McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a rise

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Nicci said:

It is a federal issue, it was made a federal issue back in the 1930s. If you don't it to be a federal issue then get that law repealed but good luck with that.

I'm sorry but you don't have anything to really stand on with this point.

This has nothing to do with personal feelings, it has to do with personal experience and what I've seen from my friends who still live in that black hole of a state. There are quite a few people who can relate too. I'd love to see someone like you, go live on minimum wage in these states where the cost of living is "so low" but so are your wages. They are so low that if you don't own a car, you can't afford one and if you can afford one then you are short on rent, electric, phone, etc.

This basic principle is something that isn't being understood. I'll even use raw numbers from the time I used to live back there.

So, my rent was $430 a month (Single Bedroom, 450sq ft) in the middle of DT (where I shouldn't need a car, I had one though). The nearest job that paid minimum wage and was hiring was 5 mi outside of the DT, which requires a car as there is no public transit past 5 pm and before 8 am.

Electric was anywhere from $45 to $150 (depending upon time of year, spring and fall were best rates so lets go with an average of $97).

I didn't have a car payment, thankfully but insurance was still $100 a month (I wasn't young either(over 25) and it wasn't a fancy car (Pontiac Sunfire)).

So, working minimum wage at 80hrs a week would equal 580 for two weeks. $1160 a month (before taxes) after (single, no kids) 986$~.

986-627 = 359 left over, groceries are around ~200 a month, leaving ~159 for a month.

This says nothing about gas, needed to get to and from work.

Like I said, out of touch with minimum wage.

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Cannot tell you how out of touch you are with reality. Businesses aren't in business to provide you a job, they are in business to make money. Most people I know that are long term minimum wage workers are overpaid at minimum wage but most are kids and first time wage earners with many living at home. Judging everyone else by your standards shows someone thinking only with their heart.

As for the govt. setting a minimum wage, this isn't 1930. It costs a lot more to go into business, investment is higher, taxes and regulations are higher, employee benefits are higher and it varies by states. Things that worked in the 30's doesn't work today and as a matter of fact 29 states have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage showing they don't need the Federal Govt. to set a wage.

As for you knowing what others need for personal income you don't and if the only job you could get is minimum wage then look in the mirror at the problem.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Glen Contrarian;1064662704]And you really don't understand how those numbers are compiled, do you? There were many who decided to drop out of the workforce, who said to heck with continuing to work if they no longer needed to. And before you snort at this, there's a LOT of senior citizens out there who work who don't have to work but do so anyway just to stay busy...and I understand how they feel.

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No, you have no concept and are always looking for someone else to blame but never liberalism. Reality is people go in and out of discouraged workers and the more discouraged workers the lower the unemployment rate. The reality is 142 Million Americans were working before the stimulus was passed, two years later it was 139 million and that nothing to do with people dropping out of the labor force and doesn't take into account population growth.

What's more, the day Obama took over we were losing over half a million jobs PER FREAKING MONTH. He was handed the worst economic crap sandwich since the Great Depression. What's the jobless rate now? 5.5 percent? And we're STILL in the middle of the longest private-sector job growth streak in ALL AMERICAN HISTORY.

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What was the purpose of the stimulus? As for losing 500,000 jobs that was a couple of months and all Obama did was create an economy that created part time workers and discouraged workers. You don't have a frickin clue and continue to buy the leftwing rhetoric. It is amazing how you pick a point in time and claim that he created the largest numbers of private sector jobs in history, how exactly did he do that, how many are part time employees, and why are there only 2 million more Americans working today than when the Recession began with population growth?

When Obama took office there were 142 million working Americans and today almost 7 years later that is 148 million. That is a terrible record at a cost of 7.6 trillion added to the debt

Yeah, YOUR Great Recession was tough for most people (it drove me into bankruptcy and caused us to let our house go into foreclosure), and it's still tough for a lot of people...but we're a heck of a lot better off than we were the day Obama took over...

