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Census finds record gap between rich and poor

Almost goes without saying, the main cause of "poor" is lack of education, whether it is the fault of the kid, the parents, the schools, whatever.
There are several ways to succeed, but almost always the best way is thru education.
Many poor don't see the value of education, many rich just want to pay for their own kids and let the rest remain ignorant.
We have had so much progress in technology in the last few decades, it is understandable that the education system is lagging in its responsibilities. Hopefully the public will acknowledge that and demand more from govt. Certainly the curriculum needs massaging.

More from the government? I think the real argument here is that the government needs to stay out of this mess. The mess being the rich getting more and the poor getting less. The government should have nothing to do with the theft of the wealth of this nation. They need to fight in Afghanistan and protect us there.

The CEO to employee ratio of pay increases every year. But we argue that they deserve more than us. That's fine. But not a proportional increase to the average worker's salary. More for them and less for us is not OK. Does anyone get this concept. I'm not saying more for them is bad...I'm saying more for them, while we see less is.

We look at these statistics and argue hard work, no work, education blah blah.

Because Jim and Alice Walton work 200,000 times harder than I do. Or maybe they were educated 200,000 times longer at a school 200,000 times better than Marquette University.
 
Or how about this for a statistic...

"If the minimum wage had increased as quickly as CEO pay since 1990, it would today be $15.71 per hour, more than three times the current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour."

How is this ok? The problem is we have no protection. Those who make the money make the rules. How can the average pay of a CEO be 3 times more than 20 years ago, but this country has seen a far less than 300% GDP growth since then.

The money had to come from somewhere....and the money comes from us. To people with more than us. And it will be more next year. And then more. And then more. But the government does to much already.

How come the argument always goes back to "they are allowed to have lots of money?" Not grossly disproportionate amounts. But they made record profits. Because they made layoffs.
 
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Or how about this for a statistic...

"If the minimum wage had increased as quickly as CEO pay since 1990, it would today be $15.71 per hour, more than three times the current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour."

How is this ok. The problem is we have no protection. Those who make the money make the rules. How can the average pay of a CEO be 3 times more than 20 years ago, but this country far less than a 300% gdp growth since then.

The money had to come from somewhere....and the money comes from us. To people with more than us. And it will be more next year. And then more. And then more. But the government does to much already. So its fine!
um, most states have a minimum wage that is 7$ not 5. And most minimum wage jobs pay at least 2 dollars more than the lowest they need to pay.
 
Or how about this for a statistic...

"If the minimum wage had increased as quickly as CEO pay since 1990, it would today be $15.71 per hour, more than three times the current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour."

This statistic is thrown out all the time, but nobody can ever explain it. How was this calculated? CEO's of what?

If the companies that these CEO's work for have expanded much faster than the general economy, then why wouldn't you expect to see that?

If a guy who manages a 500 person company in 1990 end up managing a 50,000 person company in 2000, he should be getting paid substantially more.
If a guy who mops floors in 1990 ends up mopping floors in 2000, his pay should be relatively stable.
 
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um, most states have a minimum wage that is 7$ not 5. And most minimum wage jobs pay at least 2 dollars more than the lowest they need to pay.

And I wonder how many dollars more CEO's get than what they need to be paid.
 
This statistic is thrown out all the time, but nobody can ever explain it. How was this calculated? CEO's of what?

If the companies that these CEO's work for have expanded much faster than the general economy, then why wouldn't you expect to see that?

The point is so exactly that RightinNYC. You expect a company that does well to pay its CEO more. The general employees must have had nothing to do with the profits though. If the general economy is in fact the thousands of people working under you, and you don't pay them more when the corporation makes yearly record profits, but you pay the top huge payouts, we run into an economy like this one. A former rural area of Wal-Marts with $8/hr communities. CEO's getting paid more than ever even when thier corporations fail, or are failing. Wall Street insider trading. Verizon's "software malfunctions" that incurred micro charges for data use to accounts that couldn't even use data - accruing to $50m usd for Verizon.

I just can not understand the logic behind a company failing. Making layoffs. And giving bonuses to those on top?

Call it naivete, but if I read a statistic like CEO to worker pay gap increases in an economy like this, I'd be worried, and trying to fix it. Not trying to justify it simply because the government shouldnt be involved. If they shouldn't be involved, aren't involved yet, and you'd like to keep it that way. Don't blame Obama for the economy either.

One can't expect him to fix it without having anything to do with it.
 
There is a theoretical community where $10,000 exists. Ten people live there and each have $600. Except for 1 person. He has $4,000

Now lets insert a model where the community makes $2,000 GDP. So, by the end of the year there will be $12,000 in the community.

And we say the only reason the community makes money is because of the woman who has $4,000 and gets money from everyone else who happens to work very hard for her.

At the end of the year everyone has $580 but person number 10 has $6,180.

And this is good for the economy. And fair. Because the company did better than the overall economy.

Did I explain it well enough!
 
