Putting Bailout In Perspective For Minimum Wage Workers

Our Federal Government is about to give Wall Street $770 Billion dollars! Meanwhile, back in July the minimum wage LEPT to $6,55 per hour. Working a 40 hour work week, that is a pre-tax weekly wage of $262.00 or a yearly pre tax income of $13,624 IF YOU WORK 52 WEEKS A YEAR. It would take roughly 58 million 40 hour weeks of work at minimum wage to pay off this debt (with no interest).

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/esa/esa20081024.htm

Federal minimum wage to increase to $6.55 on July 24

Agency also marks 70th anniversary of Fair Labor Standards Act

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor reminds employers and employees that the federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55 on Thursday, July 24. With this change, employees who are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be entitled to pay at no less than $6.55 per hour.

This increase is the second of three provided by the enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. A third minimum wage increase to $7.25 an hour will become effective on July 24, 2009. Last year, on July 24, the minimum wage increased to $5.85 an hour.

Warrants Are NOT Stocks! Call Capital Hill NOW!

I am not a learned man, just your average Middle Class Main Street kind of a guy doing my best to get by in these hard times. Like everyone else, I am not happy about this bailout, but was reluctantly willing to go along with it if there were certain strings attached (which were promised to us before negotiations began). What concerns me, is where is the press in holding Washington DC's heels to the fire as it were, instead of going along with them in beating the FEAR DRUMS? I've been doing a bit of reading today, and one thing above all others is ringing alarm bells for me, and I am amazed the press is not all over it.

We the taxpayers were supposed to be protected, we were supposed to get STOCKS as a part of this whole $770 Billion dollar bailout of Wall Street. Well, if you snoop around, you will see that the Lobbyist for Wall Street have twisted things around into some cruel hoax on everyone. We are not getting stocks, but instead will be given WARRANTS! Follow me...stocks are stocks, and right now recieving stocks at greatly depressed values might be a good deal for the US tax payer. Warrants on the other hand give the holder (the treasury) the right to PURCHASE SHARES at a future point and time at a price HIGHER THAN THEY ARE RIGHT NOW! Further, the treasure can sell THOSE WARRANTS...to their croonies and friends, but in the fashion as the USEC stocks were let out into the public domain.

The only way we get ownership is to go back into the market place at some later date and time if the stocks recover to a price point higher than our warrants, and BUY THEM with MORE TAX DOLLARS. Further, there is nothing in the agreement to dictate how those warrants will be dealt with, or how they could be sold or leveraged. So, we lend them $700 Billion, maybe get $400 Billion in WARRANTS, and we A) have nothing of value, and B) would end up giving Wall Street $1.1 TRILLION if we exercise our warrants. Call your elected officials and tell them NO WARRANTS, we want stock, and we want it at the DEPRESSED CURRENT VALUE!