Karen Handel’s comment that she does not support a “Livable Wage” supports the narrative that Conservatives in general do not support the idea that poor people deserve any respect or consideration.
This post from George Lakoff articulates the notion that how we view “Narrative” matters.
Osoff, asked in the debate about the minimum wage, shifted the frame away from immediate numbers that could approach $15 an hour over a reasonable period of time so that small businesses would have time to adjust. He said that he believed that any American who works a 40-hour-a-week job deserves a livable wage. In short, if you work a full week on a job, your wages should be enough for you to live on — even if only at a barely livable level. This was an important frame shift via words: “minimum” to “livable,” getting at the real issue.
Handel disagreed, saying: “I do not support a livable wage!”
During Watergate, Richard Nixon famously said, “I am not a crook.” And, immediately, Americans coast-to-coast thought of him as a crook. This incident inspired my book title Don’t Think of an Elephant! ” What does the title make you think of? Why does negating an idea so often have […]
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