Fatimah Ali: We need Obama, not 4 more years of George Bush

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http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opin...orge_Bush.html


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[rubberneck]

I guess when you have nothing intelligent to say you fall back on nonsense like this.

[Paslode]

Let's see the DEMs have been in control for quite awhile and accomplished nothing but a watermelon day and something else trivial, and she hopes Obama is going to perform some miracle that will lead us to the promised land.

I don't think so.

[Surf n Turf]

I sure hope that they make Fatimah Ali the spokesperson for the Obama campaign

[Surf n Turf]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

Anyone think the Democratic Congress's recent vote to increase the minimum wage may be one thing contributing to the sudden rise in the unemployment rate (which they are contributing to the policies of the Bush administration)?

Broadsword,

“All told, companies announced more than 100,000 layoffs last week, more than five times the normal weekly average. WorldCom, the nation's No. 2 long-distance phone company, could cut more than 10,000 jobs
"The lesson of the early 1990s was that the level of layoffs announced rarely matches the level of layoffs achieved,"
Unemployment in Illinois has reached its highest level, 4.8%, in four years.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/econom...29-layoffs.htm


The Minimum wage increases had a little impact (small business), But I think is was the Big3 Auto Retooling, IBM, Intel, D&T, and a bunch in the High Tech Arena. AND the layoffs of the major media outlets --- as the public reacts when they find out how LIBERAL they are. Here is a partial listing of Media layoffs for this year:
Hearst - About 70 Jobs Cut
Tribune - 250 Jobs Cut
Time Inc. - ??? Jobs Cut
Akron Beacon Journal - 40 Jobs Cut
Disney - 650 Jobs Cut
New York Times - ??? Jobs Cut (BIG CUT)
New York Times Co. - 500 Jobs Cut
New York Times Co. - 190 Jobs Cut
Chicago Tribune - 120 Jobs Cut
CBS Radio - 115 Jobs Cut (Thanks, Dan Rather)
CBS News - 50 Jobs Cut
Time Inc. - 66 Jobs Cut
Time Inc. - 105 Jobs Cut (Listed Twice)
Newsday - 65 Jobs Cut
McGraw-Hill - 500 Jobs Cut
Tribune Co. - 900 Jobs Cut
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 130 Jobs Cut
San Francisco Chronicle - 120 Jobs Cut
Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News - 160 Jobs Cut
Seattle Times - 90 to 110 Jobs Cut
http://www.iwantmedia.com/layoffs.html

SnT

[USANick7]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

Anyone think the Democratic Congress's recent vote to increase the minimum wage may be one thing contributing to the sudden rise in the unemployment rate (which they are contributing to the policies of the Bush administration)?

I try to be very careful when judging "correlation vs. causation"; but it has been adequately demonstrated that raising the minimum wage contributes to unemployment.

It is a very logical conclusion. If you force someone to pay more for labor than the market would require, you discourage employment.

[MattM19]

I love how she fails to mention higher growth in GDP under Bush than under Clinton.

She also seems to have no concept of Economics. Apperently in the Democratic Mind, cutting taxes + Raising Government Spending = More money...That just baffles me that they cant seem to understand this.

[ZonieDiver]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

Anyone think the Democratic Congress's recent vote to increase the minimum wage may be one thing contributing to the sudden rise in the unemployment rate (which they are contributing to the policies of the Bush administration)?

I doubt it. The minimum wage had not been raised in so long that in many areas it was no longer a "price floor" but closer to a "price ceiling"! When it was $5.15 here in the Phoenix, AZ area, most fastfood joints were starting kids at $6.50 to as high as $8.25 per hour.

[USANick7]

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

I doubt it. The minimum wage had not been raised in so long that in many areas it was no longer a "price floor" but closer to a "price ceiling"! When it was $5.15 here in the Phoenix, AZ area, most fastfood joints were starting kids at $6.50 to as high as $8.25 per hour.

I recognize that allot of states have higher minimum wage laws, and I cant say emphatically that the current unemployment trend is in direct correlation to the raise, but the historical evidence is ample to suggest that minimum wage laws in general have a downward effect on employment.

The evidence you gave, while valid, cannot paint an accurate picture for the national economy.

Minimum wage increases interfere with the free market in a profound way. They are incredibly arbitrary, and can have an almost immediate effect on employment, being as they largely effect service industries, which may or may not be able to adjust prices as necessary in order to compensate. In a world of 4.00 a gallon gas, you can bet that many small business owners, are simply unable to raise prices anymore than they already have to make up for increased delivery charges, and so they cut an entry level employee and work later.