This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re "Debate stirs anew over Obama minimum wage plan" (Tribune, Feb. 14):
In his State of the Union speech last week, President Barack Obama spoke words that strike fear into conservatives — minimum wage increases.
The next morning, I was awakened by a loud, piercing shriek of metal scraping against metal. It was evident what the sound was. It was the opening of that rusty old file cabinet that contains the age-old arguments against raising the wages of the lowest-paid among us: It will cost jobs, increase unemployment, cause inflation, be bad for the economy, be the downfall of our entire country!
As an old man, I've heard these arguments time and time again. They are no more valid now than when I first heard them as child. They are the product of an ideology that has fought against any help for those entry-level jobs since the first of such laws was passed.
The world turns, but some things never change.
Wayne Bickley
Sandy