Seattle sees fallout from $15 minimum wage, as other cities follow suit

Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law is supposed to lift workers out of poverty and move them off public assistance. But there may be a hitch in the plan.

Evidence is surfacing that some workers are asking their bosses for fewer hours as their wages rise – in a bid to keep overall income down so they don’t lose public subsidies for things like food, child care and rent.

Full Life Care, a home nursing nonprofit, told KIRO-TV in Seattle that several workers want to work less.

“If they cut down their hours to stay on those subsidies because the $15 per hour minimum wage didn’t actually help get them out of poverty, all you’ve done is put a burden on the business and given false hope to a lot of people,” said Jason Rantz, host of the Jason Rantz show on 97.3 KIRO-FM.

The twist is just one apparent side effect of the controversial -- yet trendsetting -- minimum wage law in Seattle, which is being copied in several other cities despite concerns over prices rising and businesses struggling to keep up.

The notion that employees are intentionally working less to preserve their welfare has been a hot topic on talk radio. While the claims are difficult to track, state stats indeed suggest few are moving off welfare programs under the new wage.

Despite a booming economy throughout western Washington, the state’s welfare caseload has dropped very little since the higher wage phase began in Seattle in April. In March 130,851 people were enrolled in the Basic Food program. In April, the caseload dropped to 130,376.

At the same time, prices appear to be going up on just about everything.

Some restaurants have tacked on a 15 percent surcharge to cover the higher wages. And some managers are no longer encouraging customers to tip, leading to a redistribution of income. Workers in the back of the kitchen, such as dishwashers and cooks, are getting paid more, but servers who rely on tips are seeing a pay cut.

Some long-time Seattle restaurants have closed altogether, though none of the owners publicly blamed the minimum wage law.

“It’s what happens when the government imposes a restriction on the labor market that normally wouldn’t be there, and marginal businesses get hit the hardest, and usually those are small, neighborhood businesses,” said Paul Guppy, of the Washington Policy Center.

Seattle was followed by San Francisco and Los Angeles in passing a $15 minimum wage law. The wage is being phased in over several years to give businesses time to adjust. The current minimum wage in Seattle is $11. In San Francisco, it’s $12.25.

And it is spreading. Beyond the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week also approved a $15 minimum wage.

New York state could be next, with the state Wage Board on Wednesday backing a $15 wage for fast-food workers, something Gov. Andrew Cuomo has supported. 

Already, though, there are unintended consequences in other cities. 

Comix Experience, a small book store in downtown San Francisco, has begun selling graphic novel club subscriptions in order to meet payroll. The owner, Brian Hibbs, admits members are not getting all that much for their $25 per month dues, but their “donation” is keeping him in business.

“I was looking at potentially having to close the store down and then how would I make my living?” Hibbs asked.

To date, he’s sold 228 subscriptions. He says he needs 334 to reach his goal of the $80,000 income required to cover higher labor costs. He doesn’t blame San Francisco voters for approving the $15 minimum wage, but he doesn’t think they had all the information needed to make a good decision.

Via: Fox News

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Let’s “fix” anti-American politicians: Vote Republican

Beware modern, anti-American progressive Democrats who claim to operate in good faith to solve society’s problems.  Specifically, the insipid Mr. Obama is taking on the federal prison system now that he’s fresh off his latest “fix”  (to which a grousing ally Israel strenuously objects and those that publicly proclaim “Death to America” celebrate): a flaccid, toothless Middle East “agreement” with virtually no oversight which guarantees an unregulated Iran—the world’s largest state-sponsor of terrorism—quick access to nuclear bombs and the permanent lifting of economic sanctions to further reward them in their perpetual Jihadist religious war against the West

Like a monopoly game figure stopping by between million-dollar tax-payer travel-subsidized Hawaiian vacations and jaunts to the world’s best golf courses while partying with millionaires and billionaires, Mr. Obama is “just visiting” prison.  His stated purpose, an overhaul of the criminal justice system: “This huge spike in incarcerations is also driven by non-violent drug offenses where the sentencing is completely out of proportion with the crime.”  Historically, the “spike” in the prison population to which Mr. Obama refers (and objects to) is the direct consequence of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994otherwise known colloquially as the Federal “three strikes” law. 

