400 Americans

[Spare_change]

This post, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with the issue under discussion.

 

[orogenicman]

This post, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with the issue under discussion.

Since the issue at hand is the 400 (richest) Americans, it absolutely has everything to do with the issue under discussion. Next.

 

[M14 Shooter]

The picture speaks for itself. And I don't need a picture or a roster. It isn't like it is some big secret that the Republicans have a huge problem with minorities. We all know it is true

Democrats buy the minority vote with promises of continued entitlement payments, so duh...
.

 

[Spare_change]

"Living wage". I love that term. Shorthand for "How much I think you need to live a decent life".
Most Wal-Mart employees don't make as much as you think they should because the work they do does not warrant it.

Walmart workers, and every other low wage earner earns less because in real dollars, their money is worth far less than it was worth 30 years ago.

Sounds like a problem with inflation.
What does that have to do with anything -I- said?

It is more complcated than that. Inflation, yes, but also a drastic reduction in high paying jobs as those largely went overseas.

OK....
What does that have to do with anything -I- said?

Walmart is one of the largest employers in the country, and it makes a crapload of money off the backs of its workers while they languish at the low end of the wage scale. It is a disgrace.

Walmart provides more jobs to low-skilled workers than any other company. They languish at the low end of the wage scale, because that's where their abilities lie. Walmart has simply figured out a way to employ them, and make money doing it.

You're just jealous.

 

[orogenicman]

The picture speaks for itself. And I don't need a picture or a roster. It isn't like it is some big secret that the Republicans have a huge problem with minorities. We all know it is true

Democrats buy the minority vote with promises of continued entitlement payments, so duh...
.

Nice try. Why is it that nearly every booming economy this country has seen in the last 80 years has been under Democratic rule?

 

[Listening]

How many minorities do you see in this picture:

Meaningless.

Give us a roster of each convention with the associated ethnicity.

Otherwise....shove it.

The picture speaks for itself. And I don't need a picture or a roster. It isn't like it is some big secret that the Republicans have a huge problem with minorities. We all know it is true. It's just that you folks skirt around the issue and accuse us of race baiting. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

And cute phrases are nothing more than an admission of having no argument.

 

[orogenicman]

Walmart workers, and every other low wage earner earns less because in real dollars, their money is worth far less than it was worth 30 years ago.

Sounds like a problem with inflation.
What does that have to do with anything -I- said?

It is more complcated than that. Inflation, yes, but also a drastic reduction in high paying jobs as those largely went overseas.

OK....
What does that have to do with anything -I- said?

Walmart is one of the largest employers in the country, and it makes a crapload of money off the backs of its workers while they languish at the low end of the wage scale. It is a disgrace.

Walmart provides more jobs to low-skilled workers than any other company. They languish at the low end of the wage scale, because that's where their abilities lie. Walmart has simply figured out a way to employ them, and make money doing it.

You're just jealous.

Bullshit. That simply isn't true. Walmart employees have a wide range of technical skills. But many have had to settle for the jobs they can get because that is what (barely) puts food on the table.

 

[The Rabbi]

The picture speaks for itself. And I don't need a picture or a roster. It isn't like it is some big secret that the Republicans have a huge problem with minorities. We all know it is true

Democrats buy the minority vote with promises of continued entitlement payments, so duh...
.

Nice try. Why is it that nearly every booming economy this country has seen in the last 80 years has been under Democratic rule?

Yeah, that's it. I remember the go-go Carter years. The Reagan Depression. The boom during Clinton's first administration and sky high unemployment during Bush's.

 

[orogenicman]

How many minorities do you see in this picture:

Meaningless.

Give us a roster of each convention with the associated ethnicity.

Otherwise....shove it.

The picture speaks for itself. And I don't need a picture or a roster. It isn't like it is some big secret that the Republicans have a huge problem with minorities. We all know it is true. It's just that you folks skirt around the issue and accuse us of race baiting. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

And cute phrases are nothing more than an admission of having no argument.

You can't argue with facts, dude. That is why they are called facts.

 

[The Rabbi]

Sounds like a problem with inflation.
What does that have to do with anything -I- said?

It is more complcated than that. Inflation, yes, but also a drastic reduction in high paying jobs as those largely went overseas.

OK....
What does that have to do with anything -I- said?

Walmart is one of the largest employers in the country, and it makes a crapload of money off the backs of its workers while they languish at the low end of the wage scale. It is a disgrace.

Walmart provides more jobs to low-skilled workers than any other company. They languish at the low end of the wage scale, because that's where their abilities lie. Walmart has simply figured out a way to employ them, and make money doing it.

You're just jealous.

Bullshit. That simply isn't true. Walmart employees have a wide range of technical skills. But many have had to settle for the jobs they can get because that is what (barely) puts food on the table.

