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Everytime this forum gets to discussing jobs and wages, the Right eventually gets to blasting on workers for expecting livable wages. According to them, workers should be glad for whatever crumbs their bosses feel like throwing their way, and if they have a problem with that then "start your own business." As if starting your own business was what made this country great & unique. Throughout history, you'd have a hard time finding a society that didn't have a well-to-do, if not outright wealthy merchant class. Starting businesses and getting rich is not unique, and definitely not uniquely American.
What made the US unique and great was that it allowed workers some of the benefits the elites had already been enjoying for ages: education, advancement for their hardwork, opportunities to pursue recreational activities. The American worker had more than just the rote existence of living paycheck to paycheck, which was better than most every other society could offer.
Now, the Right has forgotten about that. The same people that BUILT the middle-class 50 years ago -- cooks, janitors, mechanics, cleaner, teachers, builders -- are eking by a living so that executives can receive bonuses and share holders can see their ever-climbing returns. And when the last vestige of that respect for labor shows itself in public unions, the Right decries them for being lazy, corrupt scammers.
What about our parents & grandparents generation? Would they have seen themselves as lazy, entitled crybabies for wanting to have enough to own a house and a car? Would they have been denounced for thinking doing their job was sufficient to earn enough to feed and clothe their family? When did Republicans stop caring about what happened to the people that made this country into a powerhouse, those that fought & won the right to a more-than-meager existence?
"Everytime this forum gets to discussing jobs and wages, the Right eventually gets to blasting on workers for expecting livable wages.' i see you still have a problem with comprehending what people say.
Hmmm....prices high, wages low, profits in the hundreds of millions...I wonder who is benefiting and who is getting taken advantage of? Who is getting several hundred times the salary of the average worker and who is just getting by? And what is the reason for that? Could it be, might I dare say....greed? Oh, dear. It's just downright unAmerican to suggest that the "captains of industry" are greedy. Shame on me.
Most of those profits are coming from other countries, not the US.
UnAmerican you say ? That's a laugh when these companies are getting their money from other countries, not the US.
Just look at Coca Cola. Since 2008 their profits have been from foreign sales, not US sales.
What Democrats want is for everyone to have a chance at the American Dream, and for those who can't, due to health issues, poverty, and the other ills of society, they want a basic safety net.
Did you know that 40% of seniors rely on Social Security to keep them above the poverty line? That's not generous, that's just a chance at basic human dignity, another program the Republicans would like to "reform", while increasing the military budget.
Americans are not afaid of hard work, they just want a society where the playing field is a little more level, and where the middle class is increasing, not turning into the new poor. American want the US to be a place where you could expect that your kids would have it better than you, which was their parents expectation for them, but it is not for their children.
Americans want an America where if you stay out of trouble, stay in school, get a college education, and look for work, that they have a chance at the good life that the rich always have enjoyed.
Finally, Americans want the corruption, greed and downright contempt that the rich show toward those less fortunate to end and for Congress to get moving on the real issues of the day.
The 99% are not losers, they are everyman, and they deserve respect and an opportunity for a hand up and a way out, which they are not getting at the moment.
And by tag teaming the 99% with the republicans to get more people on welfare..... the "American dream" is borderline nonexistant anymore as compared to previous generations
It is the equal fault of both parties
Last edited by A&M_Indie_08; 09-10-2012 at 01:45 PM..
Most of those profits are coming from other countries, not the US.
UnAmerican you say ? That's a laugh when these companies are getting their money from other countries, not the US.
Just look at Coca Cola. Since 2008 their profits have been from foreign sales, not US sales.
Well, by golly, I'm glad that you mentioned those foreign countries. The captains of industry just love those foreigners! Those Chinese girls work so hard for 12-16 hours a day in the factories and are extremely happy with living in overcrowded dorms sharing a bathroom with 25 other girls! And they work for pennies on the dollar of what those greedy Americans want. Living wage? Harumph. Why can't American workers be more like those Chinese girls who now take most of the manufacturing jobs that gave this country a strong middle class in the middle of last century? After all, those captains of industry MUST keep increasing profits year over year to appease those shareholders, right? And if we have to go to third world or developing countries to get lower labor costs, by golly, it's our God/Shareholder given mandate!
Oh, and by the way, we're the JOB CREATORS and don't you people forget that come election time! If we get our tax cuts we can create even more jobs! We promise!
