07-01-2008, 12:37 PM
Thanks for the kind words, Hope. Those are big shoes to fill.
I don't mind bringing up the unpopular topics. Someone needs too.
Lest we get further evasively off topic, the "prevailing" wage of Hawaii is in no way pertinent to the conversation, at least as I see it. It may be informative to a degree, to get a place to start, but my point in the discussion is that paying people who do a job a "living wage," not the "going rate," may well be a very fine and effective means of taking care a lot of the problems that are perpetually worried about on this forum--racism, crime, resentment towards mainlanders, etc. As well, it's not necessary in any way to attempt to single-handedly alter the economy. All it requires is treating those YOU choose to employ with the level of respect they are due. We may argue about that "level" is, and opinions vary, obviously, from none to a lot. For myself, again, it doesn't seem to difficult to determine what it costs a normal person to survive one day in reasonable first world security, and to pro-rate that. Minimum wage isn't even close. Not by half.
To again re-frame the conversation in terms of rebuilding community, I'd suggest:
Not patronizing any business that doesn't pay their lowest payroll member a living wage.
When you choose to hire, make sure that the person you're hiring, and hopefully paying fairly, harbors similar values about the community that you do, to insure that the rewards you offer may have a second or third life.
Live modestly enough that you can afford to be a good member of the community.
I don't think these suggestions are all that extreme or burdensome, if re-building community is something that some of us actually do value, rather than just talk about.
It would be well to re-read some of the posts in the Mr Wolf topic, as there was a fair amount of grandstanding there, and I was certainly accused of being far too negative. Well, I guess we'll see. Still, I'm glad to see there are people out there who DO indeed share, profess, and live similar, benevolent lives. Honestly, I don't think it's all that big of a deal.
I don't mind bringing up the unpopular topics. Someone needs too.
Lest we get further evasively off topic, the "prevailing" wage of Hawaii is in no way pertinent to the conversation, at least as I see it. It may be informative to a degree, to get a place to start, but my point in the discussion is that paying people who do a job a "living wage," not the "going rate," may well be a very fine and effective means of taking care a lot of the problems that are perpetually worried about on this forum--racism, crime, resentment towards mainlanders, etc. As well, it's not necessary in any way to attempt to single-handedly alter the economy. All it requires is treating those YOU choose to employ with the level of respect they are due. We may argue about that "level" is, and opinions vary, obviously, from none to a lot. For myself, again, it doesn't seem to difficult to determine what it costs a normal person to survive one day in reasonable first world security, and to pro-rate that. Minimum wage isn't even close. Not by half.
To again re-frame the conversation in terms of rebuilding community, I'd suggest:
Not patronizing any business that doesn't pay their lowest payroll member a living wage.
When you choose to hire, make sure that the person you're hiring, and hopefully paying fairly, harbors similar values about the community that you do, to insure that the rewards you offer may have a second or third life.
Live modestly enough that you can afford to be a good member of the community.
I don't think these suggestions are all that extreme or burdensome, if re-building community is something that some of us actually do value, rather than just talk about.
It would be well to re-read some of the posts in the Mr Wolf topic, as there was a fair amount of grandstanding there, and I was certainly accused of being far too negative. Well, I guess we'll see. Still, I'm glad to see there are people out there who DO indeed share, profess, and live similar, benevolent lives. Honestly, I don't think it's all that big of a deal.