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Thursday November 16, 2006
Social justice on ESPN
Now this is fantastic: Gregg Easterbrook, writing for ESPN.com's Page 2, not only does a fantastic job talking about the past weekend in football -- as a Steelers fan I particularly appreciate his observation that that "direct snap" to Deuce McAllistar was illegal -- but also of writing about justice and life. Easterbrook, who is also a Beliefnet contributor (gotta love this guy), points out an important and totally overlooked point on the minimum wage ballot referenda -- they won overwhelmingly. I'll paste a is a snippet below. His whole column deserves reading, however, so click here for it."Social Justice Goes Six-for-Six: In the hoopla over last week's historic elections, it is important this detail not be missed: Six states held referenda on raising their minimum wage, and in all six the measures passed by big margins. Success margins ranged up to 76 percent yes in Missouri.
The six-for-six success of higher minimum wage proposals tells us four things. First, Americans are a fundamentally generous people. The majority of voters who said yes to raising the minimum wage are above that wage themselves, and know higher minimums will result in higher prices for their goods and services. Second, concern with social justice is a rising trend among Christian voters. The 76 percent yes in Missouri is especially revealing because evangelical turnout was high in that state, owing to a referendum about embryonic stem cell research on the same ballot. Jesus taught that the first concern of social policy should be the needy, and in recent years, evangelical Christianity has been waking up to that teaching. (On that topic I recommend to readers the new book "Tempting Faith" by former George W. Bush aide David Kuo, an evangelical [DK: See, you gotta love this guy!]; also it's important that Rick Warren, America's most prominent Christian pastor, has recently been talking more about obligations to the needy than any other topic.) Third, the referenda results are another indicator of how far out of touch the House and Senate were, since in 2006 the Republican leadership in both chambers worked to sabotage a higher federal minimum wage. Finally and most importantly, the vote tells us the federal minimum wage must go up.
Today the federal minimum is just $5.15 an hour. Some states have higher minimums -- that's what the votes were about -- but others do not, and in all states local actual wages tend to shadow the federal minimum, rising when the federal number rises. It is shocking, and an indictment of Washington, that today's federal minimum wage is barely worth half the minimum of the 1960s. Expressed in today's dollars, the minimum wage would need to be $10.20 an hour to have the same value as the federal minimum of 1968. Through the 1960s, full-time work at the federal minimum wage kept a family of three above the poverty trend; today a family of three headed by a full-time minimum wage worker is 24 percent below the poverty line. Yes, teenagers from affluent families working summer jobs don't need $10 an hour -- a teen-wage exception to the minimum seems fine. But our social contract should ensure that any adult who works full time receives basic financial security, and a $10-an-hour federal minimum wage would achieve that end. A $10 federal minimum wage would increase the cost of pizza delivery. It would also increase social justice: and all Americans ought to vote for that."
posted by J-Walking @ 6:09am Permalink 
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Comments
It is true that the love of money is the root of all evil.
Posted by: Kevin Young | November 17, 2006 8:18 PM
I find it interesting that our predominantly Republican congress has expressed so much interest in trying to extrapolate legislation from issues of "sin" that Jesus does not address in the Gospels (gay marriage, abortion, etc) but does not try to extrapolate social justic issues, such as a living wage, from the many Gospel passages on money. He talked about the poor more than just about anything else. IMO, it shows you where their true devotion lies. And for the record, even though I am a Christian, I don't believe in building a government based on Biblical principals, since they serve two totally different purposes.
Posted by: poetographer1967 | November 17, 2006 10:34 PM
Sinfulness in the realm of compensation does not come in the form of individual sin, but of corporate sin. Society shows how much it values the work of a person by how much it pays, so to speak. Our values are twisted in that we make athletes and entertainers rich, while those who work hard with the bodies and hands are living in poverty. However God's children are provided for, I don't care--whether it be from my money donated to religious causes (which I give), my time to social improvement projects such as Habitat for Humanity (which I have volunteered for and will again when possible) or through the government -- I don't care. "But woe to you rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger." Luke 6:24-25a.
Posted by: Matt Butcher | November 18, 2006 5:22 AM
I absolutely agree with Matt and poetographer. For five years, the Republican-majority Congress has focussed on "moral" issues that Jesus himself never talked about, and at the same time refused to even bring a minimum wage bill to the floor for a vote for NINE YEARS. I'm old enough to remember when someone working at a minimum wage job DID earn enough to support their family. Mom could even stay at home if she was good at economizing. As Christians, if we're going to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, we aren't we focussing on the war on poverty? And what's wrong with a little socialism anyway? What was Jesus if not a socialist? And oh by the way, the Book of Acts' description of the first Christians seems to suggest THEY were (GASP) Communists! I found the CNN exit poll of the Ohio voters on their minimum wage ballot proposition incredible. They were broken down by, among other things, income level and even church affiliation. A big majority of people making more than $250,000 a year and up voted AGAINST any increase. It boggles my mind that by and large, those with the most seem to have the least generosity of spirit towards those with the least. But the really amazing statistic, to me, was that about half of those who attended church weekly or more voted against, while 71% of the people NEVER attended church were in FAVOR of giving a raise to the poorest of the poor. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/OH/I/03/epolls.0.html
Posted by: Linda | November 19, 2006 1:24 AM
I don't remember reading about a minimum wage law in the Gospels, either. Just because I think minimum wage laws are a bad idea, doesn't mean that I am unconcerned about the poor; I routinely give to charities that help the poor around the world. My problem with the min wage, socialism, & communism is that the govt controls the $. This diminishes the influence of the church & Christians. I would much rather let individuals decide where & how they want their donations used. This is the diffence between the early church & modern day communism; in the early church individuals voluntarily supported each other's & the poor's needs, whereas communism takes by force & ultimately ends up enriching its leaders at the expense of everyone else. Minimum wage laws are usually flawed anyhow; they don't help the average working family to any extent, because most anyone who has a family will have been in the workforce for enough years to have moved beyond the minimum wage. Minimum wage laws primarily benefit the youth & entry level workers, who generally don't need govt assistance.
Posted by: Wyatt | November 21, 2006 3:47 AM
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