They finally admit they believe you are too stupid to make your own choices.
– Sen. Delores G. Kelley (Democrat – Baltimore County), who is much smarter than you are. Just ask her.
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How to Manage Your Debt
A helpful document from the Federal Government.
Presented without comment.
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They will never learn
Mary Pat Clarke thinks that if the city says you must pay a living wage, then it will be so.
Retailers that are part of a chain that grosses more than $10 million annually would be required to pay employees the living wage rate under Clarke’s proposal.
“This would apply to the businesses that can afford to do this, not the mom-and-pop stores on the corner,” Clarke said.
Opponents of a plan to build a Walmart store in Remington, who have formed a group called Bmore Local, have asked that the city require businesses that move into the former site of Anderson Automotive on Howard Street to meet several criteria, including paying workers the state’s designated living wage of $12.25 per hour.
Or, she knows it will keep large retailers (Walmart) from polluting empty car dealerships and providing inexpensive goods to poor people. Or something.
Mary, you need an Economics lesson. First, if what you do isn’t worth the “living” wage, you do not make the “living” wage. You make $0. Further, the ability of poor people to obtain inexpensive sundries goes away, as companies who sell inexpensive things we all need (the evil Wal Mart) won’t open stores here.
Second, that “they can afford it” isn’t relevant. I can “afford” a Ferrari (I really could… pay cash for it, too). But I don’t, because I’d rather retire at 55. Companies make choices like that all the time about pesky little things like Return on Investment and Profit Margins. But forcing companies to pay more for labor than the market will bear is exactly like forcing me to buy a Ferrari to keep Italians employed.
I guess it sounds good, so they’ll just ignore the basic Economic facts and keep making it more difficult to do business in Baltimore and more difficult for poor people to get the things they need for low prices. Or BMore Local has more campaign contribution clout.
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The folly of ‘banning’
A great post yesterday from When Falls the Coliseum on banning drinking games for children to keep them from drinking.
Because most of the kids playing beer pong and quarters and asshole are certainly buying drinking game sets and not just playing drinking games. And once they can’t buy the sets, there’s no way they’ll play beer pong, which requires obscure items like cups and a ping-pong table. And there’s no way they’ll play quarters, unless they can somehow get their hands on a quarter. And playing asshole is out of the question, because only the rich kids have a deck of cards.
My only additional comment: While pretty much anyone can see how remarkably stupid this legislation is, we continue to support the use of force to ban any number of other things, also quite stupidly.
Link via Reason
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Legislative Logic
In Mass, the legislature wants to increase the tax on people who own and license a dog by $3. Alone, this is certainly not the most outrageous thing you’ll see today, but the explanation of why they need the tax revenue is pure awesome.
But state Sen. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) argued the fee is necessary to fund a state spay-and-neutering plan meant to snip the state’s out-of-control problem with strays.
“The number of abandoned animals has gone through the roof over the past few years,” Jehlen said. “Shelters are euthanizing animals because they have too many.”
So, they are increasing the tax on people who register, spay and neuter their dogs to pay for spaying and neutering of dogs.
Really? So what do you think will happen? I know what I would do (in fact, it is what I’ve done). My dog would not be registered.
Windy Recycling Day 