rodsullivan.org
SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
August 26, 2016
Sullivan’s
Salvos 8/30/16
In this edition:
*Labor Day
*Labor Day Picnic
*Labor and Candidates
*Letter to the Register
*Branstad and Jobs
*Did You Know?
*Labor Day
Happy Labor Day next Monday! I love Labor Day. Every Memorial Day
and Veteran’s Day we set aside time to recall the folks whose service has given
us our freedom. I have long felt we need to treat Labor Day in a similar
fashion.
Please take a moment this Labor Day to remember the people who
fought (and often died) to give us child labor laws, 40 hour weeks, weekends,
overtime, vacations, the minimum wage, sick leave, parental leave, OSHA,
employment nondiscrimination, pensions, Social Security, health insurance, and
so much more.
Do not be fooled! Benevolent corporations did not GIVE these
benefits to workers! They were earned by workers who sacrificed! It is a shame
that so many average Joes have chosen to support our corporate masters versus
supporting those whose efforts really benefit the masses.
Unions continue to provide the best protections working people can
have. I feel as though I have accomplished some good things as a member of the
Board of Supervisors. One of the accomplishments of which I am most proud is
starting an employee appreciation lunch every year the week of Labor Day.
Johnson County employees deserve much more, but this is one extra opportunity
to say thank you.
Trust me – the average person has nothing to fear from unions. We
all benefit when folks have safe and healthy workplaces. We all benefit when
workers get adequate rest. We all benefit when workers receive good training.
We all benefit when folks earn a living wage and have health insurance. Unions
help improve the quality of life for all of us.
One example of a way in which unions benefit everyone: much is
made of the automobile industry expanding into the southern US. While these are
not union plants, workers still have good wages and benefits. Some see this as
an indictment of unions. It is precisely the opposite.
Do not think for a minute that these companies pay $22 per hour
because they WANT to. They would be much happier to pay $4 per hour. And, when
China’s workforce improves in quality to the point that they can do automotive
work, the companies will move there.
Understand – large corporations exist for one reason, and that is
to earn a profit. If the laws allowed slavery, some companies would use it.
Because it is cheaper.
So why do they pay $22 in the southern US? Because of the threat
of the United Auto Workers (UAW). If the wages or benefits ever sink too low,
UAW could unionize those workers. The car companies don’t want that, so they
pay the lowest possible acceptable wage.
See? The UAW does not represent the workers at those plants. But
they have driven up the wages and benefits for the workers there all the same.
I am proud to be a member of Local 716 of the American Federation
of Teachers, an affiliate of the Iowa City Federation of Labor. Happy Labor Day!
*Labor Day Picnic
The Iowa City Federation of Labor,
AFL-CIO, will host its annual Labor Day picnic on Monday, September 5, starting
at noon at Upper City Park, shelter 2. Meat, veggie options and beverages
provided. Please bring a dish to share. Political speeches and a good time
guaranteed. Free to all Friends of Labor.
*Labor and Candidates
Candidates for elected office typically court labor
unions for support. This makes sense; Labor is a large, well-organized group of
regular voters.
So how does one earn the support of Organized
Labor? Well, there are many labor-specific issues, such as the right to bargain
collectively, Fair Share, prevailing wage, card check, choice of doctor,
minimum wage increases, paid sick leave, overtime laws, and more. Strong
support for these issues is critical in attracting the support of Organized
Labor.
Votes on issues matter; they matter A LOT. But
there is a critical, often-overlooked matter when it comes to the support of
Organized Labor – how do you treat employees? Do employees feel as though they
are treated with dignity and respect? Or are they walking on eggshells, just
waiting for the next explosion?
Yes,
the way you vote on the issues is important. But it is equally important that
you treat workers with the dignity and respect they deserve.
*Letter to the Register
I recently wrote the following email to Des Moines Register
Business Reporter Kevin Hardy. Yes, I was unhappy…
Look, I get it. You write for the business section. It is much
more important to note which corporate titan has a birthday than to write about
the actual struggles of the people of Polk County. The business titans buy ads;
poor people don't.
