Posted on 07/02/2006 7:06:06 PM PDT by xzins
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' " - Matthew 25:40.
Churches and faith-based groups in Toledo are joining state and national efforts to raise the minimum wage, asserting that they have a moral obligation to combat poverty.
"You can't continuously give handouts to folks, you have to deal with the systemic problems that create the need," said the Rev. Larry Clark, executive director of Toledo Area Ministries. (Snip)
The proposal to boost the Ohio minimum wage to $6.85 an hour has been endorsed by a number of regional denominational leaders, ...Evangelical Lutheran Church in America... the United Methodist Church, ... Catholic Archdiocese.
Ohio recently raised the state minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.15, but that is still far below the federal poverty line for families, Mr. Ballinger said. At the current rate, working 40 hours a week, the minimum wage would earn a worker $10,712 in a year.
On the national level, a nonpartisan organization called Let Justice Roll, comprising 70 faith-based and community-based groups, is pushing to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.
Mr. Ballinger, in a letter from the Ohio Council of Churches, said 60 percent of minimum-wage workers are women and 71 percent are over age 20. ....."Among the key principles found in the Holy Scriptures is the importance of paying workers fairly for their labor and the rights of workers to perform their responsibilities with dignity," he said.
He said the current minimum wage has not been raised since 1997 and when adjusted for inflation is at its lowest level in 50 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at toledoblade.com ...
The world you have grown up in is much different from the world that went before. The fact of the matter is that back in the early 70's working off the clock in retail was as common as working on the clock. As a management trainee you knew that the eyes of the GM were always on you and he was looking for people who were willing to do whatever it took to make the store sucessful. If that meant working a couple hours a day off the clock, then that is what was expected.
A lot of compaines have been sued for that practice, and it doesn't occur as much anymore. I voluntarily worked off the clock because the benefits of working off the clock far exceeded the benefits of just being another cog in the wheel. I was promoted from simple store clerk to assistant store manager in a period of six months. Everyone who wanted to climb the corporate ladder was expected to go above and beyond what the job description called for. And everyone who did, was promoted as fast as was humanly possible. These days if you go above and beyond you are probably going to get fired. But back then you had the ability to show your loyalty to the company by working extra hours with no pay.
Because of the meddling of lawyers like me, that perk is no longer available. Now you have to get enough seniority. Whether you care about the success of the company is irrelevant. Whether you are willing to go the extra mile is irrelevant and if you try, you will probably get canned for your efforts.
My comments on "cold-heartedness" were "tongue-in-cheek".You missed the point of it, the same way you have so-far missed the illogic of an increased minimum wage. For your interest I am a Salvationist(Salvation Army). Some Saturday nights you'll find me out with a small group from church feeding the homeless and others in need in the less desireable parts of town. During the Christmas season I serve as a part of a team counting kettle receipts.I've also packed medical supplies for a medical mission going to Central America. And yes, writing checks. You see I do these things not in the name of the Federal Government but in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I challenge anyone to support themselves underwater without a scuba tank for more than a couple minutes. What the hell does that logic prove? Get two jobs! I always did. Sheesh.
And the moral is:
Get 2 scuba tanks.
:>)
Spoken like a true commie.
No. The difference between me and a Communist is that I think a proletariat revolt is a very bad thing to be avoided at all costs. Marx thought it was a very good thing that would usher in the utopian Communist state.
That still makes you a commie. You just don't think that it should be ushered in through revolution, but through peaceful means. You have no compunction about stealing from peter to give to paul as long as it is done through democratic means. I, on the other hand, do not see the morality in stealing money from one man to give to another.
***to be avoided at all costs***
A Fourth of July Thought
If our forefathers thought as you do we'd be British today.
So, by all means Jude... do not celebrate this day. You should be in sackcloth and ashes today lamenting the sin of separating from King George.
Any celebration on your part is a denial of your position.
Now, why would you work off that assumption? 16-year-olds don't need to earn a living.
Face it, the problem isn't what wages people are paid. This is the United States of America where LESS than 3% of the workforce makes minimum wage (John Stossel, Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity, p 63) and the "poor" in this country have color televisions and cars as a matter of course.
In this country, you have to go out of your way to be poor.
"Thou Shalt Not Steal (Except By Majority Vote)"
I think your post was misplaced. Did you mean to post to someone else?
Nope. He directly equated a Marxist-stye proletarian uprising with the American revolution.
No doubt he was just trying to jump on the jude-is-a-commie bandwagon, but what he actually said was Marxist, pure and simple.
You directed your post to alamo boy.
Never mind, I see what you are saying.
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