Dazzeetrader said “The well is running dry.
I wonder why anyone would agree to pay minimum wage AND fund the new health care approach.”

When someone asks if we lost “Obama money” I am sure that they realize it is not his money to give out but taxpayers money. This money has been siphoned off of the local economy, funneled through the federal budget, and then used as leverage by politicians to buy votes. Could you imagine the problem solving power of local communities if we didn’t have to launder all those dollars through a federal bureaucracy? People who call themselves Conservatives might be more apt to pay higher taxes on a local level because they can see the effects and if they don’t like it they can move. So yes the “well is running dry” and it hurts most at the local level. During the holidays people tell the bell ringer at the grocery store they gave at the office. During an election cycle you can tell the local signature gatherer you gave at the federal level. The United States Constitution was set up to prevent this type of abuse of power, and the 17th amendment is one of the leading contributors to the consolidation of federal power. It truly is a modern day taxation without representation. You would think with all her “localize it” grandstanding the Spovangelist would get behind the idea of smaller federal government in order to be more flexible at the city and state level.

For example, without a merit pay plan tied to test scores, forget about qualifying for any Obama “race to the top” funds.

“If anything, the minimum wage should go up so more people have some spending power which will boost the local economy.”

Economic boosts do not come from increasing anyone’s “spending power.” They come from increasing their productive power. If someone’s spending power is increased without an increase in his productive power, then the increase can only come via a reduction in someone else’s spending power. It is a zero-sum game. Indeed, it is negative sum, since the person whose spending was reduced was (by hypothesis) more productive, and his incentive to produce is now reduced. That is why productive capital is moving overseas.

You seem to think taking wealth from A’s pocket and putting it in B’s produces new wealth, like magic. All it does is discourage B from producing any more wealth.

However, City Council is looking at the removal of the six month limitation so something like the Children’s Investment Fund will get straight there.

http://www.freespokane.net/?p=263

Then they should give some thought to some solutions which might work, such as repealing the minimum wage (so that people whose skills can’t command $8/hour can find work), and replacing the public schools with voucher-supported private schools with diverse curricula, diverse educational philosophies, and which focus on different demographic niches, so that parents have an opportunity to find a school appropriate for their kids, given their backgrounds, interests and abilities.