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Paychecks Lag as Profits Soar, and Prices Erode Wage Gains

digsbe said:
Few things display rampant liberal economic illiteracy such as complaining about companies making profits... Profits are a good thing, expanding equity and generating wealth are good things.
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Nobody is begrudging companies earning profits. Assigning that belief to liberals is merely a strawman. What we liberals really object to is giving corporations huge tax-cuts, sold as 'the companies will take that tax-cut and give it to workers' but in reality use it for stock buybacks. That's an upward redistribution of income.
 
MTAtech said:
You can deny reality, but that doesn't make your alternate reality so.

Prices:


Wages:
For the biggest group of American workers, wages aren’t just flat. They’re falling.
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Okay, since you are so driven by reality based (totally non-confirmation bias) information; here is my first question.

Why are you measuring real wage with the CPI and not the PCE chain-type index? Anyone who has been paying attention to monetary policy for the past 10 years knows that the preferred inflation metric of the Fed is the PCE, so why use CPI?
 
MTAtech said:
Your post represents the false narrative that YOU sitting in front of the Fox News propaganda channel all day. Generally, those receiving gov't help are seniors, disabled, and the working poor -- who just happen to work but earn very little.

The idea of the Welfare Queen driving a Cadillac is a lie.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/timwor...an-most-of-the-rest-of-humanity/#3665f19854ef

They live better than or just as well as other countries wealthier people.
Most of the people in the US even the lowest 10% live better than 75-80% of the world in comparison.

if you drive a car, have a cell phone have cable Tv and internet then you are better off than 90% of the world in general.
 
MTAtech said:
You can deny reality, but that doesn't make your alternate reality so.

Prices:


Wages:
For the biggest group of American workers, wages aren’t just flat. They’re falling.
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You don't seem to read your own articles. Did you read why prices are going up?
a tightening job market meaning we are reaching full capacity. There has also been an
a slight increase in raw material.

The job market tightening is a good thing not a bad one. It is important to realize that.
It also means there is more competitive job market for people looking.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/w...t-wages-still-arent-rising-rapidly-2018-04-06

wages have been going up.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
The mismanagement is a lot worse than that.

But hey Trump will be loaded up with as much of the blame as the so-called journalists and other FAILED INTELLIGENTSIA! can manage, there is a job to get done and they threw honesty overboard long long ago.
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Yea, there’s no doubt economist, public policy experts, and journalist have done their part by turning alot of the pro-corporate/anti- worker policies into the “how you grow the economy” conventional wisdom.
 
MTAtech said:
More like 40 years ago. In the prior period, the middle class was growing due to policies that encourages worker organizing, a high marginal tax-rate and a high minimum wage.

Since then, income inequality has risen dramatically. Most people assume that this rise in inequality was the result of impersonal forces, like technological change and globalization. day.
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They should should assume that, because that's pretty much it.
A high marginal doesn't make wages grow at the bottom.The tax rate for most at the bottom is zero. Can' d much better than tha Min. wage is an economic non-fact. Strictly a lw squawk point. Doesn't even register a blip on the economy.

Income inequality is strictly a political issue .
If equality is the goal, then then Cuba and Venezuela are the gold standards.

Why people continue to buy into this inequality nonsense speaks well for lw propaganda. They've been doing it since Marx.
Poor peopel want to get rich, not equal If somebody makes 20 K they want to make 60k And if they get there they dont give a f F$ck that a bunch of 1%ers like Clinton Pelosi, Sanders, and Obama have more money than they'll spend in 3 lifetimes.
 
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iliveonramen said:
Yea, there’s no doubt economist, public policy experts, and journalist have done their part by turning alot of the pro-corporate/anti- worker policies into the “how you grow the economy” conventional wisdom.
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The expertise has gotten very thin, and the moral fiber of the Geniuses as well.....their chatter is often some mix of wishful thinking and propaganda.
 
Vox said:
Yes, I have both.......basically free Tri-Care insurance and Express Scripts meds and a military retirement, a civilian retirement and Social Security plus good income from (smart, not "lucky") investments.

My fairly wealthy status is available to ANYBODY with brains and ambition......I was born into poverty--and I AM sympathetic to the poor and disabled......just NOT the lazy whining poor who manage to have giant screen TVs and fancy smart phones and cars and eat Big Mac's at every meal and feel entitled to have what I have even though they refuse to work like I did.
Screw them.

SCREW THEM!
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Yeah.. that's bull.

Your wealthy status derived largely from the fact that you grew up I a time where there was more social mobility than there is now. The economy and our system is vastly different than the one you grew up and worked in.

And a couple of things. Smart phones are because they are cheaper for poor people than land lines. And because employers now want to be able to call you in at a moments notice. You have to have a smart phone so that you can get that call. Not to mention that work schedules etc.. are being sent via smart phones. Mcdonalds is a favorite for poor people BECAUSE ITS CHEAP. .