This statute, essentially adopted by states like California and Washington, mandates life imprisonment if a criminal has been convicted in federal court of a “serious violent felony” (defined as murder, manslaughter, sex offenses, kidnapping, robbery and any offense punishable by 10 years or more with a specific element of use of force or significant risk of force).  This sounds good except for the last element: because serious drug offenses—even wholly non-violent ones—have inherently high mandatory minimum sentences they are often cobbled together.  As a direct consequence per the Federal Bureau of Prisons, almost half or 48.7 percent are in prison for life for drug offenses versus 2.9 percent for homicide, aggravated assault and kidnapping; and 7 percent for sex offenses. 

Ironically, in this we have come full circle: the original writer of this train-wreck of a bill was then-Delaware senator Joe Biden, Mr. Obama’s hapless vice president.  To add insult to injury is Mr. Obama’s Orwellian de facto catch-and-release program: per ALIPAC as of April 2014, of the 68,000 violent criminals (many convicted of murder and rape) have been released into the wild by Obama’s lawless policies. 

One telling example from today in Lubbock, Texas: a briefly detained illegal alien by U.S. Border Patrol, Pedro Alberto Monterroso-Navas from Honduras, was arrested after his initial release for the murder of his girlfriend and kidnapping of children on U.S. soil.  More to the point: how many more 32-year-old Kate Steinles cut down in the prime of life do there have to be by the activities of this underclass of invaders like Mexico’s Francisco Sanchez (deported by the U.S. five times, convicted of seven felonies and shielded by San Francisco, a sanctuary city, where federal immigration laws are not enforced by the locals) before the American people finally wake up to the incalculable human cost of this outrage?  

How many American citizens have been killed or injured in similar circumstances is unknown.  Is there any doubt that the deafening silence coming out of the White House and Mr. Obama’s Justice Department (which maintains crime statistics) know this information and refuse to release it to the public?  

Via: Canada Free Press

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[Commentary] [VIDEO] A Sensible Long-Term Fix for the Highway Trust Fund

Every day, American families get in their vehicles and drive. Whether it’s dropping the kids off at school, commuting to work or going to the supermarket, we rely on our highways, bridges and roads to get us where we need to go.

But can our transportation infrastructure rely on Washington?

A substantial percentage of each state’s transportation budget relies on money from the federal Highway Trust Fund. This fund is financed from gas taxes and provides money for projects such as fixing crumbling highways and bridges.

But the future of the Highway Trust Fund is in doubt. As Americans increasingly drive more fuel-efficient vehicles, money flowing into the fund is dropping. Congress is having a hard time figuring out how to address the resulting gap between the fund’s revenues and expenditures. Moreover, the Highway Trust Fund’s authorization is expiring at the end of the month.

So what should Congress do?

Some lawmakers — including us — want to reform how Washington spends highway money and find savings to close this funding gap. Others take the opposite approach and want to raise taxes.

In recent years, Congress hasn’t been able to solve this impasse. Short-term “patches” that transfer taxpayer dollars into the highway fund have been passed, but this solution is nothing more than a gimmicky Band-Aid.

And it looks like Congress is about to do the same thing at the end of July.

It does not have to be this way.

Instead of more short-term fixes, we believe there’s a sensible way to pass a long-term highway bill that fully funds our highways, roads and bridges, does not increase taxes, grows our economy, creates jobs and reduces the deficit.

Sounds too good to be true?

It’s not. Let’s pair highway funding with modernizing our immigration system for highly skilled workers.

As we saw last Congress, there are forward-thinking bills that would expand opportunities for highly skilled immigrants to come here, grow the economy, create jobs and pay taxes. They are not only good policy, but also a revenue windfall for Washington.

