He recently spoke at a rally for striking janitors, arguing that it's a matter of economic justice that janitors be paid more.
Look, folks, nobody forces you to do what you do for a living. Some people just want to show up, perform a repetitive task and go home on time to see their tv shows. That's fine - I'm not knocking the decision and sometimes I wish I'd made the same decision. But it's a TRADEOFF. It's not unfair that people who are required to have a lot more knowledge, to constantly upgrade that knowledge, to use analytical skills, to solve problems, to use judgment, to work all night if that's what it takes to solve the problem, to communicate their solutions and to face the risk of losing their jobs if their solutions don't work or are too expensive, get paid a lot more than people who push a boom all day.
Even if you don't choose to be a janitor, the difference in pay still reflects differences in what you do all day.
THAT IS economic justice.
2007-03-05 02:04:51 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
Economic justice is getting paid whatever the market will bear for that task. Any numbskull can sweep floors, cook burgers, or provide the fries with that. Any numbskull can answer phones, dig ditches, or mow lawns. The supply of people who are able to do these jobs is vast, so the price of that work (the wages) is very low. Relatively few people have the ability and desire to be engineers, work in sales, or do a variety of more complex tasks so their price is higher. Edwards and his kind prey on the selfish and uninformed masses who think that pushing low end wages up will increase standard of living, when all it does is dilute purchasing power and cause inflation, helpin nobody but the politician who got votes by misleading people on this.
2007-03-05 02:16:20 · answer #1 · answered by Mike K 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree completely with John Edwards. Just because a person is a janitor, or any low paying job doesn't mean they shouldn't earn a living wage. Most people start at low wage jobs not because they want to, but because they have no experience for a higher paying one. Or maybe they don't have the schooling necessary yet to land the higher paying jobs. Does that mean they must live in poverty? There is not a rich man alive that didn't make thier fortune on the backs of low wage workers. Even people that inherited wealth, can trace that wealth back thru generations to see they made thier fortune from low wage workers. All anyone wants is a chance to participate in the American dream. Certainly that dream is not the same for every worker, nor could it be. Just the tax break that most wealthy Americans got from GW Bush, is more than minimum wage workers get in real wages. Many executives get bonuses yearly, larger than minimum wage earners real wages. So yes, I agree completely.
2007-03-05 02:46:54 · answer #2 · answered by handyrandy 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'm a democrat, and I agree with you. I went to college to get the money I am payed now. I would be pissed if the guy cleaning toilets was making as much as me. Edwards has said a lot of strange things since entering the race. I think his heart was in the right place on this, but does not make a whole lot of sense.
2007-03-05 02:19:40 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do not generally agree with anything most Dems have to say about social and economic policy. I understand our free market system is not perfect, just the best way to allocate resources found yet.
2007-03-05 02:10:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Isn't he a Psychic? He can tell the future right?
Monday is Jack Bauer day!
2007-03-05 02:08:37 · answer #5 · answered by Assad 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