Do you ever wonder how "a single mother of two from Atlanta" who earns the minimum wage has the dough to plunk down for travel to Washington, D.C., lodging, and child care to attend a left-wing rally? I sure do. But then, it can't be that difficult when you're a professional victim for a left-wing group.
Washington Post reporter Xinyun Yang quoted one Irene Cole of Atlanta, Ga., at the close of his July 25 article "Democrats Cheer Wage Hike." "From $5.15 to $5.85 -- that's... a big raise, and we do thank you," Yang quoted Cole, who attended yesterday's "rally of union and activist groups on Capitol Hill."
Haven't I heard Cole's name before? Oh yeah, I have. It cropped up in January when I wrote about ABC's biased treatment of the minimum wage for the MRC's Business & Media Institute. Reporter Dean Reynolds cited Cole in his report on the January 10 "World News."
After reviewing that story, I realized two things. First, Cole misled the Post's Yang. She earns at least $6-an-hour (when she's working for private employers), and secondly, Cole is no stranger to whipping up crowds at liberal activist rallies (no word how much she's paid or compensated for expenses for her activist work):
To cap off his story, Reynolds introduced viewers to single Atlanta mother Irene Cole, who earned $6 an hour – 17 percent more than minimum wage – at a part-time job and lamented she was “going backwards instead of forward” with her low wages, adding that her paycheck barely covered groceries and bus fare to work.
Full-time workers are more likely to enjoy a larger boost in pay over time than part-time employees like Cole – a fact Reynolds didn’t mention. The ABC correspondent also left out that Cole is politically active in the push to raise the minimum wage.
According to the Athens [Ga.] Banner-Herald, “Cole, a single mother and day laborer from Atlanta” spoke in December at “a news conference put on by the Georgia Minimum Wage Campaign” aiming at pushing state lawmakers to raise the minimum wage.
“Something’s got to give … and it starts with you guys,” Banner-Herald staffer Briana Brough quoted Cole scolding state legislators in attendance at the news conference.
For a frazzled, poor mother of two, Cole sure does get lots of media attention, like this July 24 NPR "News & Notes" interview, Atlanta Progressive News (February 18), and AxcessNews.com (July 25), excerpted below:
(AXcess News) Washington - Irene Cole would like to buy her sons steak for a change, but at more than $11 a package in her grocery store, it's an extravagance her budget just doesn't allow.
Instead, most nights the boys eat chicken.
"It's all I can afford," said Cole, 36, of Atlanta a single mother to two boys, 15 and 16.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
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I have never seen such lack
July 25, 2007 - 13:13 ET by dscottI have never seen such lack of curiosity out of network journalists. How about some human interest back ground on Cole? Two teenage kids and a single mother. How about some obvious questions? Does she get child support? Is she getting Food Stamps? Does she get public assistance housing? Are both sons in high school? Do either work a part time job as teenagers are likely to do? What's Cole's educational level? Graduate high school? Any community college? Is she taking any courses to advance her career say like becoming an Xray tech or paralegal? Has she considered moving to an area of better job opportunity, i.e. an area of low unemployment allowing her to have higher pay for her existing skills? If she can take time off work to travel to DC, surely she can relocate for a better paying job?
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
Effort
July 25, 2007 - 14:06 ET by TotheRightofReaganThat would require way too much effort, besides really there are only two questions that need to be answered for any MSM story: "How did George Bush and his administration screw you over this time?" and "How much better off would you be if a Democrat was in the office?"
“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. “ – Ronald Reagan
As usual we never get the
July 25, 2007 - 14:17 ET by rob6677As usual we never get the full story on people like this. All the great points you bring up are just not allowed for the stereotypical single mom. I've been unemployed and had low paying jobs, but thanks to my wonderful high school economics teacher, I would never demand a minimum wage increase!
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana!" Groucho
Irene Cole would like to
July 25, 2007 - 13:18 ET by mikejIrene Cole would like to buy her sons steak for a change, but at more than $11 a package in her grocery store, it's an extravagance her budget just doesn't allow.............."It's all I can afford,"
Well Duh!!!! I'd like to drive a Jaguar XK8 or Aston Martin, but you know what? I CAN'T AFFORD IT so I don't. Actually I would settle for a top of the line Dually, but I can't afford that either, so I make due with what I can get.
BTW, isn't chicken better for you than steak according to the "experts" and also doesn't eating meat contribute to Al Gorbal Church of Warmenetics?
How dare those greedy
July 25, 2007 - 15:01 ET by HypocriteHaterHow dare those greedy grocery stores charge $11 for steak. Don't they know there a single moms out there who work part time and have 2 teenage sons that require steak? Where oh where are the democrats asking for price control legislation on steak? Those big beef corporations are making record profits at the expense of the poor.
And polluting the air also!
July 25, 2007 - 15:17 ET by PawpawNProfit and pollution! Remember that cows give off more emissions than SUVs ever would!!
Your leaving out the fame factor
July 25, 2007 - 13:52 ET by c5thenPrehaps being famous for earning "only $6 an hour working a part time job" is worth more to Irene than getting a new job earning $7 or more, or working full time? I don't know. I'd be willing to bet that if we added up the value of the food stamps, welfare, SCHIP coverage, and earned income credit on her Federal Tax return, she's making significantly more then $6 an hour.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic
What we figure out about...
July 25, 2007 - 17:21 ET by JungusWhat is it that we can figure out about a woman who's greatest achievement is known for only being able to hold down a minimum-wage part-time job?
Most high school graduates (and probably dropouts) already have gotten a raise or two by the time they are 19.
Minimum Wage Hurts the Poor
July 25, 2007 - 14:38 ET by deerjerkydaveI used to believe in the concept of a minimum wage. Reading Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" changed my mind.
