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Depending on whether you classify GDP by country or region, the US is either number one in the former or second to the EU in the latter:People are payed by their value to a business. You expect a person who stocks shelves to receive the same salary the Company's Accountant gets.
Please explain what a living wage equals. Especially, if you are still living with mommy and daddy.
We are not doing as well as other countries? We still have the Largest Economy in the World. Our poor live better than in any other country in the world and we give aid to those countries.
You really know very little about economics and the world we live in. You are a perfect example of just how bad our Public Education System has become.
Well, I know you just can't fix stupid. So I won't try.
No one expects low skill workers to be paid the same as the company's accountant. What we expect is wages for all workers to rise proportionately. If the accountant is given a 5% increase for cost of living, the low skill workers should receive a similar 5% increase.
What has happened is that wages for accountants have risen by 60% while the low skill workers haven't seen a raise in years.
People aren't really paid based on their value to the business. That's a right wing myth. They're paid based on supply and demand. There are lots of low skill workers and they're easy to replace. With so many unemployed looking for jobs, they line up for any opportunity offered. You don't have to pay more to replace them, and if you can find a legal way to pay them less, they'll still line up for the jobs and be grateful for the opportunity.
Accountants are harder to find and not easily replaced so they're paid more to attract better employees.
You don't have the largest economy in the world. That would be China. Your economy was surpassed because your low income workers have lost buying power and China's markets are growing due to the rise in manufacturing.
I am not a product of your lousy public education system. I'm a product of the much superior Canadian education system. I'm now retired but I was one of the first female bank managers in Canada before moving into law in the early 80's. I specialized in corporate/commercial law and real estate. I think I have a pretty good grasp of economic matters and how successful businesses work.
What has happened is that wages for accountants have risen by 60% while the low skill workers haven't seen a raise in years.
Most people are bad at math and we've imported 20 million low skill illegals.
And you think the low skilled worker should get the same increase?
You want to help the low skilled worker, deport his low skilled illegal competition.
You don't have the largest economy in the world. That would be China.
See what I said about math? LOL!
Yes, the US is No. 1 in GNP, but in the overall value of goods and services produced, China has surpassed the US, primarily because China has taken over so much of the civilian manufacturing which used to be done in the US and the middle class in China is growing which is driving a growing demand for consumer goods. That demand will continue to grow as China's burgeoning middle class indulges their demand for western luxuries and technology.
Conversely, low and middle income Americans are able to afford less and less as the buying power of stagnant incomes continue to erode.
Large US companies will continue to expand into Asia as the increased manufacturing sector in those countries will provide markets for goods Americans can no longer afford.
In other words, China is moving towards capitalism and the US is moving away from it.
You mean facism? Yes, we are moving towards it, for them it's proving better than communism.In other words, China is moving towards capitalism and the US is moving away from it.
They're both moving toward corporatism.
You mean facism? Yes, we are moving towards it, for them it's proving better than communism.In other words, China is moving towards capitalism and the US is moving away from it.
They're both moving toward corporatism.
Do you believe the distinction between GNP and GDP is relevant in this discussion?Yes, the US is No. 1 in GNP, but in the overall value of goods and services produced, China has surpassed the US, primarily because China has taken over so much of the civilian manufacturing which used to be done in the US and the middle class in China is growing which is driving a growing demand for consumer goods. That demand will continue to grow as China's burgeoning middle class indulges their demand for western luxuries and technology.
Conversely, low and middle income Americans are able to afford less and less as the buying power of stagnant incomes continue to erode.
Large US companies will continue to expand into Asia as the increased manufacturing sector in those countries will provide markets for goods Americans can no longer afford.
Do you see any evidence of "free" markets in China or the US, and, if so, what, exactly, are their markets "free" of?In other words, China is moving towards capitalism and the US is moving away from it.
Do you see any evidence of "free" markets in China or the US, and, if so, what, exactly, are their markets "free" of?In other words, China is moving towards capitalism and the US is moving away from it.
Is the Chinese commitment to mercantilism related to impending attempts at military conquests?QUOTE=Bombur;8521346]China's rise is mostly due to their ability to provide a stable economic environment for investors as well as really cheap labor. They also manipulate currencies to ensure long term profitability of investments into production. They also keep wages down through government control. A lot of other places with low wages didn't have the government control that China had/has. It is fairly straight forward mercantilism.
