http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428 As we approach the 2006 US Elections the focus so far has been all about on the Republican majority in both houses. The war in Iraq, the economy, Katrina, and most recently the Mark Foley scandal have made the election a referendum on the GOP in general. en-us Mon, 9 Oct 2006 10:56:28 EST Thu, 5 Apr 2007 07:55:29 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#56 <a href="http://freewebtown.com/rxpills/altacea">altace</a> <a href="http://rx.sunwave.com/tamiflut">tamiflu</a> <a href="http://rx.sunwave.com/amiodaronea">amiodarone</a> <a href="http://rx.sunwave.com/norvascn">norvasc</a> Thu, 5 Apr 2007 07:55:29 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#55 <a href="http://blatterbb.gleds.com.es">blatter bestimmen</a> <a href="http://top-crafttcr.gleds.com.es">top craft rasenmaher</a> <a href="http://kleeska.lieu.com.es">klees autovermietung</a> <a href="http://marc-pfeffermp.aecr.com.ar">marc pfeffer</a> <a Thu, 8 Feb 2007 00:16:24 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#54 <a href="http://side-effectsseotdz.pill961.us">side effects of the drug zocor</a> <a href="http://metforminmi.pill810.us">metformin insulinresistenz</a> <a href="http://altaceaa.pill9.us">altace and</a> <a href="http://cymbaltacx.pill563.us">cymbalta xanax Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:02:52 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#53 <a href="http://on-rightorhso.ziana.com.ar">on right hand side of</a> <a href="http://anzeigenaz.pouff.com.es">anzeigen zeitungen</a> <a href="http://daimlerdcg.pouff.com.es">daimler chrysler germany</a> <a href="http://englischeem.hpes.com.ar">englische m Tue, 19 Dec 2006 06:43:00 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#52 Did you see me QL on the sidebar titled "Sad"? It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of economists don't support raising the minimum wage. <p> In all seriousness, it is sad. If these economists think they are right, that must mean they believe Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:44:29 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#51 <i><br> The answers aren't easy, they aren't able to be put into 30 second spots.</i><p> Fine. Web Space is cheap. I'm sure TnT, small budget that it has would be willing to publish "the answers" that the Democrats have on foreign policy. I'm a big boy, I Thu, 12 Oct 2006 16:26:51 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#50 Damn right! Pelosi would be SO much worse than a fine, honorable, upstanding, straight-shooter like Denny Hasturt. Why, if Nancy Pelosi is voted House Majority leader Congress will be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Imagine, Congressmen nailing underage boys with Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:18:31 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#49 Well, it isn't a book, but <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15227667/"> this </a> article might surprise you, SU.<p> Of course, 650 economists (including five Nobel Prize winners in the same field) could be wrong, and you could be right. Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:31:26 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#48 The answers aren't easy, they aren't able to be put into 30 second spots. The answers are there, Kerry has said this since he was running in 04, fighting terrorism is a catch the criminals thing now, no more invading countries just because they might have Thu, 12 Oct 2006 09:29:58 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#47 "do you see the same Godfatherish connotations in the Republican's use of the term "contract"<p> Don't you guys remember that the Democrats response was to refer to it as "The Contract <i>on</i> America"? Even after Clinton had signed most of it into law D Wed, 11 Oct 2006 18:35:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#46 <i>"Port security remains abysmal, for instance, and Osama is at serious risk of dying of old age. Yep, nothing quite says, "tough on terrorism" like letting the man who killed 2,000 Americans go scot free for five years. But I guess pointing this out is i Wed, 11 Oct 2006 17:28:28 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#45    Well, I wasn't crazy-- there was a link that featured this expression. Problem is, it was a <a href="http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=2200">political humor site</a> from the Right. What can I say? The place looked legit at a glance, and the book Wed, 11 Oct 2006 16:33:45 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#44 Again, I'm not sure why you think a finding that minimum wage increases did not appear to have a connection with the training of workers already hired refutes Neumark's paper. <p>   Wed, 11 Oct 2006 16:26:57 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#43 I know reading is fundamental.  Maybe you should try it.  To quote:<p> The fourth section discusses the empirical results. We find little evidence linking minimum wages to reductions in the percentage of the establishment workforce receiving trai Wed, 11 Oct 2006 15:31:00 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#42 In the interest of fairness, two points:<p> <ol> <li value="1">The term "Contract With America" is my addition, not Nancy Pelosi's. I found no instance of her or any other Democrat (save me) using the term to describe her plan. I read what she put forth a Wed, 11 Oct 2006 12:55:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#41     If the Dems do manage to retake the House, the first order of business should be keeping Pelosi out of the Majority Leader post*. Christ, over a year of preparation and this is the best hype she could muster? Even DailyKos didn't notice, unle Wed, 11 Oct 2006 11:45:35 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#40 <i>You misunderstood what I said. If there were no minimum wage, some workers that as of now are priced out of the labor market would get hired. </i><p> I looked back and you're right, it could have been taken that way. I was kind of mixing your point with Wed, 11 Oct 2006 09:33:59 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#39 I'd read this, but your arguments are too thin. Tue, 10 Oct 2006 22:47:18 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#38 "To claim that only the economically ignorant would support a higher minimum wage in the US is simply slanderous "<p> Given the general consensus, isn't the burden of modesty on those that advocate raising the minimum wage? But you never hear them admit to Tue, 10 Oct 2006 21:01:43 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#37 "earlier you argued that if there were no minimum wage, the free market would raise the wages of some of the less skilled workers. Wouldn't then, by your own argument, fewer workers be hired, hence, more unemployment?"