Several commenters tossed around pros and cons of the minimum wage. The rejected comment added to the discussion the fact that an additional 70 cents an hour or $28 for a 40-hour week is not the entire cost to employers. Payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) costs employers another 7.65 percent of wages, and government also demands more in unemployment insurance, etc. Valid points, but to those valid points this anonymous reader added an insulting remark about the alleged ignorance of a previous commenter, who was not anonymous.
Because Blogger software does not allow me to edit out offensive portions of a comment, I had two choices: I could allow an anonymous reader to insult another reader who had the integrity to use his own name, or I could reject the comment. I chose the latter.
This episode has given me cause to think again about requiring registration to comment on this blog. That might discourage some commenters, which I don't want to do, but it might be the best alternative. It is a guiding principle of journalism that anonymous personal attacks should not be allowed. I think it's a good idea for blogging, too.
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