I went through the check out line the other day and heard them discussing medieval French literature and nuclear power patents.

 

[Spare_change]

You said "Most Wal-Mart employees don't make as much as you think they should because the work they do does not warrant it." I addressed most of that in several posts.

No, you described the effects of inflation, the moving of high-paying jobs overseas...
You haven't said anything with regard to the fact that the work they do does not warrant more pay -- that is, a minimum wage job pays minimum wage because the work done doesn't wararnt more.

People earn what they job they have is worth paying.
Want more pay? Develop skills that an employer will pay you more to use.
Its up to YOU to get a better job; it's not the government's job to force companies to subsidize your lack of motivation, education, training or ability

It's an artificial standard set up to justify paying slave wages. It's bullshit. If you are an employer paying minimum wage to the bulk of your work force, and have a 15% profit margin, then it is clear that those employees have value in the company. The company, in fact, would not exist without them. The fact that so many high paying jobs have been lost means that many people are now relying utterly on these lower paying jobs, a huge proportion of the work force, in fact. And so, what has happened is that the corporations have pulled the rug from underneath the middle class in this country. Ordinary people are working hard than ever for less pay, and factoring in inflation, it means they are riding a sinking boat. Thank you Ronnie Raygun.

Know any company paying minimum wage to the 'bulk of its work force'?

Me either.

 

[The Rabbi]

How many minorities do you see in this picture:

Meaningless.

Give us a roster of each convention with the associated ethnicity.

Otherwise....shove it.

The picture speaks for itself. And I don't need a picture or a roster. It isn't like it is some big secret that the Republicans have a huge problem with minorities. We all know it is true. It's just that you folks skirt around the issue and accuse us of race baiting. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

And cute phrases are nothing more than an admission of having no argument.

You can't argue with facts, dude. That is why they are called facts.

Yeha. It's just a fact that Republicans are all angry white rich racists.

 

[M14 Shooter]

Democrats buy the minority vote with promises of continued entitlement payments, so duh...
.

Nice try.

You can't argue with facts, dude. That is why they are called facts.

 

[Conservative65]

Have more wealth than half the population of the United States.


Hey Mr. Reagan, when exactly is this trickle down thing going to kick in?

Hey Mr. Bush, since the "job creators" still have the Tax Cut you gave them in 2002 and 2004, why aren't they, you know, creating more jobs?

Hey Mr. Lyndon Johnson, since your war on poverty was designed to rid us of hunger and alleviate suffering, when are those trillions spent in the last 50 years going to do the job? Why do we still have the same percentage in poverty today as we had before that money was spent to "defeat" it?

 

[orogenicman]

The picture speaks for itself. And I don't need a picture or a roster. It isn't like it is some big secret that the Republicans have a huge problem with minorities. We all know it is true

Democrats buy the minority vote with promises of continued entitlement payments, so duh...
.

Nice try. Why is it that nearly every booming economy this country has seen in the last 80 years has been under Democratic rule?

Yeah, that's it. I remember the go-go Carter years. The Reagan Depression. The boom during Clinton's first administration and sky high unemployment during Bush's.

Notice I did say "nearly". And for the record, Clinton's first term was spent recovering from Bush Sr.'s recession, as Obama has spent his time recovering the country from baby Bush's recession and the intransigent Congress.

 

[orogenicman]

Democrats buy the minority vote with promises of continued entitlement payments, so duh...
.

Nice try.

You can't argue with facts, dude. That is why they are called facts.

Interestingly, most of those entitlement payments go to red states.

 

[Iceweasel]

I didn't say it cannot be done. But each person's situation is different. The right wing elitist cry "what one man can do, another can do" is based on ignorance of the human condition. Not everyone is capable of "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps". Whether or not you believe it is irrelevant. It is a simple fact. There is no mold you can pour people into and have them all come out the same. It is a fantasy, a dangerous, costly one. And unnecessary.

Bzzzzt wrong. See? You don't even understand the right. We say it isn't up to government (or you) to decide who rises up. We know people are different, some are go getters, some, not so much. Taking money from the go getter and giving it to Mr. Notsomuch doesn't help the economy and when the economy suffers, Mr. Notsomuch suffers right along with it like most everyone else.

No the only manner in which the right thinks that people are different is in how many forks are used at the dinner table. Otherwise, you people wouldn't be having national conventions attended by only about 25 people who are not white. You people have skirted minorities for decades. You call Democrats elitist, when the fact of the matter is that the right in this country is the ultimate form of elitism. White, evangelical, sellfish, and stupid. We gave the money to your 'go getter", from the 1980s all the way until today. They kept it, invested it overseas, made a pretty penny, and left the rest of us sittting high and dry. Thanks Ronnie Raygun.

