Co-Opted Out of a Living Wage

The liberal chic place to shop on the Palouse is the Moscow Food Co-Op. Among the elitist denizens who you'll find browsing down the organic, fair trade aisles at the Co-Op are members of No SuperWalMart and PARD.

One of the monotonous left-wing canards offered against Wal-Mart by its fanatical haters is that Wal-Mart fails to pay its employees a so-called "living wage."

The Penn State University Living Wage Calculator figures a living wage for one adult with one child in Moscow to be $12.33 an hour. The City of Moscow established a "living wage" last year of $10.00 an hour for all businesses that conduct business with the city.

That's why this admission from Co-Op board member Bill London last week was a bit startling:

Most starting jobs (after training) at the Co-op pay from $7.25 to $8.75 per hour. A very few lowest-rung jobs do begin at $6.75.

Benefits to workers of 20 hours/week or more includes:
2 week paid vacation
sick leave
18% discount on purchases and free lunch
Benefits to workers of 30 hours/week or more includes those plus health/dental insurance (retirement benefits if work longer than 2 years)

$7.25 to $8.75 an hour? A starting wage of $6.75? Wal-Mart in Moscow pays $8.50 to $10.00 an hour, with a starting wage of $7.25. The Wal-Mart medical benefits plan is open to all part time workers, regardless of hours worked, after one year of service, and all other Wal-Mart benefits are much more generous than the Co-Op.

One could hope that the Co-Op might be an oasis of sanity, where socialist rhetoric meets capitalist reality, or where the realization could sink in that stocking shelves or working a cash register are never going to be high-paying careers. One could hope. Instead, anyone think it's time for a petition?

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Crow Can't Spare a Square

We've all heard of the "courtesy flush." But now enviro-wacko singer Sheryl Crow informs us on her blog that we can help stop global warming by "putting a limitation on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting.... I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required."

By the way, Crow and environmentalist Laurie David have been traveling across America on a biodiesel-powered bus conducting a two-week Stop Global Warming College Tour. Whew! After two weeks on a bus with everyone using one square per toilet visit, every day is a winding road.

Eco-Chic Phonies, Or How Al Gore's Pals Celebrate Earth Day

Al Gore and John Edwards' pals in Manhattan are going eco-chic for Earth Day. Like the pair mentioned before, they have a very good idea how you should live. I have often said that I'll take global warming seriously when liberals start taking it seriously. People like these are why I don't expect to be challenged any time soon.

Concerned with carbon emissions, she is about to replace the Barnetts’ two family cars with hybrids. “I turn the water off when I’m brushing my teeth,” she said. “I’m always learning, I’m always trying to improve.”

Still, she has no plans to reduce the family’s significant carbon footprint by, say, selling the Manhattan second home. “I’m not a perfect person,” she said. “I’m not the greenest woman in America.” And there was scant indication that other guests, most of whom, presumably, knew their way up the steps of a private jet, were contemplating major lifestyle cutbacks. Glancing about the room, Ms. Barnett said, “We aren’t all going to move to one-bedroom apartments.”

And,

She plans to practice conservation, to a point. Energy-saving light bulbs are fine — for the utility closet, perhaps. In other rooms, “they don’t give a very pretty light,” she said.

Taking in such reservations, Ms. Barnett remained sanguine. “This is the grass-roots way to help save the world,” she said.

One pointy-toed step at a time.

They do know how you should make sacrifices.