Using the Courts to Wage a War on Gay Marriage

Grok Headline matches for Using the Courts to Wage a War on Gay Marriage

Gay Marriage Challenged in Calif., New
York Courts (Reuters)

Gay Marriage Challenged in Calif., New
York Courts (Reuters) 03/06/2004 02:06 AM
Reuters - California's Supreme Court declined on Friday to make an immediate decision on the state's request to halt same sex marriages in San Francisco that have intensified a national debate on gay rights.

Prenuptial Jitters - Did gay marriage
destroy heterosexual marriage in
Scandinavia? By M.V. Lee Badgett

Prenuptial Jitters - Did gay marriage
destroy heterosexual marriage in
Scandinavia? By M.V. Lee Badgett 05/23/2004 01:53 AM
Did gay marriage destroy straight marriage in Scandanavia? .. Scandinavian countries .. are completely bogus .. The other piece .. current Slate .. piece

slate.msn.com/id/2100884
track this site | 4 links

Gay marriage compared to box-turtle
marriage in Senate, Daily Show replies

Gay marriage compared to box-turtle
marriage in Senate, Daily Show replies 07/19/2004 02:52 AM
In a fit of astonishing lunacy, Texas Senator John Cornyn tried to explain the need to ban gay marriage in the context of the social harm that would accrue from allowing men to marry box turtles ("It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle, but that does not mean it is right...Now you must raise you children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife"). Jon Stewart's Daily Show segment on this statement is nothing short of brilliant. Let's hope it gets enough airplay to cost Cornyn the election (and possibly get him institutionalized somewhere...). Realplayer link (via Vertical Hold)

wage growth?

wage growth? 03/06/2004 01:59 AM

Saw this on John Robb's weblog... couldn't help but post it here also, it's an interesting look at the current 'recovery':

This is an amazing chart (via Barry Ritholz).

Funny thing is, I live in a state that'll vote for Bush, no matter who I vote for, and I'm also not educated enough (about politics) to know if the president can actually do anything about that graph or not...

update: and then I go and read this article and get all confused: WSJ: M anufacturers Say They're Hiring, But Jobs Picture Remains Murky [sub. req.] -- and that's why I don't pay that much attention to politics...

Delta's Wage War

Delta's Wage War 04/14/2004 02:34 PM
Of the carrier's many problems, its wage costs are most out of line.

Row over IT wage 'disparity'

Row over IT wage 'disparity' 05/12/2004 08:14 AM
Workers in the IT business in Belfast are amongst the lowest paid in the world, a survey indicates.

Exploring an International Minimum Wage

Exploring an International Minimum Wage 01/17/2004 10:48 PM
I've looked into the concept of a minimum wage, finding many proposals. Some are based on the US minimum wage, or on an average of national minimums. Some are just arbitrarily set without explanation. These proposals often quintuple the salary of workers in poor countries. Here's a more conservative proposal based on a combination macroeconomic/commodity approach. Also, an explanation of the economic purpose of minimum wages.

Minimum wage earners back in tax net
from May 1st - SF

Minimum wage earners back in tax net
from May 1st - SF 04/17/2005 03:22 PM
Politics.ie Apr 17 2005 5:40PM GMT

Low-wage workers have to choose between
car and rent

Low-wage workers have to choose between
car and rent 04/12/2005 08:54 PM

Today's New York Times carries an article "Falling Fortunes of Wage Earners" noting that "Even though the economy added 2.2 million jobs in 2004 and produced strong growth in corporate profits, wages for the average worker fell for the year, after adjusting for inflation - the first such drop in nearly a decade."  This is a theme in Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed, which I recently finished listening to while driving back from Virginia.  Ehrenreich did her research in the boom economy of 1998 and 1999 when labor was in short supply yet wages barely rose for the unskilled.  Ehrenreich took service jobs in Key West, Portland, Maine, and Minneapolis to see if she could make ends meet after one month.

