In regards to Hal, I guess I should have known better. All of his posts/contradictions in opinion could only come from 1 of 2 places. The first (and better position) is looking for intelligent debate regardless of position. Like being on the High School debate team and having to defend a position whether or not you believe in it. Or the second is a lack of commitment to any position that may oppose what is being dictated by the administration at a later time.

Aaron Tippin said, "you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything!"

I think I may have finally figured you out. If I remember correctly, you are currently retired. I think you are a hell of a lot smarter than you would like people to believe. Many of your posts have some logic but you hold back just enough to get someone to respond to you. Take for example your comments today about illegals, or not wanting to pay for health care, etc. for those who are receiving low wages but on other articles that pertain to those subjects, you take the opposite view. I think you are bored out of your mind being retired and you are looking for a good debate. You come here because you know you will not get it at sites like Huff Po and the likes so you come here to stir things up to pass your day. I may be wrong but I...

Did you not read the part about me working my way through college (both times). My parents are both blue collar through and through, and I have never had anything handed to me. I am closer to the redneck, bible clutching, gun toting, backwater stereotype than the elitist you would like to claim. I did notice the GNP vs GDP reference but gave you the benefit of the doubt in assuming you were typing quickly rather than trying to trip me up. My fault for assuming the best in people.

I agree, GDP has many factors that iunfluence the numbers but you can not overlook the influence wages have had on the numbers. Its like trying to say all of the problems with the economy right now can be traced to one issue. Most thinking people realize...

"Folks won't comment on my question as to why I should have to pay for the medical care for over 30,000 Wal-Mart employees."

No one says you have to pay for them. The government is making us pay for them. Health insurance is not a right. Government intervention at both the state and federal level has caused the cost of insurance to go through the roof. When did health insurance become a be all, end all in terms of what it covers? Auto insurance does not cover brakes, oil changes, new tires, etc. Why should everyone expect health insurance to pay for everything as well. Let people choose what items they want covered and pay for those that they choose not to get coverage for. Why should we expect free care? Do you go in to the...

Thanks for the backup. I read posts from these two every day and know that no matter what facts you hit them with, it is irrelevant o their point of view. When I respond to them I am trying to enlighten others who may read their posts and not understand the reality that not everyone is capable of doing the same job or earning the same amount. Should we pay the 42 yr old @ McDonalds the same amount as the 42 yr old brain surgeon? I know, extreme example....

See my post to killer. In a truly free market economy, the consumer sets the value of any product or service. The producer of said product then adjusts his costs accordingly to be able to provide that good or service. If, in order to produce that good or service, the labor component cost goes up for whatever reason, I have two choices. I can raise raise prices or I can cut my profit margin. Now, If I can not raise my prices (competition, etc.), I can either accept the pay cut (because that's what it is for a small business owner) or I can go out of business if it is no longer worth the headaches of running said business for less money.

As an employee, I am not forced by any one to accept a job for which I feel like I am being...

I say that it has a huge impact. The $14 Trillion number is over inflated by decades of increased wages beyond what is normally sustainable - the cause of most recessions. I did not go to UNC - MBA from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from SUNY Buffalo. The intended function of minimum wage has nothing to do with the unintended consequences it has wrought. It is not the governments responsibility to force companies to pay what it thinks someone should be worth. For example, I am willing to pay someone else to mow my lawn $25. Does the government have the right to force me to pay them $35? If so, do you think I will pay the $35 or will I do it myself, thereby costing a landscaping company business...

Why are you argueing with me - we are saying the same thing. Minimum wage is a mistake.

How many jobs would we be losing to oversees workers if the minimum wage did not continue to go up. As a business owner, does it not make sense to pay a worker in China $3.50/day and incur the costs of shipping products back to the US, than to pay a US worker $7.55/hour? How does raising the minimum wage keep jobs here? Even if certain tax loopholes are closed, it will still be cheaper and hence more profitable to produce overseas. How many of you are willing to pay 3 to 4 times as much for that flat screen TV produced here in America versus overseas. But that brings us back full circle to the minimum wage rate. How is a minimum wage worker supposed to afford it? That is after all what we are going for isn't it - equal distribution...

The arguement by the lib's is not the purchasing power of the 15 year old boy but the families that are living on minimum wage. My point stands, any one trying to live on a minimum wage job is hurt every time the minimum goes up. In fact, as others have stated, we are all hurt by it.