For now. Thanks to the damage that the boomers have done to our country, SS will almost certainly be means-tested by the time my generation gets ready to retire.
I can't deny the baby boomers have wreaked havoc on this country. But SS isn't the problem, congress borrowing from SS trust fund is. I feel bad for your generation because paying for the Iraq War is going to be passed onto you and your kids. So if SS survives by the time you retire, you might be glad you have it.

There are tens of millions of people who do just that. 25% of people over 65 get 90+% of their income from SS. 2/3 of people over 65 get 50+% of their income from SS.
So it's a good thing we have SS then, or else all those seniors would be living in the streets or on welfare. And don't forget, those seniors paid a substantial sum from their paychecks into SS and feel they deserve to get something in return.
 
One of the things that government does, is protect us from out of control corporations. That being the case, who protects us from out of control government?

We are protected by voting. What drives me mad is that nobody seems to see the connection between the two parties we have and the problem. The left blames the right and the right blames the left. They BOTH are the problem.
 
ender1;1059019017]I have read the constitution several times. Serving the people is the purpose of government.

That was then, Ender1. Remember what Ben Franklin said about "We have given you a democratic-republic… if you can keep it "? It's getting iffy, and this is why... "I also believe that the government has become the right arm of big business". When did this distrust of "big business" start? The United States has always had big business and the jobs derived thereof. Now it's a bad thing? If you want more mom and pop shops you'll find yourself with fewer and more expensive computers, automobiles, and so on. You may want to reconsider that position.

"If you are wealthy and leave the country just because you want to keep it your a coward.

That suggests the government knows better on how to spend your money than you do. If someone earned their money legally the government should have no claim to it apart from the same percentage of income every other citizen pays. Now it's "the rich". Who will you go after once they run out of money? Calling them "cowards" isn't going to encourage them so stay.

If I start thinking about our freedoms I want to cry. President Bush single handed took away 2 or three of my freedoms.

Which ones were they?
President Obama only voted to take away one.

And that is?

I agree with the government not serving me. So why do so many people vote democrat and republican. We do have the power and a peaceful system in place to support it.

If you agree with the government not serving you, why vote for more social programs and then expect "The rich" to pay for them?
 
Six figure retirement income and you call him a Marxist.:lamo

Please post the link where I called him a marxist. Thanks in advance.
 
apdst doesn't understand the many ways to accumulate retirement income. He thinks drawing a company retirement (small), AND social security AND navy retirement all at once is illegal. Millions of people are doing it, have been for a long, long time...

Well, I know enough to know that if you're drawing all that retirement and your full social security benefit, then you're either lieing about it so you can look cool, or you are defrauding the government, because SS bennies are based on income. Which is it?
 
Almost goes without saying, the main cause of "poor" is lack of education, whether it is the fault of the kid, the parents, the schools, whatever.
There are several ways to succeed, but almost always the best way is thru education.
Many poor don't see the value of education, many rich just want to pay for their own kids and let the rest remain ignorant.
We have had so much progress in technology in the last few decades, it is understandable that the education system is lagging in its responsibilities. Hopefully the public will acknowledge that and demand more from govt. Certainly the curriculum needs massaging.

The main cause of, "poor", is a lack of motivation. Anyone that isn't motivated enough to make it without an education, isn't going to motivated enough to make it with and education, or even put out enough to get and education.
 
The main cause of, "poor", is a lack of motivation. Anyone that isn't motivated enough to make it without an education, isn't going to motivated enough to make it with and education, or even put out enough to get and education.
Are you speaking for "all the poor" or just yourself?
 
The main cause of, "poor", is a lack of motivation. Anyone that isn't motivated enough to make it without an education, isn't going to motivated enough to make it with and education, or even put out enough to get and education.

The main cause of poor is the fact that this country is making 1% profit increase a year. But the rich folks see 5% more a year. The money has got to be coming from somewhere. How about the only people left....thier employees. By the way, the post I quoted might need an editor or tutor or someone to take a look. A Southern Louisiana Conservative veteran talking about poor people being poor because of a lack of education? You should know about the poor. You've seen them oversees I'm sure. You've seen them in La, I'm sure. Is it really a lack of motivation? All the while, there's a statistic in your face telling you where the money is coming from in regards to the rich making more. It comes from us. But they are entitled to to our money. Because their businesses are doing poorly. And our economy is doing poorly. But they are educated. I guess.
 
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Please post the link where I called him a marxist. Thanks in advance.

Your quite welcome

Let me refer you to post #389 where you bolded the following text from UtahBill (Think of it as dues paid for the privilege of living in such a nice country, with real opportunities for anyone willing to do their share of the work on the road to success.) and made the following statement.

That almost sounds like something that Karl Maex would say.

Now the wiggling starts eh? :2wave:
 
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And I wonder how many dollars more CEO's get than what they need to be paid.

some CEO's are grossly overpaid. that is a matter for the shareholders and directors to worry about. Not you.
 
