Which brings us to the minimum wage...

I am so torn about this topic. On the one hand, I think that government should stay out of business as much as possible. On the other hand, when business runs out of control and its actions are bad for the people of the country then something must be done. If we were operating under a system of true laissez faire capitalism it might be possible to let the market work itself out. But we are not. We operate under a system whereby the deepest pockets are able to purchase laws and ordinances that favor them and injure the public. You will hear complaining about government interference in business....its because corporations purchase politicians and then the politicians vote in favor of rules and regulations that favor the corporation that is paying them. Mind you, this is not mom and pop stores, this is not small businesses. They are as screwed as the rest of us, in spite of the fact that they have a prominent position as a economic force. They aren't collective and independently cannot spend the same amounts of cash that Monsanto or CAT can spend.

After giving it a lot of thought, I think that Vermont should set a rate of $16.82 per hour as the minimum wage. This is not a lot of money, $35,000 a year for a full time 40 hour a week position. This is right around what I make now. It is never going to make me rich and I have to watch every penny I spend. But I'm not destitute. I own my house. I have a car and a motorcycle. Mind you, I don't have a Lexus and a Harley, I have a Subaru and a Ural. Still, gets me to work. My house will always need work but hey, idle hands and all, it's probably a good thing I have something to do. So $16.82 is not going to make anyone rich, but it is not going to break the bank either. The cost to companies could be offset by the reduced needs for social safety benefits in the state and by increased spending on the part of consumers.

The best course of action, in my opinion, is the implementation of the Fair Tax Act on the federal level, removing the onus of income tax collection from businesses. This, in addition to a livable minimum wage, would jump start a true economic recovery. Not to be confused with the "economic recovery" whereby Wall Street is getting richer and the rest of us are getting poorer.