Real Time with Bill Maher: Middle Class Economics

[SwimExpert]

You said they were under-priced. I didn't. I said the prices were lower because it was before the housing bubble drove them up.

In case you've been in a coma for the past six year, the bubble exploded. Where are prices today? They're not anywhere near what they were in 1977. The relative price of a home is still much higher than in 1977. So the prices sans bubble prove that your position is bullshit.

I can't believe you are saying availability of credit has nothing to do with why people buy what they do. Holy Cow that is dumb.

No, it's truth. I know that morons like you can't grasp the idea that individuals are responsible for their own spending decisions. And that it's not the job of a company to make good decisions for you. But that's how a free market works. When consumers are willing to buy at a given price, that becomes the price. The company will set the price as high as consumers' willingness to buy will allow.

 

[The Rabbi]

You're such an ignorant piece of shit. Even when you agree with me you're a douche. You must be really butt hurt that I show you up all the time.
You live ina cardboard box outside a cess pool in Kansas. That doesnt count.

I believe that this is Rabbi's way of admitting that his numbers are goat shit that he pulled out of his own ass.

Butt hurt much? You support what I say and still maintain I am wrong. How stupid is that? Now run along.

Actually no, I don't support what you are saying. You are saying that inflation has caused prices to become out of reach, resulting in a two earner household becoming necessary. This is pretty much the opposite of my earlier thread discussing the effect of two income households on wages. Your hypothesis is that inflation has been rampant, thus causing wages to be worth less. That, of course, is absurd because inflating prices cannot occur without increases in personal spending. So, your idea is in fact backwards. Inflation did not necessitate the onset of the two income household. It is the two income household that caused the inflation.

Your hypothesis also fails because you seem to attribute the relative decrease in wage trends to inflation, which (aside from making no sense whatsoever) is entirely different than anything I said. I attribute the relative decrease in wage trends over the past several decades to a reduced sense of urgency and increased apathy in individuals associated with their wages, due to the net increase in income that results from a two income situation.

You are a moron, no doubt.
Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. The government increased inflation by increasing the money supply. They did so at first to pay for both Vietnam and the Great Society. Then it took on a momentum of its own, as it always does. Prices rose. Wages rose but not enough. People who were squeezed by rising prices had to find other sources of income and/or cut back spending. Thus the 2 earner family.
Here's a chart. Note the rise in women in the workforce starting c.1970 and accelarating thereafter.

 

[The Rabbi]

You said they were under-priced. I didn't. I said the prices were lower because it was before the housing bubble drove them up.

In case you've been in a coma for the past six year, the bubble exploded. Where are prices today? They're not anywhere near what they were in 1977. The relative price of a home is still much higher than in 1977. So the prices sans bubble prove that your position is bullshit.

I can't believe you are saying availability of credit has nothing to do with why people buy what they do. Holy Cow that is dumb.

No, it's truth. I know that morons like you can't grasp the idea that individuals are responsible for their own spending decisions. And that it's not the job of a company to make good decisions for you. But that's how a free market works. When consumers are willing to buy at a given price, that becomes the price. The company will set the price as high as consumers' willingness to buy will allow.

So you believe that what consumers are willing to spend and sellers willing to take constitutes the price of somethng, and yet houses and cars were underpriced c.1970 and wages were overpriced?
And you wonder why I think you're an idiot?

 

[Wyatt earp]

Holy fucking shit !!!!!

What is this crap?

The killer is strong in you bitch

Can you address the point without emotionalism?

We have the scientific tools to eliminate horrible diseases today. Why not use them? Because a magic fairy in the sky said not to?

Your bat shit crazy

Fucking insane like Hitler

Nutball asshat liberal

Now tell us how you really feel for the master race, jack ass

 

[Wyatt earp]

Yup liberals are racist as hell , just what I thought

 

[SwimExpert]

So you believe that what consumers are willing to spend and sellers willing to take constitutes the price of somethng, and yet houses and cars were underpriced c.1970 and wages were overpriced?
And you wonder why I think you're an idiot?