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So you blame someone else for you going into bankruptcy? Wow!! Why did you buy a house you couldn't afford? As for Obama name for me the policies that helped your house recover value?

...and what I was taught from day one in my career is when you stand a watch, you leave it better off than when you started it. Obama's DONE that. If you had even the least ability to pull your head out of the right-wing echo chamber, you'd realize that with his accomplishments, if he'd had that (R) behind his name, y'all would be screaming to have his face added to Mount Rushmore. But he's got that (D) - never mind about his name or the shade of his skin - therefore nothing he does can ever be considered good or right no matter what

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.

I do feel sorry for you, seems the American people finally got it, he lost the Congress, why?

But you're going to listen to none of this and I'm just wasting my time with you. You go ahead and have the last word. I won't reply.

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I couldn't care less, keep believing what you are told and ignoring reality. That is what liberals who have been indoctrinated do as they blame someone else for their own failures.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

winston53660 said:

Myth: Increasing the minimum wage will result in job losses for newly hired and unskilled workers in what some call a “last-one-hired-equals-first-one-fired” scenario.
Not true: Minimum wage increases have little to no negative effect on employment as shown in independent studies from economists across the country. Academic research also has shown that higher wages sharply reduce employee turnover which can reduce employment and training costs.

Minimum Wage Mythbusters - U.S. Department of Labor

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Please explain to us all why there are so many part time jobs being created today in this booming Obama economy?

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Glen Contrarian said:

But with the exception of Obama's stimulus (which itself was too small and a third of it was tax cuts), he hasn't really been able to implement any truly Keynesian measures, mostly because the Republicans in Congress were able to prevent it. So he and the Fed have been forced to consider other measures in order to stimulate the economy.

And when you say, "the market will take care of wages", that's true when it comes to highly-skilled workers...but not when it comes to entry-level workers. Look at the world around you and ask yourself what democracies out there have a significant minimum wage (or strong unionization like Germany), and what nations don't. Without exception, the first-world democracies have a strong minimum wage, and the third-world democracies don't. Why? Because when it comes to entry-level workers, if there is no government-enforce mandate for a significant minimum wage, the wage floor starts going lower and lower. I've got a house and a lot of family in one of these countries - I spend a lot of time there (I'm going there next month) and this really is how it works for entry-level workers in a nation where there is no significant government-enforced minimum wage.

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McDonalds workers near the oil fields make fifteen bucks an hour and get a signing bonus for taking a job. Why you might ask. Market forces. The oil fields have taken up much of the available labor leaving unskilled positions unfilled. You are wrong when you say the market only affects skilled labor.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Nicci said:

My cost of living is significantly lower than most in my area due to the lack of debt. That being said, when I lived in the Midwest, the cost of living was significantly higher due to the lower wages. If I was doing the same job back in the Midwest that I am doing here I'd be maybe making 2/3rd of what I do now. Which would mean zero mobility chance even with little to no debt.


That isn't true at all and that is the point of what the minimum wage did. Sadly however, businesses have since made it stagnant(Lobbying) and that is why it isn't increasing for inflation like it should be.

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If you can explain to me how a job is sustainable when it doesn't produce revenue enough to pay for itself, I'd be fascinated.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

sawdust said:

McDonalds workers near the oil fields make fifteen bucks an hour and get a signing bonus for taking a job. Why you might ask. Market forces. The oil fields have taken up much of the available labor leaving unskilled positions unfilled. You are wrong when you say the market only affects skilled labor.

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I thought you were making that up... Turns out you are right. Though I suspect with the collapse of oil.. Maybe not s currently.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Glen Contrarian said:

So enjoy that socialist program we call "Social Security"!

But that's a snarky and undeserved remark, so I apologize for it (even though I'm leaving it there). I can retire today, too - retired military, own a house overseas outright - but we've got too many responsibilities to take care of first - gotta make sure that the rest of the family's in a good situation (not by giving them money, but by giving them guidance and opportunity).

