Let's move over to the Pacific Coast for a bit on the minimum wage battle. Washington has been a very liberal state for a while now.
At the beginning of 2001, they became the first state to incorporate the CPI to annually adjust their minimum wage by inflation. Seattle itself initiated a $15 minimum wage increase within its municipality over the span of 3-7 years. They became the second state after Colorado to legalize marijuana in all forms, intents and purposes. All the while many naysayers believed that both of these acts would lead to Washington's economic downfall. Well according to the statistics, the naysayers would be wrong.
Many politicians on the opposing side believe that increasing the minimum wage to such an unprecedented rate will lead to loss of jobs due to the inability for employers to pay their employees. However, the statistics as we see them today shine a different light on this claim. Since 2001 when Washington first implemented the inflation index in their minimum wage adjustment, there has been a steady decline in unemployment in the state of Washington outside of the brief recession period of 2008-2009. The same can be said for the employment growth in the state. Since 2001, there has been in increase in available jobs in Washington outside of the recession period as well.
It would seem that Washington has been doing something right all along in their progressive movements. Agree? Disagree? Comment your thoughts, the more the merrier. That is all I will present on this post, more to come in the future. D. Politopolous out.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Minimum Wage Wars- Battle of Pennsylvania
Minimum wage has been a long running topic of dispute for years in the US. Bills both state and federal have come in an attempt to remedy the issues regarding it, but unfortunately most never see the light of day. In Pennsylvania, the struggle has been ongoing since 2007, with bill after bill being blocked from making it to the governor's desk. But the supporters of a higher minimum wage certainly have not yet given up the fight.
In 2015, State representative Patty Kim, D-Dauphin, made announced her reintroduction of her legislation proposal, House Bill 250, to increase the Pennsylvania minimum wage to $10.10 over a two year period. The plan would first increase the minimum wage to $9 and 180 days after the plan is passed and then to $10.10 after a year.
On the current wage Pennsylvania pays out, the average person working a 40 hour work week makes about $15,080 annually. For a household of three, this is more then $4,000 below the poverty line of $19,790. If we were to add in two weeks unpaid vacation, that number would decrease to $14,500, more than $5,000 below the poverty line. Many of these households require assistance from government programs to make ends meet.
Should H.B 250 be passed, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would make a 40 hour work week worth $21,008, just over $1,000 above the poverty line for a house of three. It is a small but reasonable stepping stone to the $15 desires of the middle-lower class constituents. PA Governor Tom Wolf has openly stated that he fully supports Kim's plan. President Obama is also a major support figure in this drive to increase minimum wage.
In short, the minimum wage increase advocacy is not short of supporters. They simply need more supporters in Congress to pass legislation, which will be difficult in a majority Republican Congress. The struggle continues.
That is all for this post. Look out for the next one soon. D. Politopolous out.
In 2015, State representative Patty Kim, D-Dauphin, made announced her reintroduction of her legislation proposal, House Bill 250, to increase the Pennsylvania minimum wage to $10.10 over a two year period. The plan would first increase the minimum wage to $9 and 180 days after the plan is passed and then to $10.10 after a year.
On the current wage Pennsylvania pays out, the average person working a 40 hour work week makes about $15,080 annually. For a household of three, this is more then $4,000 below the poverty line of $19,790. If we were to add in two weeks unpaid vacation, that number would decrease to $14,500, more than $5,000 below the poverty line. Many of these households require assistance from government programs to make ends meet.
Should H.B 250 be passed, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would make a 40 hour work week worth $21,008, just over $1,000 above the poverty line for a house of three. It is a small but reasonable stepping stone to the $15 desires of the middle-lower class constituents. PA Governor Tom Wolf has openly stated that he fully supports Kim's plan. President Obama is also a major support figure in this drive to increase minimum wage.
In short, the minimum wage increase advocacy is not short of supporters. They simply need more supporters in Congress to pass legislation, which will be difficult in a majority Republican Congress. The struggle continues.
That is all for this post. Look out for the next one soon. D. Politopolous out.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Curriculum v. Corrections-- Bonus Feature: Kids v. Classroom
Earlier, I covered the topic of prison costs against education costs. I have returned to it to cover another topic related to it.
What are reasons that students may have a lack of interest in school?
There are many simple reasons and complicated reasons for this issue. I will give my full opinion on this question. Such factors could be:
-Struggling with social interaction- Having a hard time communicating with students, teachers, counselors can make things hard for them and give them unwanted stress.
