Kolek planning to go pro
I know it's crazy, but there are studies that show the opposite. Maybe we should just accept that fact that you will find studies that support your position and I'll find those that support mine. I included the CBO because they are supposed to be non-partisan.In the meantime, if studies show no impact to jobs when they are raised, why not take the minimum wage up to $50 an hour...how about $300 an hour...since there is not impact.
No, I won't. Because history proves otherwise. And stop with the strawman argument, of course bumping it up over 500% would have consequences.
I believe in capitalism, however sometimes I do have to wonder how much is enough? You have some people who are trying HARD, and can barely eat/survive. You have some other people mere miles or maybe even blocks away who have so much money they couldn't spend it all in 10 lifetimes. I know it's not the first time in history it's happened, but it's just weird if you strip away all of our notions and look at the actual results of how we live. If aliens came, how would we explain it? Would they "get it"?
If aliens came, how would we explain it? Would they "get it"?
Your ideologically-charged rantings are just as ludicrous as what you think I'm espousing. I'm simply demonstrating the lunacy of your argument where in one breath you imply Walmart is critical to society and in the next you lambast their business model. If you want to tell someone how to run their business, buy a majority stake in the company. If you don't agree with the model or their policies, fine - that's your right. Truth be told, neither do I (nor do I shop there). But people have been moving to this country for centuries so they didn't have to be told what to do on the whims of a nutjob (or nutjobs). All I'm saying is don't be a nutjob.You need to realize that your gripe isn't with capitalism, or Walmart, or subsidies, or republicans... your gripe is with human nature and consumer behavior. If that's what you want to change, start at the bottom, not the top. You can't melt an iceberg by throwing salt on the surface.
So much drama.Suggesting that the average public union worker receives "insane" perks is, um, insane.There are absolutely instances in which benefits promised are a travesty, but this usually involves only the people at the very top of the food chain (i.e. school superintendents, judges, former directors), and is in no way reflective of the average worker.Here in Illinois, the median teacher pension is $55k a year. Remember, these are people with no Social Security and no access to an employer backed 401k. This is all they get. Are you really suggesting that a person living on $55,000 a year in 2014 is somehow funding a lavish lifestyle on the public's dime? That that's an "insane" perk?And it's not as if this is free money. They're contributing a solid chunk of their annual incomes toward these benefits (here in Illinois it's 9 percent a year).The problem in most states - Illinois being the shining example - isn't that the benefits promised were excessive or unaffordable in most instances. They're not.The problem is that for decades, while public workers have been making their required contributions to the system, the politicians haven't. They've consistently diverted funding earmarked for the pension system to pay for other pet projects, creating the massive funding shortfalls we have today. The problem is less about too much going out as it is too little going in.And then they get yahoos on the Internet shouting about how it's all the teachers' and unions' fault. Those greedy SOBs should spend retirement dining on cat food and be happy about it.
See this is where reading is fundamental. I always said the workers were fundamental, not the specific company they worked for.And yes, capitalism is part of problem. We do not live on islands where our actions do not affect others. It's nice to think we are kings of our domain, but it is a delusion. Stop putting your head in the sand that Walmart's (and generally big box retailers) model is nothing less than the abuse of people and their families.
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny. Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.
Are you really suggesting that a person living on $55,000 a year in 2014 is somehow funding a lavish lifestyle on the public's dime?
It's not perfect, but there isn't a better system ever invented in human history.
It's not perfect, but there isn't a better system ever invented in human history. I get more concerned with the lack of basic economic understanding in this country. When people are bellyaching about revenues earned, I just shake my head, but you see it every day. Revenues are not profits, but I'll be damned if it doesn't seem like the majority of low information voters have a clue on the difference. Secondly, even when profits are high in absolute dollars, that doesn't mean on a percentage basis they aren't around 10%. It's always amazing to me to watch some people get honked off because some giant corporation made billions in profits in a given year, but with a profit margin around 10%, while some mid sized lefty friendly company merely made $750M but had profit margins of 70%...that's ok. The double standards are pretty funny to watch, except that these people are typically so clueless that they don't even understand profit margins or absolute dollars anyway....so it becomes a witnessing of pure ignorance instead....which is also fun.
If they're shopping at Walmart (or any big box retailer), evidently they are.
Right, but this is exactly my point. Step outside of the ideologies for a minute. We have people struggling to survive and feed themselves, and we have others who literally have more than they know what to do with. These people live only blocks apart. Again, I'm not some sort of commy, but if we step outside of ourselves for a minute, its an interesting examination of where we are at on planet earth. I would have a hard time explaining it to a Martian, or to Jesus quite frankly (BTW, Jesus might be a Martian, think about that for a minute).