Ehrenreich notes that the official poverty line was defined in 1964 as a multiple of the cost of food (see http://www. census.gov/hhes/income/defs/poverty.html) and has barely been revised since then.  The marketplace, however, has changed.  Real estate and rents have become much more expensive and food has stayed relatively cheap.  Thus it is easy to envision a family whose income is 3X the cost of eating at McDonald's but who can't afford rent.  Ehrenreich finds that almost no unskilled worker would be able to afford rent plus a car at the same time.  If they can't team up with a spouse and they need the car to get to work they are forced to live in the car.

Ehrenreich's conclusion is that this can't last.  The workers will rebel and demand their right to at least an efficiency apartment plus some means of transportation to a job.  She predicts a Proletarian Revolution.  Six years have elapsed since Nickel and Dimed was written and yet the Walmartians and hotel and restaurant slaves seem as docile as ever.

What did Ehrenreich overlook?  Immigration!  There are plenty of people from poor countries who think that working 60-70 hours per week for $7.50/hour is acceptable, especially if there are opportunities for their children to do better.  As long as the immigrants are streaming into the U.S. it seems unlikely that wages for the unskilled will rise.

One might ask "Why do we have such a welcoming immigration policy?"  Countries that value quality of life restrict immigration.  To get into New Zealand, for example, you need to demonstrate some combination of youth, education, and wealth.  The New Zealanders don't see a need to clog their neighborhoods with development and their highways with traffic unless the newcomers are bringing something interesting.  The U.S., by contrast, is happy to grant visas and green cards to people who don't speak English and who in some cases are dedicated to the destruction of the U.S. government (the September 11th terrorists, for example, most of whom had official U.S. INS blessing).  The U.S. government puts GDP growth as its #1 priority because GDP growth enables the government to collect more in taxes and the extra tax revenue enables the government to expand.  If the population growth that is required to generate the GDP growth means that young people have to work two jobs in order to rent an apartment that's not Uncle Sam's problem.  High housing costs and the lack of guaranteed health care are both desired spurs to keep potential taxpayers getting up and going into work every day.

The best predictions available today show the U.S. population rising from its present 295 million to 500 million within our lifetimes.  With wages for low-skill workers set according to wages in India and China the living styles of many unskilled workers in America will have to be more like those in India and China.  Ehrenreich's idea that a worker is entitled to an efficiency apartment does not apply in India or China.  I visited Agra, home to the Taj Majal, a few years ago.  Statistics showed that 2 million people lived there, subsantially smaller than the population of Boston and its closest suburbs, yet there were essentially no buildings taller than one story.  If a family of 8 people ran a little shop by the road they would roll down the shop door at night and sleep there as well.  A friend recently returned from living in Shanghai and reported the same system there.

We could argue about the merits of globalization and U.S. immigration policy but these factors are unlikely to change.  Better to think about how best to deal with the implications.  Low-wage workers in America won't be able to afford housing constructed with currently prevailing methods.  In Third World countries this has traditionally resulted in shantytowns springing up (cf. Mexico City).  Perhaps with innovations in prefab housing we could provide shelter in the exurbs at a cost affordable to unskilled workers.  If not and if we have to accept the idea that a low-wage worker with a car will never be able to afford an apartment maybe the solution is an inexpensive car that is comfortable for sleeping.  If the Chinese can make a cheap car they should be able to make a cheap small RV.  If the Chinese can make a sleeping van for $10,000 (new) a low-wage worker could have transportation and minimal shelter at the same time.

Karl Marx thought that the Industrial Revolution would end scarcity, i.e., that everyone in the U.S. would be living in a McMansion and driving an S.U.V.  That was one of his main reasons for concluding that Communism would be the natural end-result of economic development.  Marx did not count on a world population explosion, however, and the simultaneous stagnation in construction technology resulting in tremendous pressure on housing costs.

