Trickle Up!

There’s only a few reasons my view of President Obama has dimmed—and I’m glad to say he’s been checking off those concerns of late. The NSA’s overreach was recently partially addressed, drones don’t particularly concern me (they’re horrible, but they’re also an extension of horrible things we’ve been doing for decades). Will Obama be a great President, despite an unpopular Tea Partied Congress that will never compromise to help him achieve anything?

And then, today:

Obama to sign an executive order requiring janitors, construction workers and others working for federal contractors be paid at least $10.10 an hour (nytimes.com)

From the NY Times:

White House officials said they hoped that the order would put pressure on Congress to follow through with across-the-board legislation, sponsored by two Democrats, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and Representative George Miller of California. And they argued that even without success in Congress, the president’s decision to raise the issue over the last year has helped encourage several states to increase the minimum wage within their borders.

“Mr. Obama’s order at most is likely to affect several hundred thousand workers.” But, it changes the culture of what’s acceptable.

Gap between rich and poor, ever-widening? Obama puts his and our money where his mouth and our hearts are.

Trickle up! A more fair society! Immediate cash infused into our economy by those who spend locally, not horde internationally.

Andrew Sullivan: “The gap between low- and high-income households in D.C. is one of the biggest in the country—the third-highest of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., according to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. While the D.C. metro area was spared the worst of the recession, the downturn and subsequence recovery have exacerbated the long-standing differences between the area’s rich and poor.”

From Reddit: “More money exchanging hands faster heats up the economy. It’s good for business. More business means more jobs. Employed people spend more money than unemployed people, heating the economy further, improving business further. IMO the people fighting the increase are the people at the top of the business world who want more money for themselves, not their employees. They may not spend that excess money locally, if at all.”