This is what a Donald double down looks like.

not always, many are underpaid sadly

I am doing fine, this is not about me, during my generation things were not as bad as they are trending now, I worry about our next generations, the ones we are passing on 20+ trillion in debt too

 

If you really believe that manure, just start your own business and become a billionaire. Obviously, there is nothing to it. And being so benevolent by nature, you can run your business with the idea that your employees deserve much more, so you can pay them double the usual wage.

When was the last time you bought anything, and offered to pay the seller more because you thought the price was too low?
When was the last time you were forced to take a job at a wage you didn't agree to (gunpoint, extortion, (something besides needing money for drugs or tatts) ??

YOU determine what you think you are worth. The market for whatever you are selling determines what OTHERS are willing to pay- thus, you ARE being paid what you are actually worth on the market- regardless of what you think you are. This is no different than the CEO. No different than Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke university basketball coach who was paid almost $9 Mil last year- when they could have had any of a hundred coaches for $100K. IF you can find somebody who agrees with your opinion of yourself- you get your price. IF nobody else agrees with you- then you are being offered what your services are worth to at buyer.

If you want free money or to be paid well for producing less, you need to become a Bernie Sanders welfare kind of guy- He would give everything away to people like you, send the bills to people who actually cut the mustard and make the world go around.... and tell himself he's done something good.

It's your thinking that would make us a third world country, where everybody wants to live off someone else. I say you are worth every dime you can prove yourself to be worth- and how much that is will be up to you.
After all the system you are bitching about has made America the most successful nation in the world, and the one that most migrants want to come too. That didn't happen by accident- it was good men, honest hard working men and women, not the whiners and beggars, that made it happen.

 

Every generation since the dawn of man has struggled for survival. BFD

 

wow, I talk about mega corps paying people a decent wage and you attack me for it... lol

the problem is, Americans are competing against 3rd world wages and working conditions, many American corps are selling the American working out for cheap labor

 

so, it that what you want American to become? a struggle for survival?

 

No, you talk about mega corps becoming social service agencies that serve people who think breathing is the same as producing value, and that somebody else should work hard to reward them for it.
I told you that if you believe what you said, then do it and prove your allegation. You have the same opportunity that people like Buffet, Gates, Musk and many others had when they started.

The American companies are in competition with third world labor- and the reason is that the same worker who thinks he's worth twice what he is being paid in America will not pay the price for products made in America; they are too expensive. Look in your own closet- how many of the garments, the shoes and things you have bought are actually made in America? The answer will probably be zero or close, because it is impossible to compete in those industries with American labor- thus we have no garment industry left. So you would have companies pay more in other industries we still have, which would raise the cost of the products they make- and make them less competitive with goods made overseas, so we can lose more industries and jobs, become less independent. Smart thinking??

The large majority of those who control what will sell and what price it will bring ARE employees- also known as consumers. They just want the benefits of buying the products of cheap labor- while they remain high-paid labor. Get the money somewhere else to pay me, but don't expect me to buy American because" I can't afford it..."

While you think that some executive salaries are ludicrous, you don't seem to realize how they fit into the proportion of the business. In many of the large companies, if the CEO worked free and his salary was divided equally among all the employees- they would get pocket change.

Things aren't rosy as you might seem to think. Walmart's net income shrank 7.15% in 2017 compared to 2016. From 2017 to 2018, it shrunk again,
by 27.71%. So far in 2019- the number is 32.37%. Part of this is the shift to E-commerce. Business is constantly having to re-position, to change strategy- to survive. That take some damn fine management and leadership. And with 2.3 million employees, if the Walmart CEO salary was divided and given in equal shares to each employee- they would each get $9.91. That's right- the cost per employee for the best leadership they can get is less than $10 a year. As a full time Walmart employee averages $14.26 an hour, that would be like getting paid for 41 minutes extra work, ONCE PER YEAR. Wouldn't that be a wonderful bonus? In return- they get management that keeps their jobs alive, and provides all the benefits they get.

You think that is excessive? Of course you do. The CEO should work free. Then, I think you would soon begin to say he should pay for the privilege.
Try at look at things from both sides once in a while. I've been an employee and an employer- I know both sides of the situation. Very few employees do, of course. They just speculate about how unfair it is, and tell themselves that they know. By all means- hock everything you have tomorrow so you can go into business and jump on the bandwagon.

