“What exactly is meant by a free ID in this context, and is a free voter ID really free?
Drawing on published articles obtained through the Internet, media, and legal testimony, this report calculates the costs incurred by three different individuals who had to obtain free voter identification cards in each of three
states — Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas.
Each state has enacted controversial, and legally contested, voter identification laws in the past three years. Since data on costs are not readily obtainable, this report develops a method for estimating the costs of a free state issued photo ID for voting based on the factors of time, travel and out of pocket expenses:
1. Time costs involved in learning about photo voter ID requirements and how to meet them.
2.Costs of purchasing required birth, marriage, naturalization and other certificates. In some instances, the calculations include legal fees needed to secure these documents.
3. Costs of travel expenses to the departments of vital records and motor vehicles, and the potential cost of hiring a driver and/or vehicle.
4. Costs of travel time and waiting time at the agencies.
This report finds that the expenses for documentation, travel, and waiting time are significant especially for minority group and low income voters typically ranging from about $75 to $175.
When legal fees are added to these numbers, the costs range as high as $1,500. Even when adjusted for inflation, these figures represent substantially greater costs than the $1.50 poll tax outlawed by the 24th amendment in 1964.”
A random thought on typical minimum wage studies — where employment in states that raise the minimum something like a dollar an hour are compared to (usually nearby) states that don’t (everything controlled for everything).
I once wrote that a dollar an hour raise in the federal minimum wage would shift about 1/4 of one percent of income. Any poverty fighting or employment effects should be lost in the noise — unrecoverable.
Lately I considered that there are meaningful studies that are able to detect effects. But, at the same time I realize these studies seem to be (if I remember correctly) all of fast food restaurants. And fast food has by far the highest labor costs; 33% compared to less than half that for most industries — 7% for Walmart.
All of which may mean that studies of the employment effects of (minimal — dollar an hour type) minimum wage raises have had to be done on fast food only (correct me if I’m wrong) for there to be any measurable effect to record. Fast food hires something like 2% of the workforce. Hidden dimension of such fast food focuses: minimal minimum wage raises should be expected to have little to no effect on employment across the board.
I’m a bit dumb struck that only this morning, a week after the event, I read of Chomsky having given a talk at the U.N. It is described as being given to the General Assembly, but appears to be given in a Committee setting,but with a reasonably large audience. The topic was Isreal/Palestine. Chomsky’s comments during a nearly one hour Q&A with the UN press corps prior to his talk made many excellent points, one of which is that political policy change follows change in the public’s perception and positions of an issue. And that such changes in the public’s perception is corollary to the media’s presentation of such issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJh5muRa8zk. Following a question from woman in a red dress at about 26:30.
I became aware of the Chomsky UN talk, which took place on October 14th, by chance connection from a site linking to the videos. Google Chomsky at the UN. There is virtually not a single reference to the main stream media about the talk. Go to the NY Times site. Type Chomsky at UN into their search box. Nothing!!!!! I guess Noam is correct when he notes in the press conference that the press ignore even well thought out critiques of power elite policy. An American academic addresses a UN body and no one in the media other than Amy Goodman covers the event. Astounding.
“What exactly is meant by a free ID in this context, and is a free voter ID really free?
Drawing on published articles obtained through the Internet, media, and legal testimony, this report calculates the costs incurred by three different individuals who had to obtain free voter identification cards in each of three
states — Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas.
Each state has enacted controversial, and legally contested, voter identification laws in the past three years. Since data on costs are not readily obtainable, this report develops a method for estimating the costs of a free state issued photo ID for voting based on the factors of time, travel and out of pocket expenses:
1. Time costs involved in learning about photo voter ID requirements and how to meet them.
2.Costs of purchasing required birth, marriage, naturalization and other certificates. In some instances, the calculations include legal fees needed to secure these documents.
3. Costs of travel expenses to the departments of vital records and motor vehicles, and the potential cost of hiring a driver and/or vehicle.
4. Costs of travel time and waiting time at the agencies.
This report finds that the expenses for documentation, travel, and waiting time are significant especially for minority group and low income voters typically ranging from about $75 to $175.
When legal fees are added to these numbers, the costs range as high as $1,500. Even when adjusted for inflation, these figures represent substantially greater costs than the $1.50 poll tax outlawed by the 24th amendment in 1964.”
http://www.charleshamiltonhouston.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/FullReportVoterIDJune2014.pdf
A random thought on typical minimum wage studies — where employment in states that raise the minimum something like a dollar an hour are compared to (usually nearby) states that don’t (everything controlled for everything).
I once wrote that a dollar an hour raise in the federal minimum wage would shift about 1/4 of one percent of income. Any poverty fighting or employment effects should be lost in the noise — unrecoverable.
Lately I considered that there are meaningful studies that are able to detect effects. But, at the same time I realize these studies seem to be (if I remember correctly) all of fast food restaurants. And fast food has by far the highest labor costs; 33% compared to less than half that for most industries — 7% for Walmart.
All of which may mean that studies of the employment effects of (minimal — dollar an hour type) minimum wage raises have had to be done on fast food only (correct me if I’m wrong) for there to be any measurable effect to record. Fast food hires something like 2% of the workforce. Hidden dimension of such fast food focuses: minimal minimum wage raises should be expected to have little to no effect on employment across the board.
I’m a bit dumb struck that only this morning, a week after the event, I read of Chomsky having given a talk at the U.N. It is described as being given to the General Assembly, but appears to be given in a Committee setting,but with a reasonably large audience. The topic was Isreal/Palestine. Chomsky’s comments during a nearly one hour Q&A with the UN press corps prior to his talk made many excellent points, one of which is that political policy change follows change in the public’s perception and positions of an issue. And that such changes in the public’s perception is corollary to the media’s presentation of such issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJh5muRa8zk. Following a question from woman in a red dress at about 26:30.
I became aware of the Chomsky UN talk, which took place on October 14th, by chance connection from a site linking to the videos. Google Chomsky at the UN. There is virtually not a single reference to the main stream media about the talk. Go to the NY Times site. Type Chomsky at UN into their search box. Nothing!!!!! I guess Noam is correct when he notes in the press conference that the press ignore even well thought out critiques of power elite policy. An American academic addresses a UN body and no one in the media other than Amy Goodman covers the event. Astounding.