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office has determined several of these bipartisan proposals would generate more than $100 billion in tax revenues. These revenues are more than enough to pay for a long-term highway bill and reduce the deficit at the same time.

Under this approach, there would be no need for higher gas taxes or a new mileage tax, which Pennsylvanians and Hoosiers do not want — and should not have — to pay. More taxes not only mean less economic growth and fewer jobs in our states, but it also means less money for families to spend on groceries or rent, or to save for their children’s education.

This approach also would grow our economy and create jobs for American workers.

For example, each year, our universities churn out tens of thousands of foreign graduates with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Our immigration policy currently forces these graduates to leave and help companies overseas that compete with U.S. firms. Instead, we should be encouraging such graduates to work here, contribute to our economy, pay taxes and help drive innovation, job creation and economic growth.

Via: Roll Call

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Schools Implant IUDs in Girls as Young as 6th Grade Without Their Parents Knowing

Earlier this month, LifeNews.com reported on a high school in Seattle, Washington that is now implanting intrauterine devices (IUD), as well as other forms of birth control and doing so without parental knowledge or permission.

The IUD is known as a long acting reversible contraception, and may even act as an abortifacient. So, a young teen in Seattle can’t get a coke at her high school, but she can have a device implanted into her uterus, which can unknowingly kill her unborn child immediately after conception. Or, if she uses another method, she can increase her chances of health risks for herself, especially if using a new method.

The high school, Chief Sealth International, a public school, began offering the devices in 2010, made possible by a Medicaid program known as Take Charge and a non-profit, Neighborcare. Students can receive the device or other method free of cost and without their parent’s insurance. And while it’s lauded that the contraception is confidential, how can it be beneficial for a parent-child relationship when the parents don’t even know the devices or medication their daughter is using?

As it turns out, Chief Sealth isn’t the only school in Seattle doing this. As CNS News reports, more schools are fitting young girls — as young as 6th grade — with the devices and doing so without their parents knowing.

Middle and high school students can’t get a Coca-Cola or a candy bar at 13 Seattle public schools, but they can get a taxpayer-funded intrauterine device (IUD) implanted without their parents’ consent.

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School-based health clinics in at least 13 Seattle-area public high schools and middle schools offer long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), including IUDs and hormonal implants, to students in sixth-grade and above at no cost, according to Washington State officials.

LARCs are associated with serious side effects, such as uterine perforation and infection. IUDs, specifically, can also act as abortifacients by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg.

The state and federally funded contraceptive services are made possible by Take Charge, a Washington State Medicaid program which provides free birth control to adults who are uninsured, lack contraceptive coverage, have an income at or below 260 percent of the Federal Poverty Level — or, in this case, to teens who don’t want their parents to know they’re on birth control.

In an email exchange with the Washington State Health Care Authority and CNSNews.com, a Take Charge spokesperson acknowledged that underage students are eligible for a “full array of covered family planning services” at school-based clinics if their parents meet the program’s requirements.

Take Charge added that “a student who does not want their parents to know they are seeking reproductive health services is allowed to apply for Take Charge using their own income, and if they are insured under their parents’ plan, the insurance would not be billed.”

When asked if a sixth grader could get an IUD implanted without parental consent, Take Charge told CNSNews.com: “We encourage all Take Charge providers to offer long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) in their clinics. A young person does not need parental consent to obtain a LARC or any other contraceptive method…If the young person is not choosing abstinence, she would be able to select a LARC and have it inserted without parental consent.”

Parents, if you have children in these schools, you need to investigate and complain immediately. And all parents ought to take a look at the health policies of their young daughters’ schools to find out if a similar program is in place where you live.

Via: Life News

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Seattle 6th Graders Can’t Get a Coke at School, But Can Get an IUD

(CNSNews.com) --  Middle and high school students can’t get a Coca-Cola or a candy bar at 13 Seattle public schools, but they can get a taxpayer-funded intrauterine device (IUD) implanted without their parents’ consent.

