Halloween Is Slow Here
So I Focus on Other Holidays
Celtic wheel of the year.
I used to celebrate Halloween all the time. But our road is dark, our gate hard to see, and with the nearly new moon last night I didn’t expect any visitors. I did see an amazing cyberpunk robot costume at Starbucks. That made my day. Thanks, Michaela!
One of my neighbors celebrated by setting off fireworks or possibly shooting a gun. Loud booms outside my window after 9pm.
Raising the minimum wage - why isn’t that something Democrats are talking about?
I’ve found it interesting that one of the common talking points in politics right now is lowering prices at grocery stores. I agree it’s annoying how much it costs every week this year compared to last. And while I also agree that price gouging, opportunistic businesses will take every opportunity to raise prices and never lower them again, there’s another place that seems to have stagnated:
WAGES
Why aren’t we talking about the federal minimum wage? It hasn’t been raised since 2009
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/history/chart
My son was barely walking when it was last raised, and he’s now old enough to get a job! And he can look forward to being paid no more than the recession-era prices of the 2000s. Granted we live in a progressive state, so the state minimum wage is higher, but it’s still too low!
According to Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research, the minimum wage in 2021 should have been almost $23 per hour. If it had kept pace with worker productivity. And it probably closer to $25 per hour now.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/minimum-wage-26-dollars-economy-productivity/
In other words, we work harder and earn less every year.
So yeah, lower prices and penalize companies who gouge. But raise our wages, too. Corporations who won’t give raises to at least match cost of living increases are gouging their employees.
I watched a Hasan Minhaj video where he interviewed Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg. It was interesting.
https://youtu.be/qFBWIBayvLY?si=Za0qV5hEXksjSVZq
But Hasan failed to ask the question I want to know the answer to. Why hasn’t he allowed the Pacific Time zone states to go to year-round Daylight Savings Time? All four states in that time zone have voted on this issue and agree that we want it.
Some articles claim the Congress has to bring it up for a vote. And we know how much work they like to do. But the Department of Transportation was given regulatory power over time zones and daylight saving time in 1966. So Pete should be able to make it happen for us.
Why hasn’t he?
We have to change our clocks again THIS FUCKING SATURDAY.
Day of the Dead image by Jose Sanchez Hernandez from Pixabay Celtic wheel image by Jolene Simon from Pixabay
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