jimjam wrote:The things that matter — housing, health care, child care, education, secure retirement — have become all but unaffordable for the vast majority of Americans. Most families don’t have enough saved to weather even a minor financial setback without going into hock. The employment numbers hide the underemployment statistics and labor force participation rates. The job market is not "booming" when highly educated people are working retail or waiting tables. This kind of pervasive underemployment is why the inflation rate has not budged, despite the official "low" rate of unemployment. Most people are scared.
The bottom line is that more people are working than ever before. You can complain about that all you want, but it doesn't make it untrue...
I don't expect inflation to show up any time soon with the major exceptions of CEO salaries, medical costs and tuition increases. Young people are imprisoned in their parents' basements in student debt peonage at a time in their lives when they should be out shopping, making babies, and buying houses and durable goods. Why does no-one consider the extreme disparity of wealth that has been developing as the reason that inflation has stayed low?
You will never, ever make someone rich by making someone else poor.
You want us to believe that we have poor people in this country because we have rich people in this country. That's utterly ridiculous and wholly unworthy of genuine consideration. I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better. But I didn't get this way by demanding that I get someone else's money. I worked for it. I worked
hard for it. And the very idea that my success should finance someone else's complacency and laziness is offensive to any thinking person.
The disparity of wealth in this country exists because too many millennials were raised with an entitlement attitude which tells them they shouldn't have to work for what they want...
What we need is an increase in the minimum wage, more unions, a real infrastructure plan to rebuild roads, schools, ports, hospitals, airports, high speed trains, public transportation, reducing student debt, and more policies that put money in workers' pockets. Giving more money to the wealthy who already have everything they need is useless.
What will raising the minimum wage accomplish? If I'm forced to pay an employee $5 more an hour, I can promise you: That five bucks isn't coming out of my bottom line. It's going to come from increased prices and fees. Period. And if people don't want to pay those increased prices and fees and take their business elsewhere? Well, I guess I'll be in the unfortunate position of having to let people go.
Any guesses on who's going to be shown the door first? That's right, kids, the people who do the least for the company; those earning minimum wage.
I have people who get paid much more than minimum wage. You wanna' know why? Because they've earned it. They've proven their value to the company. I tell my people that I will happily pay them more. But if they don't want a minimum wage job, they shouldn't have only minimum wage skills. Sadly, that's exactly the case for many of them.
I am, I'm sure, very wealthy by your standards. I have very nice things. I live in a very nice house, in a very nice neighborhood. I drive very nice cars and wear very nice clothes. I dine in very nice restaurants and usually fly first class.
And I worked my ass off for every last bit of it.
I've never had college debt (I joined the military out of high school) and, if I did, I wouldn't dream of asking anyone to forgive it. Someone who willingly took on debt to finance their education made a choice, and they should be expected to live with both the benefits and the ramifications of that choice. Schools? Roads? High speed rail? Should that all come out of my pocket simply because I have more than you?
I think not...
Courage is knowing that something will hurt and doing it anyway. Stupidity is the same thing. That's why life is hard...
Not so easy after all.
………. wrong kind of trickle.
- By Fasces
- By Dr House
- By JohnRawls