School-based health clinics in at least 13 Seattle-area public high schools and middle schools offer long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), including IUDs and hormonal implants, to students in sixth-grade and above at no cost, according to Washington State officials.

LARCs are associated with serious side effects, such as uterine perforation and infection. IUDs, specifically, can also act as abortifacients by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg.

The state and federally funded contraceptive services are made possible by Take Charge, a Washington State Medicaid program which provides free birth control to adults who are uninsured, lack contraceptive coverage, have an income at or below 260 percent of the Federal Poverty Level -- or, in this case, to teens who don’t want their parents to know they’re on birth control.

In an email exchange with the Washington State Health Care Authority and CNSNews.com, a Take Charge spokesperson acknowledged that underage students are eligible for a “full array of covered family planning services” at school-based clinics if their parents meet the program’s requirements.

Take Charge added that “a student who does not want their parents to know they are seeking reproductive health services is allowed to apply for Take Charge using their own income, and if they are insured under their parents’ plan, the insurance would not be billed.”

Via: CNS News

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Former Top Counterintel Official: Hack 'Tells the Chinese the Identities of Almost Everybody Who Has Got a U.S. Security Clearance'

FILE - In this June 5, 2015, file photo, a gate leading to the Homeland Security Department headquarters in northwest Washington. Hackers stole personnel data and Social Security numbers for every federal employee, a government worker union said Thursday, June 11, 2015, charging that the cyberattack on U.S. employee data is far worse than the Obama administration has acknowledged. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deeply personal information submitted by U.S. intelligence and military personnel for security clearances — mental illnesses, drug and alcohol use, past arrests, bankruptcies and more — is in the hands of hackers linked to China, officials say.

In describing a cyberbreach of federal records dramatically worse than first acknowledged, authorities point to Standard Form 86, which applicants are required to complete. Applicants also must list contacts and relatives, potentially exposing any foreign relatives of U.S. intelligence employees to coercion. Both the applicant's Social Security number and that of his or her cohabitant are required.

In a statement, the White House said that on June 8, investigators concluded there was "a high degree of confidence that ... systems containing information related to the background investigations of current, former and prospective federal government employees, and those for whom a federal background investigation was conducted, may have been exfiltrated."

"This tells the Chinese the identities of almost everybody who has got a United States security clearance," said Joel Brenner, a former top U.S. counterintelligence official. "That makes it very hard for any of those people to function as an intelligence officer. The database also tells the Chinese an enormous amount of information about almost everyone with a security clearance. That's a gold mine. It helps you approach and recruit spies."

The Office of Personnel Management, which was the target of the hack, did not respond to requests for comment. OPM spokesman Samuel Schumach and Jackie Koszczuk, the director of communications, have consistently said there was no evidence that security clearance information had been compromised.

Via: CNS News

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner performs near-vertical takeoff

Via: Fox News

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The White-est of All Guilt

SPOKANE, Wash. — Controversy is swirling around one of the Spokane region’s most prominent civil rights activists, with family members saying the local leader of the NAACP has falsely portrayed herself as black for years.

Rachel Dolezal is president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, chair of the city’s Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, and an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University.

The Spokesman-Review reported Thursday that questions have arisen about her background and her numerous complaints to police of harassment. The story was first reported by the Coeur d’Alene Press.

Dolezal’s mother, Ruthanne, says the family’s ancestry is Czech, Swedish and German, with a touch of Native American heritage.

Dolezal has identified herself in application materials as white, black and Native American.

Police say they have found little evidence of racial harassment.

On Twitter and sometimes here, I like to talk about how ridiculous “Tumblr Culture” is. It’s Tumblr and places like it that have allowed kids with no clue of how the world works to claim they are transabled, have “headmates” (if you are unclear as to what this term means, forget you’ve ever seen it because only sadness comes from looking it up), and other signs of either too much imagination or mental distress.

Well, at some point, along came an Internet troll with a great idea: Let’s create “transethnicity” to up our trans game. And, so, it happened as a joke. With Dolezal, it no longer appears to be a joke.