The real minimum wage is zero dollars an hour...or in other words
unemployed. What the minimum wage effectively does is say, "if your
skills are worth less than this minimum, we'd prefer you to be
unemployed." The result is that this ends up hurting the very people that
its supposed to help: the poor who have little or no skills.
I'm reminded of an old article from the Limbaugh letter I believe, where
a pizza shop owner in Oregon got fed up with the homeless hanging out
in front of his shop. So he gave them money to encourage people to
enter his restaurant. Unfortunately for the owner, he was paying them
below minimum wage and had to cease the practice of giving the
homeless jobs because their skills were not worth minimum wage.
Professional Victim
July 25, 2007 - 14:48 ET by Six String Spiff'Professional Victim' That sums up the entire liberal, far left, socialist, communist, base. Nice work!
It reminds me of when Rush Limbaugh - err "That Great Man" was pointing out that the leftists are people who stand around waiting to be offended.
What the MSSM doesn't report can kill you.
My first thought is how
July 25, 2007 - 15:49 ET by SmartypantsMy first thought is how valuable can this person be as an employee if her boss will not pay her more than $6/hr even after an extended period of time. We all demonstrate our value to our bosses over time, which should result in some level of pay increase. The better we are, the more productive, the more we will be paid. Employees who remain at a minimum wage level indefinitely are either naive to their own worth or are already being paid at least what they are worth.
Here in Florida, the
July 25, 2007 - 16:05 ET by dscottHere in Florida, the minimum pay is $7.50/hr for a maid at a hotel, that's a semi-skilled job. So I question why she is still earning $6/hr. Either she is working in an area that is swamped with low paid workers which means she needs to move or her skills need to be improved or she is one of these unemployables who for whatever the reason can only get unskilled menial temp jobs. If she had any secretarial skills for a receptionist, she would make more than $7/hr. None of these situations warrant a quote minimum wage set by the government. Quite frankly, if the illegals were sent packing, wages would go up. Let's not forget illegals took a lot of non agricultural jobs, there aren't 12 million jobs in agriculture in this country, 1 million tops. Deport 11 million and Ms. Cole will be able to get a $10/hr job, no problem if and that's a big IF she is an employable person.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
Spot on, dscott. I pay
July 25, 2007 - 19:24 ET by BlondeSpot on, dscott.
I pay high school kids (summer interns) $10.00 an hour. And am glad to have (most of) them. I pay my handyman about twice that.
The fact that this woman earns so little is hardly a concern of mine. She's obviously not worth any more than she's being paid. I'd pay her $10 an hour to shut up, actually.
Liar
July 25, 2007 - 15:59 ET by allanfI cannot speak for Atlanta. But in New York City it is easier to find a liar than a minimum wage job. No one pays minimum wage.
Aren't they the same!
July 25, 2007 - 16:18 ET by PawpawNAren't they the same! Do you really think someone would believe that one could live in NYC on minimum wage alone! Bet those tips add up real quick! Oh, but we didn't include those, did we! What boat are you riding in?
If I was working a job
July 25, 2007 - 18:49 ET by Chris NormanIf I was working a job (where assuming I was giving it all my effort) and I was still making minimum wage after a few months, I would leave that job and seek a position where, however menial, my skills and effort were appreciated and rewarded. That's the beauty of the marketplace - you can shop your skills and effort around. Minimum wage, like unions today, just guarantee mediocrity...
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
Willing to Work
July 25, 2007 - 19:08 ET by allanfThats because you are willing to work. Others are just there for there their entitlements (brought to them by the Democratic Party).
If one is content to
July 25, 2007 - 19:13 ET by Chris NormanIf one is content to coast along for years in a job for a government mandated low wage, one is probably worth less than that mandated hourly wage...
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
"Something’s got to give
July 25, 2007 - 19:28 ET by ckc1227"Something’s got to give … and it starts with you guys,” Banner-Herald
staffer Briana Brough quoted Cole scolding state legislators in
attendance at the news conference."
Something's got to give, alright, but you can be sure that "something" won't be her doing anything to better her situation. 37, with two kids, and she's only working PART-TIME? Give me a break.
What she really means is someBODY has got to give....TO HER! This woman should be the poster child on how NOT to avoid poverty: Uneducated, unwed, with 2 kids, and only willing to work part-time. Add them up, and it's no steak for you, mama bear.
Woe, 37 and she making only
July 25, 2007 - 19:51 ET by dscottWoe, 37 and she making only $6/hr????? Sorry but something doesn't add up here. She had all those years when the kids were in school and didn't avail herself of any training programs, any education? I seriously can not believe any person in such a position who wanted or had the desire to make more money would not take advantage of all the programs out there. No, what we are dealing with here is someone who used the system to get by in life and now has sour grapes for her poor choices? and expects someone else to pony up for the difference? NO, unexceptable. She needs to be cut off all assistance, and given the ages of the kids, I suspect she has just realized that the gravy train is over when the last one turns 18 or graduates high school. Ah, that's right, if they don't graduate but are still in school, she continues to collect. Isn't she subject to the two year cut off under welfare reform?
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
Poor Irene Cole. I guess
July 25, 2007 - 22:37 ET by BlazerPoor Irene Cole. I guess the America owes her, and her sons steak, instead of her trying to move up the succes ladder, to keep from earning min. wage, working part time at 36 yrs. old.
Can anyone here say "lackluster, lifetime, entitlement queen"?
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "
- Ben Kenobi on Liberals, and the MSM.
Irene Cole
August 4, 2007 - 22:49 ET by RMRRMR
Could Irene Cole be minimum wages' RAGE BOY?
Just asking.