But here are two ideas:
1. Talk to
people who actually work for less than $10/hour. Learn what their lives are
like, and share it with your readers.
2. Rather than
all the fear mongering you print, get in your car, drive two hours east, and
take a look at Johnson County. The minimum wage here is already $9.15, and the
sky has not fallen.
Your journalistic integrity is at stake. We have heard the
concerns... They are the same concerns we have heard since 1938. People are
hurting, and they need more income. Corporations refuse to do the right things
voluntarily, so government is forced to intervene.
*Branstad and Jobs
Governor
Branstad decided he would create some much-needed jobs in Iowa. Then he went
about doing it all wrong.
Giant
foreign company Orascom was given oodles of public money to come in from Egypt
and build a fertilizer plant in Lee County.
Orascom
is the beneficiary of over $500,000,000 in tax incentives and direct payments,
in exchange for creating 165 jobs. That works out to $3.3 MILLION per job! And
those are 2014 estimates; the cost per job has undoubtedly risen since then.
Let’s
look at other ways that money could be spent. The Courts are short scores of
positions. DNR is short at least 25 professional positions, as is the DOT, DIA,
DHS, and other State Agencies. These are positions that inspect nursing homes,
group homes, CAFOs, manure spills, etc. They design and permit roads and
bridges. They help citizens navigate Medicaid Managed Care. They deliver legal
justice. These are the people who provide important governmental services to
the people of Iowa.
These
are professional jobs, so let’s figure in a very good average salary ($75k) and
excellent average benefits ($25k). The annual cost of one of our employees is
$100k.
Now
let’s employ them for ten years. That is a million bucks each. For the sake of
argument, let’s use the $500 million figure we heard earlier.
The
State of Iowa could employ 500 more people – doing critical jobs that Iowans
need done – at a really good salary for ten years each. All for the same cost as
the Orascom scam!
This
is easy math, folks. My proposal makes more sense. But it will not register
with our Governor. He is ideologically opposed to job creation in the public
sector, no matter how badly we need it. He’d rather throw money away to a
foreign company. Shameful.
*DID YOU KNOW?
I am a proud member of the American Federation of Teachers Local 716.
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
"unsubscribe" in the subject line.
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
August 19, 2016
Sullivan’s
Salvos 8/23/16
In this edition:
*Minimum Wage Anniversary
*Rose Oaks
*Iowa City Beacon
*Did You Know?
*Minimum Wage Anniversary
This
week is the one-year anniversary of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors
voting to raise the minimum wage in Johnson County. (The wage actually went up
by $.95 on November 1, 2015 and again by $.95 on May 1, 2016. It is due to go
up to $10.10 on January 1, 2017.)
While
the impacts of our efforts are still being judged, clearly the sky has not fallen!
Many, many low-income people report living better lives. I remain very proud of
this vote!
*Rose Oaks
You
may have seen that the Iowa City Council recently voted 5-2 to compensate the
displaced residents of Rose Oaks (formerly Lakeside). The total amount is
small; much less than is typically granted to projects that claim to be
“economic development”.
The
two Councilors who opposed the payments claimed they were concerned with the
process that was used.
Here
is the deal: opposing the payments because of the “process” is ONLY legitimate
if you THEN work to improve that process. Otherwise, it is just a convenient
excuse.
So,
I sincerely hope the two Councilors who opposed providing relief to the
displaced residents of Rose Oaks (Councilors Dickens and Mims) lead the charge
in getting Iowa City to adopt a displaced residents ordinance!
A
Displaced Residents Ordinance would be very simple: any redevelopment proposal
that requires anything from the City (rezoning, TIF, etc.) MUST provide for the
relocation of any displaced residents. Period.
This
is not that hard. The city could demand a draft from staff in a month, and get
it passed in under 90 days. And EVERY city should adopt a similar ordinance,
not just Iowa City!
More
of these situations are on the way. Why wait until another crisis? Let’s be
proactive, and get an ordinance passed!
There
are two positives to this approach: First, residents get fair compensation.