-Depression- Possibly losing interest in school and many other things as well.
-Struggling academically in their studies- Finding difficulty in keeping up or doing well can stress them out demotivate them to continue.
-Learning disability- Unable to fully comprehend an aspect can also stress out students and demotivate.
-Peer pressure/Bullying- Fellow students making the school environment difficult for you to function in can lead to anxiety and not wanting to be in said environment.
-Family matters- Personal matters within the household can be stressing for the child. Not meeting parental standards of excellence, no support from family, or family troubles can create weight for that child to bear. That weight can carry into the classroom, creating a domino effect.
-Substance use and/or abuse- Possibly trying to cope with the trials and tribulations of life by using substances can tamper with the thought process.
-Significant others in their lives- There are times when relationships will cause students to turn their attention away from the book to their beau. They may become the center of their life.
-A simple lack of interest in school- Some students simply do not go together with school. It may just as easily not agree with them, and they just don't want to be there.
That is my take on this question. Now notice how at least half of these aspects given are related to anxiety or stress. You could conclude from this that the main reason some adolescents lack interest in schooling is stress and anxiety on them. They may find it difficult to cope with the vicissitudes of schooling and thus want nothing to do with it.
Have a different view of why kids lack interest in the classroom? I welcome any comments you may have, feedback, questions, the more the merrier. Until the next time, this is D. Politopolous on recess.
What are reasons that students may have a lack of interest in school?
There are many simple reasons and complicated reasons for this issue. I will give my full opinion on this question. Such factors could be:
-Struggling with social interaction- Having a hard time communicating with students, teachers, counselors can make things hard for them and give them unwanted stress.
-Depression- Possibly losing interest in school and many other things as well.
-Struggling academically in their studies- Finding difficulty in keeping up or doing well can stress them out demotivate them to continue.
-Learning disability- Unable to fully comprehend an aspect can also stress out students and demotivate.
-Peer pressure/Bullying- Fellow students making the school environment difficult for you to function in can lead to anxiety and not wanting to be in said environment.
-Family matters- Personal matters within the household can be stressing for the child. Not meeting parental standards of excellence, no support from family, or family troubles can create weight for that child to bear. That weight can carry into the classroom, creating a domino effect.
-Substance use and/or abuse- Possibly trying to cope with the trials and tribulations of life by using substances can tamper with the thought process.
-Significant others in their lives- There are times when relationships will cause students to turn their attention away from the book to their beau. They may become the center of their life.
-A simple lack of interest in school- Some students simply do not go together with school. It may just as easily not agree with them, and they just don't want to be there.
That is my take on this question. Now notice how at least half of these aspects given are related to anxiety or stress. You could conclude from this that the main reason some adolescents lack interest in schooling is stress and anxiety on them. They may find it difficult to cope with the vicissitudes of schooling and thus want nothing to do with it.
Have a different view of why kids lack interest in the classroom? I welcome any comments you may have, feedback, questions, the more the merrier. Until the next time, this is D. Politopolous on recess.
Journey into the World of Conservative Media- Minimum Wage Debate
D. Politopolous here again, reporting to you on yet another journey into conservative media. I took a look at segments regarding the minimum wage in America. What I got was a lot of the same or similar reactions from conservative correspondents for the most part.
To begin with, I noticed that with nearly every video I have viewed, they speak on the minimum wage being raised from $7.25 to $9-10 dollars an hour and how it will lead to an increase in unemployment and a resultant collapse in the economy. The same reaction is blowing this measure out of proportion by comparing raising the wage to $20, $50, several hundred, or even thousands of dollars. This is shown to be false here, as if you take a look at the minimum wages of the individual states, the states with wages above the national standard show a decrease in the unemployment rate for teens specifically from 16-19.
-California at about $9 an hour showed a decrease in teen unemployment by over 7% from 2011-2014. New Jersey at $8.38 showed a 7.5% decrease, and Washington State showed a 3% decrease at $9.47. New York as well showed a near 4% decrease in teen unemployment at $8.75 an hour.
