The Case Against Privatization

Losing thousands of jobs should be enough of a reason for Pennsylvania Republicans to abandon their ploy to privatize our liquor store system, but if you need yet another reason, just look to Lehigh County.

Near Allentown last week, police had to chase down a 19-year-old who allegedly ripped off $300 worth of booze from a local grocery store – and drank a lot of it, apparently. Grocery stores that are able to now sell six- and 12-packs of beer like to tell you they have total oversight of their alcoholic wares, but this story begs to differ.

The hard-working members of the United Food and Commercial Workers, employed by the PA Liquor Control Board in the Commonwealth Wine & Spirits Stores, do a great job keeping minors away from booze, and there is very little chance that a 19-year-old could go into a wine and spirits store and get away with so much stolen alcohol. The same is true at a beer distributor.

Our liquor store workers deserve recognition for the good job they do, and they deserve to keep their jobs so they can help keep Pennsylvanians safe and responsible.

When Politics Destroys Minimum Wage Reason

Many people like to use numbers to back up an argument, but we have to guard against those who twist numbers to support their warped ideas.

Case-in-point: the American Enterprise Institute.

AEI has had the temerity to use Federal Reserve Bank statistics to further its argument against raising the minimum wage. Specifically, the institute is claiming that Seattle’s recent minimum wage hike to $11 cost 1,300 restaurant workers their jobs.

Surprisingly, Forbes.com, which usually argues against minimum wage increases, pointed out where AEI had gone wrong – and was wrong for twisting the numbers.

“Yes, there was a drop during April of 1,000 jobs, just as the $11 an hour local minimum wage went into effect. And what happened in May? A gain of 800 jobs. If the higher minimum wage were such a job killer, why would there have been a rebound?” Forbes.com writer Erik Sherman wrote. “When you selectively pick time frames and try to show a positive cause of change in a few months’ worth of data, you’re treading on slippery ground.”

AEI is not the only one that’s guilty of being less than forthcoming about the realities of the minimum wage. Others do it, too. You only have to study a little bit of history to understand that their arguments are not – and have never been – true.

Economy Murmurings

The time is now to find work. The labor market appears to be tightening.

“The hires rate rose to a year-to-date high of 3.7%,” BusinessInsider.com reported Wednesday. “The quits rate, which measures workers who voluntarily resign, held steady at 1.9%. The job openings rate was 3.6% for a third straight month. And, the number of hires was 5.2 million, virtually unchanged month-on-month.”

Elsewhere, retail sales across the country increased as, it appears, more workers are gaining confidence in the longevity of their jobs and the confidence they can spend some of the money they are earning.

“Retail sales increased 0.6 percent last month, broadly in line with economists' expectations. June's retail sales were revised up to show them unchanged instead of the previously reported 0.3 percent drop,” Reuters.com reported.

Economists are also expecting revisions in second quarter growth as factory inventories and import performance were better than originally tallied.

CEO Pay, Revealed

Cloaked in mystery, the salaries of CEOs of major American corporations will soon come out from underneath the shroud according to the New York Times.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule that would mandate the majority of public companies to be transparent about the ratio of CEO pay in comparison to wages earned by employees.

Corporations strenuously objected to the rule which will now make it possible for companies to compare the pay of their top executives.

I say that any effort to bring pay fairness at the corporate level is a victory.