That Stupid Minimum Wage

Good Jobs at Market Wages

King of the Gypsies Republican Presidential Candy Date Mitt Romani Romney keeps putting his foot in his mouth.  Just when he seemed to have pulled it all together, we get this from (who else) Yahoo! News:
"Romney said last week that he supports regular increases in the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation."
OMG.  The next time that man feels his mouth opening he just needs to put a sock in it.  Who knows what crazy idea he'll come out with next, maybe to let all those Mexican grandmothers stay here.

Grandma

Having a minimum wage is very controversial.  As Yahoo! News reports, "Some experts argue that raising the wage costs jobs, but others disagree."  Natch Yahoo doesn't quote any actual experts, but lots of politicians were willing to fill the gap. Especially our Republican friends, who were quick to set Mitt straight.

South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint

"Senator DeMint opposes the minimum wage because it hurts the poor and destroys desperately needed jobs," DeMint's spokesman, Wesley Denton, told Yahoo News. "Wage mandates prevent people from getting jobs and the skills they need to climb the economic ladder."

How much?

Michele Bachmann, who quit the presidential race last month, has said that scrapping the minimum wage could "potentially virtually wipe out unemployment completely, because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level."
Well, of course.  The thing to remember, and please keep this in mind, is that the problem for people who are unemployed is not that they don't have a job, it's that they don't have any money.  MONEY.  So giving them a job that doesn't pay enough money isn't going to help unemployed workers.  It's not.
Why don't all these Republicans get this?  They seem smart enough.  What's the problem?

There is no problem.  They are simply lying.  We should all know this by now.  The press goes along for the ride because it's easier to write or talk about a fake issue like whether or not the minimum wage helps workers than to have to do actual research and analysis, not to mention put your access and credentials at risk, and report on what is really happening.  What's that?  Well, let's ask ourselves who would benefit from tanking the minimum wage.  How about employers?  How about investors who invest in employers?  McDonalds spends a lot on minimum wages.  If they could whack a third of that off the P&L, the C-suite would probably get to pay themselves a nice round of bonuses for a job well done.  Remember, a corporation's duty is to its shareholders, not its employees.  And of course, all of that wealth will trickle down to the rest of America.  Just more slowly.
So, where are the Democrats on this issue?  Can't they round up someone with a few brains who can squash this nonsense? What ever happened to Obama's economic council? 
Personally, I miss that Austan Goolsbee fellow.  He was smart and funny and good at explaining this stuff.  We need a new generation of honest dismal scientists like him who can make sense of things like this and blaze a path forward that doesn't have half of the country mowing lawns for $3.00 an hour.  But Austan and his smokin' hot wife Robin have gone.  So where do we go now? Where is the leadership?

Austan & Robin Goolsbee

Out of Service

Romney in Trumps Casino and His $10,000 Bet

Gambling - What Mormons Preach

Gambling is found everywhere in society; poker, horse and dog races, at the grocery store, slot machines, and even in the home. Gambling is a game of chance that takes without giving value in return. Gambling puts money or other things of value into a pool and then redistributes it on the basis of a roll of the dice, a spin of the wheel, or a drawing of a number. Nothing of value is produced in the process.'1

The Mormon Church has always opposed gambling in every form, including government-sponsored lotteries.
           
Mormon prophets and leaders have counseled the members over time, to avoid gambling of any type. Doing so, leads one away from righteousness and into the hands of Satan. The Mormon belief is that it is an addictive behavior and leads only to destructive habits and practices. It undermines the value of work and motivates one to think that they can get something for nothing. In time, the gambler will deny themselves, as well as their family the basic needs of life. They will oft times steal from others to finance their addiction, which in turn leads to stealing, robbery, etc.
           
Government-sponsored lotteries have intensified the gambling issue. The National Foundation on the Study and Treatment of Pathological Gambling says that, 'lotteries may serve to introduce gambling to those who otherwise would shun it. People who have never bet before, seeing a state-run lottery with the [imprint] of government upon it, might buy a ticket; buying the first lottery ticket might be compared to a future drug addict taking his first puff on a cigarette. It's a starting point.'2 

And in 1985, then Governor of Florida Bob Graham, stated that, 'what the lottery says about success is the wrong message…' Catholic priest, Monsignor Joseph Dunne expressed his opinion in that, 'why should [children] get an education when with a little bit of luck they can win a bundle of money for life? That's what lotteries are doing to our youth.'3

Mormons do believe that they shouldn't participate or encourage others to gamble. When local and federal government legislations are considering passing laws dealing with gambling, Church leadership has encouraged members to put a voice in opposing such issues. Current Mormon Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley has urged the members of theMormon Church to do the following: "We urge members of the Church to join with others with similar concerns in opposing the legalization and government sponsorship of lotteries."4

For more information on the Mormon Church or Gambling, please see the following websites:
Gambling
What do Mormons Believe

1 "Ensign", LDS magazine, "Gambling – Morally Wrong and Politically Unwise", Oaks, Jan 1987

2 "Christian Science Monitor", Custer, 1985

3 "Gambling and Lotteries", 1986

4 "Letter from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", 1986

Quick Movie Review - The Debt

The Debt - Thumbs Down - also SPOILER ALERT

This is a movie about some Jews hunting a Nazi death camp doctor (Jesper Christensen.)  Sounded promising, but the weird title should have been a red flag. 

Jesper Christensen

Helen, Launching 1000 Ships

Helen Mirren, who I used to think was kind of hot, looks just awful as an old lady who conspires with her spy buddies to lie about killing the old Nazi to avoid the shame of a failed mission.  The lie gets out of hand, and the shame bothers them to different degrees over the years.  Mostly I picked it because I'm a Helen Mirren fan.

Helen's First Movie

Helen Back in the Day

Helen in 2011

Here Helen sports a facial scar that ironically looks like something a German general might have. The Debt uses the same flashback format that fans of Cold Case will recognize.  Helen only plays her character as an old lady. 

Q: Who goes for the face with a knife?

Otto Skozeny, Actual Nazi

(Sword duelling wound)

Helen's character, Rachel, as her younger self is played by the hot chick from The Help (Jessica Chastain.)  The younger characters are a MMF love triangle of Israeli spy/commandos. 

Hot Jessica Chastain

The leader (Marton Csokas) looks like Greg Brady's much more handsome older brother, and the other guy (Sam Worthington) looks like a brooding high school athlete. 

My wife opined that Csokas is much sexier than Worthington.

Marton Csokas

Hot chick and brooder are in love, somehow, in a mutually unrequited sort of way.  We are supposed to discern that Brooder has some special WW II emotional damage baggage he's carting around from all of the unsubtle hints that the film keeps bashing us on the head with. 

Chastain, Contemplative

BMOC is more emotionally tough and opportunistic, not to mention smooth, so natch he hooks up with Hot Chick when she looks vulnerable, and natch she gets "with child."  Oh, Fate, you cruel, constructed master.

The old folks are not very interesting, and their motivation is so weak as to be distracting.  Lots of movie cliches.  So if you enjoy movies where you can figure out what will happen next, you might like this.  But I doubt it.  I'm not completely averse to predictable plots.  But when the obvious turns are dragged out for faux suspense I start to look at my watch and wonder when the pace will pick up.  Really, here the most interesting character is the Nazi doctor, but he's not worth two hours.  It's too late for me but you can still save yourself.  Rent one of the Bourne movies instead.