Letters to the Editors 8-6

New water rates to inflict financial burden

I am writing in response to last Sunday’s guest column by New Mexico American Water Co. Vice President Kathy Wright (“New water rates to provide for long-term”):

According to my last water bill, I have one of those households that uses more than 15,000 gallons of water in a month, at least during the summer months.

I water my trees, so they can provide shade for my home and lower my electric bill. I water my vegetable garden so it can provide food for my table. I use soaker hoses and do not water the grass. I have an older home and my appliances and fixtures are 20 to 30 years old.

According to Wright’s plan, I will be charged more for my water and I will be fined for my water use. I know I can’t be the only one in town in this situation.

Wright’s solution is that I buy all new appliances and grow cactus. It’s a sad state of affairs when we are risking even more financial burdens simply by trying to conserve on our electric and food bills.

Gail Sharpe

Clovis

Lower purchase power supports wage increase

While trying to understand the minimum wage issue, I came across an interesting statistic.

I found that the purchasing power of the minimum wage in 1996 was $13,338 for a 40-hour week and work at 52 weeks per year. In 2005, the purchasing power for the same time period of work was $10,712.

In other words, it would take a minimum wage of $6.41 in 2005 just to break even with the 1996 minimum wage.

To me the only way for a business owner to be against an increase in the minimum wage is if they can show a similar loss of their profits and their salaries as reflected in the purchase power of those profits. So I would like to suggest that everyone contact their lawmakers and urge them to support a national increase of the minimum wage.

My source was the Economic History Services Web site at: eh.net

Hank Bruner

Clovis