-Pennsylvania however, one of the states that remains at the national standard of $7.25, showed an increase in teen unemployment at near 4% from 2011-2014. Alabama, also at $7.25, showed an increase of nearly 6% in unemployment. Oklahoma showed an increase of about 2% at $7.25, and
Now this seems to make compelling arguments does it not? However, one should look at all the numbers first before concluding. When looking at the remaining 21 states still at the national standard, the unemployment rate for teens increased from 2011-2014 for only four of these states: Alabama, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Alaska saw no visible change at 0%. The remaining 17 states saw some level of decrease, with rates ranging from below 1% to near 14%. I find these findings to be inconclusive on this current matter, and thus I will look into it more on a future post.
Furthermore, one segment had raising the minimum wage to that standard will "magically" result in more prosperity among many Americans. Washington State is a prime example of why this cannot be true. The US still sets a minimum wage every few years manually, while Washington State pioneered increasing by inflation index. Washington's minimum wage is higher than the national average and unemployment is lower than the national average, yet the still have a high population below the poverty line. A wage of $9.47 is still a very low wage to try and survive off of, and many residents of Washington are still poor. Therefore, a slight raising of the wage, contrary to conservative belief, is not likely to bring any sufficient level of prosperity to citizens.
Now here is a little something that I did not expect. Bill O'Reilly of all people advocating for the raise of the minimum wage in this clip of a Fox News segment. If Bill O'Reilly is even on the side of raising the minimum wage, then there must be a compelling argument here to do so.
That is all for this post, as it is getting quite lengthy. I shall return again soon, as many questions here have yet to be answered and many aspects of this argument have yet to be covered. Until then this is D. Politopolous on recess.
To begin with, I noticed that with nearly every video I have viewed, they speak on the minimum wage being raised from $7.25 to $9-10 dollars an hour and how it will lead to an increase in unemployment and a resultant collapse in the economy. The same reaction is blowing this measure out of proportion by comparing raising the wage to $20, $50, several hundred, or even thousands of dollars. This is shown to be false here, as if you take a look at the minimum wages of the individual states, the states with wages above the national standard show a decrease in the unemployment rate for teens specifically from 16-19.
-California at about $9 an hour showed a decrease in teen unemployment by over 7% from 2011-2014. New Jersey at $8.38 showed a 7.5% decrease, and Washington State showed a 3% decrease at $9.47. New York as well showed a near 4% decrease in teen unemployment at $8.75 an hour.
-Pennsylvania however, one of the states that remains at the national standard of $7.25, showed an increase in teen unemployment at near 4% from 2011-2014. Alabama, also at $7.25, showed an increase of nearly 6% in unemployment. Oklahoma showed an increase of about 2% at $7.25, and
Now this seems to make compelling arguments does it not? However, one should look at all the numbers first before concluding. When looking at the remaining 21 states still at the national standard, the unemployment rate for teens increased from 2011-2014 for only four of these states: Alabama, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Alaska saw no visible change at 0%. The remaining 17 states saw some level of decrease, with rates ranging from below 1% to near 14%. I find these findings to be inconclusive on this current matter, and thus I will look into it more on a future post.
Furthermore, one segment had raising the minimum wage to that standard will "magically" result in more prosperity among many Americans. Washington State is a prime example of why this cannot be true. The US still sets a minimum wage every few years manually, while Washington State pioneered increasing by inflation index. Washington's minimum wage is higher than the national average and unemployment is lower than the national average, yet the still have a high population below the poverty line. A wage of $9.47 is still a very low wage to try and survive off of, and many residents of Washington are still poor. Therefore, a slight raising of the wage, contrary to conservative belief, is not likely to bring any sufficient level of prosperity to citizens.
Now here is a little something that I did not expect. Bill O'Reilly of all people advocating for the raise of the minimum wage in this clip of a Fox News segment. If Bill O'Reilly is even on the side of raising the minimum wage, then there must be a compelling argument here to do so.
That is all for this post, as it is getting quite lengthy. I shall return again soon, as many questions here have yet to be answered and many aspects of this argument have yet to be covered. Until then this is D. Politopolous on recess.
Journey into the World of Conservative Media- ISIS
D. Politopolous here, reporting to you once again. Now any informed mind should understand that to argue any point to your maximum potential, one should take a look at both sides of the debate. That being said, I decided to take a journey into a world I seldom crossover into, and that world is the realm of conservative media. I searched several videos on the internet, and one of which I found on Youtube and decided to center around.
The first video I came across was of a Fox News Hannity segment, in which Fox News reporter Sean Hannity interviewed Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson on the issue of Islamic Extremists ISIS/ISIL and what should be done about their increase in momentum in the Middle East.
