A Flip-Flopper No More
Right or wrong, Senator John Kerry has emerged as a bold leader for liberal Democrats in the Senate by announcing his intention to lead a filibuster against the confirmation of Judge Alito. In doing so, Kerry has taken a great political risk; more importantly, he has clearly put his beliefs in front of his ambition, possibly for the first time since he spoke out against the Vietnam War after his return from combat. While the Democrats may be dividing on this stance, and certain members of the party have even announced support for confirmation, Kerry deserves credit for his principled stand. The sad thing is, had he been so bold and decisive in 2004, this whole debate might be a moot point.
The State of His Dream
On this, the first Martin Luther King day since Katrina, it is only proper to reflect on a dream deferred. While the casualty count was thankfully not as high as everyone initially thought, the scenes that played out on the television reminded America and the world that even today, urban poverty in America is directly related to race. While things are far from perfect as far as social civil rights go, the true struggle today is for economic equality; in order for Dr. King’s dream to come true, the United States
There exists a vicious cycle involving present conditions and the education offered in urban schools. I believe wholeheartedly that the economic gap between African Americans (and Hispanic/Latino Americans) and “white” Americans can only be closed when the education gap is dissolved. This is a gap in achievement that starts fairly early and grows throughout the grade levels as problems compound upon themselves. As a result, it is my belief (if you’ll pardon me being a bad Democrat for a minute) that affirmative action programs are too little, too late (or worse). For real change to occur, progress must be made at the most basic levels: living conditions and early education.
These are integrally related. Those in poor living conditions tend to go to schools in bad neighborhoods, which often receive less funding and do not attract the best teachers. At the same time, the students’ conditions interfere with the education that they receive; if a student is worried about getting shot on the way home or trying to figure out if they will have dinner that night, they are not concerned with doing their homework. A million other factors come into play as well, with each need not being met interfering more and more with the educational process. With little or no support system at home, they eventually give up and become another statistic, part of the problem for the next generation.
There are no easy solutions for this continuing crisis, but in the end, the first step is recognizing what the real problem is. Right now, the greatest obstacle to Dr. King’s dream is poverty, fueled (and fueling) poor education, particularly in urban areas. To begin to deal with these issues, we must move beyond partisan ideology, beyond local vs. state vs. federal concerns, and work together to form a solution that will better our society as a whole. Until then, Martin Luther King’s dream remains a dream deferred.
There exists a vicious cycle involving present conditions and the education offered in urban schools. I believe wholeheartedly that the economic gap between African Americans (and Hispanic/Latino Americans) and “white” Americans can only be closed when the education gap is dissolved. This is a gap in achievement that starts fairly early and grows throughout the grade levels as problems compound upon themselves. As a result, it is my belief (if you’ll pardon me being a bad Democrat for a minute) that affirmative action programs are too little, too late (or worse). For real change to occur, progress must be made at the most basic levels: living conditions and early education.
These are integrally related. Those in poor living conditions tend to go to schools in bad neighborhoods, which often receive less funding and do not attract the best teachers. At the same time, the students’ conditions interfere with the education that they receive; if a student is worried about getting shot on the way home or trying to figure out if they will have dinner that night, they are not concerned with doing their homework. A million other factors come into play as well, with each need not being met interfering more and more with the educational process. With little or no support system at home, they eventually give up and become another statistic, part of the problem for the next generation.
There are no easy solutions for this continuing crisis, but in the end, the first step is recognizing what the real problem is. Right now, the greatest obstacle to Dr. King’s dream is poverty, fueled (and fueling) poor education, particularly in urban areas. To begin to deal with these issues, we must move beyond partisan ideology, beyond local vs. state vs. federal concerns, and work together to form a solution that will better our society as a whole. Until then, Martin Luther King’s dream remains a dream deferred.
Time for a Raise
A Gallup poll from mid-November reveals that 83% of those surveyed favor an increase in the Federal minimum wage, currently set at $5.15/hour, a rate dating to 1997 (and equal to $6.34 in today’s terms once inflation is taken into account – the net result is a $50/week decline in the real minimum wage in that 8 year period). The poll further reveals that these same people believed the minimum wage to be, on average, a little over $6.00/hour. Clearly, the time has come for the Republican Congress to make this change that the people demand. The last vote in the Senate resulted in a split along party lines. However, among those of us who elected these folks to represent us, the division is much less. The American people fundamentally believe that hard work should equal a reasonable wage, if not a living wage.
Many opponents argue that an increase only hurts small business and rewards their teenage employers. In reality, of the 2,003,000 Americans working for $5.15/hour in 2004, 49% of them were over the age of 25, up from 47.4% in 2003. In raw terms, that’s 982,000 who are trying to survive on a wage that was bad in 1997 and can only be described as shameful today. This does not even account for those working for minimum wage in states with higher rates. The heaviest concentration of these Americans is in the South, which contains 42% of all $5.15/hour workers.
The impact on small businesses is a legitimate concern. Perhaps one solution would be to use the high-income tax breaks so loved by Bush and fellow Republicans to instead reimburse small businesses for their increased burden. The net result would be the same; more money in the economy. Instead of helping out the wealthy who may or may not use it to create jobs, however, such a plan would put money into the hands of those who need it the most while protecting entrepreneurs who are very much a source of low and even middle income jobs.
This is very much a moral values issue; it is about how much we, as a society, care for those among us who, for one reason or another, are not qualified for higher paying positions. It is about rewarding hard, often dirty and/or unpleasant work with reasonable pay. Providing people with the equality of opportunity to improve their lives is a fundamental American value. To live up to this commitment as a society, it is past time for us to update our minimum wage to at least account for inflation since 1997. The American people have collectively reached this realization; now, if only the Republican partisans and politicos would get off of their high horses (provided by wealthy lobbyist and business interests), perhaps they would be more responsive to the will and needs of the people.
Many opponents argue that an increase only hurts small business and rewards their teenage employers. In reality, of the 2,003,000 Americans working for $5.15/hour in 2004, 49% of them were over the age of 25, up from 47.4% in 2003. In raw terms, that’s 982,000 who are trying to survive on a wage that was bad in 1997 and can only be described as shameful today. This does not even account for those working for minimum wage in states with higher rates. The heaviest concentration of these Americans is in the South, which contains 42% of all $5.15/hour workers.
The impact on small businesses is a legitimate concern. Perhaps one solution would be to use the high-income tax breaks so loved by Bush and fellow Republicans to instead reimburse small businesses for their increased burden. The net result would be the same; more money in the economy. Instead of helping out the wealthy who may or may not use it to create jobs, however, such a plan would put money into the hands of those who need it the most while protecting entrepreneurs who are very much a source of low and even middle income jobs.
This is very much a moral values issue; it is about how much we, as a society, care for those among us who, for one reason or another, are not qualified for higher paying positions. It is about rewarding hard, often dirty and/or unpleasant work with reasonable pay. Providing people with the equality of opportunity to improve their lives is a fundamental American value. To live up to this commitment as a society, it is past time for us to update our minimum wage to at least account for inflation since 1997. The American people have collectively reached this realization; now, if only the Republican partisans and politicos would get off of their high horses (provided by wealthy lobbyist and business interests), perhaps they would be more responsive to the will and needs of the people.