Everytime this forum gets to discussing jobs and wages, the Right eventually gets to blasting on workers for expecting livable wages. According to them, workers should be glad for whatever crumbs their bosses feel like throwing their way
I stopped here because I'm really tired of left wing whining..
Tell me Eddie, is the Chicago strike where the average teachers salary is about $75K a year, an example of crumbs? I'm really getting tired of hearing about how people who went to school so they can learn a trade, runs around whining over the pay they receive.
DONT WANT THE PAY, DONT TAKE THE JOB AND DONT APPLY
A business can not pay $20/hr for someone who simply sweeps the floor. The value of the work is not worth that. It should be up to each business to determine the value of the work. If they want productive workers, they should pay more if they want to keep them....
Since you are speaking of living wages, maybe you should look at the other end of the spectrum. Why are prices so high for food and necessities?
1) Re: The value of the work, etc...
Who decided that some executives' work value is $20M or more? Many researches proved beyond doubt that offering someone who makes $20M a raise, will absolutely not improve their work/output. Nobody that works hard and receives $10 additional millions will work harder, or be more successful. Yet, the practice of overpaying continues.
2) You are correct about the price of food and other necessaries. The markups are enormous, not so much for food producers, but middlemen and retailers who need to pay their executives increasing bonuses.
1) Re: The value of the work, etc...
Who decided that some executives' work value is $20M or more? Many researches proved beyond doubt that offering someone who makes $20M a raise, will absolutely not improve their work/output. Nobody that works hard and receives $10 additional millions will work harder, or be more successful. Yet, the practice of overpaying continues.
2) You are correct about the price of food and other necessaries. The markups are enormous, not so much for food producers, but the retailers who need to pay these executives.
If someone holds a resource, then it is their resource. If the rich don't want to give to the poor, THEN THEY DONT WANT TO GIVE TO THE POOR!
If the rich can take from the poor then they can take from the poor.
What Democrats want is for everyone to have a chance at the American Dream, and for those who can't, due to health issues, poverty, and the other ills of society, they want a basic safety net.
Did you know that 40% of seniors rely on Social Security to keep them above the poverty line? That's not generous, that's just a chance at basic human dignity, another program the Republicans would like to "reform", while increasing the military budget.
Americans are not afaid of hard work, they just want a society where the playing field is a little more level, and where the middle class is increasing, not turning into the new poor. American want the US to be a place where you could expect that your kids would have it better than you, which was their parents expectation for them, but it is not for their children.
Americans want an America where if you stay out of trouble, stay in school, get a college education, and look for work, that they have a chance at the good life that the rich always have enjoyed.
Finally, Americans want the corruption, greed and downright contempt that the rich show toward those less fortunate to end and for Congress to get moving on the real issues of the day.
The 99% are not losers, they are everyman, and they deserve respect and an opportunity for a hand up and a way out, which they are not getting at the moment.
I don't know many people of any party or those without an affiliation that don't want the American dream for everyone. Democrats don't have the copyright on that. Different people just have different ideas as to what that dream is and how people should be given the opportunity to gain it. There is a difference between "safety nets" for those who need help and the entitlements that are given to those who can help themselves and choose not to.
Does the fact that 40% of people on social security have to have it in order to survive, not sadden you? Do you not want people to be more successful than that? To think that people worked their whole lives and retire to only rely on SS is sad to me. It is a pathetic retirement fund. It is going bankrupt. Why would you want a failing retirement fund to not be "reformed"? Do you want to see it fail completely? Do you want that 40% of seniors to lose EVERYTHING?
American society has never seen a more "level playing field" and under this pres, the middle class is shifting more to the lower class. 35-40% of the middle classes wealth has been lost in just 3 years! That is crazy!!!! If you own a house it is probably worth about the same or less than what you bought it for. Are these the things that make a "level playing field" for you? If we all are poor and on that "level playing field" then what?
We've become so enabled "Livable Wage" has little meaning. No one ever guaranteed my Father or Grandfather a "Livable Wage". They did the best they could and worked hard to put food on the table.
Our Poor today are better off than many of our Grand Parents ever lived.
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Oh, dear. It's just downright unAmerican to suggest that the "captains of industry" are greedy. Shame on me. 
and don't you people forget that come election time! If we get our tax cuts we can create even more jobs! We promise!