Good on you that you were able to save for your retirement - that takes a lot of self-discipline. But here's the rub: just because you are able to do something doesn't mean that you should expect everyone else to do what you did. Different people have different challenges to overcome, and many of them have challenges you probably never faced...some of which are probably far more difficult than you might think.

For instance, I remember back in the Navy, there was this woman who had two daughters. She was an alcoholic slut, pure and simple - her oldest daughter told my best friend (who ended up marrying her) that one night her mom had brought home three men, one for herself, and one for each of her daughters. At seventeen, the oldest daughter had two children and at fifteen, the youngest had one daughter and had had an abortion. And this was at a time when underage sex didn't carry the stigma that it does today.

Now think about what these girls had to face, what they had to overcome. They'd lived their lives being raised by this alcoholic slut, and before they were eighteen, they both were saddled with babies of their own. They were immediately on the public dole and were much more likely to wind up with people on the wrong side of the law. Was it the fault of these girls? No. They weren't bad girls, but simply got handed a crappy roll of the dice...and they were facing a social and financial cliff-climb that you likely never dreamt of.

Same thing with the parents of my medically-fragile Foster child. He has fetal drug syndrome - has a trach, g-tube, rods in his back, seizure disorders (had a serious seizure at 4AM this morning), developmentally disabled, cleft palate, scoliosis...yeah, he's got all that. His mother did drugs while she was pregnant. But do we blame her? How can we? We don't know what kind of situation she was in - maybe she was essentially forced to do drugs like the two sisters I described above were forced to have sex with strangers by their mother.

My point is, good on you for what you did, what you accomplished - but it's a mistake to expect everyone else to be able to do what you did.

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I don't expect everyone else to do what I did. I do expect them to earn their way. Nobody deserves 15.00 an hour just because they got a job. Entry level positions are just that.

I paid for my Social Security and I am not drawing it yet. I paid in more than I will ever get back. I still have three years left.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

What DOESNT require $15 an hour, never calls in sick, doesnt bitch about who he or she has to work on a schedule with, and costs zero dollars in health care benefits?

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

clownboy said:

You know this how? What sort of fast food places are you talking about? Corporate owned, franchise, independent? There's quite a mix. I can tell you the corporate ones do.

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I've worked both corporate and franchise KFC and raises were not offered on a yearly basis. Raises were offered at the sole discretion of the manager and typicaly tied to rank.

And when you did get a rais, you got your hours cut, because the store has a fixed budget for labor. I worked my ass off and colected as many raises as I could, which resulted in more time off, which I then filled with a second job.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

VanceMack said:

What DOESNT require $15 an hour, never calls in sick, doesnt bitch about who he or she has to work on a schedule with, and costs zero dollars in health care benefits?

View attachment 67184860

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...speaks English and will get your order correct....

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

winston53660 said:

Myth: Increasing the minimum wage will result in job losses for newly hired and unskilled workers in what some call a “last-one-hired-equals-first-one-fired” scenario.
Not true: Minimum wage increases have little to no negative effect on employment as shown in independent studies from economists across the country. Academic research also has shown that higher wages sharply reduce employee turnover which can reduce employment and training costs.

Minimum Wage Mythbusters - U.S. Department of Labor

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LOL.Straight from dear leader.
Funny they forgot to mention all the studies by " independent' economists that show increases in minimum wage wage DO have a negative effect on employment.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

KLATTU said:

LOL.Straight from dear leader.
Funny they forgot to mention all the studies by " independent' economists that show increases in minimum wage wage DO have a negative effect on employment.

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In addition basic logic, common sense, and law of economics supports the claim that raising costs affects job creation negatively as businesses, most the small ones that pay minimum wage, cannot survive competition with their increased costs. Far too many here have never run a business and thus have no idea the costs and responsibilities of a business owner. It is their investment, their hard work, their adherence to govt. regulations and taxes, their local community standards, their competitive pressures that determine wages. The markets will drive wages whereas govt. regulations and burdens add costs that have to be paid before any business owner can extract any money out of the business.

http://www.nber.org/papers/w12663.pdf

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Conservative said:

Cannot tell you how out of touch you are with reality. Businesses aren't in business to provide you a job, they are in business to make money. Most people I know that are long term minimum wage workers are overpaid at minimum wage but most are kids and first time wage earners with many living at home. Judging everyone else by your standards shows someone thinking only with their heart.

