A Living Wage Should Be A Constitutional Right

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1363608
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Sure, I guess we could pass a constitutional amendment by two-thirds majorities of both the House and the Senate, then get it approved by three-quarters of all the state legislatures. Seems easier to me to just pass legislation by simple majorities and get it signed by Biden, but your way would work too.

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Very funny! – but I guess one response would be to point out that legislation, while easier to enact, is also easier to erase.

Not true for very popular legislation, of course.

Alaska has a permanent fund that furnishes additional money for its residents.

It should have been pointed out that this fund, without context is misleading.
Oil revenues are a shared resource in Alaska.

As of 2019, the fund was worth approximately $64 billion that has been funded by oil revenues and has paid out an average of approximately $1,600 annually per resident.

ref wiki

Suspiciously missing is an analog for the rest of the US. Whoops.
Secondarily, define living wage where it would be FAIR across the entire spectrum… I dare ya.

I’d hazard to say he’s well aware of the obvious distinctions between a Constitutional amend and a law. It’s spelled out in the recognition of the complexity of amendments. :upside_down_face:

A living wage should be indexed to current prices, according to an ironclad formula, so that we never, ever, have to fight this battle again.

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A living wage is for “the poors.” Why would the GOP even consider this as a right under the Constitution? Most of the GOP think that if you aren’t working three jobs to support your family, you are a slacker socialist looking for handouts.

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You go for the highest, e.g. maybe that would be CA. So, the people in WV, Joe Manchin’s state would benefit more. What harm could that do? We give abundantly to certain industries without regard for the impact per area.
Please, don’t play the unfair to small business card.

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A Living Wage Should Be A Constitutional Right

While we’re at it, it should be illegal for children to get cancer. And puppies should never get hit by a car.

Sorry but, that makes no sense at all and the only person playing and cards is you, from the bottom of the deck by claiming I am.

That’s wrong and we should change it, not codify it into law. Perhaps reflect a bit more on your thought processes prior to posting. They seem a bit muddled.

Episodic delirium makes for a more interesting person.

Speaking of… last night… just about hit the same little scamp for the third time. So I stopped, picked the little guy up walked up to his owner’s door… short version, ‘next time I’m not taking evasive action’ or words to that effect.

Which you didn’t mean, of course.

…don’t tell anyone…I even have a cat.

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If you look closely you can see the image of Trump on her side

Because of the backwards way our politics work, sometimes you need to fight for the pie-in-the-sky plan to get the reasonable policy passed.

I’m a fan of “going big” by brushing off and updating these proposed amendments:

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On the list of idealistic and well-intentioned proposals, I would put this at a lower priority than singlepayer health care, which we might actually be able to achieve one of these days.

A guaranteed minimal income would not solve the problem of our antiquated and exploitative healthcare system. The level of taxation required for a guaranteed income would probably put off a major reform of of that system indefinitely.

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Does everyone get cake?

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And a pony. Don’t forget the pony.

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