Are you twelve? Or have you just been spending your entire adult life since dropping out of 7th grade asking people if they'd like fries with that? For someone who thinks they understand basic principles of doing business you are less informed than a door-to-door vacuum salesman.

That supply and demand in a free market set prices does not mean that prices will always be perfectly priced. Pricing is still a human decision and as such can, and often does, come out as being inaccurate. When sellers undervalue their goods they leave money on the table. Identifying, and correcting, such under valuations can lead to increased revenue when prices are raised while resulting in no significant reduction in consumption. So if I've sold widgets for the past ten years at $10 a piece, and realize that I've been undervaluing my product and can double the price without losing volume, raising my prices is not an effect of inflation. It is merely a correction. Same thing happens with labor. If I've been paying workers $15/hr but one day realize that I can maintain production levels while only paying workers $9/hr than I've been overpricing the labor I've been buying.

 

[whitehall]

Talk about hypocrites, Maher enjoys a lifestyle of the rich and famous thanks to the "free market". You don't see him giving any of it back. The truth of the matter is that we need a marketplace that is free from nit-picking local, state and federal regulations and we need less interference from the IRS which has grown even more powerful under Obamacare. If the federal government actually promoted Reaganomics instead of whining about it the middle class would be a lot better off. Under the six years of Obama the middle class income has dropped 5% because of the crazy democrat theory of redistribution of wealth. When you combine the stranglehold of the IRS in health care, the crazy environmental policies and sneaky taxes like the death tax that forces the middle class to sell off family owned businesses and property and idiot comedians like Maher who preach about stuff they don't have a clue about it's a wonder there is a middle class at all.

 

[The Rabbi]

So you believe that what consumers are willing to spend and sellers willing to take constitutes the price of somethng, and yet houses and cars were underpriced c.1970 and wages were overpriced?
And you wonder why I think you're an idiot?

Are you twelve? Or have you just been spending your entire adult life since dropping out of 7th grade asking people if they'd like fries with that? For someone who thinks they understand basic principles of doing business you are less informed than a door-to-door vacuum salesman.

That supply and demand in a free market set prices does not mean that prices will always be perfectly priced. Pricing is still a human decision and as such can, and often does, come out as being inaccurate. When sellers undervalue their goods they leave money on the table. Identifying, and correcting, such under valuations can lead to increased revenue when prices are raised while resulting in no significant reduction in consumption. So if I've sold widgets for the past ten years at $10 a piece, and realize that I've been undervaluing my product and can double the price without losing volume, raising my prices is not an effect of inflation. It is merely a correction. Same thing happens with labor. If I've been paying workers $15/hr but one day realize that I can maintain production levels while only paying workers $9/hr than I've been overpricing the labor I've been buying.

OK so things are underpriced when you say they are and fairly priced when you think so.
You're a joke. You're a complete ignoramus spouting crap you must have picked up from daddy's magazine.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

No, it's truth. I know that morons like you can't grasp the idea that individuals are responsible for their own spending decisions. And that it's not the job of a company to make good decisions for you. But that's how a free market works. When consumers are willing to buy at a given price, that becomes the price. The company will set the price as high as consumers' willingness to buy will allow.

I think maybe you have swallowed too much chloine.
Prices are determinant on what people are willing to pay in a FREE market system. No one argues that.
But your seemingly unwillingness to agree that available credit also effects pricing is flat out ignorant. I am at a loss at how anyone could think it doesn't.
Goodbye.

 

[Wyatt earp]

I don't know therefore I wanted to ask participants of the forum.

Put America back to work, producing what America uses and consumes. Severely penalize the off-shore out-sourcing of jobs, severely penalize importing labor, and severely penalize anyone hiring or assisting an illegal immigrant. Re-write our unfair, unjust, and one sided foreign trade agreements and policies, so that they become fair, equal, and balance foreign trade agreements and policies. End our dependency on cheap foreign imports. Stop sacrificing our economic well-being in favor of strengthening foreign economies. Put the "Made In U.S.A." label back on store shelves.