You got yours largely based on the generation before you that sacrificed a lot. that paid higher taxes, that built more infrastructure.. that provided in many cases free schooling for higher education, that actually had MORE WELFARE.. and that dealt with less global competition.

You got yours because the generation before you didn;t say "screw them".

And now.. that you have yours.. you say "screw them".. the generation behind you.

by the way.. before you berate the younger generation and how they work.... WHAT GENERATION RAISED THEM?

So sad the selfishness in the older generations.
 
jaeger19 said:
Your wealthy status derived largely from the fact that you grew up I a time where there was more social mobility than there is now. The economy and our system is vastly different than the one you grew up and worked in.
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LOL!

Social mobility?

We hopped freight trains.

There's plenty of mobility and opportunity now......the problem is that wherever people go......they'd still be them.......lazy losers.

Face it.......far too many people refuse to work and want everything handed to them.

Sad.
 
jaeger19 said:
You got yours largely based on the generation before you that sacrificed a lot. that paid higher taxes, that built more infrastructure.. that provided in many cases free schooling for higher education, that actually had MORE WELFARE.. and that dealt with less global competition.
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I got mine based on smart decisions and hard work.

I paid high taxes too......just like the generation before me and after me.......working people always pay more than they should.

That's just the way it is.

And you can make excuses for the lazy poor of today all you want.......all they need to do is get off their asses and get a job.

Employers are now searching desperately for workers in many fields.......problem is, there are no workers......just people who want to collect a paycheck without breaking a sweat. Work is not their thing.

Lazy scum.
 
MTAtech said:
Paychecks Lag as Profits Soar, and Prices Erode Wage Gains
Wait. But some will tell you that the GOP tax-cut put more money in worker's pockets.

What we have here is what happens when we elect a plutocrat masquerading as a populist -- he tells you he'll pass policies that help workers, then, when elected, passes policies that help millionaires and billionaires.
His tariffs are hurting Americans and will hurt more in the coming months and years.
His attack on the ACA is driving prices up. Even Tom Price, Trump's former top health official said the Republican tax law would raise the cost of health insurance for some Americans because it repealed a core provision of the Affordable Care Act.
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Check it out, ya'll. Inflation is bad again. Also, free trade is in. Everybody pass the word.
 
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Vox said:
LOL!

Social mobility?

We hopped freight trains.

There's plenty of mobility and opportunity now......the problem is that wherever people go......they'd still be them.......lazy losers.

Face it.......far too many people refuse to work and want everything handed to them.

Sad.
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Poop.. you grew up in an economy where a fellow could work as a gas station attendant and support a family.. where his wife didn;t have to work.. and could be home with the kids. You grew up during a time when manufacturing jobs were huge in America. Where my uncle could make more money in a job making shovels.. than my mother did as a teacher.

Mobility and opportunity?

I just had this argument with my mother.. who contends basically the same thing you are .. and look at the laziness etc.

My mom got out of real poverty.. because of her education. the same with my father. And when they went to school.. the first three years of their college was FREE. That's right.. there used to be FREE COLLEGE. Because public universities and colleges were heavily subsidized by state and federal government. In the last year of their bachelors degree.. my mom had to pay 150 dollars of tuition. And my mom told me... "and that was hard.. that was a lot of money at .90 cents and hour).

right.. and I pointed out that based on getting .90 cents an hour.. my mom could basically work one month.. and make enough to cover a year of school.

A public university for my son will cost roughly 16,000 a year in tuition alone. You know any jobs he can work that he can make 16,000 in one month?!?!?!

So don't give me your crap about how easy it is now, compared to your time.

Face facts.. your generation screwed the pooch for the younger generation.. and now that you benefited.. you say screw them.. to the younger generation.
 
Vox said:
I got mine based on smart decisions and hard work.

I paid high taxes too......just like the generation before me and after me.......working people always pay more than they should.

That's just the way it is.

And you can make excuses for the lazy poor of today all you want.......all they need to do is get off their asses and get a job.

Employers are now searching desperately for workers in many fields.......problem is, there are no workers......just people who want to collect a paycheck without breaking a sweat. Work is not their thing.

Lazy scum.
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Poo... you got yours in large part because of the economy of the day and that was based on the infrastructure and sacrifices that generation did before you.

And no.. you didn't pay high taxes. Income tax rates.. particularly on the middle class and the poor have been in a decline since the mid and late 1980's and accelerated that downward decline in the last two decades.

https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-average-federal-tax-rates-all-households

That's the facts.

And the idea that there is the "lazy poor" today is just pure bunk.

the only "lazy scum".. that's around is folks like you that got yours.. because of other folks sacrifices.. and you didn't do the the same for the younger generation.

The facts are.. the economy and the world is a much different place and opportunity is no where what it was when you "got yours".

The fa
 
Vox said:
As I look around the real world where I live......I see people with too much money.