Via: Red State

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In effort to fix woes in VA care, Moulton taps own experience

By Jessica Meyers GLOBE STAFF  JUNE 05, 2015

WASHINGTON – Seth Moulton had earned two medals in Iraq for his valor. He’d witnessed brutal combat in four tours with the Marines. But none of that mattered when he showed up at the Veterans Health Administration hospital in Washington, D.C., where staff could not find records.

“We’ll consider taking you as a humanitarian case,” a hospital staffer told Moulton, unaware that the would-be hernia patient was also a newly elected Massachusetts congressman.

Thus began Moulton’s frustrating experience with the Veterans Affairs health system, a personal sampling of a chronically troubled medical bureaucracy that has drawn complaints from veterans, demands for improvements from Congress, and multiple investigations.

“If it wasn’t so sad, it would have been comical,” Moulton said in an interview as he recounted his VA odyssey.

n addition to enduring missing records and computer glitches, Moulton said, he was prescribed the wrong medicine, which in his case did not imperil his health but is in the category of a medical error that can be extremely dangerous in some cases, even fatal.

The VA refused to discuss Moulton’s case, citing patient privacy laws, even after Moulton gave the administration written and verbal authorization to do so.

Moulton’s encounter with the VA health system led to his first legislative initiative — a package of bills designed to strengthen training and recruitment of VA health care professionals.

Via: The Boston Globe

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Making Amtrak Compete Would Benefit All

The recent Amtrak derailment outside of Philadelphia, which killed eight people and injured over 200, is a somber reminder that quick action by Congress is necessary to prevent another passenger rail catastrophe. Amtrak is the sole operator of trains on the Northeast corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston, and thus bears responsibility for providing safe passenger train travel. Yet, despite a posted 50-mph speed limit on that section of track, the train was traveling at 106 mph around a very tight turn. Amtrak’s contract to operate trains on the Northeast corridor should be terminated immediately. 

But wait. No such contract exists. Amtrak has an uncontested, indefinite monopoly on intercity train operations in the United States. The problem lies therein: Amtrak is unconstrained by the fear of losing its operational rights, and thus its revenue, regardless of safety or on-time performance. 

The corridor includes stops in such major population centers as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, N.J., and New York. It is highly profitable, with the tight population densities, moderate distances, and concentrated central business districts that are critical for successful passenger rail. The NEC should be a showcase for how the United States can deliver a self-sustaining, reliable, safe, and affordable high-speed passenger rail. The barrier is not geography or insufficient taxpayer spending but appalling, outdated federal rail policy. 

We can do better. One appealing solution is a public-private operating partnership, or PPOP. Under this approach, the NEC would be separated from the rest of Amtrak’s routes. The NEC already differs fundamentally from the rest of the passenger rail system. Amtrak owns most of the tracks and rights of way on the NEC, but utilizes freight train tracks in the rest of the country. 

A 2013 report from the Brookings Institution notes that the NEC routes, which carry some 11.4 million people each year, earn an operating profit of about $205 million annually. The rest of Amtrak’s nationwide network, however, hemorrhages cash. 

Under a PPOP, the right to maintain and operate NEC trains would be bid out at regular intervals of, say, 10 to 15 years. A PPOP concession contract would specify key aspects of service, such as rates, service frequency, and safety standards. Bidding would occur on the basis of the largest upfront concession payment an operator is willing to make for an exclusive operational right subject to the pre-set terms of service.  

Via: Real Clear Politics

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Obama’s poverty mythology By Stephen Moore

Our class warrior in chief was at it again this week complaining about our “ideological divides that have prevented us from making progress” in solving problems like poverty. Just when you thought you’d heard it all. Our most ideological president perhaps ever is arguing that there is too much ideology in Washington. Wow. Apparently, an ideology is a firmly held belief that is held by other people — especially those on the right.

The president managed to blame the slow-growth economy and stagnant wages on everything from Ayn Rand (who promoted “cold-hearted policies” and classified everyone as a “moocher”) to California’s Proposition 13 (which is responsible for the Golden State’s dreadful schools). Everything has contributed to our current malaise except for his own failed policies.

