The Washington Post column, “The conflict in Obama’s minimum wage hike,” in the Sun Journal Monday, Feb. 24, totally misses the point. It was quite literally a waste of good newsprint space.
Not once do the two lawyers address the basic right of a person to be recompensed according to a humane standard — to my mind one of the inalienable rights of the Declaration of Independence. A living wage comes under the heading of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all the rest is spin, scoring political points, or a defense that a business’s bottom line is more important than basic human rights.
Any business that bases its profitability on paying less than a living wage is a fraud, a rip-off.
I am arguing from a standpoint that a full-time job needs to provide a living wage, no matter how menial the job. If it takes a person all day to sweep the store, clear the shopping carts from the parking lot, and this person puts his/her energy and responsibility into the job, then they deserve a living wage.
What exactly is a living wage? It varies, of course, but simply ask: What would I really need to keep body and soul together, and look after my responsibilities as a spouse and a citizen?
Should those needs be augmented out of the public purse, or out of the prices paid for the service I provide?
Peter van Oosten, Greene
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