Secondly, developers pay rather than taxpayers. I mean, why should YOU
compensate the displaced Rose Oaks tenants? Why wouldn’t we require the people
that CAUSE the problem to repair it?
So,
Councilors Dickens and Mims – here is your policy. Let’s get it done!
*Iowa City Beacon
There
is a new website out there called the Iowa City Beacon, which claims as its
mission: “to foster a dialogue about local issues from a
pragmatic, socially conscious perspective. In other words, a perspective
recognizing it’s possible for our communities to grow while protecting our neighborhoods,
believing that good government should be progressive and financially prudent,
and wanting both a strong tax base and a high level of city and county
services. It’s a perspective focused on the long view of developing thriving
communities.”
They already have the Corridor Business Journal; I guess they felt
they needed more media help!
Seriously, let me begin by saying the contributors to Beacon are
not all cut from the same cloth. So please understand that these comments apply
to some and not all members of the group. Heck, I agree with some of the points
they make. But that is not what this is about!
I
posted a couple responses that showed up on their blog; I also had a couple
responses disappear into thin air. It will be interesting to see if they ever
show up. They are talking about open discussion, but my posts seem to be gone
forever.
Anyway,
the whole premise of the site is setting up and tearing down a straw man. I
have never heard anyone say they wanted local governments to spend too much, or
destroy neighborhoods, or to have a weak tax base, or to provide less services.
No elected official wants that. They are running against a ghost.
The whole thing is a red herring. It is code for, “We are
privileged. We have lost the last few elections, and as privileged people, we
do not like that! We want our city and county back!”
Many
of these folks are pissed that their ideas fall to the right of the mainstream
of the local Democratic Party. There is nothing wrong with that, per se – the
Democratic Party is a big tent. The real problem is that because their
viewpoint is a minority, they do not get to run things. That is the real issue!
A
recent post on their blog said it very well… they want more “normal voters” to
vote in local elections. What does “normal” mean? My guess is wealthy, straight
white males without disabilities.
It
is ironic, too… I just wrote about this last week. The local Democratic Party
has had several meetings, a few fundraisers, a few parades, and the County Fair
over the past 8 weeks, and these folks are nowhere to be found. Wanna run
things? You could start by volunteering a little!
Another
irony is that despite this “bold step”, they are unwilling to take a tough
stand unless it benefits the wealthy. Look at their post about the “Kinnick
House” in Manville Heights. Where is their bold
stance on this? When there is no clear “win” for developers, they do not know
how to decide an issue. So they cop out and say, “What do you think?” Since
when does this group care what people think? Certainly not when presented with
3,000 names on a petition! Certainly not when faced with election results!
The final irony is that some members of this group
refused to compromise when they ran things. Progressives begged and pleaded
every other Tuesday for decades, but got virtually nothing in return. The
neocons had enough votes that they did not need to compromise – so they didn’t.
I
chuckle at how badly some conservatives want to co-opt the word “progressive”.
As I told former Mayor Matt Hayek, cutting the levy rate
and reducing the funding that goes to human services while at the same time
handing money to businesses and reducing the unionized workforce is NOT
progressive! (He disagrees.)
Yep,
he badly wants to be known as “progressive”. I cannot help but think of the
movie The Princess Bride and the immortal words of Inigo Montoya: “You
keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Some
folks are very used to exercising privilege; they expect to set the rules of
the game, and they get really angry when you disagree. Well, I’m not giving up
this fight. There is nothing wrong with being a neocon. It is a perfectly acceptable
worldview. But neocons DO NOT get to redefine the word “progressive” to meet
their own needs. Sorry, guys… you lose this one, too!
The
Minimum Wage debate that I just mentioned is a perfect example of this. Many of
these folks who had been in power had been approached about doing something.
They found excuses to do nothing. When the Board of Supervisors acted, these
folks railed against the “process”. Arguments against “process” are actually
code for, “MY people are supposed to decide these types of things!” Well, in
the case of the minimum wage, they had an opportunity and passed.
Don’t
get me wrong; I like most of the contributors to this new site. Some I consider
friends. I wish them well in their new endeavor. It is important that the right-of-center/neocon
side of things be voiced.
