THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604200012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 27 lines
What is the work ethic worth? I hope it's more than $4.25 per hour, the current federal minimum wage earned by workers who typically perform necessary menial, dirty and boring jobs not providing a living wage.
These workers are the most vulnerable to economic exploitation. They are the least able to protest or defend themselves.
All full-time gainful employment deserves to be paid above the poverty level if the work ethic means anything, especially in an affluent society like our own.
Our free-enterprise system will thrive better when employers can afford to pay an increased minimum wage because they are successful, not marginal, producers. Paying a higher minimum wage would promote the work ethic.
JOSEPH MAZZETTA
Chesapeake, April 15, 1996 by CNB