Elect pro-America representatives to serve in government. Stop electing and re-electing professional politicians to run this country. Rewind the clock to the 50's and 60's when our plants and factories provided living wage jobs that covered all education and skill levels.

The above will create a strong Middle Class, and provide self-supporting opportunities across the board. As it stands now, we're consumers and not producers. This has created a poor and dependent society, living off of government assistance programs and unemployment checks. The above steps will reverse that trend.

Your a fucking idiot, trade wars never work and you want to pay $5,000 for a t v. or computer?

I have never ever said anything about trade wars, never. And, I certainly don't want to pay $5,000 for a TV. Also, I'm no idiot, thank you. Childish and silly name calling and personal attacks do absolutely nothing to enhance conversation, nor do they help prove a point. Please try to be civil and appear to be adult. Thank you.

Alright, I will give you respect and Applogize but your wrong

Wrong how ?? In what way am I wrong? Please explain. Thanks.

Because you are wrong on the following accounts:

1 . Europe was in ruins after WWII
2. We didnt have the regulations like we do know back then
3. A monkey could make money back then, no iso 9000 , nothing ,just pump out parts with a Tolarance of plus or minus a inch

And on and on and on

 

[The Rabbi]

No, it's truth. I know that morons like you can't grasp the idea that individuals are responsible for their own spending decisions. And that it's not the job of a company to make good decisions for you. But that's how a free market works. When consumers are willing to buy at a given price, that becomes the price. The company will set the price as high as consumers' willingness to buy will allow.

I think maybe you have swallowed too much chloine.
Prices are determinant on what people are willing to pay in a FREE market system. No one argues that.
But your seemingly unwillingness to agree that available credit also effects pricing is flat out ignorant. I am at a loss at how anyone could think it doesn't.
Goodbye.

Of course credit influences pricing patterns. I cant believe anyone would argue otherwise.

 

[The Rabbi]

Put America back to work, producing what America uses and consumes. Severely penalize the off-shore out-sourcing of jobs, severely penalize importing labor, and severely penalize anyone hiring or assisting an illegal immigrant. Re-write our unfair, unjust, and one sided foreign trade agreements and policies, so that they become fair, equal, and balance foreign trade agreements and policies. End our dependency on cheap foreign imports. Stop sacrificing our economic well-being in favor of strengthening foreign economies. Put the "Made In U.S.A." label back on store shelves.

Elect pro-America representatives to serve in government. Stop electing and re-electing professional politicians to run this country. Rewind the clock to the 50's and 60's when our plants and factories provided living wage jobs that covered all education and skill levels.

The above will create a strong Middle Class, and provide self-supporting opportunities across the board. As it stands now, we're consumers and not producers. This has created a poor and dependent society, living off of government assistance programs and unemployment checks. The above steps will reverse that trend.

Your a fucking idiot, trade wars never work and you want to pay $5,000 for a t v. or computer?

I have never ever said anything about trade wars, never. And, I certainly don't want to pay $5,000 for a TV. Also, I'm no idiot, thank you. Childish and silly name calling and personal attacks do absolutely nothing to enhance conversation, nor do they help prove a point. Please try to be civil and appear to be adult. Thank you.

Alright, I will give you respect and Applogize but your wrong

Wrong how ?? In what way am I wrong? Please explain. Thanks.

Because you are wrong on the following accounts:

1 . Europe was in ruins after WWII
2. We didnt have the regulations like we do know back then
3. A monkey could make money back then, no iso 9000 , nothing ,just pump out parts with a Tolarance of plus or minus a inch

And on and on and on

So sonny who claimed his plan didnt involve trade wars or government action reveals that it does exactly that. No wonder he's on ignore.

 

[SwimExpert]

No, it's truth. I know that morons like you can't grasp the idea that individuals are responsible for their own spending decisions. And that it's not the job of a company to make good decisions for you. But that's how a free market works. When consumers are willing to buy at a given price, that becomes the price. The company will set the price as high as consumers' willingness to buy will allow.

I think maybe you have swallowed too much chloine.
Prices are determinant on what people are willing to pay in a FREE market system. No one argues that.
But your seemingly unwillingness to agree that available credit also effects pricing is flat out ignorant. I am at a loss at how anyone could think it doesn't.
Goodbye.

How many times do I have to say it to get it through your head? Credit availability will, at best, have a proxy effect inasmuch as credit availability may influence a person's willingness to purchase something that they cannot actually afford. But it does not effect the perceived value of an object. A $15,000 car is still only worth $15,000.

Again, you seem to be arguing that the world revolves around sub-prime loans, which is bullshit. Credit is available to most people, and the credit available to them is reasonable and responsible in most cases. Any influence due to sub-prime lending is minimal at best. The fundamental driving mechanism remains people's willingness to buy a good at $X . Because if you're not willing to buy, then you don't buy! Unless you're a fucking liberal piece of shit who thinks that someone else is forcing you to spend your money!

 

[Sonny Clark]

Your a fucking idiot, trade wars never work and you want to pay $5,000 for a t v. or computer?

I have never ever said anything about trade wars, never. And, I certainly don't want to pay $5,000 for a TV. Also, I'm no idiot, thank you. Childish and silly name calling and personal attacks do absolutely nothing to enhance conversation, nor do they help prove a point. Please try to be civil and appear to be adult. Thank you.

Alright, I will give you respect and Applogize but your wrong

Wrong how ?? In what way am I wrong? Please explain. Thanks.

Because you are wrong on the following accounts:

1 . Europe was in ruins after WWII
2. We didnt have the regulations like we do know back then
3. A monkey could make money back then, no iso 9000 , nothing ,just pump out parts with a Tolarance of plus or minus a inch

And on and on and on

So sonny who claimed his plan didnt involve trade wars or government action reveals that it does exactly that. No wonder he's on ignore.

Wrong. My "plan" has absolutely nothing to do with trade wars, tariffs, nor does it have anything to do with isolationism. Try again. You can try and try to twist what I say around to mean something else, but it wont fly. I am totally against trade wars, tariffs, and isolationism. I firmly believe in fair, equal, and balanced foreign trade with our many trading partners, and have stated such many times over the years. And, I doubt very seriously that you can show where I have ever said otherwise.

 

[SwimExpert]

OK so things are underpriced when you say they are and fairly priced when you think so.

That's not what I said at all. And even though you're pretty damn stupid, I'm also sure that you're not misunderstanding me due to mental incompetence. You're being deliberately stupid because you want to work with easy answer and don't want to deal with things that take actual mental effort.

If I'm selling widgets at $10 a piece, but people want my widgets enough that I could charge double the price without losing significant volume, then my widgets are under priced. I might not know even know it. As a matter of fact, I probably don't know it, which is probably why I'm under pricing them. It is not me who decides that something is under priced, it is the market. All I can do is observe, evaluate, and identify the fact.

Listen, I know that this is all really technical stuff and is difficult for a life long loser to understand. But if you work really hard, maybe go back and get your GED and do some studying of how business works, maybe one day you just might be able to understand all this grown up stuff. Until then, just make sure that you keep offering add-ons to every order. Remember, fries first, then if they already ordered fries ask if they'd like a sundae. And don't forget...Super-sizing orders makes you a Super-sized worker!

 

[Sonny Clark]

Put America back to work, producing what America uses and consumes. Severely penalize the off-shore out-sourcing of jobs, severely penalize importing labor, and severely penalize anyone hiring or assisting an illegal immigrant. Re-write our unfair, unjust, and one sided foreign trade agreements and policies, so that they become fair, equal, and balance foreign trade agreements and policies. End our dependency on cheap foreign imports. Stop sacrificing our economic well-being in favor of strengthening foreign economies. Put the "Made In U.S.A." label back on store shelves.