But
does this mean Organized Labor, women, people of color, low-income folks, the
LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, environmentalists, and other
progressive groups are going to simply hand over the keys to Iowa City, Johnson
County, and the Democratic Party? I think not!
*DID YOU KNOW?
Some of the projects already funded by the Conservation Bond include Ciha
Fen, the Sutliff/Cedar River Crossings area, the Clear Creek Trail, the Pechman
Creek Delta, and the Hoover Nature Trail between Solon and Ely, just to name a
few!
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
"unsubscribe" in the subject line.
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
August 12, 2016
Sullivan’s
Salvos 8/16/16
In this edition:
*RIP Dottie Ray
*Happy Birthday Melissa!
*Happy Birthday BJ!
*Lone Tree Fall Festival
*St. Peter’s Cosgrove Pork Day
*Johnson County Wins Award!
*Democratic Party “Activists”?
*Is Education the Answer?
*BJ Vs. Alzheimer’s
*Did You Know?
*RIP Dottie Ray
Like
pretty much everyone else in Johnson County, I was saddened to hear of the
death of Dottie Ray. I had the opportunity to be a guest on Dottie’s show on
three or four occasions, and I found her to be a charming and gracious host.
More
importantly, I found that we cared about many of the same things. While Dottie
always came across as “proper”, she was a fierce and effective advocate for
many progressive issues.
RIP,
Dottie!
*Happy Birthday, Melissa!
My
wife Melissa celebrates her birthday on August 17th. Those of you
who know her know that I am a very lucky man!
Happy
Birthday, Honey! I love you!
*Happy Birthday BJ!
Son BJ turns 20 on
August 22. He is starting his second year of college at Kirkwood, while working
two jobs. Happy Birthday, BJ! I love you!
*Lone Tree Fall Festival
The
Lone Tree Fall Festival is August 19 and 20 in Lone Tree. This event is a great
opportunity to share some good times with the fine folks of Johnson County’s
“panhandle”!
*St. Peter’s Cosgrove Pork Day
I
urge you to check out St. Peter’s Pork Day in Cosgrove on Sunday, August 21.
Cosgrove
is a small, unincorporated village about 8 miles west of Iowa City, and 7 miles
south of Oxford. It is home to St. Peter’s Catholic Church, the Cosgrove
Institute, and lots of cool people! I urge you to join them for fellowship,
food, beer, and fun!
*Johnson County Wins Award!
Johnson County has received an Award
for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting (PAFR) for
the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, from the Government Finance Officers
Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA). This is the first time
Johnson County has submitted a PAFR for review.
In order to receive the prestigious
Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting, a
government unit must publish a PAFR whose contents conform to program standards
of creativity, presentation, understandability and reader appeal. Johnson
County’s PAFR is available at www.johnson-county.com, by clicking on the Board
of Supervisors, News Releases and Publications.
The Board’s strategic plan continues
to include goals to make thorough and accurate information about County
finances available to the public. The Finance Department’s financial transparency
portal makes financial and budget information available through the County’s
website.
The GFOA is a nonprofit
professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance
professionals, with offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.
*Democratic Party “Activists”?
It is easy to find a local “Democratic Party
Activist”. Just peek at Facebook, and you will find hundreds of people who have
opinions on the issues of the day. But does this make someone an activist?
How about being an elected official? Does that make
a person a “Democratic Party Activist”? Are you a Democrat all the time, or
only when you need the votes of Democrats?
Remember the June Supervisor Primary? There were
lots of people making the case that you should listen to their opinions,
because they had Democratic Party bona fides. Same goes for the July ICCSD
special election.
Where have those people been since? We have had several
meetings, a few fundraisers, a few parades, and the County Fair over the past 8
weeks, and these folks are nowhere to be found.
And unfortunately, that is typically the way it
works. I show up when I want something from you, but I won’t lift a finger when
you need something from me. It is sad, really, how often this goes on.
*Is Education the Answer?
I
write a lot about poverty and inequality. Often, people who read Salvos will
write something in response. Almost without fail, they will emphasize the need
for more education as a cure for economic inequality.
