Sunday, August 28, 2011

Where Is The Help For Economic Disaster Area Of North Adams?

Maynard Seider & Chuck Collins


I WONDER whether President Obama, vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard, read last Sunday’s front-page story about conditions in North Adams (“Between haves, have-nots, an ever greater gulf’’). How would he react to the difficulties that single mother Mindy Shoestock has in feeding her two sons and paying monthly bills while earning $9 an hour as a shift manager at McDonald’s?

Well, it’s no fault of Shoestock’s that a huge corporation such as McDonald’s pays her only $9 an hour. And the people of North Adams are not to blame for the banking collapse and this “Great Recession.’’ So, why not provide federal emergency aid to those facing social and economic disasters?

If we want to reduce extreme inequalities, the wage floor will have to rise. That would be no curse, but a blessing, a sign that we’re the kind of Commonwealth we’d all like to live in. That is one curse we don’t want to reverse.

3 comments:

  1. Has it dawned on you that if McDonalds had to pay more then $9 an hour they might have to employ fewer people AND raise prices??? The answer for anyone on minimum wage is education and hard work. We all started out on a minimum wage and the smart ones worked their way up. You cannot help someone by giving them money and support. Probably a large part of the reason she finds herself in this situation (two kids and minimum wage) is because of welfare. many think; what the hell, I can just party through school and welfare will support me! Wake up! Times are tough and getting tougher. Welfare may not be your best choice. Learn math in school, graduate, go to a trade school or community college and get a trade. Become a better employee. Your life and success is YOUR responsibility not MINE and I am damned tired of paying for you to slack off.

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  2. "Has it dawned on you that if McDonalds had to pay more then $9 an hour they might have to employ fewer people AND raise prices???"

    This is very true. McDonalds is not the type of employment that was ever intended to support a home and family. The problem now is, even if you have an education and real skills, there are very few good jobs available. They have all been exported! So what is left? - Macdonalds, greeting at Walmart, serving tables, etc.

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  3. The British Empire and her elite bankster families rule the world. Their roots can be traced back to the God-Kings of early Eqypt. They think of themselves as masters of this planet.

    The USA is not a land mass. The USA is a sub-corporation of the British Empire via the District of Columbia. They own us. You, as a person, are common stock, literally.

    Over the decades our owners have found others more willing to work as pure slaves than Americans. That pleases them. Soon they will be initiating a corporate restructering here for the USA.

    If it were not for our willingness to act act their military arm and slaughter their enemies without question, we would have been flushed long ago.

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