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Air Force General Chuck Yaeger test-piloted some of the hottest jet and rocket planes in the late 1940’s and 50’s, including flying the X-1 experimental rocket plane 34 times. He was well-known in the Air Force for his careful preparation and his evaluation of risks. During an interview a long time ago Yaeger made this statement about test flying hot aircraft that has stuck with me: “There are old pilots and there are bold pilots—but there are no old, bold pilots.” That line gives everyone something to think about. In the current street and legislative battles about the minimum wage, we seem to have nothing but bold CEOs and Chambers of Commerce leaders gutting the middle class with psychopathic greed, saying a minimum wage of $7.25 is enough–or too much.
This is the classic battle between wealth and the peasants and the pissants that has been taking place for centuries. Wealth creates businesses that require the rest of us to be little cogs in the big profit-making machines. Greed is only good for psychopaths who fear the power of unions working together to further the interests of workers. If they have the power, they can take the limo to the bank unimpeded. To paraphrase Yaeger, there are old CEOs who have experienced economic  history over a period of time and have learned that a strong middle class with power is essential to a growing  economy. But it seems now our business leaders have gone rogue, boldly using unregulated Darwinian economics, not recognizing that their system is rigged, corrupt, and failing because they are failing to maintain a moderate, balanced, educated society. We have too few old business CEOs and too many bold CEOs who will not survive long. And if we study history we have seen this many times before.

“Cut Off The Thumbs... And Then The Heads”

Just before the French Revolution in 1789 when many wealthy and aristocratic French lost their heads to the guillotine, Jean-Paul Marat, an angry Paris pissant and pamphleteer, urged his fellow pissants: “Rise up you unfortunates of the city, workmen without work, street stragglers sleeping under bridges, beggars without food or shelter, vagabonds, cripples and tramps, prowlers along the highways,...cut the thumbs off the aristocrats who conspire against you; split the tongues of the priests who have preached servitude.” The Roman Catholic Church hierarchy in France sided with King Louis XVI and the aristocracy—at first. But later on they picked the winning side to escape beheading by the “National Razor.” Even Google couldn’t find the source of the following quote from this revolutionary period, but it is a thing of beauty and summarizes the philosophy of the pissants of the period: “The French Revolution will be complete when the last priest is strangled with the guts of the last lawyer.”
In the 18th Century, when sea pirates stalked the shipping lanes of many countries, we also had old and bold pirates, but most of the bold ones ended up with heads on pikes in the harbors of the world. The most famous pirate of those times practiced an entrepreneurial form of capitalism scoffed at by most of his pirate contemporaries and the greedy CEOs of today.  He often made profitable deals with countries to raid the shipping of enemies–sort of like WalMart and Burger King today. Blackbeard had three good ships and knew how to keep the loyalty and his experienced crews working hard. Blackbeard was no greedy dummy. As the pirate leader he got two shares of any loot, his second in command got a share and a half, and each member of the crew got a full share. In other words, he made only double of his lowest worker. If wounded during attacks, crew members were awarded additional shares. Sort of like health insurance. Blackbeard had a reputation of keeping accurate accounts, not like Arthur Anderson of Enron bankruptcy fame.
Blackbeard and his crews shared expenses, and his articles of agreement, rigidly enforced, guaranteed his “social contract” with his 150 fellow plunderers. Blackbeard did lose his head after terrorizing the American coast for years. He was killed with 20 sword cuts and five bullets according to legend before his beheading. His head was cut off and hung from the bowsprit of the victorious ship. I suppose many of the CEOs now have their MBAs from prestigious business schools, but I think many could learn empathy, honesty, good accounting practices, and many excellent personnel practices from this old–but not bold–pirate.

What Should The Minimum Wage Be?

Back in 1968 the minimum wage was raised from $1.40 to $1.60 an hour. Adjusted only for inflation, it would be $10.55 today. But shouldn’t workers share in the living standards established as of 2014? Did the workers in 1968 get a raise based on what happened in the economy and living standards in 1922?  No. Should workers in 2014 get a raise based on the economy and living standards of 1968? Of course not. The workers at the bottom of the salary range today should make enough money so that they have an equal opportunity through education, health, and the four essentials of a civilized life–food, water, air, and shelter-to advance on the ladders of success.
Here is the shocking fact: If the minimum wage had kept pace with the overall growth of the American economy since 1968, the minimum wage would be at $21.16. And it should be.  Actually, even $21.16 an hour would not represent any progress. The wage would be correct because productivity per worker and technology have increased dramatically-and can be evaluated. If our economy is to serve every citizen in the country we can’t use standards from 1922 or 1968 to establish living standards in 2014.  People in the bottom quartile of income not only need food, water, air, and shelter, they must have a good education, healthcare, a computer, access to the Internet, and a cellphone to seek jobs and opportunity. Smoke signals, the passenger pigeon, and the Pony Express are long gone.