I
understand this notion. I am certainly pro-education. But statistics prove that
education alone is NOT the answer to economic inequality. Here is why:
The
American workforce has never been better educated. The American workforce has
never been more productive. Yet inequality has never been worse.
In
1940, less than 50% of Americans finished high school. That number has
gradually increased, and while there have been some ups and downs, the rate hit
an all-time high of 82% in 2015.
Similarly,
the percentage of college grads was 4.6% in 1940. It was 7.7% in 1960, 17% in
1980, and 30% in 2010. (Source: US Census Bureau.)
So
– American workers ARE better educated. They are doing what they have been
asked to do. They are getting better educated. They are upholding their end of
the bargain; it is the corporations who have let us down.
I
understand why we are attracted to the myth that education is the key to all
our problems. There are plenty of anecdotal instances of a poor kid using
education to rise to the top. Larry Ellison, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, and Barack
and Michelle Obama are all examples of poor/middle class kids using education
to better their position. It makes for a great rags-to-riches story. It also
puts all the responsibility on the individual.
But any statistician will tell you –
these high-profile stories are just anecdotes. These are just data points. For
most people, education is hard to attain, especially an elite education. And
even once you have gotten an education, it serves as no guarantee. Just look at
my earlier statistics. The myth sounds good, and feels good – but it is a myth.
We
will not solve inequality by focusing on workers. They are doing what they need
to do. We need to focus on the corporations that have done so much to keep our
workers down.
*BJ Vs. Alzheimer’s
What: a
fundraiser at Shorts Eastside
When: August
17th
Why: raise
money to combat the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.
Thank you for
your support and with your help we can find a cure!
*DID YOU KNOW?
Johnson County Public Health brought in almost $1.6 million in grants in
FY2015.
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
"unsubscribe" in the subject line.
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
August 5, 2016
Sullivan’s
Salvos 8/9/16
In this edition:
*Boards and Commissions
*Democratic Party Infighting
*Minimum Wage “Intent”
*Did You Know?
*Boards and Commissions
Johnson
County government consists of over 500 employees, 10 elected officials, and approximately
30 Boards and Commissions. I know I don’t talk enough about the tremendous
contributions of our many Boards and Commissions!
From
setting the value of your home, to cleaning up streams, to local foods, to
historic preservation, to assisting veterans, seniors, children, and people
with disabilities – Johnson County has a Board or Commission on almost every
topic imaginable.
These
many topics are tackled by scores of Johnson County residents, who bring their
considerable talents, knowledge, and opinions to the table. Each one volunteers
her/his time to make Johnson County a better place to live, learn, work, and
play.
We
are going to honor the members of our many Boards and Commissions on Thursday,
August 11 at 4PM at the Admin Building. If you are a member of any of our
Boards and Commissions, please attend so we can thank you in person for your
service!
If
you are NOT currently a member, please take a look at our list of Boards and
Commissions on the County website. We’d love to have you join us!
*Democratic Party Infighting
While
it is gradually becoming less and less, there is still a bit of infighting in
the Democratic Party.
This stuff is not new. For one thing, there is pretty much ALWAYS
tension in the Party. And that is healthy! Ideas are always competing. We do
not want to squelch that.
These types of issues come up a lot. Granted, many Sanders
supporters (my kids, for example) do not recall Ralph Nader and the 2000
election.
While 2000 was obviously a disaster, and I wish Nader had done many
things differently, I still believe the primary responsibility for losing in
2000 lies with Al Gore. For one, he could have kept both Bradley and Nader out
of the race by throwing progressives a few bones. But Gore refused, and went
all-in on DLC crap.
So, using 2000 as a guide, we all have work to do. The Clinton
campaign needs to be kind to Sanders supporters, and keep promises that were
made. Sanders supporters need to suck it up and move to fighting for Dems in
the General Election.
Look, I understand what it is like to be on the losing team. Far
too well! I caucused for
Jackson-Jackson-Harkin-Undecided-Bradley-Dean-Obama-Obama-Sanders. I am batting
.222, and started 0-6!
