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.
The gap in wages has become the Grand Canyon. Before FDR laid the groundwork, you had two distinct classes, rich and poor, and since Reagan came along the Republican war on the middle class has created those two classes again.
The middle class is being pushed towards extinction.
Agreed. Reagan and G. W. returned the economic and social situation to 1900. See J. P. Morgan and assoc.
Even Clinton participated in this. He promoted economic agreements which only now become clear (China, nafta)
Jobs are moving overseas because we can't do it efficiently over here.
Lord have mercy! Jobs didn't move overseas because of efficiency problems; if that's the case, why then didn't the jobs move in the 60', or 70's or even the 80's? Did efficiency suddenly went down the hill and all the jobs got shipped overseas cause americans couldn't come up with efficient ways to run their companies?
When I worked as a consultant for one of the largest computer makers in the usa, their goal over and over again was how to increase efficiency in the assembly line, and hell, every year new ways were found to make the production line even faster; and that was not the only company improving their efficiency rate...
Jobs moved overseas because instead of paying somebody 15/hour to assemble a computer, now you could pay somebody 1/hr and increase profits.
It's kind of hard to rebuild the middle class when the new prez's secretary of the treasury is a tax-cheater! He was confirmed today by an 18-5 vote and owes over $43,000 in taxes. Boy that's a terrific pick! That's change you can believe in!
Agreed. Reagan and G. W. returned the economic and social situation to 1900. See J. P. Morgan and assoc.
Even Clinton participated in this. He promoted economic agreements which only now become clear (China, nafta)
Republicans have championed deregulation so they could rob the country blind. FDR nationalized banks because the "Gilded Age" had led to the same greed we have seen today. Kiss another 700 billion goodbye.
Quote:
WHEN President-elect Franklin Roosevelt arrived in Washington for his inauguration he brought with him two rough-draft proclamations. The first requested that Congress meet for a special session later that week; the second declared a four-day bank holiday so that the administration could secure the financial system until it developed a recovery plan to submit to Congress when it convened.
oclamation
By the time Roosevelt was to take the oath of office, the state of the banking industry had steadily declined to a point of crisis. Two of the most important elements required for sound economy are low unemployment rates and stable financial institutions. The stock market crash of 1929 increased the pressure on a banking system that was not prepared to handle it. Small independent banks were two-thirds of all banks in the country and accounted for 40 percent of its capital. It was these banks that were, for the most part, responsible for sustaining small and medium size businesses. But the mass production economy of the 1920s was not accompanied by a mass consumption culture and could not maintain a level of profitability. As companies collapsed, the number of unemployed hovered around 10 million, with 25 million without a stable source of income. As the employment numbers dropped and businesses closed, individuals recognized that the money they had deposited would not be available for withdrawal if the need arose. These events generated large-scale bank runs and led to an alarming flow of gold out of the banking system, along with a wave of fear among the American people. Bank closings were sanctioned by the state and it was clear that if action was not imminent, the banking system would collapse.
It's kind of hard to rebuild the middle class when the new prez's secretary of the treasury is a tax-cheater! He was confirmed today by an 18-5 vote and owes over $43,000 in taxes. Boy that's a terrific pick! That's change you can believe in!
How about we dispense with the shrieks of outrage and get people in positions that actually know what they are doing?
You can be outraged later, we have a huge mess left to clean up from 8 disastrous years of misrule
A huge issue right now is where we get the money from, or rather, what are we willing to sacrifice? Personally, I feel that we spend way too much in defense. The next wars are going to be economic and we need to be able to fight them better. Cuts in defense can be allocated to education, R&D, etc. We do not want to build a cheaper shoe but want to be so far ahead of other countries in areas like biosciences, robotics, etc that it will take others many years to catch up. Good jobs will follow as opposed to more dividends for Halliburton shareholders. 30 years ago we exported many items others could not build - and we need to do the same by building better "industries of the future" and this will exploit our nation's ingenuity. No one is saying defense is not important - just that we have gone crazy with the spending in that sector; life is all about balance.
Cut taxes for businesses and stop funding on programs that don't work (like welfare) the money saved from the decreased welfare can go toward healthcare.
Next deport all illegals and free up the burden they have on the healthcare system.
This combination would push the costs of healthcare down so businesses can afford to give it in benefits. Since healthcare would be alot harder for the losers who don't want to work this gives incentive to find gainful employment.
Now how does this help the middle class? Simple, since healthcare is a large burden on the middle class, the above will mostly solve that problem and with taxes cut for businesses they reel in more profits and can afford to hire more people. More people in the workforce means more income that goes to the marketplace and thus more revenue to business to hire and provide good healthcare.
There has to be incentive for business to keep jobs here. Here is where govt can get involved and that is by giving breaks to companies that exhibit willingness and keep jobs domestic. There can't be any more bailouts for poorly run businesses (like the automakers and investment bankers). These bailouts cost far too much. Let them fail and let smaller companies learn from their mistakes and compete for business. The increase in competition pushes prices down and in turn saves $ for the middle class (and working poor)
Well funding Obama's Civillian Security Force which must be just as well funded as the military and must cover all 57 of his states will require taxes on the middle class. So no relief for the middle class.
Jobs moved overseas because instead of paying somebody 15/hour to assemble a computer, now you could pay somebody 1/hr and increase profits.
Yes. So in other words we can't do it cost efficiently unless you can think of a way to lower everyone's standard of living in this country to that of China, India, and other countries we ship our manufacturing to. Either that or wait for the standard of living to go up in those countries (which takes time, but is inevitable due to globalization).
I don't think you or I really disagree there. Even if you busted up unions you still wouldn't be able to bring it low enough to justify the cost.
On top of that the cost of labor in China is offset by the fact that the government pays for health insurance, which is a good chunk of cost in the US.
Last edited by FinkieMcGee; 01-22-2009 at 06:20 PM..
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.