Designing Videogames For The Wage Slave

Designing Videogames For The Wage Slave 07/27/2004 11:32 PM

In Iraq, soldiers wage war via computer

In Iraq, soldiers wage war via computer 01/04/2004 05:03 AM
Sunspot Jan 4 2004 3:40AM ET

Falling Fortunes of the Wage Earner

Falling Fortunes of the Wage Earner 04/12/2005 08:32 AM
Wages for the average American worker fell last year, after adjusting for inflation - the first such drop in nearly a decade.

German Workers Do the Wage Limbo

German Workers Do the Wage Limbo 03/24/2005 08:12 AM
Beset by high unemployment and the ongoing cost of reunification, Germany's economy has been unraveling for the last decade. Now a German job site pits workers against each other to help employers cut costs. By Jason Walsh.

Volkswagen heads into wage negotiations

Volkswagen heads into wage negotiations 09/16/2004 02:01 AM
Seattletimes.nwsource.com - Wed Sep 15, 04:07 pm GMT

China to wage war on Internet
pornography

China to wage war on Internet
pornography 07/17/2004 02:42 PM
Big News Network Jul 17 2004 5:40PM GMT

Minimum wage worries firms

Minimum wage worries firms 09/12/2004 11:32 PM
Increases to the minimum wage are beginning to be cause for concern for businesses, the CBI says.

Kerry Says He Would Raise Minimum Wage
(AP)

Kerry Says He Would Raise Minimum Wage
(AP) 06/18/2004 07:22 PM
AP - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Friday proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $7 an hour by 2007, arguing that such an increase could boost the wages of more than 15 million Americans.

U.S. Forces Wage Major Offensive in
Najaf (AP)

U.S. Forces Wage Major Offensive in
Najaf (AP) 08/12/2004 10:33 PM
AP - Thousands of U.S. troops sealed off Najaf's vast cemetery, its old city and a revered Shiite shrine Thursday and unleashed a tank, infantry and helicopter assault against militants loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. They also stormed the radical cleric's home, but he was not there.

Kerry Says 'Can-Do' U.S. Needs to Raise
Minimum Wage

Kerry Says 'Can-Do' U.S. Needs to Raise
Minimum Wage 06/19/2004 01:12 AM
Reuters via Wired News Jun 19 2004 4:39AM GMT

Premiership clubs lower wage bill

Premiership clubs lower wage bill 06/03/2004 09:50 PM
The once spiralling wages of England's top forwards appear to be coming under control, says a new report.

Carphone Warehouse in minimum wage
'sting'

Carphone Warehouse in minimum wage
'sting' 06/01/2004 07:13 AM
Staff paid less than legal requirement

Kerry Proposes Raising Minimum Wage

Kerry Proposes Raising Minimum Wage 06/18/2004 01:00 PM
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Friday proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $7 an hour by 2007, which he contended would benefit working women more than any other group.

Kerry Proposes Raising Minimum Wage (AP)

Kerry Proposes Raising Minimum Wage (AP) 06/18/2004 11:17 AM
AP - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Friday proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $7 an hour by 2007, which he contended would benefit working women more than any other group.

Minimum wage 'not costing jobs'

Minimum wage 'not costing jobs' 09/26/2004 11:23 PM
A report says the minimum wage, due to rise on Friday, has helped clerical, retail and catering staff, as well as traditionally low-paid.

Bush Says U.S. Would Wage War Again to
Make World Safe

Bush Says U.S. Would Wage War Again to
Make World Safe 11/16/2003 11:49 PM
Reuters via Wired News Nov 16 2003 10:32PM ET

Linux fans wage 'jihad' on Microsoft

Linux fans wage 'jihad' on Microsoft 06/12/2004 11:03 AM
IT Vibe Jun 12 2004 2:46PM GMT

Linux fans wage "jihad" on
Microsoft

Linux fans wage "jihad" on
Microsoft 06/12/2004 11:03 AM
IT Vibe Jun 12 2004 2:47PM GMT

Ordinary Iraqis Wage a Successful Battle
Against Insurgents

Ordinary Iraqis Wage a Successful Battle
Against Insurgents 03/22/2005 04:28 PM
A gun battle today was the first time that private citizens are known to have retaliated successfully against insurgents.

