Compassionate Conservatives?
The first map indicates voting in the 2004 Presidential election. The second represents states that meet, exceed or are below the federal minimum wage. Green is above the federal minimum wage, red is below, blue is the same and yellow means there are no state guidelines. The second map is taken from the DOL website.
What does this mean? I'm intrigued that a population of people so enraptured with religion tend to be the least willing to provide their least fortunate residents a living wage. Other than Alaska, there isn't a single red state that exceeds the federal minimum wage. The reason for that is obvious, nobody in their right mind would live in Alaska unless the pay was good.
For me "values" mean that I value other people, respect them, want them to live active, healthy lifestyles. To Republicans "values" mean controlling peoples lives, limiting people and forcing people to accept their ideology through legislation. How can a pregnant woman living by herself on five dollars an hour reasonably be expected to have a child? If society places such little value on the work the mother does then how does that translate to how we perceive her child?
There is an expectation that unskilled workers should work hard, pay taxes and contribute to society. This expectation is unrealistic when we don't give them enough money to live a healthy lifestyle then deny them health insurance. A glance at the percentage of the population without health insurance represents a similar red/blue divide. Massachusetts having one of the highest rates of insured people, Texas with almost the lowest.
What does this mean? I'm intrigued that a population of people so enraptured with religion tend to be the least willing to provide their least fortunate residents a living wage. Other than Alaska, there isn't a single red state that exceeds the federal minimum wage. The reason for that is obvious, nobody in their right mind would live in Alaska unless the pay was good.
For me "values" mean that I value other people, respect them, want them to live active, healthy lifestyles. To Republicans "values" mean controlling peoples lives, limiting people and forcing people to accept their ideology through legislation. How can a pregnant woman living by herself on five dollars an hour reasonably be expected to have a child? If society places such little value on the work the mother does then how does that translate to how we perceive her child?
There is an expectation that unskilled workers should work hard, pay taxes and contribute to society. This expectation is unrealistic when we don't give them enough money to live a healthy lifestyle then deny them health insurance. A glance at the percentage of the population without health insurance represents a similar red/blue divide. Massachusetts having one of the highest rates of insured people, Texas with almost the lowest.
posted by mochi at 8:37 AM
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