Minimum wage is the wrong approach to fighting poverty
Clean living is the key
Posted By Stan Reitsma, Carman
Posted 17 days ago
Instead of having safety nets, make divorce almost impossible, do not recognize the legitimacy of common law relationships in the law, make all gambling illegal, to minimize out of wedlock births teach abstinence only in school instead of “safe sex” which leads to out of wedlock births.
To the Editor:
Bill Rolls in his letter "Calling minimum wage increase devastating is the result of simplistic reasoning" (Oct. 16 edition of The Red River Valley Echo) seems to show that minimum wage increases are a necessity. I would argue having a minimum wage itself is the wrong way to go. The argument is that this is necessary to fight poverty, that we need this kind of safety net.
There are easy ways people can avoid being poor. Complete Grade 12, if you fail a grade try again and be willing to start at any job. Do not sleep around and get someone pregnant out of wedlock, for single motherhood is a one-way ticket to poverty. Do not live common law neither for they are extremely transient in nature, they have a high breakup rate and the woman if she is a mother will be back being a single mom again. Do not gamble by buying lottery tickets ever and never go to the casino for gambling is one of the top five leading causes of poverty. Lastly, get married and stay faithful until death does you part. Do not emulate the 'as long as your love shall last' Hollywood style revolving door marriage.
Immoral lifestyles and immoral choices such as gambling, divorces, being sexually promiscuous and living common law are leading causes of poverty.
Instead of having safety nets, make divorce almost impossible, do not recognize the legitimacy of common law relationships in the law, make all gambling illegal, to minimize out of wedlock births teach abstinence only in school instead of "safe sex" which leads to out of wedlock births.
Give tax benefits only to married couples and from the taxation point of view make it unattractive to live common law. Instead of safety nets, through tax benefits make it attractive for married people to bear many many children so in old age there will be plenty of offspring to help them in a financial crunch instead of government aid.
We hear the nattering of "safety nets" all the time from mega state control freaks and the poverty industry.
Somehow we need safety nets such as; public health care, abortion rights, public auto insurance, rent control, minimum wage, safe sex education, affirmative action, social assistance, labour unions, public housing and government pensions. Safety nets are government-coerced benefits provided to people who will not prepare for the results of their choices and actions. In this political world of statism these village chiefs promise to replace the natural circumstances created by moral agency or bankruptcy with safety nets. We do not need minimum wage laws to ward off poverty; holy righteous and virtuous living is the best way.
