Addicted To Koch: Part 2
Posted by Michelle Moquin on August 6th, 2014
Good morning!
Koch Fact Number 2: The Kochs want to eliminate minimum wage laws.
From Think Progress.
Billionaire Koch Brother Says Eliminating The Minimum Wage Will Help The Poor
A conservative mogul worth $43 billion says he knows the secret to helping poor people. According to Charles Koch, the U.S. needs to get rid of the minimum wage, which he counts as a major obstacle to economic growth.
On Wednesday, the Charles Koch Foundation launched a $200,000 media campaign in Wichita, Kansas, with a hint of expanding it elsewhere. It is the Kochs’ biggest media buy since they promised to do more to “persuade politicians” after suffering losses in the 2012 election.
In an interview with the Wichita Eagle published Tuesday, Koch said that the minimum wage is one policy he is working against:
We want to do a better job of raising up the disadvantaged and the poorest in this country, rather than saying ‘Oh, we’re just fine now.’ We’re not saying that at all. What we’re saying is, we need to analyze all these additional policies, these subsidies, this cronyism, this avalanche of regulations, all these things that are creating a culture of dependency. And like permitting, to start a business, in many cities, to drive a taxicab, to become a hairdresser. Anything that people with limited capital can do to raise themselves up, they keep throwing obstacles in their way. And so we’ve got to clear those out. Or the minimum wage. Or anything that reduces the mobility of labor.
The Kansas ad does not specifically mention the minimum wage, but it does claim that Americans earning $34,000 a year should count themselves as lucky, because that puts them in the top 1 percent of the world. “That is the power of economic freedom,” the ad concluded. Meanwhile, Charles and David Koch are the ones comfortably in the 1 percent, with a net worth of about 1 million times that figure. Watch the ad:
The ad cites a report from the Koch-funded Fraser Institute showing that “The United States used to be a world leader in economic freedom but our ranking fell. And it’s projected to decline even further.” (That same Fraser report interestingly ranks Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Chile ahead of the U.S. Those places all have government-run health care, which the Kochs adamantly oppose.)
In the U.S., economic inequality has grown rapidly, and the lagging minimum wage is in large part to blame. Some states have moved to address the growing gap between what people earn and the rising cost of living, but nationally the minimum wage has barely moved in decades. Little to no evidence exists to support Koch’s claim that the minimum wage impedes companies or causes them to fire employees. In fact, raising the minimum wage to $9 would pump up to $48 billion into the economy by the next year and ease the income gap for 15 million low-wage workers.
Koch maintained his and his brother’s political efforts are not for their own benefit, but for the country’s greater good. “All the other large companies, or the great majority of them, are promoting some kind of special cronyism where they’re undermining economic freedom.” Although he deems low-wage workers part of a “culture of dependency” on the government, Koch Industries is on the receiving end of oil subsidies, government contracts, and bailouts.
*K*O*C*H*O*D*
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August 6th, 2014 at 3:07 pm
Face it the Koch brothers are out to remake America so that it reflects our values again. White men made this country and we deserve the benefits.
August 6th, 2014 at 3:31 pm
Greg: You got to be kidding, you actually expect something positive, or something more from the Koch’s. You are one bigoted moronic idiot. You did deserve to be born with a brain, sorry you missed out on one. Face that.
August 6th, 2014 at 3:41 pm
Al:
Seriously, do you think people should be told they will earn a minimum no matter what their skills are. I run a business and if I could some of the talentless shits that do the cleaning of my offices I wouldn’t pay $3.00 an hour.
Also, we have so many people looking for work, I should be allowed to pay them what I want. If they don’t like it take their asses somewhere else.
August 6th, 2014 at 3:46 pm
Koch and Bush families are intermarried. Bush family has ties to Rockefeller and Harriman through Samuel Bush, and of course, the Walkers and Pierce family. The Koch family is Russian, associated with the Communist Bolshevik Bankers put into power by Morgan/Rothschild money. There is nothing these people do that is altruistic.
August 6th, 2014 at 3:48 pm
I believe that Mr. Koch and his evil sister counterpart,(can’t remember her name) the strip mining heiress that said people should live on $2(dollars) a day should do as she suggested. Recently, a couple of politicians made a big hoopla about how they could live on a “food stamp sustenance”, which is about $4/day. They both gave up in less than three weeks.
The very kind and generous rich assholes that want to cut food stamps and minimum wage should be cut off from all their funds and housing and live on minimum wage and food stamps for two months. These days, it is impossible to pay rent/utilities/transportation/medical on $7.25 per hour(Texas), even at 40 hours a week.
To abolish minimum wage would really only boost corporate profits. I don’t think lower consumer prices are in the picture for that has nothing to do with it. Corporations are not “people”, in as such, they have no SOUL. And neither do you, Mr. Koch. Have fun bathing in your money and gloating over your profits while world wide humanity suffers through wars and upheaval. I guess you can’t have enough until you have it all. I sure wouldn’t know.
