results for our domestic issue set are as follows:
ABORTION: (18 opinions total)(12) 66.7% stand pro-choice
(5) 27.8% stand pro-life
(1) 5.5% are on the fence
DEATH PENALTY: (15 opinions total)(10) 66.7% support the death penalty
(3) 20.0% do not support the death penalty
(2) 13.3% are on the fence
EUTHANASIA: (14 opinions total)(10) 71.4% support euthanasia
(2) 14.3% do not support euthanasia
(2) 14.3% are on the fence
ON THE SUBJECT OF: ECONOMIC ISSUES
Today we'll be handling economic issues--that is to say, issues relating to the economy and productive capacity of a nation, in addition to the financial upstanding of said nation's citizens.
MINIMUM WAGE
Minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law for someone to be paid. This has cropped up recently as a point of interest for the 2016 presidential election here in the United States; especially between the two democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, both of which support a raised minimum wage, just on different levels ($12 versus $15, respectively). There exist two different stances on minimum wage, however: those who believe minimum wage should be raised, and those who believe wages should remain the same:
PRO-RAISED MINIMUM WAGE PLANKS:- wages have not kept up with inflation; current wages are insufficient to survive with
- hours worked are not proportional to money earned
- would reduce poverty or help low-income families out
- both parties support raising the minimum wage
- worker productivity outpaces wages earned now
ANTI-RAISED MINIMUM WAGE PLANKS:- would increase prices across the board
- would decrease income for businesses (must distribute more to workers)
- more money to low skill, low effort people
- could result in job losses due to wage redistribution
- could result in more government regulations down the road
My questions to you, OT, are these:
Where do you stand on minimum wage? Are you in favor of raising it, or keeping it the same? Do you support the idea of a federally standardized minimum wage (minimum wage is stable across all states instead of on a state-by-state basis)?
LABOR/TRADE UNIONS
Unions were founded during the Gilded Age for exploited workers to gain leverage over their employers. Unions possess immense power when properly regulated, being able to use strategies of collective bargaining or strikes to acquire higher wages, more days off, or safer working conditions. Employers, in order to fight against unions, will use scabs or more violent means to get workers back in line. For this reason, there are people both for the creation and preservation of unions, and those against it:
PRO-UNIONS PLANKS:- protects workers from company abuses like unsafe working conditions, low wages, etc.
- gives workers an equal voice with their employer during deals
- allows workers to collectively bargain for rights as needed
- allows employers to address a single entity (the union) instead of every worker individually, thus saving time
- creates a tight relationship between capital and labor
- protects high skill workers from being unfairly laid off
ANTI-UNIONS PLANKS:- leads to higher prices for products due to higher wages
- makes the United States less competitive (India, China pay their workers less and therefore absorb these lost jobs)
- protects less qualified or productive workers from being fired
- modern federal labor laws make unions unnecessary
- creates an "us vs them" mentality between capital and labor
- influence can be used to interfere with politics (political machines, grafting, etc.)
My questions to you, OT, are these:
Where do you stand on unions? Do you think unions contribute to the economy, or take away from it? Do you support workers being guaranteed safe working conditions, a fair wage, and/or appropriate healthcare options?
FARM SUBSIDIES
Sometimes an especially cruel winter will hit, and a farmer will be caught off guard. His crop, and thus his sole source of income, will be dead. Farm subsidies allow farmers to acquire funds from the government to get their farms back up and running so they can remain competitive and get back to growing crops. Some farmers, however, abuse this luxury, and so there has sprung up two sides to this coin: those who believe farm subsidies should be taken away, and those who believe a few bad apples shouldn't spoil the bushel:
PRO-FARM SUBSIDY PLANKS:- allows disaster-stricken farmers to remain competitive
- gives ailing farmers a helping hand in giving back to the economy
- prevents the already small percentage of farmers from going bankrupt and dropping out
- improves the volume of crops able to be grown or the condition of the farms they're being grown in
ANTI-FARM SUBSIDY PLANKS:- some farmers intentionally kill their crops to acquire subsidies
- subsidies do not have to be repaid, so farmers will rack up money and become inappropriately rich
- many farmers do not use their subsidies on their crop's recovery
- adds on to the already climbing national debt
My questions to you, OT, are these:
Where do you stand on farm subsidies? Do you support farm subsidy programs, or no? Do you think these subsidies should be changed into loans (farmers will be required to repay the money given to them? Should the government implement measures to evaluate who should receive subsidies and who should not?