Huge SUVs are everywhere, fancy cell phones are everywhere, big boats and campers are flooding the highways for summer, restaurants and bars are full, people are traveling in airplanes on fine vacations and even the so-called Poverty cases have a car and a television and a stereo and a lot of the poverty cases have giant screen TVs and.....sadly.....are obese.

What I see is an over abundance of prosperity and people who don't appreciate it.

The poor people have a lot and are angry because they feel they should have even more......

They should read some history and discover what REAL poverty really IS.
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I see differently, despite being a person who is well off and living in an area with a pretty good economy going right now. There are plenty of people still looking for good work. Most have jobs, that pay very little, so they need more. There are a lot of poor people who do not have "a lot" regardless of what you may believe. History does not determine what poverty is. Looking at what is required by the current population to maintain an acceptable quality of life is a much bigger indicator. And that burden is much higher today to maintain that expectation of a decent standard than they were before.
 
MTAtech said:
A good read published today on the topic.

The G.O.P.’s War on the Poor
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From the article:

"So whatever the evidence, Republicans always reach the same policy conclusion. Was the war on poverty a failure? Let’s stop helping the poor. Was it a success? Let’s stop helping the poor."


Of course if he was honest and not such a partisan hack, he would have followed that with:


"So whatever the evidence,Democrats always reach the same policy conclusion. Was the war on poverty a failure? Let’s spend more. Was it a success? Let’s keep spending ."
 
KLATTU said:
From the article:

"So whatever the evidence, Republicans always reach the same policy conclusion. Was the war on poverty a failure? Let’s stop helping the poor. Was it a success? Let’s stop helping the poor."


Of course if he was honest and not such a partisan hack, he would have followed that with:


"So whatever the evidence,Democrats always reach the same policy conclusion. Was the war on poverty a failure? Let’s spend more. Was it a success? Let’s keep spending ."
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He covers that.

In fact, these advisers went so far as to assert that poverty is no longer a problem. (Do these people ever get out into the real world?)
...
Europe’s welfare states — or, as conservatives always say, its “failing” welfare states — provide much more generous aid to low-income families than we do, and as a result have much less poverty. Yet adults in their prime working years are more likely to be employed in leading European nations than in the United States.
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We've never had social programs as robust as Europe's and thus never reduced poverty to their levels.
 
jaeger19 said:
I just had this argument with my mother.. who contends basically the same thing you are .. and look at the laziness etc.

My mom got out of real poverty.. because of her education. the same with my father. And when they went to school.. the first three years of their college was FREE. That's right.. there used to be FREE COLLEGE.
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Free college? When? Where?

I know that in the 1960s people were going to California to get free TUITION for the first two years.

Your statement sounds like EVERYBODY in the U.S. was getting free college.

Wrong.

I paid for ALL.......ALL of my college. Yes, I went on the G.I. Bill.......but that choice was open to anybody with the courage to go to a war......and it was another of my smart choices that paid off.

Quit making excuses.......it just makes you look bad.
 
roguenuke said:
I see differently, despite being a person who is well off and living in an area with a pretty good economy going right now. There are plenty of people still looking for good work. Most have jobs, that pay very little, so they need more. There are a lot of poor people who do not have "a lot" regardless of what you may believe. History does not determine what poverty is. Looking at what is required by the current population to maintain an acceptable quality of life is a much bigger indicator. And that burden is much higher today to maintain that expectation of a decent standard than they were before.
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Ever read "Grapes of Wrath?"

Maybe if you do you will understand poverty where people don't have all the big Mac's they can eat and fancy smart phones and cars and guns and giant screen televisions.

Your willingness to comment on poverty when you have utterly no understanding of the word is astounding.
 
MTAtech said:
H
d thus never reduced poverty to their levels.
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3 pinnochios

Poverty is usually defined as some sort of level indexed to median income. Thus US vs Europe is apples and oranges.

So, yes, the US has a higher poverty rate than many other countries, but the standard of living available to a person at poverty levels in the US is higher than it is to a person at poverty levels in places like the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Japan, New Zealand, and others.
 
Vox said:
Ever read "Grapes of Wrath?"

Maybe if you do you will understand poverty where people don't have all the big Mac's they can eat and fancy smart phones and cars and guns and giant screen televisions.

Your willingness to comment on poverty when you have utterly no understanding of the word is astounding.
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I understand poverty quite well having grown up in it. Being any month in most of my childhood away from being homeless. At one point in my siblings' lives, they lived with my mother and uncle in tents for 3-4 months, and I do mean a tent. I know poverty just fine. I also know that it is very much still around like that here in the US in large amounts.
 
roguenuke said:
I understand poverty quite well having grown up in it. Being any month in most of my childhood away from being homeless. At one point in my siblings' lives, they lived with my mother and uncle in tents for 3-4 months, and I do mean a tent. I know poverty just fine. I also know that it is very much still around like that here in the US in large amounts.
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Just read "The Grapes of Wrath."

You may start to understand.

Education is essential to being a good citizen.

That's why America is in trouble now.
 
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