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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (293132)	7/3/2006 3:34:17 PM
From: Taro	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574045

John, sorry to say so, but at risk for going back on "ignore", this is good old communism in a nutshell. Taro

To: Road Walker who wrote (293132)	7/3/2006 6:35:00 PM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574045

JF, I like your list, now here's my responses: 1. Raise the minimum wage to a living wage I don't mind raising the minimum wage by a few percent every year, but the definition of a "living wage" is a slippery slope. 2. Sharply limit legal and illegal unskilled immigration We got to control illegal immigration, but legal? Please, as if the pressure to outsource and move jobs offshore isn't big enough. 3. Pass laws that strengthen union organizing They're already too strong as it is. 4. Pass ultra heavy taxes on corporate paychecks over $200K and give tax breaks for total wages paid The execs will just compensate themselves in other ways, and the ones that will truly suffer are the upper middle class. 5. Pass universal health care We've already been over this. Fix the problems currently plaguing health care right now, and I might believe that state-sponsored universal health care would be cheaper. 6. Restore the old personal bankruptcy rules No opinion there. 7. Guarantee collage costs for low income families This I agree with. Now if we can only tell the colleges to control their costs ... There are a few. Told you you wouldn't like them. Wrong again, John. I actually like half of what you're suggesting. Which probably makes you feel very uncomfortable ... Tenchusatsu

To: Road Walker who wrote (293132)	7/3/2006 6:40:22 PM
From: longnshort	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574045

4. Pass ultra heavy taxes on corporate paychecks over $200K and give tax breaks for total wages paid Can we tax actors and sports stars like that if they make over 200K?? Hell we should taxed them higher since they don't run anything

To: Road Walker who wrote (293132)	7/14/2006 12:58:26 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574045

1. Raise the minimum wage to a living wage The only reason that the minimum wage doesn't really do any harm is that its low. Raise it to enough to support a family of 4 at the national average living cost, and you put a lot of people out of work. Particularly in areas where the wages and living costs are lower than the national average, but even in places at the average or above. A lot of people who receive minimum wage are not the primary earner for a family. A fair number of them are dependents on other people. It might be possible to make a reasonable argument to have a somewhat higher minimum wage, but most "living wages" are for very large increases in the minimum wage. The effect of a price floor on labor is similar to a price floor on anything else. You have less buyers. In terms of labor you have more off the books work, you get more automation, you get businesses trying to do the same work with less employees, you get others going out of business. As far as sharp limits on immigration, I'm ambivalent. I think that it would have some positive effect on low end wages, particularly in low end service industries where you can't import the product from people earning less overseas. OTOH its hard to stem illegal immigration. Cut legal immigration, and put in a high minimum wage and you really have a lot of off the books labor. 3. Pass laws that strengthen union organizing What laws would you pass? Why? Personally I like right to work laws, but I don't imagine that is your thing. 4. Pass ultra heavy taxes on corporate paychecks over $200K and give tax breaks for total wages paid 5. Pass universal health care Two polices I would definitely be strongly against. Restore the old personal bankruptcy rules Not an issue I care much about one way or the other. I think its impact would be relatively marginal. Guarantee collage costs for low income families </i. One of the factors contributing to the rise in college costs is all the aid that goes to pay for college costs. It effectively increases demand, in terms of students, but more importantly in terms of dollars per student.