Elect pro-America representatives to serve in government. Stop electing and re-electing professional politicians to run this country. Rewind the clock to the 50's and 60's when our plants and factories provided living wage jobs that covered all education and skill levels.

The above will create a strong Middle Class, and provide self-supporting opportunities across the board. As it stands now, we're consumers and not producers. This has created a poor and dependent society, living off of government assistance programs and unemployment checks. The above steps will reverse that trend.

Your a fucking idiot, trade wars never work and you want to pay $5,000 for a t v. or computer?

I have never ever said anything about trade wars, never. And, I certainly don't want to pay $5,000 for a TV. Also, I'm no idiot, thank you. Childish and silly name calling and personal attacks do absolutely nothing to enhance conversation, nor do they help prove a point. Please try to be civil and appear to be adult. Thank you.

Alright, I will give you respect and Applogize but your wrong

Wrong how ?? In what way am I wrong? Please explain. Thanks.

Because you are wrong on the following accounts:

1 . Europe was in ruins after WWII
2. We didnt have the regulations like we do know back then
3. A monkey could make money back then, no iso 9000 , nothing ,just pump out parts with a Tolarance of plus or minus a inch

And on and on and on

FYI - I have never said anything about Europe being in ruins. Obviously you have replied to the wrong person here.
FYI - I have not mentioned regulations. Obviously you have replied to the wrong person here.
FYI - I haven't said anything about what a monkey could make, nor when a monkey could make it. Obviously you have replied to the wrong person here.

Go back and read what I did say, please. And, please don't twist what I say around to mean something entirely different. Thanks.

 

[Wyatt earp]

I have never ever said anything about trade wars, never. And, I certainly don't want to pay $5,000 for a TV. Also, I'm no idiot, thank you. Childish and silly name calling and personal attacks do absolutely nothing to enhance conversation, nor do they help prove a point. Please try to be civil and appear to be adult. Thank you.

Alright, I will give you respect and Applogize but your wrong

Wrong how ?? In what way am I wrong? Please explain. Thanks.

Because you are wrong on the following accounts:

1 . Europe was in ruins after WWII
2. We didnt have the regulations like we do know back then
3. A monkey could make money back then, no iso 9000 , nothing ,just pump out parts with a Tolarance of plus or minus a inch

And on and on and on

So sonny who claimed his plan didnt involve trade wars or government action reveals that it does exactly that. No wonder he's on ignore.

Wrong. My "plan" has absolutely nothing to do with trade wars, tariffs, nor does it have anything to do with isolationism. Try again. You can try and try to twist what I say around to mean something else, but it wont fly. I am totally against trade wars, tariffs, and isolationism. I firmly believe in fair, equal, and balanced foreign trade with our many trading partners, and have stated such many times over the years. And, I doubt very seriously that you can show where I have ever said otherwise.

Of course what you posted is trade wars/isolationism, it can never work.

 

[Sonny Clark]

Alright, I will give you respect and Applogize but your wrong

Wrong how ?? In what way am I wrong? Please explain. Thanks.

Because you are wrong on the following accounts:

1 . Europe was in ruins after WWII
2. We didnt have the regulations like we do know back then
3. A monkey could make money back then, no iso 9000 , nothing ,just pump out parts with a Tolarance of plus or minus a inch

And on and on and on

So sonny who claimed his plan didnt involve trade wars or government action reveals that it does exactly that. No wonder he's on ignore.

Wrong. My "plan" has absolutely nothing to do with trade wars, tariffs, nor does it have anything to do with isolationism. Try again. You can try and try to twist what I say around to mean something else, but it wont fly. I am totally against trade wars, tariffs, and isolationism. I firmly believe in fair, equal, and balanced foreign trade with our many trading partners, and have stated such many times over the years. And, I doubt very seriously that you can show where I have ever said otherwise.

Of course what you posted is trade wars/isolationism, it can never work.

