I am enjoying this great memorial day weekend thinking of all the great service and sacrifice our service men and women have given for us. In considering the massive oil spill which BP is currently frantically stalling until the relief wells are dug, which is realistically the only way to stop this oil spill.
My question is where is the Navy? Maybe I am the only one who thought of this, but the days of the great naval fleet seemed to have passed. The reality is submarines dominate the ocean and operate at near invincibility these days. All the ships in the world are no match for the technology which exists to take out the Navy.
With that said, why is it not the Navy’s job to protect us from ocean disasters such as this. Yes BP has the responsibility of cleaning this disaster up, but what if this was a terrorist attack? Shouldn’t the potential disaster of this magnitude be considered of national security interest? I say we need to reconsider the role of our Navy. Rather than wasting billions on machines which can be sunk by sub par technology, why not invest in defense of our oceans from all forms of attack including accidental?
I am just saying, I think we need to reconsider our Navy and its mission going into the 21st century.
How Senator Harkin was ever elected into his position is one thing, now look how destructive he is trying to be to the ATM industry. He is trying to “Cap” the excessive fees made by banks and ATM operators. In his mind, it is crazy for people to pay to access their own money.
Sorry Senator, but often they are not paying to access their own money. First of all, what bank charges ATM fees on their own customers? I can’t think of any Bank of America or Chase etc charging their own customers to use an ATM. So we know it is not their money.
Now consider taking away the evil profit incentive independent ATM operators, all this will do is put them out of business. Why would they put 10k of their own money in a place to sit at risk of theft for no return on investment? Why would they risk carrying a bag of money to fill it up again, risk being shot, put in the hours of work to maintain them? Why will they invest 10 thousand dollars into an ATM machine that they can’t make money, they won’t.
Beyond the fact that anyone slightly more intelligent then Senator Harkin would use their own banks ATM, or use a bank that offers refunds on ALL ATM fees, why destroy an industry? He clearly is just another shill for the banks. His laws would put all private ATMS out of business since they are the only ones who make money if his horrendous idea passed.
Wake up America and throw this bum out and any other person trying to attack jobs.
It is time we finally have a discussion about getting rid of minimum wage laws. With each increase in minimum wage, it is becoming harder and harder for small businesses to start up and grow, and is creating a generation of kids with no work history.
Minimum wage laws are a jewel of the left and labor unions. To the average person it seems like a decent idea, force employers to pay at least $7.85 per hour. That number only represents $16,328 a year. Surely anyone working deserves at a minimum a living wage. I used to think this myself, until I dug deeper and realized how minimum wage hurts our country and does nothing for those it intends to help.
The first glaring reason to abolish the Minimum Wage Law is because most people do not earn minimum wage. In 2005, only 1.5% of people worked for minimum wage. This is a very small group. This means that 98.5% already earn more money than minimum wage. The market decides what people are able to justify for income, and most people have skills which warrant far more.
So now doubters are saying, you just do not care about that 1.5% percent that would get a raise. This is actually not true. First of all, a large portion of that percentage is paid minimum wage because they receive extra money through tips. They are bartenders, barbers, waiters, and waitresses. These individuals earn far more than minimum wage, yet are paid cash so they show up as being affected.
Also in those numbers of minimum wage were over half of them are young workers under 25. The most important thing for a young person is getting experience. They understand that putting in a tough year of low paying work will lead to better opportunities. The higher minimum wage laws have created spoiled zombies out of our younger generation. Most teenagers will go until after college ever having any sort of real job. Unemployment at the younger ages is a huge problem, abolishing the minimum wage law would allow for more of our entry level workers gain those important skills.
This leaves the final group that actually gets paid minimum wage. I know, what about them. Well I say they already benefit other ways. If you make minimum wage, most likely you are on government housing, food stamps, Medicaid, fuel assistance and all the other government goodies. My point is if this is the group you are worried about, you shouldn’t. That is the point of this countries welfare system. This is where the Liberals want to have their cake and eat it to. Get rid of welfare and its massive costs if you want higher wage laws, get rid of welfare.
This would be a boon to small business since they would be able to hire low cost workers to help them grow from a very small company into a much larger one. They need to be able to lower the start up costs of opening a new location. By abolishing the wage laws, we will take the pressure off of small business. Make it easier and cheaper to hire. And lastly, give our young a chance to get those skills.
Matt
http://talkofliberty.com
As a big fan of Peter Schiff, I am confident he is exactly what Washington needs right now. I hope you voters in Connecticut realize what an opportunity you have to send an incredibly intelligent person who understands how government is destroying jobs.
Those of you who love freedom need to decide. I hope Schiff gets the nod.
