I can’t figure out if the people in this Administration are out-of-touch with reality or simply hold the intelligence of Americans in low esteem. Raising the minimum wage $1.10 for this teenager to $10.10 will give him at most an extra $475.20 for the entire summer.
When I read these testimonials perpetrated by the government I always ask myself cynical self, what’s the rest of the story? Frankly I don’t care if the minimum wage is raised, but just don’t insult me by implying that doing so will solve everything from paying for college to inequality.
In this case I note that the school says tuition and books will cost $1580 for a full semester. The school is 4.9 miles from Allen Texas. Rent, bills? Parents help? Not living at home? Is this 18 years suddenly on his own? Is this the full story? Frankly I don’t know any more about this story than you do, but when I see this type of propaganda as a steady stream from our government it doesn’t give me a good feeling. And by the way, if the President’s plan to raise the minimum wage was enacted tomorrow, the $10.10 hourly rate would not be reached until July, 2016 – after this young man graduated from the community college.
A Higher Minimum Wage Will Help Me Pay for College
by GARRETT FOX on JULY 2, 2014 · 0 COMMENTS
Garrett Fox
Editor’s note: Join the conversation about the minimum wage on Twitter using #RaiseTheWage, and tell us what a raise to $10.10 would mean for you.
My name is Garret Fox and I graduated from Allen High School in Allen, Texas, in June. I will attend Collin County Community College fall 2014 to study computer science. And like many students I will be paying for college mostly on my own with a little help from my family.
This summer I am working as a Computer Numerical Control machine repair assistant making $9 an hour. My job is to clean out dirty CNC machines; taking the covers off, picking up the little bits of metal, scrubbing off the mixture of oil and bacteria that accumulates in the machines, and also checking for faulty wiring. It’s backbreaking work, but I’m just glad I found a job.
Some might think $9 an hour is a fairly decent wage for a teenager like me. However, I know that with what I earn on my current wage I will struggle to pay my rent and bills, and have little disposable income remaining once basic necessities have been paid for.
I have become accustomed to going without many things, such as going out to a movie, because money is tight. It requires quite a lot of budgeting to keep account of everything.
As a student, President Obama’s proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would help me pay for tuition and school supplies. It would relieve some of the financial worries that I face as I prepare to enter the workforce.
Tagged as: #RaiseTheWage, $10.10, minimum wage increase, minimum wage raise
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
Wilson, I like your using the phrase “the wrong side of history.” As you may know, this was a favorite warning phrase of the Comintern, the Third International, the communist movement controlled by the Bolsheviks in the Kremlin. As sometimes happens in life, it was communism itself that turned out to be on the side of history that ended.
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Mr. Quinn – Set aside for a moment, your hatred for our president, your futile belief in “trickle down economics”, your “old white man” mindset and your stubborn resistance to recognize the new world changing around you. Read and learn of the dozens of corporations, cities and states that have taken action to raise their minimum wages. Realize that you are on the wrong side of history and out of touch with economic and political realities.
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Wilson, please focus on my point. I said I don’t care if they raise the minimum wage. My point as I stated it was the absurd propaganda put out by this Administration pushing its agenda, an agenda that does not focus on fixing problem but masking symptoms. That type of misinformation or incomplete information should worry even you.
Look at the example of Hobby Lobby and the statements made by the White House and others in the Administration. They don’t address the facts, but instead attempt to whip up some fantasy about a war on women with the only aim of getting votes.
I know, both left and right can be reprehensible in their claims, but this is our leadership in power, setting our course. It seems to me we should expect some level of honesty.
Dick
Richard D Quinn
Blog http://www.quinnscommentary.com Twitter @quinnscomments
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“…we should expect some level of honesty.” Really? From the President? I’ll tell you what, I’ll believe what the President says just as soon as he delivers that $2500 in health insurance savings that he promised me. (My rates have doubled, and I’ve never made a claim)
Honestly, I thought you’d written an interesting but banal anecdote about misconstruing the minimum wage, until I got to the very end, and read “dol.gov” as the source. Holy cow. Even the DoL has been turned into an arm of the propaganda machine, and the “Wilsons” of America are believing the propaganda.
Like I said, I’m not falling for it because I already fell for the propaganda once, with the $2500 promise. You know the old saying: fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Once was enough.
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