Between 2002-12 We Closed 63,000 Factories While Losing 5 Million Good Jobs

We have to recognize that the American Dream is gone. It has turned into a nightmare for our high school and college graduates alike. In 2001, the first year of George W. Bush, 49% of the American people thought their children would live better than they do. Only 43% thought they wouldn’t. Over a decade later 76% thought their children would not live better. Only 21% thought they would live better. Even 75% of the wealthy, the One Percent who presently have 43% of the total wealth of the United States, thought their children would not do as well as they did. This feeling is almost unanimous among political parties. The nation is united by the thought that they have lost faith in the U.S. to recover. Optimism is gone, while citizens worry about growing income inequality and the complete breakdown of our political system, a system bought and paid for by the One Percent trying desperately to preserve their financial advantage.
Even the Harvard Business School, which saw the university recently enriched by a $350 million donation from a Wall Street bankster for its public health program, says the “widening gap between America’s wealthy (whose sons and daughters attend Harvard) and its middle and lower classes is unsustainable.” A survey of 1,947 Harvard alumni working in businesses across the globe agreed that problems with the financing of the U.S. education system, transport infrastructure, and the partisanship of an ineffective political system will make U.S. companies less competitive and less able to pay higher wages. The report called “An Economy Doing Half Its Job” puts the reasons bluntly: “Shortsighted executives may be satisfied with an American economy whose firms win in global markets without lifting U.S. living standards. But any leader with a long view understands that business has a profound stake in the prosperity of the average American. Thriving citizens become more productive employees, more willing consumers, and stronger supporters of pro-business policies. Struggling citizens are disgruntled at work, frugal at the cash register, and anti-business at the ballot box.” Blackbeard  told his pirate crews the same thing.

Can Anyone Live On $7.25 An Hour?

An American citizen on the minimum wage cannot find a one-bedroom apartment or home to rent in the poorest, most run-down county in the United States–like West Virginia mountain coal counties. Federal housing surveys reveal that a one-bedroom apartment in San Mateo County, California will require a person to make $29.83 an hour. In Brooklyn, New York, it will cost a minimum wage of $23.37. Seattle, where a section just raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, still won’t rent a one-bedroom. It will cost you $17.56 an hour. And what are these people going to do for air, water, and food? Food stamps? Food banks? Thrift stores?
Contrary to what conservative think tanks, Republicans, Chambers of Commerce types, and some bold CEOs always yell, companies that pay higher wages offset their expenses by having lower turnover, more cooperative employees, and increased productivity. In 2013 three reputable economists compared businesses in adjoining counties and found that in counties where the minimum wage was increased there was less turnover and less cost in recruiting and  hiring new workers.
The big retailer Costco proves the point every day. Costco’s average wage for hourly employees is $21 while WalMart’s average is about $8.80. Costco reports that the higher pay reduces “shrinkage” (theft), fraud, and errors. If you have shopped both Costco and WalMart the difference in attitudes  among employees is striking. Oh, and Costco makes a reasonable profit without having their employees on food stamps, health programs, and other government subsidies paid by the taxpayers. No wonder the Waltons are the richest family in the world and reign as the kings and queens of American welfare programs.

What Today’s Greedy Psychotic Pirates Have Done To The Middle Class

Back in 2003 when the Bush pirates were establishing their base, families in the middle of the wealth distribution continuum had an inflation-adjusted net worth of $87,992. Not bad. But by 2013 Reagan and Republican trickle-down economics turned to pissed-on economics and the middle net worth dropped to $56,335. The transfer of wealth to the One Percent resulted in ordinary Americans getting 36% poorer. The old pirate Blackbeard would have taken the administration and keel-hauled all of them. Being passed under the keel of a ship by rope–slowly-- can be hazardous to your health.
According to the Labor Department a single worker needs $30,012, or about $14 an hour, to cover basic expenses and save a little for emergencies and retirement. Notice that is twice what the current minimum wage is. A single worker with two young children needs
$57,756 to cover the same things. That’s $27 an hour. A family with two working parents and two young children needs $67,920, or about $16 per hour for each worker. The Census Bureau reports that we have over 14% or Americans living below the poverty line of $22,050 for a family of four. That’s about 44 million Americans.
Some psychotic Republicans don’t want any minimum wage laws, while economists  and Democrats consider anything over $21 to be reasonable, according to the growth in the economy over the last half century. Obama wants Congress to pass $10.10. That’s like asking the One Percent to give a higher percentage of their money to charity than the bottom Ten Percent. At $10.10 we would still have to support Medicaid, food stamps, and other programs for WalMart, McDonalds, and other corporations that rely on the public dole.
At a time when 95% of all economic gains go to the top One Percent, it’s time for the 99 Percent to have a long national strike just to get the attention of the psychopaths who are against the raising of the minimum wage. Wall Street banksters paid out $26.7 billion in bonuses last year with the average employee getting a bonus of $164,000. The bonus equals $82 an hour. When we had a middle class General Motors was the largest employer paying $50 an hour in today’s dollars.  Today it is WalMart pirates who pay $8.80 an hour.

Ed Raymond is a former Marine officer and school board superintendent and resides in Detroit Lakes.