Mike Lester for December 15, 2018

Huh?

Think of these as “alternative facts.”

When the minimum wage was created in 1938, it was intended to give people a means to support themselves and their families. It was formulated to be that one weeks wages should be about equal to one month’s rent. This was still true when I started working in the late 60s and early 70s. My first factory job paid $2.02 an hour and the 2 bed room trailer I was renting cost $80.00 a month. When we got a raise up to $2.25 I thought I was well off. It is a right wing myth that it was created to give teenagers their first taste of wage earning." This is pure BS.

Just Mr. Lester “Making America Great Again!”

[ Perhaps he’s trying to be as inspirational as the greedy narcissist in the Oval Office! { Oops, in Mar-a-Lago… } ]

“Tax cuts pay for themselves”, “individual mandate for ACA is unconstitutional”, “Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid must be cut to reduce deficit”.

Those are actual things said by Repubs that are NOT true.

The minimum wage can be raised which puts money in the pockets of people who will spend it, stimulating the economy. McDonalds, Walmart, etc. are getting subsidized by taxpayers having to support their employees that are on government assistance. Victoria’s Secret can hire whatever kinds of models they want to – their business is failing because of their high prices and they are still focusing on the same styles from their beginning which most women don’t wear anymore. In many places with smaller populations, it makes more sense for boy and girl scouts to be together since it can be difficult to get enough leaders for both groups.

That frog can represent Trump and his supporters really believe he is a prince even when he is destroying the economy.

As the noose tightens around Trump’s neck, the far Right media, like his arms, are in flailing mode.

Lester just wants an excuse to draw ugly pictures.

Lester had nothing, so he went through his old sketchbooks, picked a few images that caught his eye, changed (or maybe not) a few word bubbles, and Voila! Today’s attempt at an op-ed comic.

You’re not a proper Conservative unless you’re insulting and sliming people.

How sad for you all. Living in a bubble.

https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/33111775/17-088.pdf?sequence=1 Harvard study presents the reality of minimum wage increases on jobs and businesses.

University of Washington study shows the damage in Seattle https://www.nber.org/papers/w23532?utm_campaign=ntw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ntw

BSA becomes Scouting BSA and is indeed considering bankruptcy. In part due to long term legal problems with abuse lawsuits, but in large because they are losing membership at a catastrophic rate. A result of their new stance on admitting openly gay men and boys and admitting girls. The Mormon Church withdrawal hasn’t even taken effect yet. When it does in January the scouts will lose an immense chunk of funding and approximately 20% of its members.

I can’t speak to the VS matter, but the fact is that their televised runway shows are bottoming out in the viewership numbers.

No doubt about it. As our society inches closer towards fairness and equality, businesses will receive less profits. Freeing the wage-slaves will require sacrifices from us all. Ending actual human bondage in 1865 had a big economic impact as well. Very few of us regret that leap in progress – I hope.

You might have more than me,I’m not so blind I can’t see,The rich getting richer, who says that it has to be?Money talks, money screams,Middle class lies, Amerikan dreams,The rich get richer, the poor get poorer,Who says it has to be.

Failure to share with others has been the downfall of many an empire. But Lester is incapable of learning from the past and doomed…

Andylit is posting links that don’t match his claims. The first one from Harvard is about restaurants only, and the conclusion is that low-quality restaurants may be slightly more prone to closures after minimum wage rises. Mid- and high-quality restaurants are unaffected. The other link spends most of their space saying how their methods didn’t result in anything conclusive.

BSA files bankruptcy because of sexual abuse scandals. ’’

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/421148-boy-scouts-considering-filing-for-bankruptcy-after-sex-abuse

Many Mormons left because BSA started allowing leaders that are openly gay. Wonder why sexual abuse doesn’t bother the Mormons but being gay is a problem.

Lenders and real estate professionals agree that 27 to 30% of one’s total income should be reserved for housing costs.

Memphis, Tennessee – average 2-bedroom rent: $769

Annual income needed: $32,957

El Paso, Texas – $773

$33,129

Indianapolis, Indiana – $852

$36,514

Columbus, Ohio – $917

$39,300

Phoenix, Arizona – $1,040

$44,571

Jacksonville, Florida – $1,058

$45,343

San Antonio, Texas – $1,085

$46,500

Charlotte, North Carolina – $1,175

$50,357

To rent a two-bedroom home, on average, you would need to earn $21.21 per hour as a full-time worker in the United States.

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-you-need-to-earn-to-rent-apartment-us-2017-6

The following are annual personal (not family) income:

49% are less than $25,000

70% are less than $50,000

84% are less than $75,000

91% are less than $100,000

minimum wage gets you $15,000 and 27% have an income less than that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

The following lets you see median rents for 1 and 2 bedroom apartments by state

https://www.apartmentlist.com/rentonomics/rental-data/

If someone works full-time and needs food stamps to survive, it’s his BOSS who is actually on welfare. Because I have to pay that guy’s salary, since his boss refuses to. Even though his boss is the one making money off of the guy’s labor.

Raising the minimum wage is (one way of) reversing the “trickle down” meme. It has been shown, in actual fact (Seattle, e.g.) to have net near-zero effect on employment and positive effect on the economy. Quite the opposite of its, um, opposite, which has never been shown to cause increased employment or improve the overall economy.

Mike L, of course, can neither hear nor see any such facts, because his data input channels are filled w/ BS.

Every time that people want to increase minimum wage, there is a cry from the right “It will ruin the economy”… but minimum wage has gone up, it has gone up 23 times… and none of those increases caused the calamity that was predicted.

Victoria’s Secret should have models of all body types. That way people of different body types can look at the catalogues, and get an idea of what it actually looks like on a normal person. The purpose of a clothing model should be to show what the clothes look like on a person… but somehow the purpose has changed, and these models now exist to arouse men and make women self conscious about their bodies.

Are we talking about Individual #1 ?

1) Heck raise minimum wage to whatever level you like; I personally think it should be $20 an hour. BUT, remember to ask ‘where will employers get that additional money to pay that wage?’ Think it through. 2) Scouts probably should be unisex, from a purely financial expediency point of view. It is desirable, however, at times, for girls and boys to have group experiences just to themselves. 3) Who the H—-’s buying all this expensive lingerie? Plus (pun intended) we have way too many folks with grossly inflated and unrealistic self-images, and way too much obesity as it is without glorifying it further. 4) Socialism / Leftist fantasies ARE that toad.

To the cons: As I pointed out in my comment to lonecat, that toad on the right is the perfect metaphor for Trump, who convinced millions of fright-wingers that he was their prince and would change everything for the better.

Yowza, the Mexicans built the wall (and the republicans who have controlled Congress for two years did not), manufacturing jobs are rising exponentially, farmers are selling crops to China hand over fist, and Russia isn’t threatening our allies anymore. And Trump isn’t playing golf while President. And he always shows intense respect for women, never calling them names, nor heaven forbid, cheating on a wife (or 2 or 3).

Tell us again who lives in a fantasy world.

Holden Awn asks, ‘…where will employers get that additional money to pay that wage?’

From the increased income from employees buying their goods and services that they can now afford.

Disgusting as ever, Lester.

You might be able to guarantee “equal access” to “success”, but you cannot guarantee any one will actually succeed.

YES the minimum wage should be at least $15

NO girls should not be allowed in the Boy Scouts

YES big girls can be VS models if they are attractive. A lot of men like, some actually prefer big girls

Notice how Lester once again tries to push false equivalencies.