The Koran also tells Muslims, that when being defeated in battle, to ask for truce, and to use that truce to re-arm and to renew strength to defeat the enemy, Shoebat explained. We, in the West, think of a truce in terms of stopping hostilities, and looking for a way to achieve peace. Islam looks at a truce as an opportunity to lull the enemy into complacency, and then attack when that enemy is least prepared.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Terrorism-The Long Road
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Minimum Wage
BOTH the House of Representatives and the Senate have recently passed bills raising the minimum wage. The Senate bill includes tax breaks for businesses, based on the following logic: While a minimum wage increase is popular, the resulting higher labor costs will translate into fewer jobs, more expensive products or both. The solution, the senators concluded, was to subsidize companies that hire disadvantaged workers, in order to reimburse them for these higher wage costs.
Does this reasoning hold up? A look at one of the key pieces of this business tax package — the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which has been in place since 1996 and would be extended for five years under the proposal — suggests otherwise.
If we don’t think that people with low incomes are getting what they need, let’s not look to ineffective employer tax credits to try to create jobs. And let’s not burden employers with the costs of a higher minimum wage, most of which won’t even go to low-income families. If additional investments are to be effective — and directed toward the intended recipients — they should focus instead on making sure our Earned Income Tax Credit program provides an adequate income supplement for the working poor.