mjh's blog

QOTD

ABQjournal: Minimum Wage Hike Pressed, Could End Up On The Legislature’s Calendar

“We believe that nobody who works full time should live in poverty,” said Christine Trujillo, president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor and the American Federation of Teachers of New Mexico. “We believe that working people should be paid a wage that can support a family.”

That should be a plank of the Democratic Party Platform nationally. Most Democrats would agree and most Republicans would jeer and sneer. mjh

ABQjournal: Minimum Wage Hike Pressed, Could End Up On The Legislature’s Calendar By Barry Massey
The Associated Press

“Increasing the minimum wage is a proven way to decrease poverty,” Gerry Bradley, an economist with New Mexico Voices for Children, said Thursday in releasing a report critical of the state’s economy.

A greater share of New Mexicans — about 6 percent — work in jobs paying at or below the minimum wage than any other state in the nation, he said.

“The bottom line is New Mexico’s economy is not an engine for opportunity and prosperity for far too many of our working families. A staggering 43 percent of New Mexicans live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level,” said Bradley. …

There are 16 states and the District of Columbia with minimum wages above the federal level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The state of Washington has a $7.35 an hour minimum wage, which is adjusted yearly for inflation. Oregon is next with a $7.25-an-hour.

Anybody know which the other 14 states are? Have they all gone to hell as a result of raising the minimum wage? mjh

It’s a nasty weapon

ABQjournal: Bunker-Buster Critics Make N.M. Visit By John Fleck, Journal Staff Writer

Weapons supporters say it could be an important military tool to destroy deep underground enemy bunkers. Critics say it would kick up dangerous clouds of radioactive fallout, while being of little military utility.

“It’s a nasty weapon,” said Robert Nelson, a Princeton University physicist who studies nuclear weapons for the Union of Concerned Scientists. …

“We’re just here to kill it,” Nelson said of the groups’ New Mexico trip.

Bush Undercut New Orleans Flood Control

Critics Say Bush Undercut New Orleans Flood Control
By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, September 2, 2005; Page A16

President Bush repeatedly requested less money for programs to guard against catastrophic storms in New Orleans than many federal and state officials requested, decisions that are triggering a partisan debate over administration priorities at a time when the budget is strained by the Iraq war.

Even with full funding in recent years, none of the flood-control projects would have been completed in time to prevent the swamping of the city, as Democrats yesterday acknowledged. But they said Bush’s decision to hold down spending on fortifying levees around New Orleans reflected a broader shuffling of resources — to pay for tax cuts and the Iraq invasion — that has left the United States more vulnerable.

Is Bush to Blame for New Orleans Flooding – FactCheck.org

Our fact-checking confirms that Bush indeed cut funding for projects specifically designed to strengthen levees. Indeed, local officials had been complaining about that for years.

It is not so clear whether the money Bush cut from levee projects would have made any difference, however, and we’re not in a position to judge that. The Army Corps of Engineers — which is under the President’s command and has its own reputation to defend — insists that Katrina was just too strong, and that even if the levee project had been completed it was only designed to withstand a category 3 hurricane.