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Bingo. I wonder how many on here who complain about the "down-waging" enjoy the fact that they can buy a flatscreen TV, and iphone or a small laptop for few hundred $$$ thanks to cheaper labor in china?
The snapper mower story is an excellent example of this:
I'll bet there are millions who have lost good jobs who would rather have their jobs and pay a bit more for their tv. THAT'S the tradeoff you speak of.
Nope, nice apartment.Whatever. My house has foam insulation (no reason for any new home not to in my opinion). I rarely water the grass. That's the extent of my "abnormality." Did I mention, though, that I have no kids?Did I say it didn't require a vehicle? It doesn't require a two and a half ton vehicle though. Wtf does "far reaching" mean? It's under 16 miles for me to reach the center of downtown Fort Worth. I'm only a mile or so from the highway, and can make the 16 miles in under 15 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. Maybe you should check Google Maps again!! Okay, I have to ask: what is your real point? You've gone on and on about how awful $41K/year is. And?? Some people say it's adequate, or even plenty. You insist it's debilitating and that the "average" person on $41K is going to be inconsolably miserable.
So, do you have a proposal? Or something you wish would happen? Let's say I'm average Joe and instead of the decently comfortable and satisfying life I had at the same pay range, I find myself munted and miserable on $41K. So what now?!? Keep being miserable? Forever? Suicide? Revolution? Or try to make things better: get debt under control, develop savings, make good choices. Maybe move. Maybe pair up. Learn to live comfortably on $41K. Or learn to accept a $41K lifestyle and lot in life. Or (novel idea) work on increasing one's income. Or is it absolutely hopeless to even try and anyone at $41K or below is doomed to a life of dejection and those who claim otherwise are just extremists or rare outliers?
I would start by getting serious with the politicians that opt for corporations rather than you, the taxpayer. I would be yelling for more better paying green jobs that some idiot politician promised us and has done NOTHING about since he was elected.
So many politicians (Bush) said people, when good jobs leave, merely have to be retrained. NOBODY suggests the field this retraining should be in.
Really funny, when you are getting screwed over, how placidly you take it. You should be upset. For many people their families suffer. Kids suffer. We should insist on good schools and a higher standard of education and to not promote a kid if he's dumb. No more lowered standards in college. Kids must know math and English well. Everyone must take responsibility.
If people are living off the dole and have another kid, no increased payout for that kid. Tough love.
Anyone cheating on benefits or having no show government jobs should be made a BIG example of and punished. So should companies who hire illegals because they are lowering the salaries and standard of living for the poor.
I mean, we HAVE to all recognize that something is terribly wrong so we can pull together and fix this thing.
Just accepting crap when it's thrown at you is NOT the way to go. Turning the other cheek does not work here. It just makes them walk on you more.
I dont claim to be the only one getting a break from my parents, however, parental subsidization should not be a requirement for me to exist at a decent standard of living. Nor should excessive sacrifice. My labor value dictates I should be receiving a much bigger slice of the pie, instead, its just making someone else wealthier. This is the case with most of the population. Few people are paid what their labor is worth.
But you don't make that much, are obviously not a great career achiever, yet have a comfortable buffer on your salary to maintain a standard of living. Therefore your salary is sufficient.
Quote:
That money isnt "disposable" just because it is. Its there because I dont have a car payment, dont have new clothes, dont have a student loan, dont have insurance, dont go to the dentist, dont eat out, blah blah blah.
It is the very definition of disposable, and you manufacturing in your mind things you have to spend it on that you don't doesn't change that. If you flushed that extra money down the toilet you could stick to your current budget, that would be disposable income.
If I were living at the average expense of a 28 year old, I would have almost nothing a month.
IF IF IF IF IF... you make only 37k, and have almost 1/3 of it available to save or buy new stuff. That is great, you're very lucky and should be proud of your fortunate financial situation.
You've got it. I've seen at least 8-10 posters trying to make sense of this amazing ability of RandomDude to grab any outlier and spin anything into total despair and unfairness.
Used cars are a smarter deal? Nah I found this one that is overpriced plus they are unsafe.
How about get your CPA? Nah that's a ripoff I'll sit here stewing about being stuck in a rut instead.
In a weird way he's actually right, he's stuck and it's his attitude that has him stuck. Everyone else will pass him by, hurdling over the pity-pool to advance as they see opportunity for what it is instead of viewing everything as a landmine. And it's a shame because he's obviously a bright kid, just has some negativity issues.
1. I didnt spend any time looking for that one, if was literally the first car on the page.
2. Those are all luxury vehicles you are listing. They lose way more value in the secondary market then lower end vehicles. Granted, most of them are far cheaper then Id expect around here, and maybe it has something to do with the local markets as well. This area is full of military people who are easily rooked out of everything they have on a daily basis.
I'll bet there are millions who have lost good jobs who would rather have their jobs and pay a bit more for their tv. THAT'S the tradeoff you speak of.
any evidence to back that up? most people own a laptop, flat panel TV etc. and im sure they are happy they were able to buy it for cheap.
Even a person putting on 12k a year would have to keep their car in meticulous condition for it to last 15 years, especially a 4 cylinder
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Originally Posted by Nepenthe
Complete ignorance.
This is you failing to recognize the truth due to your bias.
