#mwin

Every year, lakhs of workers from West Bengal migrate to other states for work—construction sites, factories, hotels, farms, and private households. Most leave without written contracts, local identity documents, or any formal protection. When wages are withheld, jobs are lost, or harassment begins, migrant workers often face a harsh reality: they are invisible to the system. To address this,…

Starting a new segment here on the blog where I provide a little commentary on several of the most interesting headlines (good, bad and funny) that I've found scattered throughout the web. I'd love to hear comments and suggestions. Most of all, I'd love to hear what other people think about some of these headlines.

Without further ado:

USA Today: How you subsidize the minimum wage http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/10/29/how-you-subsidize-the-minimum-wage/3295759/

What I found most depressing about this article is how backwards this entire system seems to me. If the federal government would just raise the minimum wage, then they could save so much money on these federal assistance programs that drain half a trillion dollars from the government each year.

NY Times: New York Raising Age to Buy Cigarettes to 21 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/nyregion/new-york-approves-law-to-raise-tobacco-purchasing-age-to-21.html?_r=0

I understand where NYC officials are coming from on all of these laws to promote personal health like trying to ban large sodas and raising the age for cigarettes. I've had a long-standing internal debate about how I feel when it comes to this kind of government imposition of people's right to choose what they want to do. In my opinion, it's all well-meaning, but these kinds of health issues are individual things that people need to work through. Provide them resources to help quit destructive habits, be it drinking, smoking or overeating, but don't make it illegal.

I also have strong opinions on cigaretts being legal and marijuana in general being outlawed, but that's another post for another time.

Waitress Who Accused Customer Of Leaving Racial Slur On Receipt Is Being Sued For Fraud http://ifyoucantaffordtotip.com/waitress-accused-customer-leaving-racial-slur-receipt-sued-fraud/

This is one of those situations where I don't want to take a side, because it's really hard to figure out who to believe. Either way, this is terrible stuff. On the one hand, if the customer really did write the racial slur on the receipt, it's despicable that people with this mindset still exist. On the other hand, the waitress using a lie to generate support and $10,000 is so profoundly wrong. This isn't a Trayvon-esque situation yet, but it could easily gain some national traction the longer this plays out.