 

Life is hard. Carry yourself. It's not your neighbors responsibility

 

It's a lot harder when you won't accept the responsibility for yourself, and that is the problem for those who typically blame society for their dissatisfaction with life.
Life by it's very nature is a struggle for survival- but every species on earth has done it well without all the advantages that humans have, and without trashing it. But then- nature doesn't nurture and tolerate whiners and slackers. The idea it should is a human invention. We actually breed and encourage that conduct.

 

why would you intentionally want to make America a struggle for survival, I want everyone to have a chance at a good job, I want life to be easier for people that work 40 hours a week so they don't need the help of the government to survive

 

so why complain about China, make a cheaper product, is all we have to do, pay Americans less, become a 3rd world country

the point is, the game is rigged, and there has to be rules that are fair to everyone or the rich and powerful take advantage of people

cheap foreign imports and foreign outsourcing are destroying this country as it is being done to excess

 

Rigged? You think the wealthy are carrying the bulk of the cost of governing the country because they rigged it that way?
Did you actually apply for the job you have, or were you forced to take it at gunpoint?
Are you being paid the wage you agreed to work for?
Are you aware that your boss pays half of your social security, but all of his? That you have unemployment benefits, minimum wage protection, entitlement to extra pay for overtime, and that your boss has none of those benefits?

China goods sell here because YOU BUY THEM. If you refused to buy non-American goods- companies would quit importing them. China is competing with us- but we aren't competing with China. What sells in America and at what price- is determined by you and all consumers. If you don't want to pay the price, or buy outside the borders- all you have to do is say no. Of course it will take more than one person- and we have far too many consumers who aren't willing to pay more. Fair for you, unfair for your employer? Rigged- or your choices?

 

I think the rich have more power then you think....

yes, consumers like cheap stuff even if it hurts America

yes, mega corps like cheap labor even if it hurts America

the problem is too many are doing it, if everyone does it, no one has jobs or money to spend and it's a downward spiral

if you want socialism, keep supporting it... cause that is how you get socialism

 

Not true. The economy is stronger and better than ever- but the expectations of unearned benefits and entitlements is growing even faster. That is what can lead to socialism- the idea that you don't have to earn your own way, and that those who tend their garden well while you let yours go to seed should feed you. You are saying- if society does not give me enough stuff, make my life easy enough, then we simply make it legal to steal those things from others who have them- because we are entitled to the fruits of other people's labor if they do more than we do.

Hogwash. You're entitled to the chance to make something of yourself, and the fruits of your own labor- nothing more.

 

then why you complaining about the people that need assistance, unemployment is the lowest ever right?, which means most are working right

I get it, some defend the greedy corps, but don't care about those in society that need help, heck many on the right want to kill social security, which helps so many of our elderly and disabled

if the economy is stronger then ever, then why is it not trickling down to the working class?

 

Of course increasing taxes = the equivalent of state ownership - can increase revenue into the state - at least short term. The OP does not suggest that this should be done however so your comment is a moronic straw man.

 

Are you saying that the "Laffer" curve is laughable ? couldn't resist.

Regardless of what the Laffer curve implies - policy based on ideas that people have come up with on the basis of this curve have failed.

The Reagan administration policies ended up being a fiscal disaster. Sure we experienced some short term economic growth by exporting our manufacturing base oversea's but the long term costs were huge.

Any idiot can stimulate an economy through massive deficit spending and that is exactly what Reagan did .. Bush Sr. then followed suit. After 12 years of reckless spending the situation was so bad that annual interest on our debt - as a ratio of income - hit 25%.

Folks often use debt to GDP and other far less meaningful indicators. The above is what the IMF uses to assess the direct and immediate fiscal danger.

When the interest payments on a nations debt hit 30% of income - red alarm bells go off at the IMF - the ship is taking on water faster than it can be bailed out and if something is not done soon the ship will sink.

This is what Reaganomics left us with ... 25% of our income was going to pay the interest on our debt. It was not that Clinton and Congress wanted to act - they had to - they were forced to. Taxes on corporations increased and spending was reigned in. The we got lucky - a "white swan event" happened - the tech/internet/computer revolution took off and this resulted in a huge revenue increase.

The deficit was reduced down to near zero and increasing revenues decreased the ratio. What also decreased the ratio further was that interest rates started to decline (in part because we were not floating as much debt onto the markets) this decreased supply then helped to bring interest rates down. Other factors also contributed to a reduction in the interest rate on our debt.

Bottom line though - Reaganomics and policy based on the Laffer curve was a disaster - something no serious economic prognosticator disagreed with at the time. Historical revisionism eventually took hold and we now have people wanting to repeat the disasterous policies of the past.