You read that right; I caucused “Undecided” in 1996. We were a
very viable group, but the results reported by the IDP claimed Iowa was
unanimous for President Clinton. It was not. A small controversy ensued. But
you know what? Life went on.
You pick a candidate, and you work like hell for her/him. Then we
vote. If your candidate wins, great. If your candidate loses, you have 3
choices:
1.
Support
the nominee(s);
2.
Do
no harm;
3.
Leave
the Party.
Your vote is sacred, and it is private. No one has a right to
require you to vote a certain way. But parties, being membership organizations,
DO have a right to demand that you at least do no harm.
We
can do this, people. We have done it before. Dems need to all relax, be kind to
each other, and look big picture.
*Minimum Wage “Intent”
I have heard MANY people make the claim, “The minimum wage was
never intended to be a living wage.” That is a bold claim… it implies that you
know what the architects of the program thought.
There is really only one way to fact check that claim, and that is
to go to the Father of the minimum wage: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We should
find out what FDR intended!
Teresa Tritch did exactly that for the New York Times. Here is her
blog post:
In
the more than 75 years since Congress first enacted a federal minimum wage — at
25 cents an hour — lawmakers have increased it nine times, reaching the current
level of $7.25 an hour in 2009. And with every increase the same objections
have been raised.
Today,
instead of dismantling these arguments on my own I decided to get a little help
from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had to fight Republicans,
conservative Democrats, the Supreme Court and corporate leaders to pass the
initial minimum wage in 1938.
*Objection: Raising the
minimum wage will hurt business and reduce employment.
“No business which depends
for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to
continue in this country.” (1933, Statement on National Industrial Recovery
Act)
*Objection: $10.10 an hour
is too much, maybe $9.
“By living wages, I mean
more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living.” (1933,
Statement on National Industrial Recovery Act)
*Objection: Once you add
in public assistance and tax credits, $9 an hour is plenty, and business could
survive that.
“Do not let any
calamity-howling executive with an income of $1,000 a day, who has been turning
his employees over to the Government relief rolls in order to preserve his
company’s undistributed reserves, tell you – using his stockholders’ money to
pay the postage for his personal opinions — tell you that a wage of $11.00 a
week is going to have a disastrous effect on all American industry.” (1938,
Fireside Chat, the night before signing the Fair Labor Standards Act that
instituted the federal minimum wage)
*Objection: The minimum
wage is a government mandate that interferes with the free market.
“All but the hopelessly
reactionary will agree that to conserve our primary resources of man power,
government must have some control over maximum hours, minimum wages, the evil
of child labor and the exploitation of unorganized labor.” (1937, Message to
Congress upon introduction of the Fair Labor Standards Act)
It
took five years from F.D.R.’s first inauguration in 1933 to enact the federal
minimum wage. The period encompassed “Black Monday” on May 27, 1935, when the
Supreme Court invalidated the new labor standards in the National Industrial
Recovery Act of 1933, and “White Monday” on March 29, 1937, when the Court
reversed course by upholding the minimum wage in Washington state, setting the
stage for passage of a federal version.
Today,
with census data showing that one third of Americans are either in or near
poverty, the arguments in favor of an adequate minimum wage are still
compelling. The difference is that the minimum wage has gone from being a bold
advance in labor law to a basic tool for broader prosperity, albeit one that
Congress has failed to deploy fully. That is a shame. What F.D.R. said in 1938
about establishing a minimum wage is also true about raising it: “Without
question it starts us toward a better standard of living and increases purchasing
power to buy the products of farm and factory.”
So
next time someone claims, “The minimum wage was never intended to be a living
wage,” refer him to FDR! Nice work, Teresa Tritch!
*DID YOU KNOW?
Most County Boards and Commissions are required by State law, but
several high profile commissions (Local Foods, Criminal Justice Coordinating,
Livable Community for Successful Aging, Minimum Wage Advisory, Juvenile Justice
Youth Development, etc.) were created in response to citizen requests.
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
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If you know
anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail
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As always,
feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
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