Thursday, January 12th, 2006
Snack.
Slice of mozzarella cheese and a big spoonful of RTS frosting.
240 calories.
I have 1367 calories still left to eat today before going over my limit.
Archive for January 12th, 2006
Thursday, January 12th, 2006
Just ate lunch. Bowl of mac and cheese, granola bar and Metamucil.
535 calories.
I have 1607 calories still left to eat today before going over my limit.
That damn granola bar had 150 calories in it! I thought those things were supposed to be good for you?
Thursday, January 12th, 2006
Today’s Anti-Strib question for Liberals: Would you support a $25 minimum wage? If not, what should be the minimum wage and why?
Maybe I would support a $25 minimum wage someday, not right now.
Current minimum wage in Minnesota is $5.25 per hour. The equates to $10,920 per year which is $1940 over the federal poverty level for an individual. I would like to see the minimum wage stay at least 20-30% above the individual poverty level index.
The real question is how many people are working a minimum wage job and using this income to support their family?
Two people, both working minimum wage jobs, with two kids, are only $3440 above the poverty level. That’s before payroll tax, Social Security and health insurance. Plus if both parents are working they need to figure out day care for the kids. It’s a tough situation, maybe an impossible situation.
There is a history in this country of citizens pulling themselves up and out of poverty and creating a successful financial situation for themselves and their families. I think this is getting more difficult to do. I would like to see this trend reversed by giving those at modest and low income levels the tools they need in order to succeed. Easy access to affordable health care and health care insurance and child care would be a great start.
The poor do have the federal Earned Income Tax Credit but somebody in Washington has decided to target those taking advantage of this program for extra scrutiny. This has caused delays in tax refunds to those who can least afford it, even though 80% of those cases deserved a refund.
Raising the minimum wage is not going to solve the problem on its own. I believe keeping the minimum wage benchmarked to some level and giving the working poor the tools to raise themselves out of poverty would be of immense help.
Thursday, January 12th, 2006
2757 calories per day
OK, I just ate my typical breakfast. Two bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios with soy milk, glass of cranberry juice and Metamucil.
615 calories.
I have 2142 calories still left to eat today before going over my limit.
Thursday, January 12th, 2006
I am going to run a Tour de France pool on my site this year. The winner gets a Banjo Brothers bag.