 

"Dumbo the Clown" as you call him has made millions of dollars, employed a lot of people and become President of the US. You may not like him, (I don't like him), but is he a "Dumbo" in comparison with your achievements? The thing that gets me is the people who often call Trump an economic Dumbo generally consider Bernie Sanders an economic genus.

If you don't like Trump (and their are a lot of things not to like) why not present a well reasoned argument minus the ad hominem insults?

You may think the Bloomberg article you linked to supports your position but it doesn't so I am wondering if you actually read it. The quote from your reference listed at the end of this comment (with emphasis added) does not exactly make your case.

And since your reference cites the IMF I have to add an aside, i.e., I am always amused by the awe in which people hold the IMF. The major issue when I worked there (which I admit is ancient history) was endlessly debating the management decision to ban dogs at the Bretton Woods country club -- the country club (along with outrageous salaries and benefits) that is partially paid for by the US taxpayer. https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/19/archives/do-not-disturb-bankers-at-play.html

You can't expect the IMF employees to have economic opinions based on personal experience since they don't pay taxes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robert...i-dont-pay-taxes-but-you-should/#458e06a377cb

And here is your case against the Trump tax cuts.

Reviewing the academic literature, the IMF authors find that tax cuts generally do seem to boost investment. A standard model would predict that they should have increased investment by between 3.4 and 7.2 percentage points by the end of 2018. The actual increase, relative to pre-tax-cut forecasts, was about 3.5%. This means that although Trump’s tax cuts probably gave A SMALL BUMP TO INVESTMENT, ...

 

You are in need of maturing- gaining the capacity to grasp things you don't yet understand. You don't build a better society, you don't create an "equality" by tearing down others who excel, but by lifting yourself up.
There have always been and always will be greater and lesser people- but that is determined by the choices those people make. If you choose not to be anybody of importance, not to be someone who makes the world a better place, someone who sets high goals and succeeds- you will most likely get your way. Nothing is free, despite the lies politicians tell you. But, your options and opportunities in life are really only limited by the way you choose to play the game. YOU are the one put here to take care of you- society doesn't owe you squat. Those you call greedy quite often started their companies in garages or with small amount of borrowed money. I started my first with one weeks paycheck from the job I quit, and trust from people I chose to do business with. I've not taken so much as an unemployment check in my life- but I've been broke, busted, and had major cancer without insurance- and still paid all my bills. I'm also one who will go out of my way to help when the situation calls for it- and that is something you must understand, so you don't do more damage than good with it.

There are two kind of "help". One is what might be called a "hand-up"; it is giving a lift to people who are in trouble through unusual circumstances that are trying hard and will return to productivity as soon as possible- and then they will pay it forward. Those who get such help and those who give it both win. One of the more widely known such thing is the story of a farmer who is hurt and can't get his crop in- but his neighbors show up en-mass and do it for him, knowing he would do the same for them.

The other kind of help would be called a "hand-out". That is providing sustenance in various forms to someone who expects it as owed them, or at least free- and expects to use it as his permanent income or a supplement to his income. He is dependent; cannot have genuine self-esteem or pride, resents the fact that he is not independent and blames the same people who support him for making him that way. Those who help this person are enablers- they fill the persons needs, and thereby make it unnecessary for them to do for themselves. Both people lose.

There is nothing wrong with helping those in need- provided they understand it is a temporary thing, a gift of kindness to be appreciated. If they think it's owed to them, the will see your help as a late payment on a long overdue bill.

We don't build a better society by subsidizing weakness, sloth and procrastination. That's what a hand-out does; you are actually feeding a habit just as if you were providing the money for drugs- which is exactly where a lot of welfare money goes.

When you look to yourself instead of others for your quality of life- you find you have the power to make it what you want. So long as you blame others for what you don't have, you have no power- and will never have self-esteem.

 

I never said that is the way you do things, stopping corps from excessive outsourcing is like creating a speed limit on our roads, someday you will understand that

 

Was that supposed to be an answer to the quoted post?

 

yep, was yours a reply to mine?

 

The quoted post (review #118 and #119) had not a single comment on out-sourcing or anything of the kind.
Nothing here to respond to.

 

you commented on my post, attacked me in the first line, that was my response to that line...

 

I want them to come cut my lawn and shovel my drive, as I don't have time because I'm to busy making sure they have a job, working way more than 9-5 mon thru friday.

Life is hard. Get your own

 

And they ain't grateful a bit. They feel owed, and every time you blink, the think they're owed something else