Minimum wage change not feasible
In Mr. Boudreau’s latest article, he attempts to pin more of this county’s social problems on the “evermore gluttonous Republicans.” However, finger pointing and Mr. Boudreau’s image of family values does not change the laws of economics.
According to my “Principles of Microeconomics” textbook, a class in which I am currently enrolled, a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage leads to an estimated drop in employment of 1 to 3 percent, a very significant figure. Also according to the book, less than a third of minimum wage earners are in families with incomes below the poverty line.
In addition, a raise in the minimum wage would increase the number of teenagers looking for jobs. This causes some teenagers that are attending school to drop out and take jobs and these new dropouts displace other teenagers who had already dropped out of school to work and are now unemployed.
This in turn makes it more difficult for those unskilled adults to find a job at all. While increasing the minimum wage may benefit those that already have a job, it will also increase unemployment and restrict the supply of unskilled jobs on the market.
All the data in this letter comes directly from my textbook, and I would be glad to lend it to Mr. Boudreau, however I would rather suggest that he enroll in some economics classes.
By the way, I am not set on defending the image of the Republican Party, I vote Libertarian.
Mark Hosterman
Sophomore
Ward One Rpresentative steps down
Recently, letters have been appearing in the BG News criticizing the job I have been doing as the First Ward City Council Representative. Reading those letters to the editor made me reflect on why I ran for City Council in the first place.
I was a sophomore at BGSU and really believed that a student was needed on city council. Not an ex-student, a faculty member or an administrator but a student who would really understands the needs and the concerns that make the First Ward so unique.
In my time on council, I fought against the Charter Change amendment that would have taken Bowling Green from a ward system to an all-at-large system making it virtually impossible for a student to ever get elected to city council again.
I did that because I thought it was important for a STUDENT to be on city council. That being said, I have withdrawn my name from the ballot and will not be running for re-election to Bowling Green City Council.
I hope you will all join me in supporting the students who have stepped forward to run and put a student back on city council.
Sarah Tomashefski
First Ward City Council Representative
Campaign a conflict of interest
Wednesday’s edition of the BG News announced the withdrawal of Sarah Tomashefski from the Democratic Primary in the Ward One race.
This leaves two candidates: Gordy Heminger, an administrator at the University and homeowner, and Nathan Nickens, a student and renter.
In her comments to the paper, Ms. Tomashefski recommended keeping the seat in the hands of students.
The battle fought many years ago to get a student on council is in danger of being lost.
Anyone who knows me personally or has read any of my letters and articles knows I tend to lean to the left politically.
As such, my interest in this primary is not only a matter of who represents students, but a personal matter as well.
As Mr. Heminger put it, he “works with hundreds of students daily” at his job with the Office of Campus Involvement. In fact, he uses his time as a paid University employee to meet with students, including me, about his political efforts.
I see a strong conflict between working for a university and representing the students who attend that university.
As much as he may claim he will be a student voice, Mr. Heminger will always be caught between student concerns and job obligations.
We already have someone working for the University on city council representing students in the Second Ward.
As students, we need to stick together and keep a student on City Council.
We are already “represented” by people who work for the University at all levels, and still have zoning, noise, and landlord problems.
One more administrator won’t change that, but a student may.
Amanda Dlugiewicz