Readers Write: May 26

With overtime, U.S. should also raise wages

There are roughly 122 million people employed full-time in the U.S. The new overtime rule will affect about four million of them. But even with a minuscule 3.3 percent of workers who could benefit from overtime pay, some employers like Bernie Marcus are opposed. Currently Home Depot is enjoying record earnings, by the way. Certainly, a company that earned $1.8 billion last quarter can afford to pay their workers overtime.

On top of the new overtime rule, our nation should raise the minimum wage. Doing so would help nearly 40 million low-wage workers and their families afford rent and other necessities. Take the example of Seattle; last year they started to phase-in increases to their minimum wage. The wage is now at $13 per hour, and they’ve seen minor rises in prices and little to no adverse effects to employment rates.

DON MCADAM, SANDY SPRINGS

Carry-on bags should be restricted

It’s become commonplace to find fault with others for our own shortcomings. A good example is finding fault with the TSA because security lines are long and the check is intrusive, while demanding that air travel remain safe, secure and relatively efficient and comfortable. People continue to show up at the airport carrying all of their earthly possessions in a backpack and a carryon-size roller and expecting to check neither. Intuitively, I think we all know that the the single best way to alleviate long lines at security checkpoints is to reduce or eliminate most carry-on bags. For the naysayers, the percentage of lost and mishandled baggage is 1 percent of the traveling public and it’s much easier to screen people than objects.