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Showing Compassion, Government Accountability, Minimum Wage, and Eminent Domain

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

          1.  Showing compassion – About two months ago, I wrote about my trip to Connecticut to spring my Uncle John from a nursing home.  So far, he is doing well at home, for which I am very thankful.  However, I have noticed something very interesting in this situation.  Many people seem to think they are showing concern and compassion for Uncle John by telling him all the things he cannot or should not do.   Some people tell him he shouldn’t drive a car.  Others tell him that he shouldn’t try to walk without his walker, that he will be lonely at home, that he should never allow himself to be left alone, and so forth.  They remind me of the socialist Democrats, who try to make everyone dependent on government for everything, as if they think that is kindhearted and compassionate.  If people really want to show compassion or concern, they ought to volunteer to pitch in and help!  It would be wonderful if some of those supposedly “concerned” people would stop by to visit Uncle John, or call him to see how he is doing, or take him out to lunch – but just telling him what he can’t or shouldn’t do, and making him dependent, is not the least bit compassionate or helpful.   

          2.  Government Accountability – The “Big Dig” construction project in Massachusetts has been a disaster from the beginning.  It had huge cost overruns and huge delays, and now a chunk of concrete has fallen on a car and killed a woman.  It seems there were many warnings that the construction was unsafe and was likely to fail, but they were ignored.  When the private corporation of Enron defrauded people and ruined lives, there were lots of trials, and several people were sent to jail, but, since the Big Dig was a government project, the extent of accountability will probably be that somebody might lose his job.  In Louisville, we also are seeing what happens when government takes on a large construction project – the arena.  First, the arena will be located in a place that will increase the cost at least $100 million over another location just three blocks away.  Then, the project will have to be done at the “prevailing wage”, in order to give union workers a great advantage over non-union competitors.  But apparently that’s not enough.  In addition, the unions will be given a “seat at the table” to be involved in making decisions about the construction.  And where is the accountability by the government officials who commit to these projects, claiming they will “pay for themselves”?  At least the shareholders of Enron stock bought their shares voluntarily – but we taxpayers are forced to support these wasteful (and sometimes deadly) government projects, whether we like it or not (and we don’t even get to own a part of the building)!

"In the private sector, incompetent performance generally means lost business, reduced earnings, or even bankruptcy. Only in the public sector---under Democrats and Republicans both---are negligence and failure commonly rewarded with ever-increasing budgets." ---Jeff Jacoby

          3.  Minimum Wage – It is disappointing that politicians from both major parties, who know very well that raising the minimum wage harms low-skilled workers, go ahead and vote to raise it anyway, claiming that they are helping the poor. Why are they afraid to tell the truth and explain to voters that raising the minimum wage will put even more low-skilled Americans out of work and cause an increase in poverty, as some jobs are outsourced to other countries, others are automated, and others are given to higher skilled workers who are productive enough to earn the higher wage?  “The National Federation of Independent Business estimates that if the federal minimum wage is increased to $6.65 per hour, nearly 217,000 workers would lose their jobs. The long-run consequences would be even more severe, as employers introduced labor-saving equipment and technology.”   I have a daughter who is struggling to get a start at the bottom rung of the economic ladder, and I wish there were no minimum wage so she could offer to work at a very low wage in order to get on-the-job training in an area in which she would like to work.  Instead of our politicians always pretending to be compassionate by raising the minimum wage, I wish we had politicians who were compassionate enough to abolish it.

A minimum wage of $7.25 per hour translates into an income of zero if a worker cannot find a job or is fired….If legislators really want to help the poor, the best thing they can do is abolish, not increase, the minimum wage.  – James A. Dorn, Professor of Economics

          4.  Eminent Domain -  It was very heartening to learn that the Ohio Supreme Court has decided unanimously against the use of eminent domain to take people’s homes in Norwood.  The Court also indicated that claiming an area is deteriorating in order to use eminent domain to take property from the owners and give it to other private owners will not be permitted.  Let’s hope this view becomes the law of the land throughout the U.S., so people can be more secure in their homes and property and not be at the mercy of developers with political pull.

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