Minimum wage isn't an 'affluent lifestyle'

Minimum wage isn’t an ‘affluent lifestyle’

Have you ever said, “You couldn’t pay me enough to do that job?” Yet there are people often doing “that job” for a whole lot less because that’s all employers are willing to pay low-skilled or entry-level workers [“Minimum wage hike will push inflation,” Letters, May 3].

For those who believe that the minimum wage is just for teenagers and not people who have to support themselves and families, this is from Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute:

“The purpose of the minimum wage was to stabilize the post-depression economy and protect the workers in the labor force. The minimum wage was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees.”

It also has been published that the movement for minimum wages was first motivated to stop the exploitation of workers in sweatshops by employers who were thought to have unfair bargaining power over them. Over time, minimum wages came to be seen as a way to help lower-income families.

I don’t think getting $21.25 an hour gives anyone an “affluent lifestyle.”

— Tracey Simon, Oceanside

Yes, higher wages will cause slightly higher prices. But if someone thinks that anyone making $17 hour is living an affluent lifestyle, then visit a grocery store.

With milk over $4 a gallon, bread over $4, and gasoline well over $3 a gallon, how far do you think $17 an hour will go? And National Grid wants another 16% hike.

On a fixed income, I understand the challenges. Does that reader?

— Michelle Urso, West Babylon

Costco, BJ’s, Home Depot, Lowe’s and fast-food stops have self-checkout available. How many more jobs may be lost with increased wages?

I know it’s sad to have to work for such low wages, but any income is better than being jobless. It’s a tough world we live in.

Many experts in the past said increased wages will eliminate jobs. It appears they may have been right.

Is this progress?

— Bernie McGrath, Holbrook

Checking kid books is good parenting

A book reading was held at Suffolk County Community College to protest censorship of books in schools [“Raising awareness on banned books at SCCC,” News, April 27].

By law, parents have the ultimate responsibility for the care, raising and education of their children. An important aspect of this responsibility is to introduce activities, books, movies, TV, music, gaming, etc. to children at the appropriate time based on the child’s age and maturity.

Public schools are an extension of parents and our communities. Parents pay taxes to fund our public schools and entrust their children to the schools for their education. As such, parents must have a say regarding the curricula and materials in our public schools.

Of course, no individual parent should have veto power over each book or lesson because the result would be anarchy.

It is when enough parents object to certain materials that it becomes incumbent on our school administrators and teachers to listen and respond appropriately. This isn’t censorship, it’s just good parenting and sound education.

— Michael J. Cisek, East Islip

Should we ban all books that parents don’t like and go back to the time when children got much of their information and misinformation from one another, no matter how inaccurate?

A reader said that adults should have primary access to books with questionable material [“Parents want a say in books kids access,” Letters, May 1]. What are you going to do, read them to your children?

I guess it is better to leave our children in the dark than keep them informed.

— Janet Klinger, Plainview

Coyote should have been released upstate

I don’t understand why a rehabilitated coyote was released to the Queens/Nassau border [“Coyote released after recovery,” Long Island, May 5].

Coyotes are not today and have not been part of Long Island’s ecosystem. Now, because Wile E. Coyote hasn’t been released into mountains upstate, he and any other coyote walking across the bridges are going to receive warm welcomes here? I don’t think so.

Why in the world would a coyote be released here when we have hardly had any on Long Island. We are an island with millions of people and not much space for coyotes to roam. Children’s activities and dog walking could become nonexistent if they multiply.

Sweetbriar Nature Center should try to find and relocate him as quickly as possible before someone gets hurt.

— Carolyn Newson, Riverhead