As for the govt. setting a minimum wage, this isn't 1930. It costs a lot more to go into business, investment is higher, taxes and regulations are higher, employee benefits are higher and it varies by states. Things that worked in the 30's doesn't work today and as a matter of fact 29 states have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage showing they don't need the Federal Govt. to set a wage.

As for you knowing what others need for personal income you don't and if the only job you could get is minimum wage then look in the mirror at the problem.

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Interesting, you didn't refute anything to do with hard numbers, why am I not surprised since it goes against everything you believe in. You have a personal bias against minimum wage employees and all of your posts show it.

You are right, it isn't the 1930s and we are going the exactly same direction with wages that caused the government (Federal) to intervene to stop us going that way and exploiting workers. Businesses are in the business of making money and the vast majority of major employers make money, so much so they get massive tax breaks along with it and still refuse to pay their employees a livable wage (based on state cost of living requirements).

It is in a businesses best interest to not allow their workers to be able to move up and move away or sustain themselves. They more they can keep them tied to the business and keep them working just enough so they can't go anywhere the better they do. Unfortunately for them, this also lowers their profit margins and if everyone is making more money, they are spending more money. That is basic business sense, which is why I always get a kick out of people who don't understand what it is to work at minimum wage in a so-called "low cost of living" state/city.

By all means keep your personal bias against people in minimum wage jobs, but eventually something is going to give and its going to be mandated again like it was in the 1930s, if it takes a federal statute to do it, so be it. I'd like to think the business owners would recognize this, but they have become so entranced with their own greed they refuse to help their employees.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

sawdust said:

If you can explain to me how a job is sustainable when it doesn't produce revenue enough to pay for itself, I'd be fascinated.

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All jobs produce enough revenue to pay for themselves, the minimum wage employees productively is so much higher than you give it credit for its amazing you don't see it.

I'll chalk that up to a personal bias against people who aren't as "Affluent" as you are.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

buck said:

I thought you were making that up... Turns out you are right. Though I suspect with the collapse of oil.. Maybe not s currently.

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That entire area is an anomaly, it was like that in the 70s as well. I'd like to think it'll continue but there is only so much growth sustainable for a town that used to be 1500 to bloom to 25,000 in under a year.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Nicci said:

All jobs produce enough revenue to pay for themselves, the minimum wage employees productively is so much higher than you give it credit for its amazing you don't see it.

I.

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LOl. YEa sure they do. That's why 8 out 10 business fail within the first 18 month.

It's pretty clear you don't know word one about starting or running a business . ( unless the business is posting dopey left wing squawk oints on the internet)

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Nicci said:

All jobs produce enough revenue to pay for themselves, the minimum wage employees productively is so much higher than you give it credit for its amazing you don't see it.

I'll chalk that up to a personal bias against people who aren't as "Affluent" as you are.

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Why do you think that businesses go out of business? Would it be and all the jobs in those businesses are paying for themselves or do you think that the business isn't producing enough revenue to make a profit. You live in Seattle, evidently. Aren't there restaurant closings and jobs losses there in advance of the minimum wage hike? Why do you think that happens. Every day we read about some guy in a Pizza shop excited about the raise he got, but disappointed that he's out of work.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Nicci said:

All jobs produce enough revenue to pay for themselves, the minimum wage employees productively is so much higher than you give it credit for its amazing you don't see it.

I'll chalk that up to a personal bias against people who aren't as "Affluent" as you are.

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WTH are you talking about? All jobs produce revenue? That's magical thinking. HOPEFULLY the market is consistent and business models consistent. That's not always the case. Employers carry the risk, even when there isn't enough income to carry payroll.

