Last week, President Donald Trump ordered a drone attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Iran responded with missile strikes Tuesday against two military bases in Iraq.
On Wednesday, the president did not vow retaliation as many expected. Instead, he announced severe economic sanctions against Iran while holding out the possibility of better relations with the U.S. if that country gives up its nuclear weapons ambitions and support for terrorism.
Some critics have been critical of the president for ordering the drone strike. There have been predictions of a war with Iran. Some of the president's supporters would like to see more military force against Iran. But others say the president is handling things just right.
We want to know what you think. Do you support the course the president is laying with Iran? Or do you think he should take another direction?
Send your response (50 words maximum) to [email protected] by Wednesday, January 15. You can also mail your response to the Texarkana Gazette Friday Poll, at P.O. Box 621, Texarkana, TX 75504 or drop it off at our office, 101 E. Broad St, Texarkana, Ark. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. We will print as many responses as we can in next Friday's paper.
Last Week: Minimum Wage?
Last week's question was about Arkansas' new $10 minimum wage. Will the higher Arkansas minimum wage hurt businesses or are fears overblown? And should Texas raise its minimum wage?
The main problem with minimum wage laws is not businesses problems, but senior citizens living on a fixed incomes who cannot keep up with the rise in costs when the wage rises followed by the prices charged for necessities, such as food and medicine rise to meet the labor costs. - J.C., Texarkana, Texas
From Facebook.com/texarkanagazette
It's gonna hurt a lot of smaller businesses. Jobs are gonna cut hours and raise prices on merchandise.
No new businesses for Arkansas!
When possible, government needs to stay out of business decisions.
People already making above minimum wage will be hurt the most because most of them will NOT get a raise as prices on everything goes up.
Raise wages and price increase for every thing including food will go up and it hurts small business.
Saying things will go higher is just stupid because the prices are just the same on Texas side as they are in Arkansas.
The minimum wage is zero. That's what you get after the government "helps" you right out of a job.
Texas should raise its minimum wage.
Nobody can live off minimum wage even if you make $10/hour by 8 hours a day working 5 days a week getting bi-weekly pay is $400/weekly and after taxes maybe $350. Both states should raise it way more than $10.
If I own a business and let's say I make $25 for every $100 worth of sales and you make my cost of business go up $3 per hour/per employee, do you think I am just going to eat the cost? No. I am still gonna make my $25, I am simply going to increase my prices to off set my cost.
Let those unwilling to pay a higher wage compete with those companies that will. Raising the minimum wage has no impact on jobs, it's just more fear mongering from the party of Trump.
I had no idea that Texas minimum wage was still $7.25 wow
Raising minimum wage does nothing but kill the $, cause inflation and severely hurt the middle class. It baffles me why someone would vote for it.
Raise the minimum in Texas and legalize marijuana. Yeah, I'm a liberal.
Raising minimum wage sounds great, but I'm afraid the recipients of the raise will see no benefits. It will cause prices on everything to go up.
Abolish minimum wage altogether. Let businesses attract quality employees by leading the way in employer/employee relations, or go bankrupt. Nobody will work for a place that doesn't pay a fair wage for the skill of the labor. If they do, that's on the employee.
This is real simple economics Look at the number of businesses employing low-skilled, entry-level people along I-30 on the Texas side versus the number of businesses on the Arkansas side. If you were going to open a business, where would you go? Texas or Arkansas? In Arkansas, you will pay 30% higher wages irrespective of job performance. In Texas, you can start people low and incentivize good performance. Higher profit margins. Better employee performance. More flexible salary scale. No brainer!
If I (someone making $7.25 an hour) has $700 rent, $300 car payment, $150 insurance, $100 cell phone, gas, food etc. Then all of a sudden I get a $3 pay raise because God bless America. Now I have extra money to spend, when before I didn't. Now I want to go to John's Burgers because I knew he had a $5.99 burger and fries. Obviously, before the wage increase you were out of a customer. Now after, you have a new customer. Minimum wage increase is good for the economy. John raises his $5.99 burger to $9.99 because he feels he has to compete with the minimum wage hike. Now I can't afford that burger and now he lost his customer.
Cost of living rises even if wages don't.
Prices then go up to compensate for employees making more money thus making minimum wage end up being virtually the same as it was buying power wise and the people that are making higher than minimum wage actually lose money because now everything they have to buy costs more and they did not get that raise
Don't be mad when that $8 dollar burger meal increases to $12. Same goes for groceries. Prices will spike, companies gotta make that money back somehow.
I live just a few miles from the Texas state line. As for myself, I will be going to Texas to buy my groceries, and what I don't need right then Not only did the wage increase the local tax increased to for a new adult daycare (jail).
Please don't let anyone on the Texas side know that the minimum wage In Arkansas was $9.25 before this increase. We are talking about 75 cent increase not 3 dollars as some suggest. You didn't see huge price increases on the Arkansas side then and you won't notice them now. Please stop holding wages down. We should all want higher wages for us and others.
I know several businesses that pay more than minimum wage on both sides. Able bodies need to let the young kids that are in school work for minimum wage.
$10 per hour still doesn't go far even for teens, especially the ones paying for their own car, insurance, and cellphone bills or cost of college if their parents can't afford it. God forbid they be 18 and try to live on their own at 7.25 an hour. It's only reasonable that minimum wage go up to be fitting of the high cost of living around here.
It's really simple. You raise minimum wage and all you do is create more people earning minimum wage. Let's say they raised it to $10 an hour on Texas side. So the people that are already making $10 an hour will those people get a $2.75 raise as well? No they will not. Now they will become minimum wage earners. Raising the minimum wage hurts everyone. And helps no one.
It has always been and always will be when minimum wages goes up so does every thing you buy goes up. It's a no brainer. A business can not pay employees more and sell merchandise at the same price.
A store in the community I live in closed its doors after the end of the year. The owner posted on Facebook about the closure and directly blamed the wage increase as the reason.
I recently heard a business owner say they may have to relocate because they can't afford to pay the new minimum wage on Arkansas side. I hope they find a way because we need businesses on AR side.
It's already caused some small businesses to close up shop around here. And businesses are raising prices to compensate. It's a bad thing raising minimum wages. It just hurts poor people more.
Here is a fact. In 1969 minimum wage earners had the buying power of someone making $20 an hour today. America is rapidly become a consumer only company and most jobs are customer relations. I'm sorry we can't all work retail, fast food, restaurants, sales, medicine, and construction. We are ALL under paid, over worked, and not appreciated by most of the employers, who simply view us as cost of doing business instead of a asset to the company.
Wages go up means hours go down and benefits are taken away. Small business will no longer be.
Pay everyone $15.
The businesses will just do what Walmart did cut hours and or put in self checkouts in order to offset the wage hike! Sad but true!
I'm in Washington now after years in Arkansas and Texas. The minimum wage here was $9.75. They voted in $15/hr in increments. Guess what? Folks still are poor and can't afford to live here.