Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrat
Individual Freedom For Everyone

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Salon Magazine: Jared Bernstein: 'Raise The Minimum Wage!'

Source:Salon Magazine with a look at workers pay.

"From saving working families much-needed cash to reducing poverty, it's a great way to kickstart the economy. 

It’s a great idea, one I’ve espoused on these very pages. The President suggested raising the federal minimum from its current level of $7.25 up to $9 by 2015 and then index it to inflation. An increase of that magnitude would directly lift the wages of 15 million low-wage workers, according to the WH.

Clearly, in an economy where for decades growth has failed to reach our lowest wage workers, it’s time to raise the wage floor to ensure that low-wage workers have a decent shot at a fair wage.

From the WH fact sheet:

Raising the minimum wage mostly benefits adults, and especially working women: Around 60 percent of workers benefiting from a higher minimum wage are women, and few are teenagers – less than 20 percent.

Raising the minimum wage helps parents: The average worker who would benefit from a rise in the minimum wage to $9 an hour brought home 46 percent of his or her household’s total wage and salary income in 2011, according to the Current Population Survey. 

For a working family earning $20,000 – $30,000, the extra $3,500 per year from raising the minimum wage would cover:

* The family’s spending on groceries for a year; or

* The family’s spending on utilities for a year; or

* The family’s spending on gasoline and clothing for a year; or

* Six months of housing.

Raising the minimum wage will boost wages without jeopardizing jobs while improving turnover and productivity: A range of economic studies show that modestly raising the minimum wage increases earnings and reduces poverty without measurably reducing employment, and that in fact employers may see a more stable workforce due to reduced turnover and increased productivity... 

Brendan Owens: 'Article Review 2: Compensating Our Military Veterans'

Source:People For Polity is Brendan Owens personal blog, who I met on Facebook.

"The above study examined the association between substance abuse disorder (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and symptoms and mechanisms underlying those associations.  Participants of the study were assessed at the beginning of the study and six months following inpatient SUD treatment.  Since the treatment was necessary to conduct this study, it can be classified as interventionist.
Because SUD and PTSD occur together often, a more clear understanding of this dynamic may identify areas for intervention.  This also includes how different substances may be related to different PTSD symptom clusters.  For example, hyperarousal symptoms were associated with alcohol problems.  
Details of the study after the break…
At the study’s onset, 133 participants received inpatient SUD treatment at a psychiatric hospital.  51 percent were women, and 90 percent were white.  The average age was 37 years old.  Variables the study examined included sex [male, female], age [18-55], PTSD [yes, no], and SUD [alcohol, opioids, cocaine, cannabis, sedatives, stimulants].

Interviews and self-reports were conducted at the baseline and 6 months post-discharge.  90 percent of the participants completed follow-up assessments.  A PTSD Scale assessed PTSD, while the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised assessed traumatic exposure.  The number of symptoms endorsed indicated the PTSD and symptom cluster severity.  After six months, these same procedures were repeated. 
The study found that the most common SUD in this sample to be alcohol use disorder at 69 percent.  34 percent met the criteria for opioid use, 23 percent for cocaine abuse, 19 percent for cannabis use disorder, 15 percent for a sedative use disorder, 4 percent abusing hallucinogens, and 2 percent abusing stimulants.  
At the six month point, the majority of participants had used alcohol or other drugs at least once (67 percent).  38 patients were still suffering from PTSD, while only 14 reported no longer suffering from the disorder.  
Individuals with PTSD were more likely to meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders criteria for mood disorder than those who were not diagnosed as indicated on...