Issue #2: Boosting the Minimum

Many voters who were angry that minimum wage had not risen in 10 years supported Democratic efforts to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. It would raise the take home pay and allow many to rise above the poverty level. Congress passed the new minimum wage law, but a full-time worker being paid minimum wage at times still cannot rise above the poverty level. Many believe that raising minimum wage would positively affect millions of Americans and it would boost the economy. But the people on the other side of the argument believe that raising the minimum wage would be counterproductive. They believe that minimum wage won't help fight poverty because it only affects a small percentage of the workforce, and most people earning minimum wage are teenagers. It would lead to higher prices and job cuts, which hurt the economy. They belieev that a better way to help the working poor would be to expand the EITC.

I am in agreement with the first side of the argument, the side that is for a rise in minimum wage. I say this because many people out there are struggling to keep themselves and their families over the poverty level. People out there are struggling and just can't live off of minimum wage. People need to understand that not everyone working for minimum wage is a teenager; some people try to live off of minimum wage, and it's almost impossible at the current time. We should boost minimum wage to help the people who need help and who simply need to make more money to survive. The economy would be just fine with raising the minimium wage; people would have more money to put into it. We should raise minimum wage to a wage that anyone can live off of.
Many other people believe that minimum wage needs to rise also. Here is the opinion of people who share my beliefs about this issue:
http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/issuebrief201/

Issue #1: http://alyciass2.blogspot.com/2010/04/jobs-and-welfare-blog-entry.html
Issue #3: http://shannon-thoennes.blogspot.com/2010/04/issue-3-putting-welfare-to-work.html

High court accepts case over violent video games

A California law restricting the sale of violent video games to children is headed to the Supreme Court this week for the final decision. Video game makers think the ban is going too far; the parents of these children should be able to judge is they want their children playing these games, not the Supreme Court. The state, however, believes it has a "legal obligation" to protect these children when the industry can't. The issue with the law is whether it is constitutinal or not, dealing with the right to free speech. Under this law, it is illegal for any person under the age of 18 to buy a video game that is "excessively violent" by the state of California.

I don't neccessarily think that this is a good idea, but I think it's a step in the right direction. While I don't believe that it is the state's, or the Supreme Court's, decision as to what video games children play, I believe that there should be some type of regulation on violent video games. However, I think the system would work fine if parents were in charge of the video games their children play. They can decide whether or not to allow it, not the state. It is a matter of personal opinion, not a legal issue. The constitution gives us all freedom of speech and expression. This law would take away from that freedom.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/26/scotus.violent.video.games/index.html

Body found in sunken South Korea vessel

The body of a lost sailor was discovered in a sunken South Korea ship that went down in March. The sinking of the ship was very mysterious and caused more tension between North and South Korea. They are investigating what actually caused the ship to sink, and many believe that North Korea was somehow involved. The 1,200 ton ship, called Cheonan, sank near the western sea border on March 26th. Forty of the 104 crew members have been confirmed as dead, and 6 are still missing and thought to be dead. 58 of the members of the crew were rescued before the ship sank.

I never really find myself being shocked about stories like this, even though many people died, because they seem to happen all the time. Forty people died in a freak accident that no one knows how it happened and we don't bat an eye. But everything in the world, all the death and destruction, will affect us all somehow in the long run. If I were the family of one of the 6 still missing, I would want to find them. I would just want the closure, even if they just found the body. Also, I would want to find out how the ship sank in the first place. It seems kind of shady to me; something else must have been going on there.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/24/south.korea.ship/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+(RSS%3A+Top+Stories)

Spanish doctors conduct full face transplant

Doctors at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron University Hospital say that they were able to carry out the world's first full face transplant on a man who had been in an accident. They gave the man a new nose, lips, teeth, and cheekbones during the 24 hour surgery. The surgery, which happened in March and required thirty doctors, had good results. He came out of the surgery fine and will have some slight scars, but he is satisfied and very grateful for the surgery. There have been partial face transplants in other parts of the world, but this is the first full face transplant ever attempted.

I can't believe that our medical technology and knowledge has progressed to people being able to get full face transplants. I don't see how it would work out; it must have been very difficult to pull this surgery off. But I think that this is a good thing. If we can perform face transplants, what will we be able to do next? This surgery gave a man who had been in an accident another chance at life. This is a very good thing, but I don't know if this will be of much help to many other people. Is it worthwhile to spend so much time and energy on this kind of surgery when that time could be devoted to worldwide problems, like cancer?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/24/spain.face.transplant/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+(RSS%3A+Top+Stories)

6.3-magnitude quake strikes Papua New Guinea

This Sunday morning at 9:15, Papua New Guinea was struck by an earthquake. It was of a 6.3 magnitude, according to the US geological survey. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths coming from this earthquake. The earthquake's epicenter was reported to be 20 miles east of Lae, Papua New Guinea and 185 miles north of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. The quake's depth was reported to be at 66.2 kilometers.
Just when you think all these earthquakes are over, then you hear about another one. After all these recent earthquakes, like the one in Haiti, it's kind of become expected to hear about more and more happening each and every day, somewhere completely different around the world. I'm starting to get a little concerned about all these earthquakes. While some aren't too bad, some are extremely devastating to the people who live there, and it affects everyone around the world, not just them. I'm wondering why all these earthquakes are coming now; did something change? Or is it just a coincidence? And the thing is, nothing can be done to stop these earthquakes. We just have to let them come then deal with what it leaves behind for us to clean up. I hope this chain of earthquakes is just about done.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/17/papua.new.guinea.earthquake/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+(RSS%3A+Top+Stories)