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Old 11-10-2013, 10:54 PM
 
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Originally Posted by TrapperJohn View Post
Their company, their choice.
that's not an argument. That just sounds like resentment.
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Old 11-10-2013, 10:55 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Aldous9 View Post
that's not an argument. That just sounds like resentment.
And I truly do not understand it. People rage against the generous benefits that union workers get, and want them taken away. And I always wonder, instead of wanting other peoples' benefits taken away, why do you not want the same thing for yourself?

To me, it is so petty.
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Old 11-10-2013, 11:01 PM
 
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Originally Posted by juppiter View Post
And I truly do not understand it. People rage against the generous benefits that union workers get, and want them taken away. And I always wonder, instead of wanting other peoples' benefits taken away, why do you not want the same thing for yourself?

To me, it is so petty.
Yeah, and I'm not even talking about unions. I think there is a legitimate argument about public unions and how democratic politicians give favors to them. Maybe I'm unique when it comes to liberals having a problem with public sector unions, I dunno.

I'm talking about basic worker rights. It's shocking to me that some people are so apathetic when it comes to workers getting vacation time. I've lived and worked in other countries and you don't see it there. Conservatives in Britain don't look at the factory worker slaving away 50 hrs a week and say, "ha!!! no vacation for you!"

This apathetic strain seems to be unique to the American right and its really sad. It's more than sad. It's sinister actually.
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Old 11-10-2013, 11:05 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Aldous9 View Post
Yeah, and I'm not even talking about unions. I think there is a legitimate argument about public unions and how democratic politicians give favors to them. Maybe I'm unique when it comes to liberals having a problem with public sector unions, I dunno.

I'm talking about basic worker rights. It's shocking to me that some people are so apathetic when it comes to workers getting vacation time. I've lived and worked in other countries and you don't see it there. Conservatives in Britain don't look at the factory worker slaving away 50 hrs a week and say, "ha!!! no vacation for you!"

This apathetic strain seems to be unique to the American right and its really sad. It's more than sad. It's sinister actually.
The Conservatives know it would be suicide for them to do so-- you don't see the Republicans SERIOUSLY looking to change SS or Medicare because it's been MADE an issue. Yeah, there have been proposals and talk here and there, but they never really went all out for it. G.W. Bush was defied by his OWN party when he tried. The American left has failed to make this an issue. If they did, I think it would be.
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Old 11-10-2013, 11:14 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Aldous9 View Post
many workers in America that get no vacation time work very labor intensive jobs. Take for instance, a woman that works in a garment factory 50 hours a week and makes $8 dollars an hour. She doesn't have a lot of power when it comes to insisting she get time off. The company can just find someone.

What is the argument that this women should not get time off? It's bad for her health not to. Can you make an argument other than "tough luck" ?
That's one of the many reasons why I chose my current line of work rather than choosing to work in a garment factory. She has the same choice.

But let's look at where the problem really stems from. That industry (and others) have more available workers than positions. So, naturally, supply and demand comes into play. Since the supply of workers are high, they cannot demand much. A big problem, indeed! But why does this problem exist? If you look at times when benefits such as vacation time were at the highest (40s - 70s), you'll see that there was a healthy ratio of employees and employers because people did not spend their entire lives taking up jobs. Many went on to become job creators. Today, few become job creators and most just hog the few jobs those creators make. It's a horrible position that these employees have put themselves into.
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Old 11-10-2013, 11:15 PM
 
1,496 posts, read 1,856,289 times
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Originally Posted by juppiter View Post
The Conservatives know it would be suicide for them to do so-- you don't see the Republicans SERIOUSLY looking to change SS or Medicare because it's been MADE an issue. Yeah, there have been proposals and talk here and there, but they never really went all out for it. G.W. Bush was defied by his OWN party when he tried. The American left has failed to make this an issue. If they did, I think it would be.
yeah..i cringe at even making it a left/right issue. It's not a left/right issue anywhere else in the developed world. I think once it becomes a left/right issue in America people will just go to their respective ideological camps and throw up their rhetorical defenses. It comes down to basic decency to me. Lets just think about it for a moment. There are millions in this country that work 40+ hours a week and never ever ever get a vacation. That is immoral.
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Old 11-10-2013, 11:24 PM
 
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Originally Posted by NJBest View Post
That's one of the many reasons why I chose my current line of work rather than choosing to work in a garment factory. She has the same choice.

But let's look at where the problem really stems from. That industry (and others) have more available workers than positions. So, naturally, supply and demand comes into play. Since the supply of workers are high, they cannot demand much. A big problem, indeed! But why does this problem exist? If you look at times when benefits such as vacation time were at the highest (40s - 70s), you'll see that there was a healthy ratio of employees and employers because people did not spend their entire lives taking up jobs. Many went on to become job creators. Today, few become job creators and most just hog the few jobs those creators make. It's a horrible position that these employees have put themselves into.
That is the problem with unrestricted Capitalism -- Capitalism simply CANNOT deliver 20 vacation days per year to everyone. There always MUST be someone at the bottom, and they did not necessarily put themselves there. I was fortunate enough to be born into an upper middle class family. How fortunate I am for the opportunities that presented me. I worked on top of that, but I undoubtedly had a better head start than 90% of Americans.
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Old 11-10-2013, 11:26 PM
 
1,496 posts, read 1,856,289 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NJBest View Post
That's one of the many reasons why I chose my current line of work rather than choosing to work in a garment factory. She has the same choice.

But let's look at where the problem really stems from. That industry (and others) have more available workers than positions. So, naturally, supply and demand comes into play. Since the supply of workers are high, they cannot demand much. A big problem, indeed! But why does this problem exist? If you look at times when benefits such as vacation time were at the highest (40s - 70s), you'll see that there was a healthy ratio of employees and employers because people did not spend their entire lives taking up jobs. Many went on to become job creators. Today, few become job creators and most just hog the few jobs those creators make. It's a horrible position that these employees have put themselves into.
actually entrepreneurship is higher now (and by now I mean the last 15 years) than it has ever been.

Okay, so you chose your line of work. Good for you. So did I. That doesn't mean I think people who didn't or people who end up in jobs that don't pay much shouldn't be allowed basic worker rights.

What is the argument that full time workers shouldn't have time off?
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Old 11-10-2013, 11:27 PM
 
Location: Palo Alto
12,149 posts, read 8,421,542 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aldous9 View Post
yeah..i cringe at even making it a left/right issue. It's not a left/right issue anywhere else in the developed world. I think once it becomes a left/right issue in America people will just go to their respective ideological camps and throw up their rhetorical defenses. It comes down to basic decency to me. Lets just think about it for a moment. There are millions in this country that work 40+ hours a week and never ever ever get a vacation. That is immoral.
Ever? They can't ask for time off?
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Old 11-10-2013, 11:31 PM
 
24,488 posts, read 41,150,886 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aldous9 View Post
What is the argument that full time workers shouldn't have time off?
There are 27 million businesses in the US. If someone chooses to work for a business and does not negotiate vacation time, then they should not have time off. Even Walmart gives full time employees 10 days off (possibly 12).

No one is arguing that time off should be illegal.
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