You should try creating a business and running a business. Please don't say you have because it's obvious you haven't.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Nicci;1064664885]Interesting, you didn't refute anything to do with hard numbers, why am I not surprised since it goes against everything you believe in. You have a personal bias against minimum wage employees and all of your posts show it.

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Actually that isn't true, I have a biased against lazy people who make minimum wage their career and have the entitlement mentality that it is the business owner's responsibility to pay them enough to meet their own monthly expenses but never do anything to help themselves.

You are right, it isn't the 1930s and we are going the exactly same direction with wages that caused the government (Federal) to intervene to stop us going that way and exploiting workers. Businesses are in the business of making money and the vast majority of major employers make money, so much so they get massive tax breaks along with it and still refuse to pay their employees a livable wage (based on state cost of living requirements).

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You have done nothing to prove that it is the business owner's responsibility to pay your monthly expenses or that they are in business to pay you whatever you consider a livable wage. You are biased and ignorant of reality. There are a very small number of businesses that pay minimum wage and the states do well in establishing their own wages. We don't need a bureaucrat in D.C. setting them without the will of the majority in the state.

It is in a businesses best interest to not allow their workers to be able to move up and move away or sustain themselves. They more they can keep them tied to the business and keep them working just enough so they can't go anywhere the better they do. Unfortunately for them, this also lowers their profit margins and if everyone is making more money, they are spending more money. That is basic business sense, which is why I always get a kick out of people who don't understand what it is to work at minimum wage in a so-called "low cost of living" state/city.

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Why don't you let the business owner do what is in his/her best interest since they have the investment and the responsibility. You have a distorted view of small businesses so why don't you start one and see how easy it is?

By all means keep your personal bias against people in minimum wage jobs, but eventually something is going to give and its going to be mandated again like it was in the 1930s, if it takes a federal statute to do it, so be it. I'd like to think the business owners would recognize this, but they have become so entranced with their own greed they refuse to help their employees.

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I employed over 1200 hourly employees, dealt with theft, drug abuse and usage, poor customer service, poor work ethic and yet never paid minimum wage. I don't think you have a clue about employees and judge everyone else by your own standards. Federal social engineering always makes sure the govt. gets their money first, something you never will understand.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

sawdust said:

McDonalds workers near the oil fields make fifteen bucks an hour and get a signing bonus for taking a job. Why you might ask. Market forces. The oil fields have taken up much of the available labor leaving unskilled positions unfilled. You are wrong when you say the market only affects skilled labor.

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And what you're referring to is an exception to the rule - in effect, you are cherry-picking. You can always find this or that exception to the rule, but when it comes to the vast majority of the time, market forces do not benefit the entry-level worker.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

NonoBadDog said:

I don't expect everyone else to do what I did. I do expect them to earn their way. Nobody deserves 15.00 an hour just because they got a job. Entry level positions are just that.

I paid for my Social Security and I am not drawing it yet. I paid in more than I will ever get back. I still have three years left.

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Again, as I pointed out in length, not everyone is ABLE to do what you did. And many, many of them are facing obstacles you never had to face.

It's like that old Indian prayer - "may I never criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins." Yeah, you faced obstacles - no argument there - but there's so many out there who faced (and are facing) obstacles that are harder than you imagine - the most obvious being that you're male (which means that you never faced what women have to face) and you're (probably) white (which would mean that you probably don't have a clue as to how your skin color itself made things easier for you).

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Glen Contrarian said:

And what you're referring to is an exception to the rule - in effect, you are cherry-picking. You can always find this or that exception to the rule, but when it comes to the vast majority of the time, market forces do not benefit the entry-level worker.

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The oil fields are an excellent example of what happens when the labor market is tight. In my previous business I've experienced this personally over several decades. Hiring cabinet makers and woodworkers was difficult when the economy was booming and to get good help the market forced you to pay for it.

