In this interview, media darling (regularly cited in local papers and on public television), and City Councilor Nadeem Mazem, indicates he suffers from a common syndrome of Cambridge politicians. He says, " everyone knows it [minimum wage] should be $15 an hour." Really? Everyone? How does he know that? He adds, "everyone [in the Boston area] secretly feels in their gut that this just isn’t going to happen," Again. How does he know what people feel? Especially if it is a secret? He's not the only one who speaks for others, with or without their permission. In a recent interview published in the Cambridge Chronicle, City Councilor Carlone does the same thing. See at this link.
http://enoughroom.blogspot.com/2015/08/cambridge-ma-city-councilor-speaks-for.html
They are not the only ones. Former City Councilor Jim Braude used to do the same thing when he was a councilor. He also did it on his radio show. I asked in a phone call why he did that. It did not stop him. He continues to speak for others. Now he does a local PBS television show and continues the tradition. He added an upgrade. He has three guests for a seven minute segment. That allows for the four of them including the host less than two minutes each to discuss complex issues. In order to extend the time he asks a question of his guests and then cuts them off saying, "I got it." Meaning he is so smart he knows what the guest is going to say. Can he read minds? Is that why he speaks for others? Can the other city councilors also read minds?
Returning to this interview, Councilor Mazem refers to "high value construction that buoys our economy and empowers our local government to do incredible things for education." If that's true why are the educational results of all that money so disappointing? He adds, "we have academic powerhouses, we have everything we need to empower the upper middle class and above." He does not mention teachers unions and other government unions. Public policy is hindered by these unions and none of the politicians speak about them except to boast that they negotiated with the unions for the city. Why is that? Do politicians fear criticizing unions?
Those academic powerhouses are focused properly on educating their students and doing research. What does public school education have to do with that? Is academic excellence of the universities supposed to rub off on the city's students? He suggests a problem without discussing it when he says, "we also have 45 percent of our public school kids on free and reduced lunch, which means that their parents are living around the poverty line." Oh? Cambridge has a large high income population. Why are so many of their children attending private schools? Is there a problem unmentioned with the city's public schools?
Showing off his knowledge of economics Mazem makes a remarkable comment. "if you financially benefit the wealthy, they will save it, but if you put dollars in the pockets of people who are working or middle class, they will spend it at local businesses. It happens right away." How does he know that? Wealthy people invest their money. Poor people have access to the internet and purchase items online anywhere in the world. The Council provided access to the internet for all Cambridge citizens defeating their campaign to buy local. Indeed they hire out of town consultants to make their decisions. What is up with that? Once the Council bought a book as a present for the City Manager. At a public meeting Mayor Reeves boasted that was purchased at Barnes and Nobles.
The final perplexing comment has to do with a proposed experiment of councilors living on $10 a day. Homeless people live on less. Free food is served at venues seven days a week in and around Cambridge. Free clothing, furniture and more. One can get free mental health services too. Some homeless persons abuse the system and pretend to be ill and call emergency services, which provides free rides to hospitals with a free overnight stay with meals. Why not address some solvable problems instead of reinventing the wheel, grandstanding for journalists. The more things change, the more they stay the same imitating Washington DC.
[From article]
I watched, and I think everyone knows it should be $15 an hour, but I also think that everyone [in the Boston area] secretly feels in their gut that this just isn’t going to happen,
[. . .]
We have 105,000 people in this city [Cambridge], but we have an unbelievable amount of extremely high value construction that buoys our economy and empowers our local government to do incredible things for education. But how could we not take care of a very basic wage right? We have commercial development, we have academic powerhouses, we have everything we need to empower the upper middle class and above.
[. . .]
We want to house as many people as possible who need it, housing is a human right, but we also have 45 percent of our public school kids on free and reduced lunch, which means that their parents are living around the poverty line.
[. . .]
the fact is that if you financially benefit the wealthy, they will save it, but if you put dollars in the pockets of people who are working or middle class, they will spend it at local businesses. It happens right away.
[. . .]
We’re also going to do a challenge where councilors and others try to live on the current minimum wage. At the end of the day, the lesson will be that none of us really can live on $10 a day.
https://digboston.com/labor-revolt-in-the-peoples-republik/
LABOR REVOLT IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIK
August 24, 2015
By CHRIS FARAONE
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