SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
May 13, 2016
Sullivan’s Salvos 5/17/16
In this edition:
*Sullivan for Supervisor!
*IDP Caucus Review
*Minimum Wage Economics
*Iowa Shares
*Did You Know?
*Sullivan for Supervisor!
As
you (hopefully) know, I am running for reelection. Early voting has already
begun for the June 7 Democratic Party Primary; I thought I should take a moment
to make my case to Salvos readers!
I
grew up on a Heritage farm (150 years in the same family) near Sutliff, and
attended K-12 in the Lisbon school system. I attended the University of Iowa,
earning a BA in 1988. I have held several positions in the field of human
services, including 6 years with the Department of Human Services and 6 years
as Executive Director of the Arc of Johnson County.
I
am married to Dr. Melissa Fath, a Research Scientist at the UI and a volunteer
Pharmacist at the Free Medical Clinic. We have 3 adult children-Rachel, Jordan,
and BJ, and have served as foster parents for another 40+ children.
I
have been active in many local organizations, including volunteering for the
Shelter Overflow, Furniture Project, United Way, Community Foundation of
Johnson County, Affordable Homes Coalition, Coalition for Racial Justice, UI
Center for Disabilities and Development, Hoover PTA, City High Little Hawks
Club, Yes for Kids Steering Committee, and the Batterer’s Education Program.
I
am a member of several community organizations, including: St. Andrew
Presbyterian Church, Iowa Foster & Adoptive Parent Association, Sierra
Club, Burr Oak Land Trust, Johnson County Historical Society, Johnson County Ag
Association, Center for Worker Justice, ACLU Hawkeye Chapter, AFT Local 716,
and NAMI. I also served 4 years as Chair of the Johnson County Democratic
Party.
Some of the accomplishments of which I am proud:
Leadership during ’08 floods.
Human Rights
Ordinance.
Sensitive
Areas Ordinance.
Conservation Bond
Initiative.
Started 1105 Project with gift of old
Public Health building.
Saved Sutliff Bridge.
Trails
funding.
Community ID.
Free Tax Help
project.
Livable Community
Successful Aging.
Outdoor warning sirens to unincorporated
Johnson County.
Local Foods Policy Council.
“A” in local government transparency from
Sunshine Institute.
Heritage AAA Outstanding
Elected Official – 2009.
Raising the
minimum wage.
I
respectfully request your vote on or before June 7. Thanks!
*IDP Caucus Review
The
Iowa Democratic Party has me steaming mad! They CLAIM to be doing a “Caucus
Review”. One does not need to be Sherlock Holmes to note that Iowa Republicans
handle their Caucuses differently than Iowa Democrats.
(In
short, Iowa Republicans walk in, vote, and then most leave. This allows for
MUCH smaller caucus sites!)
I
am one of many people who has asked aloud why Democrats in Iowa do not simply
do what Republicans do. The argument you hear from the IDP is, “New Hampshire
won’t allow it.”
But
that is a blatant lie! New Hampshire allows the Iowa GOP to do it! The real
story is that the IDP refuses to ask!
I
am so fed up with the IDP, I don’t really give a damn what they do. I just wish
they would stop lying!
*Minimum Wage Economics
In
discussing the increase in the minimum wage, I continue to come across the same
argument: “So you raise the minimum wage. Then businesses raise prices. No one
gains anything.”
This
argument is incorrect. But in order to explain it, I think we need an
illustration.
Needless
to say, in any business, there are lots and lots of variables at work at any
given time. But for the sake of simplicity and clarity, let’s focus on the
example below:
A
woman owns a coffee shop. She is open 10 hours per day, and she has 2 FTEs
working that whole time. So she is paying for 20 hours per day.
She
is forced to raise the wage from $8 to $10. That means she is paying staff $40
more each day.
The
business owner could address this several ways: she could take $40/day less
profit. She probably doesn’t want to do that. She could cut staff, but then she
could not meet customer demand. So she decides to increase prices.
The
shop sells 20 coffees per hour. Each coffee costs $2.50. That amounts to
$500/day in revenues. The owner needs $540/day in revenues in order to stay
profitable.
To
get to $540/day, coffees need to increase 20 cents each – from $2.50 to $2.70.
That gets the owner to $540/day.
Obviously,
there are some assumptions here: primarily, we are assuming coffee sales remain
the same. I believe that is a reasonable assumption.
Divide
the coffee purchasing public into quintiles. The poorest quintile cannot afford
$2.50 coffee. They are not customers. The second quintile really cannot afford
the $2.50 coffee, but will treat themselves a few times per year. The third
quintile buys coffee here, but irregularly. They may gripe about the price, but
they buy. The fourth quintile buys coffee here regularly. The wealthiest
quintile also buys here regularly.
So
we raised the price from $2.50 to $2.70. The three wealthiest quintiles are
still buying coffee; their purchasing behavior does not change. The people in
the second quintile may buy a bit less, but they do not buy much, anyway. They
still treat themselves occasionally. The poorest quintile? They make a couple
thousand dollars per year more. They may now be able to buy coffee on occasion!
The
point is this – the increase in prices is borne by ALL the customers, not just
the poorest customers. So low-income workers come out ahead. Yes, they pay a
bit more, but because we ALL pay a bit more, their incomes go farther.
I
hope this helps people to see how an increase in the minimum wage can be
covered by a small increase in prices.
*Iowa Shares
I
often write in support of the United Way, which is a favorite charity of mine.
But I would be remiss to ignore our friends at Iowa Shares!
Iowa Shares is a coalition of
social change, environmental and cultural nonprofit organizations throughout
the state of Iowa. We make a direct impact on our communities through research,
education, advocacy and direct service.
You can be a part of supporting
Iowa Shares through workplace giving and direct support. Your gifts, no matter
what size, will make it possible for our members to support the arts within our
community, educating the public on threats to our air and water, protect
animals, fight for equality and human rights, and so much more!
For much more information, visit: Iowashares.org.
*DID YOU KNOW?
Since 1938, the federal minimum wage has been
increased 22 times. For more than 75 years, real GDP per capita has steadily
increased, even when the minimum wage has been raised. (Source: US Department
of Labor.)
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"Sullivan’s
Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a
brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages
come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the
whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise
mentioned.
If you do NOT
want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type
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If you know
anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail
me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always,
feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 3:38 PM
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