August 6th, 2014 at 3:50 pm
“We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nest.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
/SB
August 6th, 2014 at 3:51 pm
“A conservative mogul worth $43 billion says he knows the secret to helping poor people. According to Charles Koch, the U.S. needs to get rid of the minimum wage, which he counts as a major obstacle to economic growth.”……………
The main obstacle to the poor and to economic growth are thieves like him who are collecting up all the money for themselves. So called trickle down economics was condemned by Jesus. The story of the poor man lazarus waiting on the droppings of the rich man ends with the rich man in hell.
August 6th, 2014 at 3:51 pm
They want to lower the min wage? Oh sorry “eliminate” the minimum wage.
But everyone knows what that means. It means we’d all be earning 2 dollars
an hour. You cant live on minimum wage now as it is.
August 6th, 2014 at 3:53 pm
I agree with you Al#2. “I again recommend a law prohibiting all corporations from contributing to the campaign expenses of any party… Let individuals contribute as they desire; but let us prohibit in effective fashion all corporations from making contributions for any political purpose, directly or indirectly.
”Teddy Roosevelt added,”The fortunes amassed through corporate organization are now so large, and vest such power in those that wield them, as to make it a matter of necessity to give to the sovereign — that is, to the Government, which represents the people as a whole — some effective power of supervision over their corporate use. In order to insure a healthy social and industrial life, every big corporation should be held responsible by, and be accountable to, some sovereign strong enough to control its conduct.” — Theodore Roosevelt
“This is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people no longer. It is a government of corporations, by corporations, and for corporations. – How is this?” — From The Diaries of Rutherford B. Hayes, March 11, 1888.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:06 pm
Your right Greg#3. Why are people still so mired in stupidity about this?
Price controls are successful precisely never. There are no magical exceptions for the crying-est of the crybabies.
I employ about 80 women on a full time basis. Before Obama care I didn’t have to give the bitches but the minimum health insurance. Now they want access to birth control and the right to tell me how to manage my business.
I should be able to pay what the market dictates. There are plenty of job seekers and few jobs. Why should I have to pay a minimum wage? And to that why am I not entitled to feel the fine ones when I feel like it. If the bitches don’t want to be groped, then they can find employment somewhere else.
There’s no shortage of applicants at my place of business. I will treat these bitches how I choose. I don’t mind cutting a few extra dollars to the fine ones that know how to act around their Boss. They deserve their minimum wage.
But some of these butt ugly minorities, they would be lucky to get $2.00 an hour from me. A butt ugly white woman knows her place. You can smack that ass all day and she will smile and keep working. Some of these nigger bitches, what to take you to court. Shit they should be happy a white man even thought about feeling up that ass.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:10 pm
In Michigan the morons have been twisting the already twisted “right to work” into “FREEDOM to WORK”….. “Freedom THROUGH Work” was their sign over the gates of Auschwitz.
In Michigan the police and Firemen were EXEMPTED from “Freedom to Work” ….. think about that. If “Freedom through work” is such a RIGHT and a BENEFIT …… WHY are they DENYING those glorious rights and benefits to the HEROIC FIRST RESPONDERS !?!?!?!?!?
Of course the real question is …. “Why are the PEOPLE so STUPID they do not see the duplicity?” Why are the Police and Firemen not DEMANDING “Freedom through Work” for themselves? Why are the People not DEMANDING “Freedom through Work” FOR the P/F????
And finally, WHY are the People not LYNCHING any Judas-Goat TURNCOAT who advocates “Freedom through Work”?
August 6th, 2014 at 4:12 pm
Well Koch-head, if you want to eliminate minimum wage… I want to eliminate usury, income tax and home property tax. Those three specifically would put America back on her feet in record time.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:19 pm
Van#10, your post brought back fond memories. I live in Mississippi. Niggers used to know their place here. We have to teach a young generation of proud white men how to reeducate them.
I remember when I used to love to go to work. I would run my hand under any nigger bitch’s dress or skirt I wanted to, pat that ass or finger that coochie. I remember smelling my fingers on the ride back home. The juice from the black as shoe polish nigger women was just dripping from my fingers.
Now, if you look at one to long they want to curse you and call you names. Every Sunday when I am in church, my first prayer is to ask God to give the white man back his swagger.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:21 pm
Charles Koch is correct, just as Ron Paul was when he said the same thing. Minimum wage laws have no place in a free market economy (as ours ounce was). Without such laws, most* entry level workers would earn more and would have more opportunities for training and promotion.
There are two main obstacles to repealing minimum wage laws:
1) The corporate interests that originally introduced them.
2) The ignorant and misinformed general public.