WRONG !!!! I do NOT believe in trade wars, tariffs, nor isolationism, period. I have never ever believed in them. They are NOT necessary. How is what I posted even slightly related to trade wars or isolationism? Are you trying to say that fair, equal, and balanced trade with our many trading partners is trade wars and isolationism? Please !!! Go back and read what I said then come tell me where I said anything about trade wars or isolationism. Tell me where I even implied such. Please do not twist what I say around to mean something entirely different. Thanks.

 

[Fugazi]

OK so things are underpriced when you say they are and fairly priced when you think so.

That's not what I said at all. And even though you're pretty damn stupid, I'm also sure that you're not misunderstanding me due to mental incompetence. You're being deliberately stupid because you want to work with easy answer and don't want to deal with things that take actual mental effort.

If I'm selling widgets at $10 a piece, but people want my widgets enough that I could charge double the price without losing significant volume, then my widgets are under priced. I might not know even know it. As a matter of fact, I probably don't know it, which is probably why I'm under pricing them. It is not me who decides that something is under priced, it is the market. All I can do is observe, evaluate, and identify the fact.

Listen, I know that this is all really technical stuff and is difficult for a life long loser to understand. But if you work really hard, maybe go back and get your GED and do some studying of how business works, maybe one day you just might be able to understand all this grown up stuff. Until then, just make sure that you keep offering add-ons to every order. Remember, fries first, then if they already ordered fries ask if they'd like a sundae. And don't forget...Super-sizing orders makes you a Super-sized worker!

I run a small business where I am very busy in the spring and fall, but sometimes struggle to find work in August. Most of my estimates for the season happen in early spring. Most of the time I am asked if I can bring my price down, and I explain to them that I can bring the price down if the work is performed in August, when I have the least amount of work. The majority of my potential clients do not see this as a sale during August, they see me as gouging them in spring.

In my personal experience, people only understand supply/demand when it benefits them.

 

[Wyatt earp]

So you believe that what consumers are willing to spend and sellers willing to take constitutes the price of somethng, and yet houses and cars were underpriced c.1970 and wages were overpriced?
And you wonder why I think you're an idiot?

Are you twelve? Or have you just been spending your entire adult life since dropping out of 7th grade asking people if they'd like fries with that? For someone who thinks they understand basic principles of doing business you are less informed than a door-to-door vacuum salesman.

That supply and demand in a free market set prices does not mean that prices will always be perfectly priced. Pricing is still a human decision and as such can, and often does, come out as being inaccurate. When sellers undervalue their goods they leave money on the table. Identifying, and correcting, such under valuations can lead to increased revenue when prices are raised while resulting in no significant reduction in consumption. So if I've sold widgets for the past ten years at $10 a piece, and realize that I've been undervaluing my product and can double the price without losing volume, raising my prices is not an effect of inflation. It is merely a correction. Same thing happens with labor. If I've been paying workers $15/hr but one day realize that I can maintain production levels while only paying workers $9/hr than I've been overpricing the labor I've been buying.

OK so things are underpriced when you say they are and fairly priced when you think so.

That's not what I said at all. And even though you're pretty damn stupid, I'm also sure that you're not misunderstanding me due to mental incompetence. You're being deliberately stupid because you want to work with easy answer and don't want to deal with things that take actual mental effort.

If I'm selling widgets at $10 a piece, but people want my widgets enough that I could charge double the price without losing significant volume, then my widgets are under priced. I might not know even know it. As a matter of fact, I probably don't know it, which is probably why I'm under pricing them. It is not me who decides that something is under priced, it is the market. All I can do is observe, evaluate, and identify the fact.

Listen, I know that this is all really technical stuff and is difficult for a life long loser to understand. But if you work really hard, maybe go back and get your GED and do some studying of how business works, maybe one day you just might be able to understand all this grown up stuff. Until then, just make sure that you keep offering add-ons to every order. Remember, fries first, then if they already ordered fries ask if they'd like a sundae. And don't forget...Super-sizing orders makes you a Super-sized worker!

You fucking moron you must be 3 years old who the fuck you going to find if you drop your labor rates from $12 bucks an hour to $9 bucks an hour?


You would have to shut down


Dumb fuck