Letters

What raise will wreak

I read the letter in which the writer said Bradley Gitz should try to make a living on $7.50 an hour. I have great sympathy for anyone trying to make a living on minimum wage, especially with a family. It can't be done. However, I know raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will not help them for the following reasons.

One, a lot of people believe jobs will not be lost if the minimum wage increases, but they will be. If a business cannot make a profit, it will close down. It will have to.

Two, I know people who have special training and have worked at jobs for 10 to 20 years who are not making much more than $15 an hour. What will happen to them? Will they now be working for minimum wage?

Three, there will be a cost-push effect in the economy. The cost of the wage increase will be added to everything. Cost of materials to run a business will go up. Cost of food, clothing, appliances, cars and houses will go up. And of course, those people who worked to get special education and training and who have seniority at their jobs will not be content to work for minimum wage. They will have to have a raise also. As a result, more jobs will be lost.

In the end we will be right back where we started. The minimum wage will be $15 an hour. People with education and training will get $30 an hour. All products and consumer goods will increase accordingly. People still will not be able to make a living on minimum wage. The only difference will be fewer jobs available as a result.

The only way to make a better living is by getting more education and training to be able to qualify for a better job. Luckily in this country there are many opportunities for people to achieve this goal.

SALLY J. MAYS

Roland

Addressing the myths

Bradley Gitz refers to myths surrounding the issue of income inequality. He is careful to use as many ad hominem arguments and phrases as possible, referring to Pravda, Marx, "left-wing fever swamps," etc. He puts "compassion" in quotation marks, as if to imply that right-thinking people are suspicious or dismissive of such a notion.

He suggests that the poor should look in the mirror for the source of their problems. I can imagine how this might work. One man might look in the mirror and see someone who was injured in a coal mine accident. If he had been smart he would have gone in for accounting, or maybe journalism. Someone who worked her whole life in the garment industry might see a middle-aged woman with no training or even opportunities for any other work. Many poor young men would look at a dark-skinned face; if they had only known, they could have chosen to be born of white parents. High-school kids might look at the reflection of someone about to graduate but having no meaningful education for whatever comes next. A haunted-looking young man with a buzz haircut would see himself surrounded by dead bodies of his fellow soldiers. He should get a grip, and a job.

Compassion is one way to help the poor, and it is important. But food pantries and homeless shelters cannot solve the issue of poverty. About a generation ago, higher-education recruiters began to speak of the cost of college as an investment. It can be argued that the country should think of social justice and equity of opportunity as investments. The top of the income scale should realize the value of this investment. When people have opportunities for productive work, self-respect, safe living arrangements, and hope for the future, they participate in the democratic process and the whole country is better off.

ETHEL C. SIMPSON

Fayetteville

Hair double-standard

Natural hair is natural hair; no matter how "kinky," "poofy," "frizzy," "untamed," or "straight" it is. Your natural hair is the way your hair looks before you apply any heat, chemicals, or gel. Natural hair is different for different people. It's concerning that when I look up the words "natural hair" on Google Images, the only pictures that show up are ones of African American women. There are no pictures of a Caucasian woman's natural hair.

Why is my natural hair considered unprofessional? My hair shouldn't be a problem when it's not a problem for others when their hair is natural. I guess it's just another issue we have with double-standards.

TORI RICKS

Sherwood

Downsizing a garden

A walk down the produce aisle at Wal-Mart is very educational. As one can see, vegetables are expensive. Like many people who have had gardens in past years, but are unable to physically work a garden anymore, it is possible to reduce the garden spot to a size that would fit one's physical capabilities. Such as a tire garden.

At a local tire store, they have numerous tires of various sizes that are unserviceable. These old tires can be cut to make a tire garden by cutting the rim side out about six inches on one side or both sides. For a small fee, the tire store made me a couple of tire gardens. All I had to do was dig a hole to fit the tires and fill it with manure and topsoil. After mixing the soils and watering the soil down so it will bond, the tire garden is ready for use. Virtually any type of vegetable can be grown in a tire garden and could possibly produce all that would be needed for a person.

A tire garden could last for decades. So where you put it requires some forethought and vision of the future. Digging one up or moving it is harder than putting one in. Usually, taking care of a tire garden is more pleasure than work and allows one to do some gardening. It's good therapy.

LUCIAN SIMMONS

Oil Trough

Adopt an animal now

According to www.dosomething.org, "approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren't enough adoptive homes." Yes, Arkansas is a state that euthanizes animals. A simple alternative to this method would be to increase the space in local shelters by adopting.

Why adopt from a shelter? Because it is less money to adopt from a shelter than to buy from a breeder, and 25 percent of animals that are brought into shelters are purebred anyway. Also, when you adopt, many shelters include vaccines and spaying/neutering in the adoption fee. Besides saving money, you get the lifetime bond of having this pet in your new life. It's been proven that having a pet reduces stress and loneliness, increases responsibility, and helps you stay active.

With all of these in mind, you should really be certain before you make this big of a commitment; that's why shelters allow you to interact with the animals before you have to make your decision so that you're 100 percent sure that that's your new best friend.

To help decrease the number of animals being euthanized not only around the country, but here in Arkansas, please contact your local shelter.

ANNA DeSALVO

Little Rock

I hear it's hot there ...

Ted and Carly: a match surely made in hell. Our worst nightmare (among several), if it should ever come to pass.

JOHN MITCHELL

Maumelle

Editorial on 05/02/2016

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