....A little bit more...

I initially posted this as an article on Facebook, but I thought it could probably use a little more discussion:

Minnesota Republicans are pushing legislation that would make it a crime for people on public assistance to have more $20 in cash in their pockets any given month. This represents a change from their initial proposal, which banned them from having any money at all.

As to why this is extremely disturbing:

The bill also calls for unconstitutional residency requirements, not allowing the debit card to be used across state lines and other provisions that the Welfare Rights Committee and others consider unacceptable.

Buechner testified, “We’ll leave you with this. It is not right to punish a whole group because of the supposed actions of a few. You in this room could have a pretty rough time if that was the case. It is not right to stigmatize and dehumanize women living the hard life of trying to raise children while living 60% below the poverty level. It is not right to use racist, bumper-sticker hate to inflict human misery for political gain.”

E.D Kain does a nifty job of analyzing this issue. I like the gratuitous addition of limiting teachers' ability to negotiate.

It seems to me that very notion of equitable negotiation is under attack these days. Employers should have all the leverage, and the only option the worker should have, is to find another job. So really, no negotiation at all.

A world where the poor and middle class are constantly under attack, is a world where the wealthy consistently erode the rights and wealth of the middle class and the poor.

-Cheers