My first question regarding this interview is as follows:
My first question regarding this interview is as follows:
What in the wacky world was going through Hannity's mind when he decided to consult a bible thumping redneck on foreign policy to begin with? Why not consult someone who is actually well informed on the subject, like say a foreign policy expert or correspondent? A religious bigot such as Robertson is not someone whose advice should be looked upon when speaking of foreign affairs and policy, especially concerning the Middle East.
Onto the second question:
Why is it that Phil Robertson's solution to dealing with ISIS sounds almost resolute to ISIS's solution? In his own words he stated this:
"In this case, you'd either have to convert them.... which I think is uh.....would be next to impossible..... I'm not giving up on them, but I'm just saying either convert them or kill them. One or the other." -Phil Robertson
In layman's terms, Robertson is preaching "Join us or die". Speaking on a more sophisticated level, the best course of action is to combat religious extremism with more religious extremism.... sounds about right I guess. Now what exactly is ISIS's ultimatum to anyone not advocating for their cause? This would also be "Convert or die". A pious, bearded man whom utilizes religious scriptures to proclaim an ultimatum of "Assimilation or elimination". A large portion of Americans would undoubtedly point their fingers at an Islamic extremist if they were to read this description.
In short, Hannity looks to be in short supply of guests on his interview segment. That is all for now on my journey into conservative media. I'll tell you all about my next one soon. Until then, this is D. Politopolous on recess.
Onto the second question:
Why is it that Phil Robertson's solution to dealing with ISIS sounds almost resolute to ISIS's solution? In his own words he stated this:
"In this case, you'd either have to convert them.... which I think is uh.....would be next to impossible..... I'm not giving up on them, but I'm just saying either convert them or kill them. One or the other." -Phil Robertson
In layman's terms, Robertson is preaching "Join us or die". Speaking on a more sophisticated level, the best course of action is to combat religious extremism with more religious extremism.... sounds about right I guess. Now what exactly is ISIS's ultimatum to anyone not advocating for their cause? This would also be "Convert or die". A pious, bearded man whom utilizes religious scriptures to proclaim an ultimatum of "Assimilation or elimination". A large portion of Americans would undoubtedly point their fingers at an Islamic extremist if they were to read this description.
In short, Hannity looks to be in short supply of guests on his interview segment. That is all for now on my journey into conservative media. I'll tell you all about my next one soon. Until then, this is D. Politopolous on recess.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Curriculum v. Corrections- Act IV
Greetings ladies and gentlemen. D. Politopolous reporting once again. This is a wrap up of my discussion for now regarding education funding and prison funding. Specifically, I'll be answering Jinx's third and final question on the topic. So let us review the final query:
"Should budget cut protesters be focusing more on the underlying cause of these cuts such as the prison system you mentioned?" My response to this is a definite yes.
As the statistics show, many of these impoverished neighborhoods are deprived of many essential provisions needed to maintain a presentable community. A good bit of the youth today take no interest in receiving an education whatsoever, and many of these individuals join the same massive population of inmates. Now many of these youth may simply have no interest in schooling, however this can not simply be blamed on the student. The quality of the education is also a factor, as the statistics proved quite frankly in Act III.
Is it simply a coincidence that many of the lowest performing schools are in range of, if not within poor neighborhoods? Is it mere coincidence that the majority of these neighborhoods house African-American citizens, let alone 70 percent of the prison population consisting of African-American citizens? This is in no means restricted to the black population to be clear, and I would much rather let the readers think on this question:
"Why is it that the world finds it much easier to build tanks, prisons, and missiles, but we cannot build a simple school, a strong work force to educate our future generations?"
The answer is simple: An education is dangerous in the eyes of big business. Corporations make no money off of an educated populous, in addition to finding it easier to keep the masses conformed and rested under their shoe with a lack of knowledge. With that fact, it seems nothing like a coincidence that many corporate CEO's and officials are also politicians, as the policies, laws, and regulations are influenced by whom?
In the near future, I shall go deeper in depth into one aspect of this issue, and that is what the exact reason are that sees the youth take less interest in educating themselves. I aim to touch on various other subjects related to all of this well. Until then, this is D. Politopolous on recess.
"Should budget cut protesters be focusing more on the underlying cause of these cuts such as the prison system you mentioned?" My response to this is a definite yes.
