Daniel Bruce: At a minimum, everyone has the right to dignity and living wage

Re “New minimum wage is a double-edged sword” (Page 6A, Jan. 6): Pros and cons are always a factor in debates about employment, wages, taxes, expenses, business profits, etc. The core of the minimum wage issue is human rights. It is a right that humans be allowed to work and contribute to the greater good of society and be treated with appreciation and dignity.

There is plenty of work to be done to improve the standard of living for all of us – sanitation, beautification, human services, infrastructure, etc. It appears the almighty dollar is god. In the corporate realm, workers are being maxed out and pushed to do more than humanly healthy to keep stockholders and CEOs fat and happy. This strategy has been infused into the public sector to bolster salaries and egos at the top.

This whole systemic mess can be best exemplified in Dr. Seuss’s “Yertle the Turtle.” Poor Max is on the bottom of the turtle stack holding up the ego-centric and power greedy Yertle.

We are all in this together. Work is honorable and a human right. Tax the robots, create more jobs. We need trainers, educators, service workers, builders, artists, etc. Get rid of the Yertles.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Daniel Bruce: At a minimum, everyone has the right to dignity and living wage."