This Just In ...

Tonight on InterCHANGE

Posted by Kevin Fischer on June 4, 2010

Here are the topics the panel discusses tonight on InterCHANGE on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 with a repeat Sunday morning at 11:00:


1 – MINIMUM WAGE.

Last Summer Wisconsin raised the minimum wage for the first time in three years.  Adults (who were getting $6.50) and minor teens (who were getting $5.90) would now both get a minimum of $7.25.  Is it any surprise that some businesses that hired teens now say they are hiring fewer of them?  Or, were those businesses just using teens as a replacement for slave labor because they could get away with it?  Why hire an adult when you could hire a cheaper teen kid?  Or, was that a good way to let teens get experience in the workplace?  Did it make any sense to raise the minimum wage when the economy was in the tank?  Should government be in the wage setting business?

2 – NEW BERLIN.

Folks in New Berlin are all upset about a proposed housing development that would include affordable housing for the working class, specifically apartments for people earning under $35,000 a year.  The mayor had originally supported the idea, but then got bombarded with complaints from residents who didn’t want the low income residents in that community.  After calling the residents of New Berlin bigoted and prejudiced, he flipped and no longer supports the project.  If you want people to work at the Wal-Marts, McDonald’s, and assisted living centers in your community, do you also need to provide them with affordable places to live?  Is this just white upper middle-class New Berlin not wanting any lower-class blacks and Hispanics living in their city?

3 – ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW.

The governor of Arizona has been summoned to the oval office to meet with President Obama today to talk about the Arizona immigration law which is scheduled to take effect next month.  Governor Brewer says the meeting was her idea.  Will she be tough and stand her ground, be open to negotiation, or will she back down?  Will she do what the people in her state want her to do, or will she do what Obama wants her to do?  Does Arizona have the resources to take on the federal government?  Will she promise to delay implementation of the law while solutions are worked on?

4 – Instant Replay and Baseball.

What should baseball do about the Tiger pitcher who lost a perfect game due to the blown call of the first base umpire?  Even the umpire admits blowing the call.  Should baseball use instant replay, or would that just make a long boring game even longer and more boring?  Does the fact that human error is allowed in this game, one of the things that makes it appealing to the general public?