According Thomas Sowell, only two percent of the population over the age of 24 is working for minimum wage. I read this today and understood that what we have been discussing is really not an important issue. It's mostly a Democrat taking point hike the war on women and really not an important topic. Therefore, my official position for any future conversation is that this topic affects very few people and is not worth discussing when there are so many really important issues in America.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Instead of marching, they'd better work. Name at least one successful person that works 40 hours a week or less? They need one direct reply: "NO." They just want to get something for nothing.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Glen Contrarian said:

And what you're referring to is an exception to the rule - in effect, you are cherry-picking. You can always find this or that exception to the rule, but when it comes to the vast majority of the time, market forces do not benefit the entry-level worker.

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Market forces don't generally benefit the entry level worker as there tends to be more supply than demand.

So, let's fix the problem, rather than simply shrugging and saying it isn't a problem.

The government buys up surplus agricultural products in order to keep the price high enough to be profitable for growers, so why not buy up surplus entry level workers? Bring back the CCC, do away with the minimum wage, do away with most of the welfare programs we have in place, and then let the marketplace keep wages up?

Think about it: No more disaffected jobless youth with nothing better to do than smoke pot and spray paint roadsigns, no more trillion dollar means tested government "benefits" programs, no more excuses for not getting up and going to work.

While we're at it, let's require proof of legal status for any job. That should go a long way to balancing out the supply and demand curve for entry level work.

Re: McDonald's boss says he's "proud" of wages as thousands of workers call for a ris

Dittohead not! said:

Market forces don't generally benefit the entry level worker as there tends to be more supply than demand.

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We agree on that one.

So, let's fix the problem, rather than simply shrugging and saying it isn't a problem.

The government buys up surplus agricultural products in order to keep the price high enough to be profitable for growers, so why not buy up surplus entry level workers? Bring back the CCC, do away with the minimum wage, do away with most of the welfare programs we have in place, and then let the marketplace keep wages up?

Think about it: No more disaffected jobless youth with nothing better to do than smoke pot and spray paint roadsigns, no more trillion dollar means tested government "benefits" programs, no more excuses for not getting up and going to work.

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Like with a lot of rhetoric, that sounds nice...but the devil's in the details. I'd be happy to bring back the CCC...but that would only work for a certain percentage of the unemployed - those who can leave wherever they're at. For single parents (which was not nearly so common when FDR started the CCC), one can't just pick up and leave.

What's more, have you ever been to a first-world democracy that doesn't have a minimum wage? There's only one - Germany, but it's the very strong unionization in Germany keeping up entry-level wages there. What you should do, then, is travel to the other democracies that have neither a minimum wage nor strong unionization...and you're going to be in for a shock.

Why? It's like you said at the beginning - for entry-level workers, the supply is always greater than the demand...and so the imbalance drives the wages down to the bottom. The logic is brutal - if you need money, you have a choice: either become a criminal, or work for near-starvation wages that company X is offering...or starve. And if you don't take that job, they don't care - there's always other people who will come to work for those near-starvation wages.

While we're at it, let's require proof of legal status for any job. That should go a long way to balancing out the supply and demand curve for entry level work.

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Not really. Again, the rhetoric sounds nice, but the devil's in the details. What happens if the illegal immigrants here can't get any work at all? Do you really think they're going to go back home? You might wish that, but the real world says something different. The illegal immigrants will simply start little businesses of their own, like lawn services or something else that faces little or no government regulation, or they will turn to crime. But they will NOT go home, not when by doing so, they'd be facing drug violence and kidnapping-for-profit and the never-ending poverty trap.

The ony real solution isn't one you'll like, either. No matter what you do, as long as America's economy is better than theirs, and as long as America's a safer place to live than theirs, they WILL come - they WILL find ways into America, no matter how many walls and laws and whatever you put up. The ONLY solution, then, is to do what we can to help their OWN countries become safe and prosperous...so that the people would not want to come here.

And we've seen this to a small extent over the past few years. When America was in the throes of the Great Recession, we had net zero illegal immigration - they didn't want to come to America because our economy was melting down. So that's the solution - if their economy is as nearly as good as our own, then they won't come to America. That's the only real solution - all other measures are band-aids and nothing more.