Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
nighthouse66
Nike, Apple, etc could have American factories, and be giving many people jobs, but the Republicans enabled jobs to pour out of this country unchecked, spouting the same bolded garbage as you, making it sound like a Great New Utopia that we have all these cheap products. Do you even know the consequences of "offshoring"? I do. Drive through countless cotton cities in the south and look at all those old, empty mills and bleacheries. Go through a Rust Belt town and look at all the steel mills. These were real jobs that took care of real people. They weren't numbers. There were communities that have disappeared forever and it isn't because the working people were lazy, or liberal, or Communist.
No, the factories all closed because there has been a long and uneasy relationship in this country between labor and management. You mentioned the steel mills for instance.
I've read about this subject and it is a fascinating one. You could say it was a pre-cursor for everything to come in the next 30-40 years. You don't recall the steel strikes that occurred that even President Eisenhower had to get involved not to mention LBJ later on. It was just a caustic and acrimonious relationship it boggles the mind how it survived for so long. Until finally it all came crashing down. The Gotterdammerung of an unwieldy and arrogant colossus. The importation of cheaper but quality foreign steel (demand will find a supply). The development of offshore tax shelters. The disgusting excesses of union labor at the time. Ultimately, what had to happen happened.
Dysfunctional labor will always desire the status quo and archaic methods. Business will desire the most efficient method with the least cost to pass on the most value to the consumer. And compete with competitors. This also means low overhead or operating cost.
Our lousy education system seems to overlook the simple fact that the a good portion of the 20th century in labor was wage-oriented. Whereas now it is more investor or shareholder oriented. This takes more financial savvy than is taught in schools these days. That is the tragedy. Guess what government union owns the teaching profession?
The only thing worse than the US unions is no unions at all. There are many developed countries that are over 90% union and they don't suffer from the problems we had in the US. In would be good to learn something from them.
...It is a fact that the average wage for Americans has stagnated for over 35 years when adjusted for inflation...
Why should wages go up when adjusted for inflation? They should stay about the same. In the private sector, the only time individual wages should go up is when that individual has acquired more human capital (training, general skills, job-specific skills) to generate a higher return to their employers.
When you here that companies are "buying back stock", that tells me they have no plans to grow their business. It also says they have no faith in the economy for years to come. Without growth you have stagnation, and stagnation is slow death. Many areas who never benefit from large corporations anyways, are used to this slow lingering sickness, but are still in decline.
The two primary vehicles to return profit to shareholders is via dividends & stock repurchases.
Do you hold the same negative view regarding dividend paying stocks? That is, they don't see a positive return on investing $$$ so they return it to shareholders via dividends?
I'm not losing confidence in the economy as a whole, but I am not all that optimistic about the career options for scientists, which will determine my personal income potential.
Regarding income potential (as well as geographic location)...
If you are a scientist, look into becoming a patent agent (where you do not need a law degree). If you like it, you could go to law school to become a patent attorney (and many good patent law firms will pay you to go to law school while they pick up the tuition!).
Demand for patent attorneys and patent agents is huge and growing. The Patent Bar is a national bar (unlike state bars), and to sit for it there are specific rules regarding your undergraduate education - basically you need to have a technical degree, or have taken a minimum course of study including technical stuff if you didn't major in a technical education. At the end of the day, few lit majors qualify.
See the following document where the requirements are in the first several pages:
WHY? Because those people make far, far less than our own minimum wage, there are no unions, no health benefits, the most polluted cities in the world are in China, shall I go on? WE HAD FACTORIES. If you don't think this has more to do that the 1 percent than ANYTHING else you are selling something I can't buy.
I am glad you are investing in US companies. I have recently started taking an investing class and I have yet to buy any stocks- because I really am doing my research. I don't want to buy into a mutual green fund if Exxon is a part of it- til I do the research. Maybe Exxon has some good ideas. I am not blindly prejudiced, and I am certainly not anti-business.
What I AM anti is someone telling me this has been so good for us and good for business. NAFTA- anybody laughing at that yet? This whole trickle-down ideology that Reagan slapped us with (well, Milton Friedman really, but Reagan championed it) is a bunch of absolute hooey. How come since this became a "thing" America has constantly tumbled? And please don't give me any statistics so beloved of a certain type of person- like, "look at all the jobs created!" Most of those created in the Bush Jr era were service jobs. You ever had to pay rent, car payment etc working fast food or retail? I have.
People used to be able to work one job and own a house. I don't care if the old retail model was inefficient and I bet the people didn't either. People had a chance to talk to their neighbors, they had a chance to buy things made in this country, things that did not include built-in obsolescence. Also, they could afford them, the wife could stay at home, the kids could go to college- because Dad had a job in a factory. Those days are like freaking fairy stories now. There is a LONG LONG LONG price to pay for cheap labor and cheap goods.
I am just sick to death of poor people being constantly, endlessly demonized in this country- from welfare mothers to immigrants- and the people doing the hating the most are the ones who are doing the suffering. I have often thought that if we were way more careful about how we spent our money- NO MORE FAST FOOD, no more Nikes, no more branded products period- we could make a real change, that would hit the 1 percent where they live. But most people just don't get it. They gotta have those Nikes.
Its just a never ending ball of crud.
Don't hold back, Nighthouse; tell us what you REALLY think. And be sure to let us know when you have a point.
I've had talks with and provided transportation, water, and food to *illegal* immigrants crossing the border. Many times. I do not blame people wherever they are for the situation they are in. If they need help, I provide it if I can.
Having a national "policy" that encourages illegal immigration is one of the reasons they were in dire straights to begin with.
What was the point of your post?
Well if you ever have a basic income for everyone, we would be a paradise for immigrants.
Why should wages go up when adjusted for inflation? They should stay about the same. In the private sector, the only time individual wages should go up is when that individual has acquired more human capital (training, general skills, job-specific skills) to generate a higher return to their employers.
In reality, real wages are now lower for the middle class than they were 35 years ago. This means a consumer spending is impacted significantly (like we are seeing in many cases right now) when it carries to much significance with respect to the economy. Of course many have required more skills in solid career fields, but that hasn't translated to growing median household incomes.
Why should wages go up when adjusted for inflation? They should stay about the same. In the private sector, the only time individual wages should go up is when that individual has acquired more human capital (training, general skills, job-specific skills) to generate a higher return to their employers.
Well prices do go up. I'll say it again, every year government put out the inflation number and businesses gave raises accordingly. Only that government number was A JOKE!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
