Dear George,

I’m sorry that Will Lyster thought that I was insulting him when I asked a couple of questions about some of his statements in his January 1, email. The questions were meant as comments on some of the things he said and not as attacks on him. Now let me explain the questions more wordily (something I generally try to avoid.)

Will said:

" Basically, it’s time to cut the fat from the company. I am not going to keep paying this type of uncaring, unfaithful and lazy employee at $7.50 an hour ($2.35 per hour increase from $5.15) – an additional $4,888 per employee, per year to have the same behavior as before."

I could only interpret this statement to mean that Will had been keeping apparently undesirable employees on his payroll as long as he only had to pay them $5.15 an hour. Hence my question about how much he is worth as a manager. Please note that I wasn’t questioning his worth as a person. If I were to reveal to Will that I have hardly ever been able to put a basketball through a hoop, I would not take it as an insult or personal attack if he questioned my ability as a basketball player.

Will also said :

"Due to the new minimum wage, I am going to increase the unemployment figures. I am going to increase the public’s social costs and unemployment expenditures. I am going to increase the cost of goods for all consumers.

Best of all, I am going to lower my costs and increase my profits.
Thanks Living Wage group! "

I thought that Will’s "Thanks Living Wage group! " was clearly meant to be ironic and that he really is against an increase in the minimum wage because he thinks it would increase unmployment and incur other social costs. So, even though he believes that an increase in the minimum wage would lower his costs and increase his profits, he does not support it because of the harm it would do to others. Hence, my question about his compassionate heart.

Back to the main subject. Although Will talks about Living Wage lobbyists, he says nothing about a Living Wage, but only deals with the consequences of a projected ( and not yet enacted) increase of the national minimum wage to $7.50 an hour ( much less than a real Living Wage). We Living Wage lobbyists earn a lot more than $5.l5 an hour. Most low wage workers are afraid to be advocates for a Living Wage for fear of retaliation by their employers.

Gene Foster (electronic mail, January 10, 2007)