*Why most? why not all?
The unfortunate reality is that some people are just not worth a damn, regardless of what they may earn..These are the people who would be unlikely take advantage of opportunities such as free training to improve their marketable knowledge and/or skills.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:31 pm
I hope we as free white men can use that Lobby Hobby ruling to say that I am not a racist, my religion preaches separatist theology. Religiously we think God didn’t believe in mixing the races. If he did, he would have made everybody one color.
If Lobby Hobby, can let a business deny birth control pills based on religion, we should be able to use religion to deny having to pay minimum wage to nigger, wet backs and other non white races.
Oh, and Van, now the nice looking mulatto black bitches wanna be white. They act like white men should treat them like they are white. I had one give me such a disrespectful stare because I complimented the bitch by telling her she had nice hair for a colored woman. I could have said niggra, but I didn’t.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:38 pm
Boy, this thread went ugly almost as fast as the Obama one yesterday. There are so many bigots in the world, it must be really difficult to be an OTW in America. It seems like the racists are convinced they are rightfully privileged.
I’m a white american that doesn’t believe that but I am sure I am in the minority.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:52 pm
I live in Kentucky and I can honestly say God has left this state. The minorities think they own the place. As for minimum wages. Why not just eliminate wages altogether?
Think of how happy the minorities will be to work for table scraps! Oh yes, Greg, Van and Charles. I remember the days when a young and spry white boy would get in the back of a pick up with some of his friend and head to nigger town to spit some black Oak.
I used to delight in telling my boys some of my exploits. My oldest just weeps when I tell him about the good ole days. His wife divorced him and charged him with rape for exercising his conjugal rights to the pussy. Back in the day, a white man would have beat that bitch so bad she would be spread eagle on her back the minute she heard his key in the lock.
It’s a damn shame what is happening to this country. We need to bring Bible rule back to America. White women and the minorities have lost sight of their place.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:55 pm
Keep voting GOP and everyone will be able to make Chinese wages. It is difficult for Democrats to resist because they can be buried with money during elections particularly at the state level. Even our local state reps face millions against them on every divisive issue.
Our state senator in my district probably had over 100 different racist hateful flyers against her in the last cycle. She won by less than 500 votes. Plus there were endless robocalls against her and she recently faced a recall over her gun votes.
August 6th, 2014 at 4:58 pm
I honestly feel deeply for OTWs in this country. It must be hell living in a world with the kind of white people who spew their hate and vile memories on this blog.
I have to admit. It scares me so badly that I thank God every night that he made me white.
August 6th, 2014 at 5:00 pm
From day one Reagan declared a low wage economy by expressing the desire to create a service economy. That was in 1981. His agenda morphed into globalism that was actually underway already. By the end of his term business had begun to push world free trade and the Bush administration began fast track negotiations on NAFTA at the behest of the business community and was supported by the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.
By the time Clinton took office NAFTA had been negotiated and Clinton was convinced the NAFTA was a job creator. He sided with Gingrich and forced a vote for the ratification of NAFTA and he undercut anti NAFTA Democratic forces and the unions by making deals with shaky legislators. Once that was passed the US Chamber and business pushed for “favored nation” status for China so they could reduce labor costs. That agreement allowed jobs to be outsourced and goods to be imported under low tariff structures. Globalization initiatives were promoted as “job creation” with no evidence to back up the claims.
Now at DOL it was obvious to those of us paying attention that such ideas would actually end lowering wages here because companies could actually get federal “tax credits” for doing economic development in other countries. Also during that time there were actually US economic development offices in other countries promoting taking American jobs overseas.
The net effect was the threat of lowering wages here by threatening to move manufacturing if wages and benefits were not cut. But they off shored anyway. The actual effect was to create a trend toward wage parity with other countries. During the Bush years a couple of Wall Street types even wrote an article in Fortune that American workers would have to take at least a !0% cut if globalization was to be viable. Sadly we are on that track because the some Democrats have even embraced “free trade” that includes the threat that they will be buried in money if they do otherwise.
The whole Reagan Revolution has always been about wage parity unofficially. And the corporate media conveniently ignores and hides the real facts. From my perspective with my background I see a lot of data that shows that wages are falling. A lot o people know that something is radically wrong, but they do no know what it is because of all the distractions, obfuscation, and plain lies and misdirection by the media.
I have been aware of the push for lower wages and wage parity since the mid 1980′s. The public and voters have been largely distracted with wedge issues and the fight for survival. If you look around at the labor market and what is happening and the code rhetoric being cast about and really analyze the reality of the situation the only conclusion is that there is a push for wage parity.
The fact that the Kochs, US Chamber of Commerce et al are now openly calling for deregulation of business and the “end” of he minimum wage is the most obvious sign that “wage parity” is the goal. Most other countries in the third world where even US business sees its next market have NO MINIMUM wage or labor standards. And pro union activists are routinely murdered.