In 2006, Motorcycles accounted for 11 percent of all motorist fatalities, dispite being only 2% of all vehicles, and are 35 times more likely to be in a fatal accident then a car.
In addition, 80% of all motorcycle accidents result in injury or death, pretty much if you get in to a motorcycle accident, you are getting hurt, period. For cars it is only 20%.
Not to mention, driving a motorcycle in 100 degree temps, or in the rain or snow must me a tremendous experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nepenthe
Some do, some don't. There are plenty of jobs along the Alliance corridor, 170, Solana/Westlake, DFW airport, Irving, etc., all of which are pretty accessible and often not as far as FW (which again is 16 miles away to downtown).
Sounds like more crap to me.
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Originally Posted by Nepenthe
That sucks, but I still don't think it explains $250/month.
Wow, the average residential electric bill for a Virginian is $112 a year, pair that with the huge tipping fees, water, gas, 50 year old windows, and a 25 year old heating unit, 15 different taxes.......that ads up about right.
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Originally Posted by Nepenthe
Why? Because low wage workers have a currently unrecognized huge labor output?
Yeah, they do. How much labor value do you think a guy flipping burgers is supplying on an average shift? I can promise you the capitalist pig is making almost as much per burger as hes paying the whole shift who made that burger. When I worked at a sub shop, a standard lunch rush would bring in 600-1000 bucks.....what did I make? About $16 of that. In fact, there was rarely ever a day when the complete cost of labor came to more then 18 percent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nepenthe
Do you feel entitled to be paid more than you are?
I feel probably 80 percent of the country should be paid more then they are
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nepenthe
Arbitrarily assigned, I guess that's about the funniest thing I've heard all day.
So, where did your wage come from? It certainly wasnt based on your production, and, the government doesnt have a wage scale, so, WHAT exactly determined you wage, or was it basically a number pulled out of someones ass, and agreed upon to work for?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nepenthe
Did you just run out of steam at the end or what?
No, I didnt feel like repeating something Ive said on this board about 600 times. Find one of my past posts addressing this.
But you don't make that much, are obviously not a great career achiever, yet have a comfortable buffer on your salary to maintain a standard of living. Therefore your salary is sufficient.
Its only sufficient should I be subsidized and make unreasonable sacrifice. By that logic, people who flip burgers and receive government subsidies to make up for the rest of what they couldnt afford, like food and housing, if exposed to market forces, have "sufficient" salaries. Bularkey.
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Originally Posted by slackjaw
It is the very definition of disposable, and you manufacturing in your mind things you have to spend it on that you don't doesn't change that. If you flushed that extra money down the toilet you could stick to your current budget, that would be disposable income.
Well, actually what we are talking about here is technically discretionary income (amount left over after neccessary expenses). Discretionary income is not increased by avoiding or subsidizing neccessary expenses, thats called robbing Peter to pay Paul.
I suppose, you are in complete support of a welfare state. After all, you clearly support subsidization as a correct, effective, and good way to increase savings and discretionary spending. You should be in favor of huge taxes on the wealthy, and handing that money directly to the unemployed or working poor, so that whatever meager wage they are making becomes "sufficient". If you deny this, then you can go ahead and explain to me how my parents subsidizing me to a certain level is any different from the wealthy subsidizing the poor to the same level.
You've got it. I've seen at least 8-10 posters trying to make sense of this amazing ability of RandomDude to grab any outlier and spin anything into total despair and unfairness.
I have about triple the amount who have given me rep points for my comments. So, there you go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slackjaw
Used cars are a smarter deal? Nah I found this one that is overpriced plus they are unsafe.
Way to combine two completely different statements, now, lets straighten this comment out.
1. That was the FIRST car I came across, I can literally find hundreds and thousands of used cars that are overpriced. I suppose I should post them all huh? Would that shut you up?
2. Not once did I say used cars were unsafe. I said MOTORCYCLES were unsafe, when Mr. Sportbike keeps recommending them as good transporation. Statistics back me up on that one though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slackjaw
How about get your CPA? Nah that's a ripoff I'll sit here stewing about being stuck in a rut instead.
1. A CPA is no guarantee of getting out of any rut.
2. Having a CPA without any supervisory experience is idiotic and a terrible investment. Nobody is going to put you in a supervisory position, or a CFO position simply by the merit of you having a CPA. People are requiring CPAs for staff accountant jobs paying 35k these days. Hell according to this article How to Become a Cpa the average CPA in a Mom and Pop firm makes 36k. Thats LESS than I make now, and I dont have to pay a few thousand a year to maintain a license.
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My house has foam insulation (no reason for any new home not to in my opinion). I rarely water the grass. That's the extent of my "abnormality." Did I mention, though, that I have no kids?Did I say it didn't require a vehicle? It doesn't require a two and a half ton vehicle though. Wtf does "far reaching" mean? It's under 16 miles for me to reach the center of downtown Fort Worth. I'm only a mile or so from the highway, and can make the 16 miles in under 15 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. Maybe you should check Google Maps again!! 
Okay, I have to ask: what is your real point? You've gone on and on about how awful $41K/year is. And?? Some people say it's adequate, or even plenty. You insist it's debilitating and that the "average" person on $41K is going to be inconsolably miserable. 
Oh good grief! 
