Dear Editor:

While asking the question, “Is morality still alive in the U.S.?”, you might jump to the conclusion – “This is a religious question,” or in defense you might say, “Who says it isn’t alive?”

Historically there is a bundle of evidence that our government paid attention to compelling moral arguments for human rights in our constitution and laws. We teach students that it is morally wrong to bully anyone. It is morally and legally wrong to discriminate against someone because of disability, skin color, gender, religion, etc. Historically all of our labor laws were based on our constitution with regulatory implementation – each one after a moral case was made before leaders and citizens. So when leaders began to ignore these moral arguments, stopped enforcing labor laws without any moral ground for change, the question is appropriate.

Robert Reich notes, “The moral case is that no one should be working full time and still remain in poverty.” The fear of job loss did not stop this country from establishing minimum work standards based on public morality – historically using children in sweat shops and waste factories became repugnant to our sense of morality. In 1911 loss of profit or jobs were unacceptable reasons for continuance of child labor, which became regulated. Today’s negatives are the same as 1938’s when legislation mandated a 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, and the beginning of a national minimum wage. Then and now were threats or projected disasters – job loss, destruction of small business, economic disaster. We hear them frequently - even from well-paid presidents and CEOs. Yet current and past history reflects as long as these fair labor standards were met, the economy strengthened, the middle class grew, and CEOs still managed to be paid 200 times the average employee pay. When did legislative leaders lose sight of the moral case behind our fair labor laws? When did we value corporate profits over fair wages? I see no morality in those who work to suppress wages while providing millions in tax credits to corporations. No one should work full time and remain in poverty.

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb