opinion

A MINIMUM-WAGE CUT?

Just more bashing of America's poor

Christopher Hayes of The Nation magazine had the quote of the year regarding the recession when he wrote, "Honestly, sometimes I think all the money we paid the banks would be worth it if no one was allowed to talk [badly] about poor people ever again." Charles Lane, in his Dec. 19 commentary, should have taken that quote to heart when he, on behalf of the haves, rose up in indignation and proclaimed that we (the haves?) would all be better off if we lowered the pay of the have-nots.

Lane advocates repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, which sets prevailing wages on government construction jobs, and a lowering of the federal minimum-wage rate.

In other words, he believes the least wealthy of us are overpaid.

From 1974 to 2001, during my years of employment with the Department of Labor, the federal minimum wage increased 11 times. Each time, the vested interests of the haves would lobby that a minimum-wage increase would kill jobs.

Of course, that never happened. Why? Because the haves need, and expect, the services provided by the have-nots.

If wage (or salary?) cuts are necessary for the sake of the economy, why not begin with salary cuts for Lane and others like him who prefer the sacrifices be made by those least likely to afford it? And then we can move on to Wall Street, the insurance industry ...

TOM OBERT, ALEXANDRIA, MINN.

STADIUM TALK

State often funds projects not all of us use

When it comes to funding a new stadium, a letter writer recently asked stadium supporters to "stop trying to get those of us who don't care about sports to pay for it."

It's an argument that can be applied to anything that receives state funding. We all pay taxes for things we don't care about, for services we don't ever expect to use, for roads we'll likely never travel on, etc.

It takes one visit to the Metrodome to see that it's inadequate as a professional sports facility. Unfortunately, that reality could result in the loss of the state's most popular team, the Vikings. If you think citizens don't care about the Vikings, I'd argue that the team's astronomical television ratings say otherwise.

I hope our elected officials can figure it out. They found ways to help the Twins and the Gophers.

TODD MOEN, WACONIA

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Along with the sweetheart deals the U.S. Senate handed out to Connecticut, Louisiana and Nebraska, why couldn't our senators have asked that the federal government also pay for a new Vikings stadium?

LEN COLSON, PLYMOUTH

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Could someone explain to me why the Vikings need their own new stadium? For years they have shared the Metrodome with the Minnesota Gophers, so why not share the new TCF Bank Stadium with the Gophers? Zygi Wilf can invest his share to increase seating at TCF. The Vikings would collect revenue from the Vikings games, and the Gophers would collect revenue from their games.

Boy, how simple is this? (And no one had to pay me for a study.)

ROD SMITH, HASTINGS

CORRECTION

A Dec. 18 letter should have stated that the Minneapolis City Council has voted itself a 2.5 percent pay increase for 2010.