One thing is certain: organized labor groups will never protest against any kind of proposed wage hike, legislated or otherwise.

Shortly after businessmen groups in the province published an open letter, appealing to their "Brethren in the Labor Sector" to support them in their fight against the legislated wage hike, a labor group, as expected, immediately came out with their own press release slamming the open letter.

Even my initial reaction upon reading that open letter was one of disbelief. Could this seemingly diverse and experienced group of businessmen be so naïve to believe that an appeal in the form of a full page ad would get the support of laborers in stopping a legislated wage hike from becoming a reality? Maybe they know something we don't know. Maybe the target of their open letter weren't the laborers at all. Maybe I have become too cynical for my own good.

One thing is certain: organized labor groups will never protest against any kind of proposed wage hike, legislated or otherwise. Why would they since the primary reason of the existence of any labor group is to "protect the laborers", and any form of wage increase can never been seen by any organized group of laborers (militant or otherwise), as detrimental for laborers. However, the fact remains that if this proposed legislated wage hike becomes a law, thousands of small and medium sized businesses will be forced to choose between the following: comply with the law, close shop, or go underground. Nobody can deny that of those three options, only one is actually beneficial to laborers.

There was this recently-published item where the writer, obviously "pro-labor", erroneously compared the P125-wage hike to the gross sales of a gas station as an example. If I remember right, the writer pointed out that P125 was only equal to 4 liters of gasoline sales, a very small percentage of the daily sales of a gasoline station. The writer apparently does not do any business, because he forgot to consider that businesses do not run on gross sales but on net sales. Let's take his theoretical assumptions into the real world, where for argument's sake we can make the aggressive assumption that a gas station makes a 25 percent profit margin for every liter of gas sold.

For easier computation, let's peg the price of gasoline at P40 per liter. Twenty-five percent of P40 means gas stations make P10 for every liter sold, so to pay an additional 125 in wages, the gas station has to sell an extra 12.5 liters of gas instead of the 4 liters estimated by the writer. The 8.5-liter difference may sound small, but that makes his estimate off by 212 percent. In business, making the wrong estimates and assumptions mean the difference between staying open and closing shop, which means the difference between a monthly paycheck and getting laid off.

On the other hand, the threat of layoffs and closures being raised by businessmen as one of their primary arguments against a legislated wage hike, while possible, could also be overblown. After all, businessmen have to defend their interests and nothing can be scarier to their partners in the labor sector than layoffs and closures. However, given the fact that a very large percentage of businesses in this country are small, medium, and mirco sized, a legislated wage hike will definitely have a significant impact on their operations. After all, businesses, no matter what the size, are money making ventures, not charities. And if the cost of doing business has reached a prohibitive level, any beleaguered business will have to reconsider its options.

After all the arguments and rebuttals by the protagonists in this issue, the fact remains that the minimum wage in this country is barely enough for basic necessities of most families. No one can deny the need for higher wages. But, the burden and responsibility of determining wage hikes lies with the regional wage boards. Our congressmen have again meddled in affairs that they have no business in, in their quest to earn maximum pogi points which are obviously for re-election purposes, at the expense of economic sabotage and rekindling another class war between the laborers and the capitalists.

The labor sector, whether in agreement with this proposed bill or not, they should not allow their votes to be purchased wholesale so cheaply.

A Prayer for Your Thoughts

Prayer is the conduit that connects mortal man with the immortal God. It is the switch that turns on the display of God's awesome power. We survived 2006 because You had been with us throughout the year.

It is our prayer that just as You had been with us last year, You will also be with us, to guide us and lead us in 2007.

What to write. This, I think, is the biggest headache that ails me as a columnist. There were times when I wanted to write about a particular issue but, in the end, decided not to because it was too personal for public consumption. Or. it might not really interest the reader.

As I was wondering, again, what topic I should tackle this week, I got this funny idea, which may not be funny after all and which got me into serious thinking. After pondering on it, I said "Why not?" It would do more good than harm. And, besides, we all need it anyway.

If Twinkling has her Christmas carols columns and Feedback has his ballad and poetry columns, why not have a prayer column.

Why a prayer column? Because there are certain things easier said in prayer. Because prayer seems to have become a lost tradition, if you may call it that, in our generation. Because we can't get by in this life without it.

Something always happens when we pray. Miracles happen. Doors are opened. Provisions come. Protection is assured. And lives are changed.

And God never leaves any prayer unanswered. It can be a yes; it may be a no; or He might ask you to wait for it, but the answer always comes.

Let us recapture the joy of praying. Let us pray.

"When man works, man works.

When man prays, God works."

-Pat Johnson

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