Joe Scarborough has been taking sensible positions lately
Is Joe Scarborough getting soft? Is he moving to the middle? Last week Joe Scarborough took the rare position of speaking up against the massacre Israel was effecting in Gaza. Taking that position was bold as both politicians on the Left and the Right were going out of their way to put a good face on Israel’s actions in Gaza.
This week however Joe Scarborough took a position on the minimum wage based on reality as opposed to his typical Ayn Randian ideology. A story out of Minnesota gave him the opportunity to weigh in.
The owner of The Oasis Café in Stillwater Minnesota, Craig Beemer, started adding a 35 cent surcharge to every bill supposedly to offset the 75 cent minimum wage hike. The idiocy of this move is that he likely does not add a surcharge when his rent, utilities, cooking oil, and other items go up in price. He likely sees those as a cost of doing business. Craig Beemer chose to exercise his protest on his employees and not on a system that increases costs on all. That is inhumane and shows a lack of understanding. It displays suspect morality.
Joe Scarborough started by acknowledging the difficulty of small business owners. He had to get that pre-defense in, a defense that is true for a few small businesses. He then acknowledged that the only area that has been stagnant is in fact the minimum wage.
“The minimum wage as low historically as it is,” Joe Scarborough said. “He may not want to advertise your contempt for raising it a little bit on the bill.”
Many spend an inordinate amount of time complaining about those that are very rigid in their positions in such a manner that compromise is impossible. Too many of those that are rigid in their beliefs or ideology find that there is no upside for compromise. Having conviction in ones ideology does not mean that compromise is impossible if one realizes that we are all wired differently. Those that bridge the divide must be rewarded for taking that step. Only then will many that are rigid today see an upside in taking the leap.
So to Mr. Joe Scarborough, kudos my friend.