Raise The Minuimum Wage So People Can Eat!

Another one-dimensional approach to an issue? You must be going for the record.

Free trade helps an awful lot when you consider foreign investment into the US, it opens up huge markets for the US to export to, it lets you specialize in the industries in which you're most efficient, and thus leaves most consumer goods much cheaper.

Hell, organizations like the WTO are pretty much theft by the US/other developed worlds.

 

Well if you ever make it down here come and see me-We'll go have a little talk on "economics"-1 boot up 1 ass =2 sore cheeks!

 

Its almost not worth replying to this thread anymore since everyones callin each other shithead and everything. I dont get why people have to get so personal - cant you just debate the issues in something resembling maturity?

Anyway gardener said

Thats the problem as we are finding out in britain - the legislature creates its own wage tariffs and in Britain even the lowliest member of parliament is taking home somewhere around £1 million
or $2 million USD. Thats mainly expenses - well you have to ask how someone on that wage would understand what its like to live on £5 per hour ($10USD)
it beggars belief that they can walk around a supermarket and not realise the average single person without kids will spend £40 $80USD on food. thats 1 days wages at the minimum wage - whereas its about 5 minutes work to a member of parliament. a couple with kids is looking to spend at least 2 days wages (at the minimum wage) to afford food and a lot more for utilities - something somewhere is wrong - either the MP's need less money or need to rethink at what level they themselves have the right to set a minimum wage - it should be aligned on a percentage increase that tallies with their percentages - so if an MP's wages increase by 10% so does the minimum wage, you can bet that would hold the mp's payrises down massively

 

Why is it since all the free trade agreements, the US now has a much larger trade deficit. Who exactly are we exporting to...3d world nations that assemble the parts we send them into goods they export back to the US consumer?

There is a point where a human can not be more productive. There are so many hours in the day and so much one laborer can do. The US has lead in productivity gains, and we now have outsourced those technologies and knowledge to countries that because of their lower wage scales can under cut us. When do the smart people stand up and say we came up with the solution, you pay us a reasonable price for the product?

 

Thanks Colombo for speaking up for the little man that also buys milk, bread and eggs, and has to try and pay their utility bills. Many of them don't turn the heat on in the winter or the air conditioner in the summer. The republicans' laughed well the elderly in California died in the cold or heat this last summer, because Enron and the other energy companies are now unregulated and can play whatever games they like. But let's nitpick about giving the lowest on the economic scale the first increase they've received in ten years.

 

Unions and collective bargaining are not the evils that the republicans have painted for years. They allowed the average worker to state their position and have a valuable role in negotiations.

Now the average worker has no voice.

Sure there has been corruption in unions, but look at the corruption in Washinton. I think the solution is to not allow corruption to rule in either.

 

the idea of unions and what they started out doing is not as bad as what they have become. it had turned into a mob demanding more wages than their job is worth. Companies are going to find other areas to cut cost to make up for the extra money they are paying their workers. If they raise prices they will lose business and in turn cut jobs. Its a very complex situation though, the free market system is. I see very few if any human restrictions that have led to positive things strictly speaking on the economic side of things. MOST companies turn a very small %. There are exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions.

 

What has the Washington elite become? Companies can try and find ways to cut costs and increase their bottomline, but if the workers that make their products refuse to train their scab work forces, how will they survive...by allowing that those that produce and improve their products should be allowed a living wage and respect. It's time for the worker to view their contributions as worthy of respect once again.

 

The lower level American and western workers that helped to develop products and methods of production, ran scared. They went and trained their scab replacements, with the promise if they retrained and stayed smart they would always have elmployment. Free trade promised more jobs, but what sector were they created in, and who now fills them...illegal aliens in our own country. Technology was supposed to be our savior, but even the technology jobs were outsourced. The only ones that weren't were the political seats and the lobbyists.

 

There is spill over and it's not what I'd call "very small percentage".

And even though I think that:

What's a better short term solution?

And BTW:

Spooner isn't a Republican ... (Gee, what a nasty thing to call someone), he's Canadian.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

Somebody explain to me why the executives and politicians need annual increases and the little man should bite the bullet and stay at the same level for a decade, to increase profit margins.

Everything about the corporate bottomline seems to hinge on the compensation for the lowest of their employees, why is this?

 

Executives receive health care benefits, golden parachutes, retirement. But the worker is told to look after themselves. Perhaps that's what this election was about looking after the average worker.

 

They want us to privatize Social Security invest our own funds in corporations, that at some point will probably go belly up and leave us with nothing while their executives live golden lives in warm climates. I want security for my investment, I want a guarrantee that excesses will be oversighted.

 

I say give folks the option of having Social Security withheld. If my money is going to be squandered then I want to be the one doing it!

 

i like the idea of atleast some of the money taken for SS going into a personal account. I also dont think people who worked long enough to draw SS should count on that as their only source of income. If you have worked for 40 years you should have something to show for it imo.

 

Gardener-You my mainman today brother-!-That was so well put I was captivated and in spite of my attention span deficit(-due to ealier incarnations)I was glued-You are a good speaker my man-and what you put down was completely true-and very refreshing-I get soo tired of getting blamed for a debt that we had nothing to do with-as you said-we and our parents all worked and paid into that Social Security fund-Some folks have the idea that it is a freebie givaway program like Welfare-It's a government held bank account that we are not allowed to touch and they use for investments-I draw from it now as I was hurt on the job and forced to quit driving big rigs-I made ALOT more driving then the checks I get from SS-but Social Security Disability is another program people confuse with being a freebie-It is my money that the government took week after week for more the 30 years-So-how come people are complaining about drawing from your own account?-Would they complain if it was coming from my bank instead?-no difference-Folks-Our Government takes the money and does what ever they want with it-it may go for war toys or investments or anything else-we have no say after it leaves out paychecks-To try to take back our money would be the same as taking you to your bank and demanding all the money from your savings account-would you give it back?-Gardener-I am sorry to hear about your family stuggle-that should never have happened-keep the faith bro and please-keep telling it the way it really is-Theres some of you guys out there that know alot about this and it should be made available--thanks Rob

 

I'd say it's time for a job change-I would be beating on the door of the Post -I'ts the same way in the transportation industry-UPS drivers make alot more then alot of long haul drivers do-why?-their union-most trucking companies are non union-so there is a major shortage of drivers in this country right now-Who wants to sleep in a truck in God knows where for days on end when they can be at home every night-So these fly by night truck driving schools are popping up all over and "teaching" people how to get a big rig down the road-Deregulation of trucking in the 80s created alot of problems as alot of trucking companies are not real good at monitoring themselves-Safety goes downhill and new recruits are putting trucks in the ditch-It boils down to -when it comes time to hire a person-you get what you pay for-if you want a real pro as you are; then you must pay for that level of expertise-demand a raise or move on-love your pictures-and Colorado-(I lived in Manitou Springs in 71)

 

I bet they made it real hard to get your money too. I know a guy near here, fell when a two story scaffold collapsed. Broke his back just below the neck and a bunch of other stuff too. To say he'll never walk again is an understatement.... no one is even sure if, "Lucky to be alive" is true.

Yeah, they turned him down for SS Disability, twice. Big fee to a lawyer (don't get me started on them) and WOW, What do you know, he was approved.

I started paying in to SS in June of 1964 - 42 1/2 years ago & in 1147 days I sign up for SS retirement. Anyone talk about me getting their tax money better line up & kiss my ass.

There goes the BP again .... Ah, I see I have a PM to answer. Damn Rob it's like talking to you in stereo...

Peace,
poor_old_dad