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7.30.2006
BBC NEWS | Business | US votes for higher minimum wage Now, I don't actually expect that we will see any progress on the raising of the minimum wage anytime soon. The house bill is nothing more than a way to either get the estate taxes repealed/lowered or to look good on working class issues. But we have to ask, will the world come crashing down and small businesses all over the country fold if we raise the minimum wage? Not likely. I say this because there was no such crash the last time we raised the minimum wage - or the time before that - or the time before that - or the time before that. This, despite the dire warnings that such things would in fact, absolutely, positively happen - each and every time. What I reject is the idea that people have to be threatened with death, poverty, starvation, etc. in order to ensure that they will work - that we need to create an environment of desperation on order to make sure that people will continue to work crappy jobs at poverty wages. Is work only valuable as a means of survival? Would people work even if they didn't have to? Yes. People do it all the time. When you examine this position - that people must be forced to work, you start to realize that most of the mindset relies on forcing people to do things. Its a form of violent coercion that hardly befits our current self-image as a civilized society. As a person that values individual liberty, for myself as well as others, I see this as very contradictory in our championing of "freedom" - that we would create a society in which many people feel like most life decisions are being made for them. In modern America's institutional framework most people seek wealth for the freedom that it provides. Inversely, poverty is still a form of slavery. So while we've made slavery in its more obvious forms illegal (under protest, I might add) we've created institutional forms of bondage in its stead. If this idea, that only fear can keep people under control, seems familiar, its because it is modeled after the more fundamentalist forms of Christianity in our culture. We shouldn't be too surprised if people want to create a government in God's image - dangling eternal damnation over you for your own good. So while I've rejected the idea that there is no morality without fear of hell, I also reject the idea that people will not work if we do not threaten them with their lives. Work should be a path to life, liberty and happiness. If it is not then we have failed in that mission set forth to us. | 7.29.2006
It bothers me that everything has to happen on a Saturday or Sunday to accommodate people that have traditional working hours. This, despite the fact that more and more people are moving into the service economy and working hours that don't neatly fit into the 9-5 mon-fri workday. In fact, were it not for this class of people working these hours it would not be possible for weekend warriors to "do" all those things they want to "get done" on the weekends. I wonder if that thought ever crosses their mind? Thus it is that when you work in the service world you watch so much of the events going on around you go by as you work. Having the world conform to your work schedule is a form of privilege. It seems that the longer you take for granted that things will happen when they are convenient to you the more likely you are to not notice how this effects other people. At some point you cease to notice that many, if not all the institutions in society are working for you and not against you. Today on Oprah, she expressed surprise at just how hard it is for people working for low wages to get by in America. She was astonished to learn of all the extra obstacles that these working poor people have to deal with on a daily basis. Nothing is ever as simple as it is when you have money and freedom of movement. Its all too easy to assume that the world in which one lives in is the same for other people as well. When you do this it makes it easy to assume that they should be able to reach the same levels of material comfort and security as you. | 7.27.2006
It disturbs me that I can't reorient information in real life like I can on my computer. So that when I go to the video store and I can't figure out which category a movie might be located in I could just reorient the store into alphabetical order. So that when I go to the liquor store I could change the layout from "geography" to "style" so that the stouts might be all in one place for easy decision making. I get used to being in control of information. I want to be able to manipulate information all the time so that I don't have to deal with organizational schemes that don't make sense to me. Wouldn't it be nice if the grocery store had a search function? That all you would have to do is ask for what you needed and all the matching products would be moved to your location, with like products stacked behind in order of relevance? I think so. But real life data is not like virtual data. Such that we can't just rearrange our locations to suit our needs better. I might move my home to a location that better matches my transportation needs? I might arrange shops and services in a way that makes them more efficient for me to use? People who are unsatisfied with their governments could reorganize into like-minded groups? data. | 7.25.2006
7.15.2006
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger says he nearly died: "'If you don't wear a seat belt every time you ride in the car should I label you as a person who doesn't wear a seat belt?' Ben Roethlisberger asked. " umm.. yeah. | 7.09.2006
Well, that was an interesting final! I was pulling for Italy from the beginning and was quite upset when the French player took a dive in the box and France went ahead 1-0. After Italy tied it up it became a much more interesting game and the Italian side looked quite worn out through the second half. It was a mistake to pull Henry and Ribery out with penalty kicks looking like a real possibility. Then when Zidane decided to headbutt Materazzi and got thrown out, France was left with too few great kickers to go into the shootout. I guess someday soon we'll find out what Matterazzi said that made Zidane so mad. | 7.03.2006
Wow, been busy watching the World Cup and hosting my gf's sister for a few weeks. I'm sad that Brazil lost to France. I would have loved to see a good match up with the host country Germany. But for me, Brazil never seemed to come alive like I thought they should. France has been building up momentum as they've crawled out of the round of sixteen into the semifinals. The next couple of matches should be entertaining, and I think I might just start pulling for France to win. After all, they did knock off TWO of my teams this time - Brazil and Spain. Oh, and my digital camera has died. Luckily, I should be able to get it fixed for free. Its just a matter of me taking it in to get it sent off. So no new pictures for now. I've bottled the beer that's been sitting in the spare room. The concoction so far seems to bear a strong resemblance to good beer. We'll see in the coming weeks how the bottling went. | |
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