Posted by seavista at 8/1/06 10:56 a.m.

CONTRACEPTION Let individuals have access to contraception. The American mantra is the same: no one religious group should force its beliefs on others.
Nothing is stopping right-to-life people from avoiding contraceptive means for themselves.
OCEANS I have to handed it to Arnie and Bush's Poodle: they are making agreements that will benefit the environment. And California's share of pollutants is significant enough to make it a major player in the effort to stop global warming. We all need to get serious and even sacrifice profit or pleasure in order to conserve the oceans, and thereby our earth.
MINIMUM WAGE We MUST vote the conservatives out of office in November. I am getting sick of hearing about their crimes against people: next, they want to privatize social security, lest we give benefits to the elderly and possibly allow them to live a minimal existence. The "tip credit" is a financial handcuff for people who work in the service industry--and funny, but those are the only jobs we are going to have, once the conservatives succeed in outsourcing everything else.

Posted by D-Nolan at 8/1/06 11:25 a.m.

MINIMUM WAGE -- This draft editorial seems to go out of its way to avoid mentioning that our own Reps. Reichert, McMorris and Hastings VOTED FOR this huge pay cut for workers who earn tips. How about giving some credit where credit's due on this one, P-I?

Posted by D.A. Cox at 8/1/06 11:42 a.m.

Minimum wage. I was appalled that the Republicans linked cutting the estate tax (another tax cut for the rich) to a very flawed increase of the minimum wage.

It's the clearest statement yet from this gang that only the rich count in this country, while they continue to be in control.

And I too am disappointed with representative Reichert. McMorris and Hastings are predictable, Reichert occasionally votes with some intelligence.

Posted by progressivebulldog at 8/1/06 12:08 p.m.

Minimum wage: Why do the Republicans keep insisting on taking money from those that can least afford it? Now Washington has to abide by a federal law that could cut a waiters base pay to $2.13 an hour?

This is outrageous. For a waiter working at an expensive restaurant the tips might be good enough to offset the cuts but what about someone working at a place like Denny's?

15% of a $4.99 "Grand Slam" breakfast is 75 cents I doubt tips of this "magnitude" will make a $5.50 an hour increase and even if they do $7.63 an hour is NOT a living wage.

Any representative who voted for this horrible legislation should be voted out of office.

Posted by spirit at 8/1/06 1:12 p.m.

MINIMUM WAGE: Start your own business or shut up about telling others what to pay their employees. There is no right for anyone to tell another person what to pay his voluntary employees.

CONTRACEPTION: Contraception is before pregnancy, abortion is after pregnancy. A few pro-abortionists call after-pregnancy drugs contraception. This is another Godless secular socialist religion view.

OCEANS: Third grade children understand the difference between atmospheric CO2 and dissolved CO2 and they understand that atmospheric CO2 allows plankton to explode to feed small marine life to feed salmon which grow stronger and healthier.

Only adherents to the hate filled liberal secular socialist religion can connect the CO2 dots to make this most critical plant food a pollutant. I have always wondered how the German people supported the Nazis when they knew better. No difference with Eco-Fascists. A reasonable person knows better.

Posted by Redhawk19 at 8/1/06 1:12 p.m.

Minimum Wage: There are several States that have the minimum wage lower for people who get tips, this bill would put all States on the same wage scale. Not too long ago I bartended and served my way through college on the East Coast, I was paid $2.13 an hour and was able to earn my way through school. The trick, I gave exceptional service and was able to get better tips. As far as the Estate tax, correct me if I'm wrong but I read last week that if the Federal Estate Tax isn't ammended or abolished starting in 2011 the Tax on Estates of $1 million dollars would be 50%? If that is true it would cause an enourmous strain on small businesses owner's and their families. They get taxed on wages earned over 30% then get taxed an additional 50% when they die, that comes to just over 80 % of earnings going to the government. I don't care what party you vote for that does not seem right to me. Ammend the Estate Tax to 15% for single estates over $5 million and $10 for married estates, that would be more than fair and both sides win.

Posted by DennyO at 8/1/06 1:35 p.m.

I sure wish folks would quit confusing 'minimum wage' with 'living wage.' Minimum wage was intended for high school kids and entry-level workers and should be paid for menial work that anyone can do with little or no training. Jobs that require higher skills/knowlege should be offered at something more than MW. People who work in jobs where tips are customary should not have that tip money touched by anyone. If the restaurant/ bar/tavern wants to pay MW and the person wants to take the job at that, so be it. But the tips are generally earned by the person using their people skills and talent and that should be strictly between the waiter and the customer.

Posted by big R at 8/1/06 1:57 p.m.

to progressivebulldog
Don't you think that people who eat at Denny's leave tips. I have a relative that works at a rural Denny's on only the day shift, Monday thru Fridays and she earn over $50,000 a year. Most waitresses make good money while they work.

Posted by jhw539 at 8/1/06 2:10 p.m.

The statement that estates of over $1 million dollars are taxed 50% is incorrect. Please see www.factcheck.org/article398.html, the website VP Cheney (almost) recommended during the debates, for a quick run down before repeating this lie. The estate tax on estates of $1 million dollars would be ZERO in 2011. This is why the estate tax is paid by such a small portion of Americans (just over 1% paid any estate tax at all in 2002).

