$15 minimum wage will be hurtful overall
As we have seen before, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is back to his bullying tactics, this time screaming about the minimum wage. When the people of New York don’t agree with him, he does what he wants anyway. Now he is trying a back-door game of bait-and-switch to force our lawmakers to his will.
He says that $15 per hour wage is fair because it matches inflation. Yet no one else’s wages have kept up. This will increase pay for a few, cause more to lose jobs and hurt all New Yorkers with a decrease in their purchasing power.
Why not try to lift our economy by making New York a place that businesses want to bring jobs and competition, not by chasing them away and handing us the bill.
Robert Todt
Amsterdam
Tired of listening to all the talk of racism
Thank God the Academy Awards are over with. I could not take anymore of Chris Rock’s racist remarks. Fifteen minutes was enough. The awards show is about talent, not racism and politics.
What in the world did Emily Blunt and Charlize Theron do to deserve the introduction he gave them? “Please welcome somebody white and whiter.” How about his other remark, “That the annual in memoriam tribute should honor black people who were shot by cops on their way to the movies.”
Chris also made the comment that maybe there should be a black category so blacks can get their own “best of awards.”
He’s right, add it to the list of other black media shows, etc. Such as Miss Black America, Black America Music Awards, also BET, Black History Month, Essence and Ebony publications. Please don’t say this is OK because of your culture and/or heritage.
Let’s be fair, black America. Stop crying about racism and discrimination. People of other cultures and heritages are not listening anymore. We’re tired of it.
Alex Hamilton
Schenectady
Hard to justify police overtime vs. DA pay
Re March 3 article, “Gillen tops list of highest-earning Schenectady County employees”: After reading the article with regard to the highest salaries paid in Schenectady County, I came away wondering how a patrol officer could make more than our district attorney, Robert Carney.
Mr. Carney, as our district attorney, works a 24/7 job, 365 days a year. He is called out at all hours of the night, and weekends don’t exist, as he is on call day or night. As district attorney, he is responsible for a large staff and is responsible for keeping well-trained people who work to keep our streets safe. Anyone who knows Mr. Carney knows he is a tireless worker who has done a superb job since first being elected.
During his tenure, Schenectady County has had a stellar record of convictions of those who have violated our laws. I would venture to say that if Mr. Carney’s pay were based on an hourly wage, he would be lucky to be getting minimum wage. When compared to patrolmen’s pay, I feel our district attorney is a bargain.
This being said, I also believe there is something wrong when a patrolman makes more in overtime than in base salary. In point of fact, the figures imply that we need more patrolmen who could be paid with the overtime money being paid. Enough said.
Gary Philip Guido
Rotterdam
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