The Week in Review: Syria and Minimum Wage

The dominate stories in the news this week are Syria and a fast food worker strike.  Interestingly this is the first time I can recall that a group of non-union workers went on strike.  I know if I did this on my Job, I would not be working today. 

The situation in Syria all started when Obama made the following statement during a news conference, “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.”  (1)   One thing any good leader does is they never box themselves in by making statements that might come back and bite them in the, okay I will be nice, regret later. 

In making this unwise statement, Obama has boxed himself in and as Andrew Levine wrote in his August 27, 2013 article “It was plain even at the time that Obama had boxed himself in.  If that line is crossed and he does nothing about it, he will look indecisive and weak.  With elections (always) looming, a President, especially a Democratic one, cannot afford that.”  (2)  Let me get this straight.  We are going to bomb another country with cruise missiles, place other countries in the area at risk like Israel, Jordan , and Saudi Arabia so Obama can save face for a stupid statement he made at a press conference trying to look tough. 

Then to make matters worse, Russia has moved warships into the area (3) and threatens to bomb Saudi Arabia if we attack Syria, which would present a major threat to the world’s petroleum supplies and cause a spike in oil prices globally.  (4)  If my count is correct, and there may be more players involved by the time you read this, we now have the United States, Syria, Russia, and Saudi Arabia all because of a statement made by our President. 

What is going on in Syria today is a civil war.  It is tragic that the government of Syria allegedly gassed their own people, something that has not been definitively proven, but our involvement will only serve to take a civil war and turn it into a potential world war.  This demonstrates why world leaders need to think before they speak. 

Then we have the issue of fast food workers going on strike.  (5)  These workers are not even members of a union so for them to go on strike meant risking their jobs.  Their reason for striking was to ask for an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15.00.  I assume they must be serious about this issue for them to risk their jobs but I believe there is an underlying issue here that is even more serious

The amount of pay one receives at their job constitutes a contractual agreement between their employer and them.  Usually this may not be in writing but is a verbal agreement, however, once someone cashes, or has their paycheck direct deposited, they in essence have agreed to the terms of the contract.  Many forces, which include market forces, the skill level of the employee, determine how an employer determines the amount of pay they pay someone and of course they cannot pay less than the minimum wage determined by law. 

These employees were striking wanting an increase in the minimum wage but instead of protesting in Washington DC or their state capital, they were protesting their employers who were in obedience with the law by paying the legal minimum wage.  In fact, the average wage for a fast food worker at McDonalds is actually from $7.69 to $10.89 per hour, (5) or more than the legal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. 

I believe, however, that there is a deeper underlying problem behind this strike.  First, a job working at a fast food restaurant is not to be ones lifelong career.  During my senior year of High School and my first two years of college, I worked at a fast food restaurant.  I did have aspirations of going into management of a restaurant but when that did not materialize upon my graduation, I moved on and began my career in accounting. 

Listening to some of these protesters, I realized that they believe this is their lifelong career and feel the company needs to pay them a living wage upon which they can raise and support a family.  However, maybe we cannot blame them for as we look at the current job market with 90 million people not in the labor force and a labor participation rate that is at 1979 levels.  (6)   Then these people face the very real possibility that 11 million illegal immigrants will be competing for their jobs in the future (5)  so part of me does not blame them for being upset. 

When I worked in fast food I always had a hope that there was something better for me out there in the future.  Unfortunately, our current no growth economic policies have taken away that hope, leaving these people to believe their current fast food job is their lot in life.  They believe their only hope of ever having a better life is in having the government mandate that their employer pay them more than double. 

This is another example of how liberal progressive economic policies are destroying our country, especially the youth of our nation.  Even college graduates face the very real possibility they will not be able to utilize the skills they learned in college.  What we need is leaders that will institute economic policies that make it possible for people to achieve their dreams.  It is sad that we have made working at a fast food restaurant the only possibility someone has to support his or her family. 

Our nation was built on people who had a dream of a better life and a government that protected their freedom to achieve that dream.  We do not need an increase in the minimum wage, we need a smaller government that promotes economic growth so people can move on from a fast food job and into a well-paying career.  We need to elect conservatives to Congress and the White House who will institute the pro-growth free-market economic policies that made our nation great.

1. Good, Chris. President Obama’s ‘Red Line’: What He Actually Said About Syria and Chemical Weapons. abcnews.go.com. [Online] ABC News, August 26, 2013. [Cited: August 30, 2013.] http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/08/president-obamas-red-line-what-he-actually-said-about-syria-and-chemical-weapons/.

2. Levine, Andrew. Obama’s Fateful Line in the Sand. www.counterpunch.org. [Online] Counterpunch, August 27, 2013. [Cited: August 30, 2013.] http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/27/obamas-fateful-line-in-the-sand/.

3. AFP. RUSSIA SENDING WARSHIPS TO THE MEDITERRANEAN. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, August 29, 2013. [Cited: August 30, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/08/29/Russia-sending-warships-to-the-Mediterranean--report.

4. EU times. Putin Orders Massive Strike Against Saudi Arabia if West Attacks Syria. www.eutimes.net. [Online] EU Times, August 27, 2013. [Cited: August 30, 2013.] http://www.eutimes.net/2013/08/putin-orders-massive-strike-against-saudi-arabia-if-west-attacks-syria/.

5. Flynn, Mike. FAST FOOD 'STRIKES' SHOW ECONOMIC FOLLY OF AMNESTY. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, August 30, 2013. [Cited: August 31, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/08/30/Fast-Food-Strikes-Show-Economic-Folly-of-Amnesty.

6. Durden, Tyler. People Not In Labor Force Soar By 663,000 To 90 Million, Labor Force Participation Rate At 1979 Levels. www.zerohedge.com. [Online] Zerohedge, April 5, 2013. [Cited: August 31, 2013.] People Not In Labor Force Soar By 663,000 To 90 Million, Labor Force Participation Rate At 1979 Levels.