Here’s a brief truth squad examination of Mr. Obama’s mythologies and misstatements of fact. This was a long speech, so I will just identify as many of the whoppers as space permits.

President Obama: “The stereotype is that you’ve got folks on the left who just want to pour more money into social programs, and don’t care anything about culture or parenting or family structures … .”

After more than $20 trillion spent on the War on Poverty since 1964 (in inflation adjusted dollars), how is it a stereotype to say the left only wants to pour money at programs? Just a few weeks ago, the president blamed the Baltimore riots on Republicans for not spending and borrowing even more money for his social programs. He sounded like a parody of himself.

If the left really wants to preserve family structure and advance cultural values such as work, why do they oppose reforms to a welfare system that pays teenage girls to have babies out of wedlock and disparage conservative proposals that require able-bodied Americans to work for their welfare benefits like food stamps?

Via: Heritage Foundation

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‘Covered California,’ Obamacare Boondoggle, About To Go Belly Up!!!!!!

After two previous extensions, the open enrollment period for Covered California ends April 30. That deadline just might prove to be the tipping point for the state’s two-year-old health insurance exchange. That’s because this is the year Covered California is supposed to become completely self-sustaining

Indeed, there’s no more money coming from Washington after the state exhausts the $1.1 billion it received from the federal government to get the Obamacare exchange up and running. And state law prohibits Sacramento from spending any money to keep the exchange afloat.

That presents an existential crisis for Covered California, which is facing a nearly $80 budget deficit for its 2015-16 fiscal year. Although the exchange is setting aside $200 million to cover its near-term deficit, Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee acknowledged in December that there are questions about the “long-term sustainability of the organization.”

Covered California’s enrollment growth for 2015 was a mere 1 percent, according to a study this month by Avalere Health. That was worst than all but two other state exchanges. Meanwhile, California’s Obamacare exchange managed to retain only 65 percent of previous enrollees, the nation’s fourth-lowest re-enrollment rate.

No kidding! But in the Leftist mindset, an “entitlement” is still an entitlement, even if there’s no money to pay for it. Because entitlements are forever, even if California is not.

Via: PJ Media

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280 High School Students Just Told Obama To Shove It In An Epic Way…

280 high schoolers – the entire junior class of Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington – have effectively told President Obama and his band of progressive buffoons that they can take their Common Core and shove it.

When state testing began on Tuesday, not a single junior showed up on campus to participate, as the entire student body had collectively decided to exercise their legal right to opt out of the ‘Smarter Balanced’ exams.

“They didn’t skip school all day,” commented district spokeswoman Stacy Howard, according to the Seattle Times. “They just didn’t show up during the testing period.”

The Nathan Hale students weren’t the only ones to deal this massive blow to the liberal establishment, either. According to early district estimates, about half of the juniors at three other Seattle high schools have also opted out of the Smarter Balanced testing.

“Students voted with their own feet,” remarked Doug Edelstein, a history teacher at Nathan Hale and opponent of the Common Core testing. “They felt like they knew the facts, and made their own decisions.”

Give the junior class at Seattle’s Nathan Hale High two thumbs up for taking a stand against Common Core by sharing this report!

Via: Buzzpo

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[VIDEO] Obama Weekly Address: Investing in Technology and Infrastructure to Create Jobs (Video)

March 1, 2014 - WASHINGTON, DC — In his weekly address, President Obama said he took action this week to launch new manufacturing hubs and expand a competition to fund transformative infrastructure projects.  Both are policies aimed at expanding economic opportunity for all by creating jobs and ensuring the long-term strength of the American economy.  Congress can boost this effort by passing a bipartisan proposal to create a nationwide network of high-tech manufacturing hubs and taking steps to invest in our nation’s infrastructure -- rebuilding our transportation system, creating new construction jobs, and better connecting Americans to economic opportunities.

Via: WhiteHouse.gov
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