Low-Wage Costa Ricans Make Baseballs for
Millionaires

Low-Wage Costa Ricans Make Baseballs for
Millionaires 01/25/2004 06:14 AM
Every baseball used in the major leagues is handcrafted by workers who typically make about $2,750 a year.

Wage Growth Slow, Jobless Claims Stable

Wage Growth Slow, Jobless Claims Stable 07/29/2004 09:55 PM
Reuters via Wired News Jul 30 2004 1:41AM GMT

Mininum wage pays for 1-bedroom
apartment in only 4 U.S. counties

Mininum wage pays for 1-bedroom
apartment in only 4 U.S. counties 12/22/2004 01:06 AM
Mininum wage pays for 1-bedroom apartment in only 4 U.S. counties 12/21

startribune.com/stories/417/5146866.html
track this site | 3 links

Yahoo, Google Wage A War Beyond Words In
Web Search Field

Yahoo, Google Wage A War Beyond Words In
Web Search Field 02/19/2004 11:30 AM
Yahoo! Feb 19 2004 3:37PM GMT

USATODAY.com - Low-wage jobs rise at
faster pace

USATODAY.com - Low-wage jobs rise at
faster pace 07/01/2004 10:18 AM
About Those Jobs Bush "Created": Low-wage jobs rise at faster pace 7/1 .. goody

usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2004-06-29-jobs_x.htm
track this site | 4 links

Fewer low-wage employees left in
technology sector

Fewer low-wage employees left in
technology sector 11/18/2003 07:47 PM
Canadian Press via Canada.com Nov 18 2003 6:58PM ET

Kerry Says 'Can-Do' U.S. Needs to Raise
Minimum Wage (Reuters)

Kerry Says 'Can-Do' U.S. Needs to Raise
Minimum Wage (Reuters) 06/18/2004 02:34 PM
Reuters - Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry proposed on Friday raising the minimum wage to $7 by 2007, a hike he said would allow struggling families to pay for 10 months of groceries or eight months of rent.

Calif. Gov. Vetoes Minimum Wage,
Superstore Bills

Calif. Gov. Vetoes Minimum Wage,
Superstore Bills 09/19/2004 09:40 AM
Reuters via Wired News Sep 19 2004 1:40PM GMT

Churches Wage High-Tech War on Cell
Phones (Reuters)

Churches Wage High-Tech War on Cell
Phones (Reuters) 09/22/2004 08:12 AM
Reuters - Some Mexican churches are using state-of-the-art technology developed by Israeli electronic warfare experts to silence cell phones that ring during mass, church officials said on Tuesday.

Mexico Churches Wage High-Tech War on
Cell Phones (Reuters)

Mexico Churches Wage High-Tech War on
Cell Phones (Reuters) 09/21/2004 04:20 PM
Reuters - Some Mexican churches are using state-of-the-art technology developed by Israeli electronic warfare experts to silence cell phones that ring during mass, church officials said on Tuesday.

Democratic Contenders Wage Running
Battle on Primary Eve (Los Angeles
Times)

Democratic Contenders Wage Running
Battle on Primary Eve (Los Angeles
Times) 01/27/2004 10:24 AM
Los Angeles Times - MANCHESTER, N.H. — Fighting exhaustion and knowing New Hampshire's penchant for political surprises, the Democratic presidential hopefuls traded jabs Monday as they made a final, headlong push for votes in today's crucial primary.
Grok Description matches for Using the Courts to Wage a War on Gay Marriage
GrokA matches for Using the Courts to Wage a War on Gay Marriage

Using the Courts to Wage a War on Gay Marriage

The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry: