12 / May 31, 2014 OPINION The Recorder, Amsterdam, N.Y.

EDITORIAL
Washington politicos want to know which way popular
winds are blowing so they can set their sails accordingly.
Rarely, though, are they as explicit as President Obama in
citing public opinion as a justification for policy. When
pressed to defend his call for a $10.10 minimum wage,
Obama routinely points to the November 2013 Gallup poll
wherein 76 percent of respondents said they favored a
higher minimum wage. A higher minimum wage is what
America wants, asserts the president.
Well, if Washington is going to do what America
wants, the president should propose slashing foreign aid,
because 61 percent of Americans favor that decision
(Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013). And what should
Obama do about the federal budget? Poll respondents
overwhelmingly (85 percent per Robbins/Shaw, March
2013) want budget deficits closed and even favor a consti-
tutional amendment to achieve that outcome. Why hasnt
Obama acceded to these opinion-poll demands?
There are evident problems with poll-driven policy
development. To begin with, pandering to polls isnt real
leadership; poll-driven decisions are instead the epitome
of leading from behind. Further, poll responses vary sig-
nificantly over time and circumstances. Five years ago, 58
percent of Americans opposed gay marriage (as did, coin-
cidentally, Obama). Today, 59 percent approve of same-
sex marriage (Gallup, 2014).
Raising the federal minimum wage sounds good to the
average Joe and Jane. But do they realize a wage hike will
cause job losses, or more precisely, a decrease in job
growth? Professional economists are remarkably consistent
on that question: 79 percent say the trade-off exists. The per-
centage would be even higher if the question were amended
to take into account the magnitude of mandatory wage hikes.
This overwhelming consensus relies not just on the lat-
est Congressional Budget Office report (which projects a
500,000 loss of job growth from Obamas proposed 40
percent minimum wage hike), but also from an impressive
collection of empirical studies and, ultimately, the core
theoretical principle that downward-sloping demand
curves are a universal phenomenon: Higher prices reduce
quantity demanded. The only interesting question is how
large the trade-off is, not whether it exists at all.
Raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8 wouldnt
cause many job losses. Thats because market wages have
moved up since 2009, when the $7.25 floor was imple-
mented. Even McDonalds, the current target of mini-
mum-wage protests, pays entry workers at least a buck
more than the federal minimum. Only an effective wage
hike one that exceeds market-based wages actually
increases wages or causes job losses. Obamas increase to
$10.10 for the federal minimum more than qualifies as an
effective wage hike and will surely lead to fewer jobs.
In assessing those losses, several facts are relevant. First,
nearly everyone starts out in a minimum wage job. Second,
few people stay at minimum-wage jobs very long; they
move up the wage scale quickly with experience and
employer references. Third, a majority of both teen and adult
minimum-wage workers live in households with other, high-
er-wage workers. Single moms who hold minimum-wage
jobs (the favorite focus of the popular media) stay neither
single moms nor at minimum wage jobs very long.
Science, not opinion polls, should guide decisions on
minimum-wage policy. If the president insists on using
opinion polls to fashion policy, he should focus on the
Gallup poll that says only 40 percent of America approves
the way he is handling the economy.
Los Angeles Times
A higher
minimum wage
at what cost?
Thought s on t he Spr i ng Fl i ng
To the editor:
While attending the Spring Fling, I was pleased to
see the harmony and good will, expressed by the
3,000-4,000 people involved.
I did experience one difficult time. My son-in-law
was pushing me around in my wheelchair, and he
stopped to get something to eat, so he applied the
brakes. A woman approached me who I did not
know, but, she knew me. You must visualize what I
was faced with. She was about 35 years old and she
was wearing pink sneakers, red ankle socks, orange
dungarees, a yellow t-shirt and a kelly green jacket.
On her head was a fedora, the front of which, had a
skull and two crossbones. I noticed that she had an
earring in one ear and an earring through her nose.
I never did learn to shut up so I casually asked her
why she didn't have an earring in the other ear. She
said, Now Id look kind of freaky.
I surveyed her entire outfit and I asked her who
helped her choose the color scheme she wore
Liberace?
What bothers me about the Spring Fling is that we
are living in an economically depressed area. Of the
large gathering there, many may not be living in
abject poverty, but they're not in Fat City either.
They are what I call Walkers. There is an absence
of motor vehicles and everyone seemed to be happy
just to be there.
Would it be possible, in addition to the Spring
Fling, to have a Fall Ball or a Summer
Bummer. Listen carefully. May, June, July and
August one Saturday each month. I neglected to
mention April because the weather is so inclement.
I'd also rule out September, because while the
weather is still very good, most of the money avail-
able would be siphoned off by going to the fair and
buying school clothes and supplies. You could draw
people from the East and West End, the Southside
and it would be something to look forward to, just
like we look forward to birthdays and Christmas.
The revenue generated by using these four days
could be conducive to getting Main Street back to
where and what it used to be. I remember as a child
Friday night and Saturday afternoon. From the cor-
ner of Market and Main to the corner of Liberty and
Main, the smell of popcorn, ground coffee and ham-
burgers would tickle the roof of one's mouth. It
would also accommodate all the people with short
bank rolls. There is an upside and a downside to the
vending. Yes they are a little pricey, but, they only
have six hours to accumulate a weeks wages.
Remember outside of meeting people who you
havent seen in years, the economic way of satisfy-
ing one's hunger, is to patronize Emmy Lou's or
Riverside Pizza. You have to realize how much
worth and pleasure there is when one sees a group
this size and you realize Rodney King was right
when he said Why can't we all get along? These
are just opinions from an 87 year old guy who has
to use a wheelchair sometimes. I was a cook com-
mercially for over 50 years and I leave you with this
thought. Old cooks never die, they just smell that
way.
See you next Saturday.
JAMES SHERIDAN
Amsterdam
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
TODAY IN HISTORY
By The Associated Press
Today is Saturday, May 31, the
151st day of 2014. There are
214 days left in the year.
Todays Highlight in History:
On May 31, 1889, some 2,200
people in Johnstown,
Pennsylvania, perished when
the South Fork Dam holding
back Lake Conemaugh col-
lapsed, sending 20 million tons
of water rushing through the
town.
On this date:
In 1594, Italian artist Tintoretto
died in Venice in his mid-70s.
In 1669, English diarist
Samuel Pepys (peeps) wrote
the final entry of his journal,
blaming his failing eyesight for
his inability to continue.
In 1790, President George
Washington signed into law the
first U.S. copyright act.
In 1910, the Union of South
Africa was founded.
In 1913, U.S. Secretary of
State William Jennings Bryan
proclaimed the 17th
Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, providing for popu-
lar election of U.S. senators, to
be in effect.
In 1935, movie studio 20th
Century Fox was created
through a merger of the Fox
Film Corp. and Twentieth
Century Pictures.
In 1949, former State
Department official and
accused spy Alger Hiss went on
trial in New York, charged with
perjury (the jury deadlocked,
but Hiss was convicted in a sec-
ond trial).
In 1961, South Africa became
an independent republic as it
withdrew from the British
Commonwealth.
In 1962, former Nazi official
Adolf Eichmann was hanged in
Israel a few minutes before mid-
night for his role in the
Holocaust.
In 1977, the trans-Alaska oil
pipeline, three years in the mak-
ing, was completed.
In 1989, House Speaker Jim
Wright, dogged by questions
about his ethics, announced he
would resign. (Tom Foley later
succeeded him.)
In 1994, the United States
announced it was no longer
aiming long-range nuclear mis-
siles at targets in the former
Soviet Union.
Five years ago: Dr. George
Tiller, a rare provider of late-
term abortions, was shot and
killed in a Wichita, Kansas,
church. (Gunman Scott Roeder
was later convicted of first-
degree murder and sentenced
to life in prison with no possibil-
ity of parole for 50 years.)
One year ago: A tornado in the
Oklahoma City metro area
claimed eight lives, including
those of storm chasers Tim
Samaras, his son, Paul, and
Carl Young; 13 people died in
flash flooding.
Todays Birthdays: Actor-
director Clint Eastwood is 84.
Singer Peter Yarrow is 76.
Actress Sharon Gless is 71.
Football Hall-of-Famer Joe
Namath is 71. Actor Tom
Berenger is 64. Actor Gregory
Harrison is 64. Actor Kyle Secor
is 57. Comedian Chris Elliott is
54. Actress Lea Thompson is 53.
Singer Corey Hart is 52. Actor
Hugh Dillon is 51. Rapper DMC
is 50. Actress Brooke Shields is
49. Actor Colin Farrell is 38.
Country singer Casey James
(TV: American Idol) is 32. Actor
Jonathan Tucker is 32. Rapper
Waka Flocka Flame is 28.