Is the Chinese commitment to mercantilism related to impending attempts at military conquests?QUOTE=Bombur;8521346]China's rise is mostly due to their ability to provide a stable economic environment for investors as well as really cheap labor. They also manipulate currencies to ensure long term profitability of investments into production. They also keep wages down through government control. A lot of other places with low wages didn't have the government control that China had/has. It is fairly straight forward mercantilism.
"Mercantilism is a national economic policy aimed at accumulating monetary reserves through a positive balance of trade, especially of finished goods.
"Mercantilism dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from the 16th to late-18th centuries.[1]
"Mercantilism was a cause of frequent European wars and also motivated colonial expansion..."
Mercantilism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Do you expect the Chinese to rely on colonialism in the same way European empires did?
"Led by that giant of the emerging powers, China, the BRICS are now Africa's largest trading partners and its biggest new group of investors. BRICS-Africa trade is seen eclipsing $500 billion by 2015, with China taking the lion's share of 60 percent of this, according to Standard Bank."Do you expect the Chinese to rely on colonialism in the same way European empires did?
no
You need to do some basic research since I'm not getting paid for this.Do you see any evidence of "free" markets in China or the US, and, if so, what, exactly, are their markets "free" of?In other words, China is moving towards capitalism and the US is moving away from it.
I agree 100% with that... My point was your asinine claim that everyone should get the same increase across the board regardless of their performance is completely absurd (and I suspect you know that too - you're just playing that disingenuous Dumbocrat game).
COLA is not a merit increase. Everyone should get the same percentage COLA raise regardless of performance. Those whose performance merits an increase should also get an increase in addition to their COLA raise. That's how it works at every company/firm where I've worked.
COLA raises are increases in the base salary/hourly rate paid for any job, based on increases in the cost of living index over the previous fiscal year.
Most companies who are considered good employers have salary structures based on the established base rate of pay with annual COLA increases, merit increases tied to annual performance reviews and bonuses for exceptional performance - usually given at the end of the fiscal year and tied to profits.
Everyone gets the COLA increase but only those whose performance reaches or surpasses certain standards get the other raises and bonuses.
The widening gap between the lower skills jobs and the top end of the work force is the result of the top getting more and more money, while the middle and lower income jobs have not, in spite of rising productivity.
The loss of buying power for low income workers is dragging the economy down further. The greatest stimulus to the economy would be to get more money into the hands of low income workers. There are so many more of them.
Gee whiz, Milton Friedman, if we could only convince those hard-working Cubans to end their boycott of the greedy, fascist US?And capitalism enhances inequality:
"A child raised in the bottom fifth of the income scale through much of the southern United States has around a 5 percent chance of rising to the top fifth4 percent in Atlanta and 4.3 percent in Charlottewhile a low-income child has a 9.6 percent chance of rising in Los Angeles and 11.2 percent in San Francisco.
"Do Republicans think poor kids in California are just twice as likely to be hardworking as poor kids in Georgia and North Carolina?
"Or might there be something else going on?
"Not to mention, even an 11.2 percent chance of going from low-income to high-income is pretty damn low if what we're looking at is an issue of merit.
"Those numbers are in line with Pew's earlier finding that 43 percent of Americans born in the bottom fifth of the income ladder never move up, and a full 70 percent never reach the middle.
"The 'this is about advantages and inequality, not individual merit' hypothesis gains strength when you learn that rich kids with below-average test scores are more likely to graduate from college than poor kids with above-average test scores."
Daily Kos: Republicans believe rich people just work harder. So how do they explain these statistics?
And capitalism enhances inequality:
It's true, when you live in a system where success is possible, the successful will make more.
If you live somewhere like Cuba, the smart, the stupid, the lazy and the hard worker are equally unsuccessful. This leads a moron like you to point to Cuba as a country to emulate.
Can you do this math, Milty?
"Is America the 'Land of Opportunity'? In two recent studies, we find that: (1) Upward income mobility varies substantially within the U.S. [summary][paper]
"Areas with greater mobility tend to have five characteristics: less segregation, less income inequality, better schools, greater social capital, and more stable families. (2)
"Contrary to popular perception, economic mobility has not changed significantly over time; however, it is consistently lower in the U.S. than in most developed countries. [summary][paper] "
Equality of Opportunity
Do you see any evidence of "free" markets in China or the US, and, if so, what, exactly, are their markets "free" of?In other words, China is moving towards capitalism and the US is moving away from it.
NO free markets in China, the US nor anywhere on the face of mother earth.
.