25 minorities? You better take your shoes off and count again. Minorities are people and should be treated as such, not underlings that need special assistance. Successful conservative minorities somehow manage without a special feeding table for them. We invite them to sit with us, libs place them at the kiddie table and brag to each other about their noble deed. And many are filthy rich, hate to break it to you.

 

[Spare_change]

Not any 5 yr old can do that.
Hell, lots of 20 something year olds can't do that. Dont believe me?

And it's not my responsibility to make them do it is it?

Sorry but you
re barking up the wrong tree if you're looking for sympathy from me for people who have so little drive and common sense as not to know you have to get to work on time and not be drunk.

We usually see eye to eye. I dont know why this is so hard for you though.
What I outlined are basic job skills Very basic. But lots of people just don't have them. Especially starting off. That's why they get paid min wage.

Sorry but waking up in the morning is not a job skill, neither is showing up on time and sober.

The only "skill" needed to show up on time is the ability to read a clock and most people learn that in grade school.

This is just like the obesity thread. Just as people know that eating better and exercising will result in weight loss they all know that showing up to work late and drunk will get them fired.

That's stunningly incorrect.
You have to budget time. You have to dress appropriately. I realize this seems pretty elemental. And it is. But it is surprising how many people actually cannot do this.
Have you ever hired for an entry level position?

Right, if you scare them, people with money won't try to use it to buy influence and politicians will become honest. What color is the sky in your world?

I didn't say they wouldn't try. But using disencentives could work if it is enforced. You are not going to get rid of all the corruption, but you have to start somewhere. Start locking up the corrupt corporate CEOs, for one. The corrupt politicians for another. And I don't mean in a Hilton Hotel jail cell, either. Put them in with the general prison population. If that doesn't scare them straight, nothing will.

So your plan is for politicians to pass laws that put themselves and the people buying them into an actual prison, not a white collar one. That's your plan. You didn't answer one question. What color is the sky in your world?

Yes I realize that in the corrupt political environment in which we find ourselves today, that's as likely to happen as to see pigs fly. It does take leadership, something we don't have. I said that that is what needs to happen. I didn't say it was going to be a reality anytime soon.

Well, we agree on that. Cutting taxes and spending is something that could be measured by an aware public. Accountability isn't. So just spending less would work if people got behind it.

I disagree. Cutting taxes doesn't actually solve much, particularly when the country and the world at large has so many pressing problems. Prioritizing to address those problems is a good first step. The most important step is jobs. Jobs, jobs jobs! And not just any jobs, but high paying jobs, in aerospace, high tech, etc.

You can't create "Jobs, jobs jobs! And not just any jobs, but high paying jobs, in aerospace, high tech, etc" with the functionally illiterate. Minimum wage skills result in minimum wage jobs. Why in the world would you think we can take people making change at McDonalds and, by paying them more money, have them building satellites???

It's pretty cool that you want the lower class to do better - and it's pretty cool that you want more jobs in the US. What's not cool is you have no idea (other than theft) on how to make it happen.

 

[Conservative65]

Hey Mssrs. Clinton and Obama...

Your insipid post implies that these "400 Americans" have somehow stolen their wealth from half the population of the United States. Do you include Bill Gates in those 400? If so, please explain how his accumulation of wealth has deprived others of wealth. You may wait until Recess to respond.

That’s the mindset of the Liberals. They assume we operate under a zero sum game where one person gaining wealth means someone else had to lose for them to do it.

 

[Iceweasel]

Is an assembly line person more valuable than a PhD in physics? It all depends on who you ask. In many cases, that assembly line person makes more than the PhD does. I know several PhDs who work - on an assembly line and at other lower skilled job because there are no jobs available for him in his field.

Who is to blame here?
The guy with the PhD, for not keeping his skills relevant to the labor market.

Are you suggesting there is no market for the history of anthropological body art?

 

[orogenicman]

It is more complcated than that. Inflation, yes, but also a drastic reduction in high paying jobs as those largely went overseas.

OK....
What does that have to do with anything -I- said?

Walmart is one of the largest employers in the country, and it makes a crapload of money off the backs of its workers while they languish at the low end of the wage scale. It is a disgrace.

Walmart provides more jobs to low-skilled workers than any other company. They languish at the low end of the wage scale, because that's where their abilities lie. Walmart has simply figured out a way to employ them, and make money doing it.

You're just jealous.

Bullshit. That simply isn't true. Walmart employees have a wide range of technical skills. But many have had to settle for the jobs they can get because that is what (barely) puts food on the table.

I went through the check out line the other day and heard them discussing medieval French literature and nuclear power patents.

Gee, how obtuse you are. And how many jobs in medieval French literature and nuclear power would you say there are?