<p> You misunderstood what I said. If Tue, 10 Oct 2006 20:52:43 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#36 Forgive me for not considering that paper enough to overturn the consenus.<p> Is the unskilled labor market subject to significant oligopsony effects? I don't think that it is. Minimum wage laws could increase an oligopsony effect, as larger employers are Tue, 10 Oct 2006 19:27:25 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#35 <i>It illustrates the fallacy that without a minum wage everyone would be working for 10 cents an hour.</i><p> I don't believe that would happen without minimum wage, and I don't think the Democratic party believes that either. On the other hand, I do thin Tue, 10 Oct 2006 19:15:47 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#34 <a href="http://www.lowpay.gov.uk/lowpay/research/pdf/t0IEZEJ8.pdf">One example</a> (pdf), the low pay commission's analysis of the UK's 2003 NMW increase and its effects on employment.<p> Obviously the minimum wage can't be set arbitrarily but it has econ Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:57:21 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#33 California's- 2 million? 3 million? illegal aliens operating outside minimum wage laws aside, you've set up a false dichotomy. The economic impact of minimum wage laws must be measured on the parts of a large economy actually effected by such laws . This i Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:47:28 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#32  "if wages at the bottom were lower, more people would be working"<p> At least some of them, yes.  There are some workers employers would be willing to hire if allowed to pay them less than minimum wage, and there are some jobs that would exist t Tue, 10 Oct 2006 17:55:54 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#31 Yeah, you can see how California's economy is doing so much worse because the minimum wage is $7.25.  Wait.  You mean it's doing better than most of the country?  How could that be?  <p> By the way, the NBER study discusses the influenc Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:23:25 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#30 Whoops.. I left off a small portion of my comment somehow in the cut and paste... Anyway, there was supposed to be an "or" after the "either because they are more skilled" part. "Or" being simply that there are employers out there who believe in paying all Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:19:46 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#29 <i>Only about 2% of workers earn the minimum wage.</i><p> I'm not sure what the numbers are, but that could be between thousands and millions of people, couldn't it?<p> <i>It doesn't prop up anyones wages, it merely excludes the lowest productive workers.< Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:09:08 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#28 Well good, that's why I waited to hear from you before downmodding all your comments myself.  No problem. Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:37:15 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#27 Only about 2% of workers earn the minimum wage.  It doesn't prop up anyones wages, it merely excludes the lowest productive workers. You use Wal-Mart as an example, Wal-Mart already pays most of it's employees more than minimum wage. Force them to pay Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:27:26 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#26 Sorry about that, actually... I was kinda playing around with the moderation system and was seeing what it let you do and didn't do.  Apparently its way more liberal than I thought possible.  The "rate all" button doesn't seem to do what I though Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:21:47 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#25 It's kinda lame to argue with my points and then go and downmod them all as well.  Couldya pick one or the other?<p> Or maybe join me in asking the site coders to force people to choose one or the other?<p> You have to admit it's pretty cheesy. Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:08:27 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#24    Oh, where to start? Not that I'm upset with your reply, I just have a jumble of things to say, and no clear idea what order to put them in.<br>     For being a big national push, this is getting very little media attention. Google is Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:06:15 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#23 <i>If the desire is to improve the lot of the poor, let employers hire them at market wages</i><p> I know little about economic theory, but on the face of it, this sounds like a terrible idea to me. I'm going to follow this up with an anecdote, which I kno Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:47:48 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#22  "That would be the argument that raising the minum wage "trickles up" and causes wage inflation at all levels of the economy."<p> I would hope no economists are making that argument.<p> " your other claims (job losses, reduced hours) are quite contro Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:04:34 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#21 <i>I'm almost entirely focused on national security/terrorism</i> <p> The terrorists have already won. Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:47:38 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#20 <i>There are so many empirical studies you could easily look them up yourself if you actually cared about the facts of this matter.</i><p>Indeed, and I did, which is why I asked you to present your argument. There are a variety of reasons people claim rais Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:47:28 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#19 "Like you could just link to all those empirical studies demonstrating  a link between minimum wage increases and market-wide wage inflation, general inflation, or job loss."<p> There are so many empirical studies you could easily look them up yoursel Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:18:17 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#18 So are you saying if they raised the minimum wage too much we'd all die of Pulmonary Oxygen Toxicity? Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:05:25 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#17 If breathing is so great why don't you inject liquid oxygen into your lungs under pressure? Tue, 10 Oct 2006 12:45:04 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#16 <i>Like you could just link to all those empirical studies demonstrating  a link between minimum wage increases and market-wide wage inflation, general inflation, or job loss.</i><p> If raising the minimum wage doesn't increase inflation or job losses Tue, 10 Oct 2006 12:32:50 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#15 That's what I thought.<p> You sure you don't want to play? I mean, if your position is so superior that you'd have to be 'ignorant of basic economics' to disagree it should be real easy, right? Like you could just link to all those empirical studies demons Tue, 10 Oct 2006 08:18:06 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#14 My top 5 issues:<p> <ol> <li value="1"> Secure Elections:  Making sure that elections are run fairly is a baseline without which we cannot have a democracy.<p> <li value="2"> Civil Rights:  Yes, even for non-citizens.  Yes, this i Tue, 10 Oct 2006 02:48:17 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#13 I'd like to see you go buy a book on economics and read it. Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:09:33 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#12 I think some of the coverage of <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20061009/1044234.asp">Joe Biden</a> proposing to partition Iraq illustrates both that Democrats do have some ideas, and the difficulty of getting them out in the press.  Bid Mon, 9 Oct 2006 23:22:40 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#11 <i><br> Hm, how is "implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendations" nothing on National Security?  </i><p> A fair point Thalia, and I concede it freely. My comment was more targeted to the idea of no ideas native to the party on National Security, bu Mon, 9 Oct 2006 20:13:23 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#10 Hm, how is "implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendations" nothing on National Security?  <p> How is "break the link between lobbyists and legislation" not original, or significant?<p> How is "don't spend money unless you get more money, or reduce s Mon, 9 Oct 2006 19:45:30 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#9 <i><br> Hey, I know the writeup asks us to consider Pelosi's suggestions, but she's hardly the top national figure in the party.</i><p> If the democrat's want to spin this as a contract with america if they take congress then it doesn't matter if Pelosi is Mon, 9 Oct 2006 18:31:34 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#8 Ah, I see.  Support for a higher minimum wage = Ignorance of basic economics. I'd like to see you make that case. Mon, 9 Oct 2006 18:10:33 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#7   Hey, I know the writeup asks us to consider Pelosi's suggestions, but she's hardly the top national figure in the party. You want ideas, Howard Dean has a few, and he might even share them if you ask nicely. Universal health care, an old Democratic Mon, 9 Oct 2006 15:59:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#6 The minimum wage silliness. Though to be fair, since many Union members have pay which is scaled in proportion to whatever the minimum wage is, it's a method of rewarding consitutents under the guise of being altruistic. Some Democrats know this, so perhap Mon, 9 Oct 2006 14:51:05 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#5 Nothing on national security huh?<br> No rollback of the Patriot Act or any of the other nifty laws passed in the past couple years. <p> No plan for Iraq.<p> No plan for Afghanistan/Iran.<p> Not a damn single original idea other than the general rubric of Mon, 9 Oct 2006 14:41:04 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#4 <i>the inability to have an agenda which isn't ignorant of basic economics despite being only 6 piddling items long</i><p>Oh please do explain. Mon, 9 Oct 2006 14:40:22 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#3 Remember when Democrats wanted to change the world?  What does it say when that's the extent of your agenda they are willing to admit to in public? It's laughable. I'm not sure what's more amusing, the faddish inclusion of stem cells research,  t Mon, 9 Oct 2006 13:39:30 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#2    I'm not sure I ever bought into the Democrat sweep in the first place. Think about it-- what sells in the media? Conflict. And there's nothing interesting in a Republican majority cruising to a twelfth year in power, or Bush going the last two Mon, 9 Oct 2006 12:54:47 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2006/10/6/145910/428#1 This comic strip might sum it up.  <a href="http://www.comics.com/wash/candorville/index.html">http://www.comics.com/wash/candorville/index.html</a> Mon, 9 Oct 2006 10:59:51 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/