A lot of workers are totally unaware that they are now directly in competition with the lowest wages on the planet. Citizens United even gave foreign countries the ability to pour in secret money to effect our elections.
August 6th, 2014 at 5:00 pm
What REALLY needs to happen is that the minimum wage should be doubled.
Basically, take whatever a Koch says, and do the opposite.
August 6th, 2014 at 5:07 pm
It may be time for you mainlander expatriates to return to Guam, at least to vote.
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Guam court OKs marijuana initiative
Published on Thursday, August 07, 2014 00:00 By Gina Tabonares-Reilly – gina@mvguam.com – Variety News Staff
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HAGÅTÑA — The decision as to whether Guam will legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes may be in the hands of island voters after the Supreme Court of Guam on Tuesday ruled that it is legal for the Guam Legislature to put the question to a referendum.
A proposal legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, also known as the Joaquin KC Concepcion II Compassionate Cannabis Use Act of 2013, will be placed on the November general election ballot to be decided by at least 50,000 registered voters.
“The Supreme Court has affirmed the Legislature’s ability to allow the people to let their voices be heard through the power of their vote on this very important question — whether patients and their doctors should have the freedom to choose between all available treatment options,” Sen. Tina Muña-Barnes, the author of the measure, said in a press statement.
Sen. Aline Yamashita, co-author of the original medical marijuana bill, said: “Today is a good day for our people. Those who suffer from debilitating conditions and their loved ones will have the opportunity to speak out and I encourage everyone to go out and exercise their right to vote.”
On Feb. 1, the :egislature voted to adopt the measure, Bill 215-32, which will provide for a referendum to place proposed amendments to legalize medical marijuana. Bill 215-32 lapsed into law on Feb. 16 and became Public Law 32-134.
On Feb. 3, the Guam Election Commission received a letter from the legislature directing it to place the marijuana question on the general election ballot.
The GEC, however, said that Guam law did not authorize the marijuana question on the ballot in the manner presented by P.L. 32-134 and said it was improper delegation of legislative authority.
On May 14, the Legislature filed a request for declaratory judgment and requested the guidance of the justices on the legality of the legislative submission.
———————————
Hafa adai.
August 6th, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Hi Michelle: Not being elected to any political office of any kind, what business do the Koch’s have suggesting that they know anything about what is right for this country, if they want to influence America’s policies they each have a vote. Well, convicted felons don’t, but who would even charge them on their felonious acts, they would simply buy a new law and make their actions legal.
These two are continually acting as if they are some kind of elected public officials, who are now trying to convince the American public that having a minimum wage is bad for America’s poor and an opinion is the most they really have and a vote each. Same as me and the same as you.
Question is how to limit them to just that. I advocate the military hunting them down as enemies of the state and removing them.
Lack of a minimum wage only helps those who run sweatshops and would prefer to not pay their employees at all. Those commenting tonight in favor of nixing the minimum wage are the very dumbest this country has. They can’t run a business successfully enough to be able to pay their employees a fair wage and still stay in business because they are moronic idiots destined to fail.
August 7th, 2014 at 6:32 am
Al, I like that Idea. Here in Ireland we went to war to limit the British involvement in our politics. Too bad we still have that damn catholic church with way too much influence.
August 7th, 2014 at 6:42 am
Hafa Adai, Men on Guam, you need to stop the violence against women. When we take a look at the statistics more women are the victims and men are the perpetrators, and the women in the community are tired of it. We’re tired of hearing about women that have been abused and sexually assaulted. The statistics are one out of every three women will be sexually assaulted or raped in their lifetime on Guam.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:24 am
Linda: Hi, the catholic church has way to much influence here as well. Did you notice how many bigoted employers feel it’s there right to grope their female employees on their way to church? And are in favor of eliminating minimum wage because their are so many unemployed, they feel it’s an employers market. That somebody will take their jobs regardless of what they pay.
This country is so full of sick, racist, sexist, and greedy men. Without a government that can function properly cause it is, in large part, made up of sick, racist, sexist, and greedy men, a government and justice system that is now owned by those 1%er’s, who also just happen to be……You guessed it, sick, racist, sexist, and greedy men with a lust for power.
I would like to see us all regain our civil rights, and rid our government of this virus that has infected it, to somehow rid the sickness in the minds of many of our citizens.
Women’s rights have been all but eliminated, and abuses are many. Same holds true for those Other than White men. The poor and unfortunates are for the most part forgotten.
I hope that this wasn’t too much for you, and is only my opinion of what is happening over here, well some of it is.
So, how have you been lately, you know my idea that you liked is only a pipe dream, but it would solve much very quickly. I guess that’s it for now, see you sweetie.