When it comes to the minimum wage debate, the main opposition argument seems to be the negative impact a $15 federal minimum wage would have on small businesses, especially in poorer areas of the country.
So what if Congress provided tax relief to those small businesses that are required to pay at the new level? Since the average effective tax rate for small businesses is 20 percent, the government would essentially pay $3 of the $15 rate, reducing the actual wage from the employers' perspective to $12/hour.
A government tax relief measure could easily be more generous to employers, of course, but this simple plan would at least help ease the blow, IMHO. The main point is that workers cannot support their families on absurdly low wages and it is time for the government to address this problem. BTW, 29 states have already raised the minimum wage to levels above the federal level, which is a paltry $7.25/hour.
Many large employers are already getting onboard with the $15/hour minimum, but for a deadlocked Congress to act will require hearing from their constituents. This is the kind of issue that could prove to be non-partisan, and help address the serious wealth disparities that plague our society.
If the kind of measure I am advocating for were adopted, it would be a departure from the history of tax policies that benefit the rich. The power to impose taxes is almost god-like in that it has such far-reaching impacts on who succeeds and who fails.
But the rate of income taxes most Americans pay still are low relative to other industrial societies. Raising the required wage level to something approaching a "livable" wage would help so many people, it is difficult to comprehend why some continue to oppose it.
***
You know this pandemic has been around for a quite a while when the Wall Street Journal devotes its resources to exploring whether our collective sense of happiness has been changed by the exigencies of Covid-19.
Remote working and isolation has collapsed most people's social circles down to their immediate family unit. And depending on how family members feel about each other, that may or may not increase the sense of happiness that prevails.
There is some evidence, in fact, that staying home with their children is not necessarily proving to be a negative experience for many working parents. Fully one-third of those with school-aged children report they are considering sticking with remote learning after in-school instruction resumes.
Maybe this is an example of how the definition of happiness is evolving. Would you rather go back to the office where certain colleagues behave as if they were children? Or stay home with the real deal?
The latter group is far more charming.
***
The day after Christmas I ordered a present via Etsy from Russia for my oldest grandson, who turned 14 in early January. It finally arrived yesterday, 69 days after I ordered it.
I realize that the various postal services can be slow but this took as long as letters from the States took to reach us in Afghanistan 50 years ago.
Th world may have grown smaller with advanced technologies and globalization but the distance as measured by time between here and Central Asia remains the same.
Oh, the present is cool. It was worth the wait.
The news:
* ‘She Is a Hero’: In Myanmar’s Protests, Women Are on the Front Lines -- Despite the danger, women have been at the forefront of the movement, rebuking the generals who ousted a female civilian leader. (NYT)
* The U.S. is quietly mobilizing its economy against China (WP)
* A two-year study, the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, has released preliminary findings. The program gave $500 a month to 125 randomly selected residents for two years, and the preliminary results show a rise in full-time employment, more debt paid off and improvement of mental health. [KTVU]
* California child care sites have reported more than 12,000 cases of Covid-19 and 30 related deaths since the pandemic began. [CalMatters]
* Joe Biden is enjoying an early presidential honeymoon, with 60% of Americans approving of his job performance thus far and even more backing his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP)
* Senate action on Biden relief bill stalls amid Democratic disarray on unemployment benefits (WP)
* As the Covid-19 pandemic forces many to reconsider what makes them happy, researchers are embracing a more complex definition of the emotion that focuses less on uninterrupted bliss (WSJ)
* Cuomo and Newsom, once pillars of the Democratic Party, now look for paths to survival (LAT)
* 8.5 percent (1 in 12) Americans have been vaccinated against Covid-19. (CNN)
* Poll: Nearly One-Third Of Parents May Stick With Remote Learning (NPR)
* Irish publishers are to begin negotiations with Google over payment for news articles. The move comes as Google expands the number of countries for its ‘News Showcase’ product, which sees the search giant pay news publishers for the display of their work. (Independent.i.e)
* Humans are likely cause of shift in Atlantic hurricane cycles, climate study suggests (KTVU)
* Federal investigators are examining records of communications between members of Congress and the pro-Trump mob that attacked the US Capitol, as the investigation moves closer to exploring whether lawmakers wittingly or unwittingly helped the insurrectionists, according to a US official briefed on the matter. (CNN)
* Texas Farmers Tally Up the Damage From a Winter Storm ‘Massacre’ -- The state’s agriculture sector has lost an estimated $600 million or more. Crop and livestock damage could mean shortages and higher prices beyond Texas. (NYT)
* More bad news for democracy defenders: A new report confirms worldwide declines in freedom for the 15th year in a row, and the United States isn't helping matters. Freedom House, a nonpartisan research organization, on Wednesday released its annual report, Freedom in the World, detailing how global democracy was further weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic, economic and physical insecurities and violent conflict. While the United States is still considered "free," the country's score has continued to decline over the last decade, dropping 3 points in 2020 alone. (The Fulcrum)
* Study Finds Wildfire Smoke More Harmful To Humans Than Pollution From Cars (NPR)
* Can the market save the planet? FedEx is the latest brand-name firm to say it’s trying (WP)
* Starting on March 12, Universal Studios Hollywood plans to reopen on weekends, for a food and shopping event. Several hundred workers who were previously furloughed will be rehired to staff the event. [LAT]
* Unemployment Claims Rise, Showing Recovery’s Rocky Road (NYT)
* Covering about only six blocks, Nihonmachi in San Francisco is now the country’s oldest and largest Japantown. However, the pandemic and an expiring agreement with the city threaten the survival of this neighborhood. [San Francisco Chronicle]
* Albatross, Now 70, Hatches Yet Another Chick --"Each year that Wisdom returns, we learn more about how long seabirds can live and raise chicks," said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Beth Flint. (NPR)
* Jeff Bezos Assures Amazon Employees That HR Working 100 Hours A Week To Address Their Complaints (The Onion)
***
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
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