupted service, can receive raises when his employees have not. Wilson had asked for 25-cent raises for his 12 road department employees, who start out at $7.25 an hour.

Dear Editor, I did my civic duty on election day and voted. But, I must confess that I held my nose and did so. It has nearly gotten to the point that it is not worth casting a vote anymore. Democrats disappoint me with their spine of Jell-O. Republicans scare me with their extreme radicalism. There is no other choice. Still, I perform my duty as a citizen and vote. I cannot deny that I’m dismayed that the people of Kentucky elected Rand Paul to the U.S. Senate. I have this to say: Rand Paul is an ultra extreme radical.

Right now, our country is facing many challenges, from oil gushing from the ocean floor, wars in the Middle East, collapsed housing and banking industries and “the great recession.” All of these events are destroying people’s livelihoods. We keep hearing from the talking heads that the economy is beginning to turn around, things are beginning to pick up. I hear it, but I can’t see it. Around here, for many of us, things are still pretty bleak — and getting worse, not better.

Ben Vest said he wanted to go out as quietly as he started four decades ago, but colleagues, friends and customers were determined to recognize his 41 years managing local fast food restaurants. “He’s very humble and said he wanted to just kind of fade away,” said Arby’s owner and longtime friend John Bowling. “But people have been coming in to see him since 7 a.m. There isn’t a person who has ever been here that he hasn’t communicated with in some way. That is a quality that you don’t find very much in this business.

Dear Editor, Arizona’s legislature and “white” citizens have taken a lot of grief over their recent “anti-immigrant” legislation. The law was written to curb possible abuses. But is any American citizen free from that possibility? Arizona and surrounding states are suffering from a huge Latino gang problem (not to mention the homegrown varieties.) The federal government has refused to make itself unpopular to the Latino and liberal voting pool by taking action on existing legislation.

Dear Editor, Servers rely on gratuities to put food on the table. Despite hard times, it is important to tip those who wait on you. Here are a few other important reminders. We know who the non-tippers are. When they refuse to tip, it does not go unnoticed, and when they come back they may not get good service at all. Many restaurants charge an automatic gratuity for take-out orders, while others do not. Large to-go orders with many extras (plates, ice, cups, dressings, etc.)

Minimum wage workers in Kentucky may smile a little wider when they look at their next paycheck and notice they were paid 70 cents more per hour at their jobs. While the rest of the United States won't see this raise until July 24, the Kentucky General Assembly voted to have the increase, from $6.55 to $7.25, begin earlier and many employees in Jessamine County have already begun to cheer. John Halderman, an employee of Fitch's IGA in Wilmore, said he thinks the increase was a necessary step to help workers combat the pinch they've felt in their pockets since the economy really began its recession in 2008.

Dear Editor, It seems that Gov. Beshear's big gamble on tax increases hasn't netted what he wants, so expect him to come for more. Well, perhaps this time old Steve will get it right. Why not target what every Kentuckian and American, as a matter of fact, doesn't give a hoot about? Tax gas. As we Americans face these tough economic times, we still go out and get raped at the gas pump and nobody complains. We sit back and ante up regardless of how much it costs. So why not take some more.

Just like corporate American, locally owned businesses are feeling the pinch of the current economic recession and like corporate America, they're all struggling to find ways to survive. Leonard Fitch, owner of Fitch's IGA in Wilmore, said it's a constant and seemingly uphill battle. "(We do it) the best way that we can," he said. "We try to be friendly to our customers and be competitive (with larger chain stores). We try to get them in and out of the store. We try not to make them wait in a line.

Dear Editor, I am still a bit puzzled after reading Morgan Griffin's response in his July 16 letter. I fail to recall any endorsements of communism or revolution in either Dr. Cooney's column or my own letter. I was not aware that the Red Scare could have such a profound effect on a person who was not even alive at the time it ended. I find it interesting that Morgan mentions not expecting "big brother" to pay for college. Does he not take advantage of the grants and KEES money provided by the government?