As the statistics show, many of these impoverished neighborhoods are deprived of many essential provisions needed to maintain a presentable community. A good bit of the youth today take no interest in receiving an education whatsoever, and many of these individuals join the same massive population of inmates. Now many of these youth may simply have no interest in schooling, however this can not simply be blamed on the student. The quality of the education is also a factor, as the statistics proved quite frankly in Act III.
Is it simply a coincidence that many of the lowest performing schools are in range of, if not within poor neighborhoods? Is it mere coincidence that the majority of these neighborhoods house African-American citizens, let alone 70 percent of the prison population consisting of African-American citizens? This is in no means restricted to the black population to be clear, and I would much rather let the readers think on this question:
"Why is it that the world finds it much easier to build tanks, prisons, and missiles, but we cannot build a simple school, a strong work force to educate our future generations?"
The answer is simple: An education is dangerous in the eyes of big business. Corporations make no money off of an educated populous, in addition to finding it easier to keep the masses conformed and rested under their shoe with a lack of knowledge. With that fact, it seems nothing like a coincidence that many corporate CEO's and officials are also politicians, as the policies, laws, and regulations are influenced by whom?
In the near future, I shall go deeper in depth into one aspect of this issue, and that is what the exact reason are that sees the youth take less interest in educating themselves. I aim to touch on various other subjects related to all of this well. Until then, this is D. Politopolous on recess.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Curriculum v. Corrections- Act III
Hey guys, D. Politopolous here again. Apologies again for another delay, but I have returned and looked back over Jinx's questions from an earlier "Act I" post. So I'll to continue this discussion onto the second question:
"Are there any business incentives or underlying motives for spending so much time and money to purposely incarcerate adults?" Jinx, the answer to this question would be a definite yes in the form of what are referred to as "million dollar blocks."
When looking at the communities and neighborhoods in which people have criminal records, many of them are impoverished neighborhoods in urban areas. In addition, these areas statistically have suffered from lack of quality education funding and resources. High concentrations of these inmates have originated from these million dollar blocks. Even more statistically unsettling, the mass majority of these poor neighborhoods are primarily populated by people of color. These neighborhoods see tremendous public sector investments in incarceration of residents. On the opposite end of this bargain, the schools in these neighborhoods are very low performing. The areas also are densely populated, thereby maximizing corrections investments.
An adequate example of this trend is the controversy surrounding the city of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. In 2009, the city was left with a $160 million loss in state funding, resulting in a $147 million dollar shortfall. During this same time period, taxpayer money geared towards imprisoning residents totaled $290 million. The source of these inmates was a mere 11 neighborhoods in the city, yet the areas held one quarter of Philadelphia's population.
In correspondence to these statistics, sixty-six percent of the city's lower-performing schools are densely located within and/or near these neighborhoods. Contrasting this, 75 percent of Philadelphia's more equipped and well-performing schools are in neighborhoods with the lowest rates of incarceration.
This is the blueprint of the prison business in America. And with that, D. Politopolous on recess for now. I'll answer the final question as soon as I can.
"Are there any business incentives or underlying motives for spending so much time and money to purposely incarcerate adults?" Jinx, the answer to this question would be a definite yes in the form of what are referred to as "million dollar blocks."
When looking at the communities and neighborhoods in which people have criminal records, many of them are impoverished neighborhoods in urban areas. In addition, these areas statistically have suffered from lack of quality education funding and resources. High concentrations of these inmates have originated from these million dollar blocks. Even more statistically unsettling, the mass majority of these poor neighborhoods are primarily populated by people of color. These neighborhoods see tremendous public sector investments in incarceration of residents. On the opposite end of this bargain, the schools in these neighborhoods are very low performing. The areas also are densely populated, thereby maximizing corrections investments.
An adequate example of this trend is the controversy surrounding the city of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. In 2009, the city was left with a $160 million loss in state funding, resulting in a $147 million dollar shortfall. During this same time period, taxpayer money geared towards imprisoning residents totaled $290 million. The source of these inmates was a mere 11 neighborhoods in the city, yet the areas held one quarter of Philadelphia's population.
In correspondence to these statistics, sixty-six percent of the city's lower-performing schools are densely located within and/or near these neighborhoods. Contrasting this, 75 percent of Philadelphia's more equipped and well-performing schools are in neighborhoods with the lowest rates of incarceration.
This is the blueprint of the prison business in America. And with that, D. Politopolous on recess for now. I'll answer the final question as soon as I can.
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