To the editor,
Ben Eisen's facts and figures in the June 9th edition of The News are misleading. He claims that minimum wage hikes miss the target and cause collateral damage. He claims that they kill jobs, and that workers should know that there is no “free lunch.” To describe $9 to $9.50 an hour as a free lunch is not only laughable, it smacks of callous ignorance and total disregard for the human dignity of the lowest paid workers in this country. He goes on to say that we should "top up" the earnings of low income families (he says nothing of low income single people). Could it be that Mr. Eisen is actually advocating for a guaranteed minimum income? Somehow I doubt it.
Look at the byline. The Frontier Centre for Public Policy, sponsored by Troy Media, is an ultra-conservative, right wing entity. Mr. Eisen goes on to say that “a recent Canadian study showed that about one-third of minimum wage earners belong to households that are in the top half of the income distribution.” Really? Tell that to the single person trying to get by on minimum wage.
Tells us which workers you are accounting for here. Perhaps it is the legions of teens and university students who toil at McJobs, while still living in the homes of their parents? Oh, and tell us about their benefits! Paying people what they are worth goes a long way to improving their morale, makes them feel appreciated, thus allaying their feelings of helplessness and very likely encourages them to become more active in their communities. To say that increasing the minimum wage is not "sophisticated" is just plain silly. Smart employers know full well that the better they treat their employees, the better their enterprises fare.
Céline Papillon, New Glasgow
Federal Green Party Candidate
Central Nova
