The Minimum Wage War

The Minimum Wage War

The minimum wage controversy concerns the minimum wage needing to be a "living wage” and not a starting wage paid to those just entering the workforce.  Minimum wage workers are demanding an increase in the minimum wage to around $15 depending upon the area they live. Many politicians, at the City, State and National levels are also demanding an increase in the minimum wage. But let us be clear, their demand is not based upon bettering the lives of the working poor, “minimum wage workers”. Nor are their demands being made because it is the right thing to do for the working poor. It is simply because the working poor will vote for those people who give them stuff and things. It is simply political pandering for votes and power.

Sadly, increasing the minimum wage will not aid the poor. Nor will it better their lives.  The minimum wage increase will only serve to give the working poor a false sense of increase. True some will for a short time experience an increase in disposable income.  They will no doubt believe they are finally getting a head of the game. But, as the minimum wage takes effect some companies will find that workers who were worth the old minimum wage are simply not worth the new minimum wage and hours will be reduced and layoffs will begin.

Some companies who need minimum wage workers will increase the price of the product they produce. The increase, even in the smallest product, will in the end cause other companies to increase their prices.  The ripple effect will take effect shrinking the gains made by the increase. As wages and taxes increase so do prices.  The ripple effect of price increases will in short order take away the wage increase and within a very few years the minimum wage worker will be right back where they started.

The tragedy of the minimum wage controversy is that, in the end, the only winners in the whole thing are the politicians who pander to the poor. The minimum wage worker either ends up out of a job or within a few months will be right back where they started.  Minimum wage workers, sadly, operate under the assumption that their wage increase has no effect upon the economy. Not understanding that their wage increase is simply passed on to the consumer and as prices increase the minimum wage increase slowly disappears.

                                                                                                                                 

The minimum wage increase will cause some employers to lay off workers or reduce the number of minimum wage workers. Some companies will simply do away with minimum wage workers by modernizing equipment to replace the worker. We live in an age of robotics. Robots don’t take time off, they don’t ask for more money, they don’t have attitudes and they don’t protest. They require some maintenance and up keep but that is it. Some fast food companies are transitioning from minimum wage workers to robots. As the technology increases minimum wage work will decrease. Workers will have to become more and more skilled, educated and technologically advanced to become employed. The day of the unskilled worker is drawing to a close.

Since its inception under Franklin Delano Roosevelt the minimum wage has done nothing more than cause inflation, cost jobs the poor desperately need and create a false sense of security among the working poor. It drains ambition from those who otherwise might be motivated to gain the education, experience and work ethic necessary to advance from minimum wage to higher wages. They, thanks to their political benefactors remain stuck in the cycle of poverty. While the politicians who manipulate them are reelected over and over again ever promising but never really delivering on those promises.

Nothing is quite so sad as men and women in their thirties, forties and fifties protesting for a minimum wage increase. Lives that could have gained so much stuck in the never ending cycle of minimum wage jobs and depending upon the government to give them raises. Raises not based upon merit, not based upon their being good employees who are worth a raise but a raise based only upon political consideration.

Wouldn’t it be better to incentive employees to better themselves?  Wouldn’t it be better to assist them in learning skills that would put them, by their merit above the minimum wage? Would it not be better to assist employers in establishing on the “job training programs?”  We always have funds for politically correct programs. We have plenty of money to pay our legislators inflated salaries for ineffectively running this country and piling up debt year after year. Couldn’t we as a nation develop programs in which small companies would receive incentives for training minimum wage workers. Couldn’t programs be established that would strongly encourage minimum wage workers to develop skills necessary to get off the minimum wage merry-go-round?

           

Introduction to the Gospel of John

Introduction

The gospel of John is the most controversial of the gospels. It has fallen in and out of favor with scholars since it was written. It is believed by most scholars be authored by the Apostle John. There is however, no mention of the author’s name anywhere in the gospel. But, every other apostle but John is named. The author is mentioned as the "beloved disciple" or the one "one Jesus loved". The author is a witness to all of the events in the gospel and he testifies to it. Some more modern scholars have attacked it because it is quite different than the synoptic gospels. St. Augustine in his commentary on John states his belief that it authored by John and that it does have apostolic authority. Many early church leaders held that this was the written by the Apostle and therefore has apostolic authority. 

John was probably written in the first century about 805 A. D. during the reign of Domitian. Domitian demanded that he referred to as “my Lord and my God” by all of his subjects including his closest friends. During this time there was a lot of false teachers and this Gospel was written to combat those teachings. 

John wrote this Gospel to the Jews not just in Jerusalem but throughout the dispersion, Jewish Christians and unbelievers\Gentiles.  The gospel of John is a deep gospel. Jesus does not teach by parables in this Gospel but tends to a lengthy discussion of His topic.The theme of the gospel is Jesus son of God and Jesus the Messiah. It was written to establish correct faith in Jesus as God and combat false teaching and to offer high Christology, (the study of Christ). It is full of deep purpose but is easy to understand. 

The Gospel may be divided three parts introduction, chapter 1 verses 1-18 serves as a welcome and introduces us to the gospel. Chapters 1:18 - chapter 12 may be referred to as the book of signs and miracles, chapters 13 - 21 may be referred to as the book of glory.

This Gospel is quite different that the synoptic Gospels. Jesus cleans the temple early in this Gospel rather that later. There are only 7 miracles. As mentioned there are few parables but long discussions are used frequently by Jesus to teach. 


John is a Jewish gospel written to Jewish believers in the dispersion and therefore contains many references to the Old Testament and Jewish traditions. The feast of booths is an important part of this Gospel. In the very beginning there is a strong reference to Genesis and that Jesus is the creator. That He was with God the Father in the beginning. Jesus refers to Himself as "the son of Man", this has special significance to the Jews. He uses the words "I am" frequently this again has a very special significance to the Jews.  The gospel begins at the beginning in Genesis, “in the beginning was the word” this takes us back to creation and brings us rapidly forward to the time of Jesus.  

The gospel of John contains seven major miracles after chapter 13 there are none. The miracles of in John are more than what they seem. Each speaks to the special nature of Jesus and his church. As each miracle is done there is an increasing hostility to Jesus and his teachings by the religious establishment until we reach the crucifixion. Verse 20:31 gives us the reason John wrote this gospel, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”


The Gospel forces a choice by its contrasting language. There is a sharp contrast between light and darkness, love and hate, above and below, what is truth and what is false, life and death. You a believer and live in the light or you are of your father the devil and live in darkness there is no middle ground. In short Jesus is God very God, the Son of God or He is a lying and therefore not a good man or prophet, but a deceiver of the worst kind as are the apostles. The Bible is the word of God or it is not and therefore just another ancient book. It cannot be both.  This is a black and white gospel. You are or your are not. Personally I choose, by the grace of God the light.