The main cause of poor is the fact that this country is making 1% profit increase a year. But the rich folks see 5% more a year. The money has got to be coming from somewhere. How about the only people left....thier employees. By the way, the post I quoted might need an editor or tutor or someone to take a look. A Southern Louisiana Conservative veteran talking about poor people being poor because of a lack of education? You should know about the poor. You've seen them oversees I'm sure. You've seen them in La, I'm sure. Is it really a lack of motivation? All the while, there's a statistic in your face telling you where the money is coming from in regards to the rich making more. It comes from us. But they are entitled to to our money. Because their businesses are doing poorly. And our economy is doing poorly. But they are educated. I guess.

Yes, I have and 90% of the poor folks I've seen are poor, because of the choices they made in life. Most of that 90% made the choice to be a buncha ****-offs all their lives and/or sit on the porch waiting for the mail man to bring that big payoff.

I'm not educated. In fact, numerous people on this forume have claimed that I'm stupid as hell--refer to Moot's ast post. One member even went so far as to say that that I'm, "An embarressment to all black people with an IQ above 75", and I seem to have gone out in the world and done fairly good for myself. Now, if someone as dumb as myself can make it, what the **** is everyone else's excuse?
 
Your quite welcome

Let me refer you to post #389 where in you bolded the following text from UtahBill (Think of it as dues paid for the privilege of living in such a nice country, with real opportunities for anyone willing to do their share of the work on the road to success.) and made the following statement.



Now the wiggling starts eh? :2wave:

Ok, glad we got that cleared up. It's proven: I didn't call him a Marxist, only that his comments resembled those made by Karl Marx. Looks like I'm not the only poor lad that is confused. Eh?
 
Well, I know enough to know that if you're drawing all that retirement and your full social security benefit, then you're either lieing about it so you can look cool, or you are defrauding the government, because SS bennies are based on income. Which is it?

Ask around, ask your friends, ask your parents, ask anybody you know.
SS bennies are based on income as you say, but past income, not the income you are drawing from other sources after you retire. It is also based on how many years of contributing. It is not illegal to draw SS unless you never paid into it. My younger brother only worked 2 years of his life, you have to work at least 10 to draw a SS pension. HE can't collect SS, and he has only a small VA pension of about $700 a month to live on. Good thing our parents gave him the "house", more like a shack....

Here is a challenge, call SS and tell them you know about someone drawing SS illegally, and repeat all the wrong things you keep saying here, and they will let you know how wrong you are. I don't need to lie to look cool, but you need to educate yourself so you won't look stupid. What you are saying is that you plan on not applying for SS because you will have a pension from your job, or you will apply for SS because you don't have access to a pension plan. Either way, you won't likely have enough money to retire on....
Others here have tried to educate you, but you are stubborn to the point of frustration. The "force" of willful ignorance is strong in you, young padawa, so I am giving up on you.
 
Yes, I have and 90% of the poor folks I've seen are poor, because of the choices they made in life. Most of that 90% made the choice to be a buncha ****-offs all their lives and/or sit on the porch waiting for the mail man to bring that big payoff.

I'm not educated. In fact, numerous people on this forume have claimed that I'm stupid as hell--refer to Moot's ast post. One member even went so far as to say that that I'm, "An embarressment to all black people with an IQ above 75", and I seem to have gone out in the world and done fairly good for myself. Now, if someone as dumb as myself can make it, what the **** is everyone else's excuse?
:shock:

That's gonna leave a mark ...
 
Yes, I have and 90% of the poor folks I've seen are poor, because of the choices they made in life. Most of that 90% made the choice to be a buncha ****-offs all their lives and/or sit on the porch waiting for the mail man to bring that big payoff.

I'm not educated. In fact, numerous people on this forume have claimed that I'm stupid as hell--refer to Moot's ast post. One member even went so far as to say that that I'm, "An embarressment to all black people with an IQ above 75", and I seem to have gone out in the world and done fairly good for myself. Now, if someone as dumb as myself can make it, what the **** is everyone else's excuse?

I remember calling my late father up many many years ago and telling him I just got an acceptance letter from a prestigious university and he said good

but don't ever confuse being well educated with having common sense
 
Ask around, ask your friends, ask your parents, ask anybody you know.
SS bennies are based on income as you say, but past income, not the income you are drawing from other sources after you retire. It is also based on how many years of contributing. It is not illegal to draw SS unless you never paid into it. My younger brother only worked 2 years of his life, you have to work at least 10 to draw a SS pension. HE can't collect SS, and he has only a small VA pension of about $700 a month to live on. Good thing our parents gave him the "house", more like a shack....

Here is a challenge, call SS and tell them you know about someone drawing SS illegally, and repeat all the wrong things you keep saying here, and they will let you know how wrong you are. I don't need to lie to look cool, but you need to educate yourself so you won't look stupid. What you are saying is that you plan on not applying for SS because you will have a pension from your job, or you will apply for SS because you don't have access to a pension plan. Either way, you won't likely have enough money to retire on....
Others here have tried to educate you, but you are stubborn to the point of frustration. The "force" of willful ignorance is strong in you, young padawa, so I am giving up on you.

I have asked and everything that I've heard indicates that you're either lieing, or ripping off the government.
 
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