Posted by Redhawk19 at 8/1/06 2:19 p.m.

jhw539, I should have known that I was wrong, this is what was printed yesterday in the Seattle Times, not the PI, "The federal estate tax is scheduled to vanish in 2010 and return at a 55 percent rate for estates of more than $1 million. This bill would cap the rate after 2010 at 30 percent, increase the exclusion for single payers from $3.5 million in 2011 to $5 million in 2015 and allow state-levied estate taxes to be deducted from federal obligations"

Someone seems to be a little misguided here, are you sure that factcheck.org isn't really a front for moveon.org?

Posted by jhw539 at 8/1/06 2:38 p.m.

Factcheck.org is widely accepted as impartial, and it really was recommended by Vice President Cheney himself during the 2004 debates, except he accidently said "www.factcheck.com," whose owner chuckled and did forward it to somewhere mischevious if I recall correctly.

Posted by Will in Seattle at 8/1/06 2:49 p.m.

Cheney? give me a break.

Posted by jhw539 at 8/1/06 3:22 p.m.

Will in Seattle - Are you suggesting that Cheney would recommend a "front for moveon.org" as a good reference source in the midst of the nationally televised vice presidential debates? I don't quite understand your comment in the context of the discussion - there has been no suggestion that factcheck.org is a conservative leaning site, but rather that it may from the liberal choir (to which I offered the support of Cheney offered in rebuttal).

If anyone questions the analysis offered by factcheck, irs.gov is an excellent secondary source, just a lot more time consuming to dig out the info!

Posted by DFC at 8/1/06 4:31 p.m.

Minimum wage, department of fresh approach policy initiatives:

--I would like to porpose a Constitutional amendment saying that Congress gets to index their own salaries based on changes in the cost of living only if the federal minimum wage is also indexed for inflation.

--Or perhaps we need a new reality TV show. It could be called "Truly Needy" and the millionaires affected by the estate tax could vie with each other for the title of most pathetic sob story about the impact of the estate tax on their families.

Unfortunately, the number of families who actually face the tax is so low that in order to have any kind of a season with the limited pool of contestants, there will have to be a lot of challenges. There could be challenges along the way such as "Best hyperventilation while cleaning public toilets." Or families could be required to live on one minimu wage salary for a year while surviving medical emergencies, car breakdowns, exploding water heaters, and a hundred other low-wage hassles. If all of this is not enough to cure contestants of their bellyaching, prizes could be awarded in the form of one year sojourns in any number of places where the population survives on $2 or less per day.

--Or else the Senate could just grow a spine and stand up for US working people for a change.

Posted by spirit at 8/1/06 5:00 p.m.

Some of you might understand that taxing isn't a game where we find ways to tax because a few pay the tax or that we tax something that hasn't been taxed or we increase fees as tax collection strategy.

Taxation must reward those that do things right and must be spread among the people so that every voter feels taxes they support.

Seattle's tax addicts feel otherwise. They disguise and hide taxes and then use class hate and envy to increase taxes on those "that duz got too much money."

I say that we must follow the elementary notion that there is not representation without taxation. You pay no taxes! You don't vote!! The founders and others felt that property tax levies needed super majorities because the renters and other tax addicted would increase taxes without regard to the damage.

Worse, Seattle has over 100,000 property tax exemptions so that only the middle class and the very rich pay property taxes. This isn't only obscene, it's criminal. But for the Godless and lawless, this is how it's done.

Posted by mudroller at 8/1/06 5:01 p.m.

Minimum wage VS Tax break. despite all of the wailing going on, the previous times the MW was raised it did not cause massive economic hardships. As for waitpersons. Most of these are primary wage earners. They work rough hours with some horrible customers (us.) To cut their base pay by their tips to $2.13 an hour is horrible. True, some make great money. But you can bet there are plenty of folks out there that tip horrible at buffets. These people are working because the have to.

The Estate tax is going to be a huge boon to hiers of the absolute richest. A lot of these are people who have never paid an income tax. Their income is that fat estate they inherit. I don't buy into the myth of the poor little rich kids having their inheritance stolen by the mean government. If they are in line to inherit millions they can shoulder their share.

Emergency contraception: How dare a pharmasist cause a woman emotional distress not knowing her personal situation. With patients rights those pharmasists don't have a right to know her medical or physcological needs. If a Pharmasist refuses fill a legal prescription from a doctor because he/she finds the woman morally corrupt that person should lose their license.

Oceans CO2: Carbon is a basic building block of life. In the ocean ecosystem algae uses the carbon as a basic component and is a keystone in the aquatic food web.

Excess CO2 in the atmosphere also causes heating of the oceans which effect the ability of the different algae species to grow. It also effects algaes preditors, especially krill. In some areas the production of krill has been devistated and the algae production has increased to the point of vast algae blooms. These blooms cut the available light in the ocean and in some areas the waste products of the algea are toxic, leading to red or brown tides.

The balance between enough and too much in nature takes a while to strike. When there are sudden changes things go wrong quick. It is not just as simple as more algae, more salmon