Budgets and wages

Special interests

Regarding “Budget stress” (Page B13, Sunday), the old adage “You’ve made your bed and you’ll have to lie in it” comes to mind when reading about House Speaker Paul Ryan’s predicament.

Speaker Ryan, R-Wis., is not just the Speaker for Republicans, he is the “Speaker of the House” and as such he should propose and pass sensible legislation by inviting Republicans and Democrats to join in its passage. It is time for the so-called Hassert Rule to be retired and common-sense rules of compromise and negotiation returned to the House.

The reluctance on the part of the House Freedom Caucus to act in a responsible manner should not be an impediment for our country to be governed in a responsible manner.

As the editorial points out, neither the Medicare nor Social Security issues require any truly difficult decisions, and if Congress will “veto” the drug lobbyists and other special interest groups and vote for the “most special interest group” of all, the American taxpayer, then both Medicare and Social Security problems can be corrected and placed on a healthy basis.

The question is will Ryan step forward as Speaker of the House or will he remain sidelined by the loud voices that use their money to drown out the voices of the ordinary American citizen? True statesmanship calls for no less. Bill Turney, Houston

Minimum wages

The headline “As minimum wage rules march toward $15, owners are adapting” (Page D3, Sunday), should have read “As minimum wage rules march toward $15, owners will be laying off workers and consumers will be paying higher prices.”

For years pragmatic economists have warned that government-enforced higher wages will drive up costs to consumers and decrease employment.

The article bears witness to this referencing multiple times that employers will be cutting staff, getting work done with fewer staffers and raising prices. Even California’s governor Jerry Brown admitted recently that a higher minimum wage does not make economic sense but makes “good politics.”

When people start paying $12 for a self-served latte, then maybe they will begin to understand Econ 101. Edward A. Vesely, West University Place