tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post8490948573305183318..comments2024-03-27T11:18:34.222-03:00Comments on Viable Opposition: The Rich Keep on Working - A Socio-economic look at American UnemploymentA Political Junkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03342345936277964422noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-45245412488786392652011-01-25T17:11:49.034-04:002011-01-25T17:11:49.034-04:00The tables used in this article are misleading, be...The tables used in this article are misleading, because you must look at the qualifications of the workers behind those high paying annual salaries. It is common knowledge that education level and wages earned are highly correlated. Knowing this, your levels of income should read:<br /><br />Level 1: No HS Diploma<br />Level 2: HS Diploma Only<br />Level 3: Some College<br />Level 4: Four Year Degree<br />Level 5: Four Degree in Specialized Feild<br />Level 6: Masters Degree<br />Level 7: Masters Degree in Specialized Field<br />Level 8: PhD<br />Level 9: Doctor or Lawyer<br />Level 10: CEO's and business Tycoons<br /><br />Look at it this way and you will see that supply and demand takes over with regards to unemployment. The more education you have, the fewer peers you have going after the same job as you, and you are higher in demand. If your degree is in high demand, you will be hired more quickly, make more money, and retain your job. Unemployment is low for doctors, lawyers, CEO's and Business Tycoons because there are very few of them with respect to the entire population. Look at a corporation, there is one CEO. And probably only and small handful of people who could fill that job with the proper qualifications. But look at the person who only has a HS diploma and dropped out of college after one semester. With respect to the rest of the population, there are many of them. And with respect to the populations of other countries, there are even more with the same qualifications. So if I can pay Pablo $1 to make widgets in Mexico, or pay Sam $6 to make Widgets in America, and shipping is about $0.50 per widget after freight, who am I going to pay to make widgets? Pablo of course. <br /><br />We are now seeing the results of a nation adamant about getting its children through High School and pushing them to go to college and get four year degrees and then pushing them to get masters degrees. By doing this we have become a specialized, educated, and research oriented economy. Those who decided to not get the schooling and degree, will hit the glass ceilings at work and not move up (regardless of experience and performance), or will just have their job cut.<br /><br />I have a relative who says that college is for suckers, and dropped out after one semester. He is now unemployed, looking for work and had his house foreclosed on. It's hard to feel bad for him, when I have worked my butt off for eight years to get my BS & MS degrees.<br /><br />Don't be hating the rich, be informed. We live in a capitalism economy, supply and demand. If there are certain fields in demand in your area, get qualified and go for those! Be pro-active! Your job is your responsibility. Foreign workers in other nations put us Americans to shame, and are now reaping the rewards of their diligence, planning and hard work in school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-90157988446464715032011-01-23T01:01:48.944-04:002011-01-23T01:01:48.944-04:00The real issue here is a destruction of US soverni...The real issue here is a destruction of US sovernity. When you lose jobs you can't spend on <br />food, goods, homes, etc. Which will lower demand <br />& when we no longer have the top position for goods government will have no choice but to form <br />their NAU which will boost up demand but will lower incomes even more. As for liberty; constitution and the bill of rights we can all say our farewells to them. People are living under an umbrella of fear that is not even real. You people are practically begging to lose your rights. Thomas Jefferson once said when people give up their freedom for a little protection! They wont get nor do they deserve niether. There are too many ignorant people in this country that can't see the writeing on the wall. They think that this just happened by chance but nothing happens by chance. We are programed to spend. we were demoralized by any and all means possible. We are poisoned by processed food, water and unsafe energy extraction techniques. The family unit has been destroyed to increase the job force so they could have more workers and less pay. NAFTA and GATT were used to ship jobs over seas to increase profits even more and the NAU will do the same thing but save them on the shipping. Wake up people, how much has to happen to realize we are being led down a no where road. The US Majority is being exterminated through sickness and starvation. This has been planned since the 70s when OPEC caused the oil shortage. 911 was the beginning of the end of us. I see some of you people think this is not about rich or poor, Haves or have nots. If it were not about haves or have nots we would not be in 150 countries around the world to manipulate their governments and steal their resources! Do you really think that the US government wont do that to their own people? If you are really that nieve then maybe you deserve whats coming. When the next phase starts it will escalate out of control real fast. Food and fuel prices are about to sky rocket. Then when its too expensive for the poor & decent is on the rise is when the sicknesses will start! they will probably say its a terrorist attack but don't believe a word. Its the Elite finishing off the rest of us. Well goodluck all. You might be asking when this will happen. To tell you the truth its up to us all cause the real question is how long can we prevent this from happening. God help us if we allow these things to play out cause don't expect anyone else to! Amen brothers and sisters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-8168264068201360152011-01-12T00:54:38.702-04:002011-01-12T00:54:38.702-04:00Interesting comments with some well thought out ar...Interesting comments with some well thought out arguments. It's kinda of refreshing to see opinions that actually hold some validity as oppose to the arguments that just want to put all the blame of this economic crisis on one particular political party because those are the arguments people hear their friends and family regurgitating from these so-called cable 'news stations' and political talk radio programs. I think ditto heads would be a good label for these types of people with those types of opinions. You all know exactly what I'm talking about. You have skimmed through all the mindless, baseless comments on other blogs, forums, and comment sections of these types of articles. And yes I know it's extremely annoying to read these type of comments on a constant basis over and over again. <br /><br />I think the economic issues we are facing today is a combo of a lot of the points already made above. I would like to add I personally think it is more by design than what most educated people may suspect. I would go into more detail but I really don't feel like going down that road at this time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-27852237558167058842011-01-09T07:17:53.602-04:002011-01-09T07:17:53.602-04:00Studies also show that statistically those higher ...Studies also show that statistically those higher on the income ladder are less honest and less empathetic. So You could also correlate this as the dishonest and uncaring getting richer and the honest and sympathetic getting poorer, and it might be a more casually valid connection too. <br /><br />It's also interesting to look at where the tax dollars are spent. My suspicion is that there is a disproportionate use of tax dollars for interests and concerns of the most affluent. Does someone making under 30k/year benefit from environmental protection legislation as much as someone making 200k/year? probably not since they won't live as long and the money could better improve their quality of life if it was spent on better food for their kids (maybe you noticed poor people can't afford to eat organic). In a similar way international free trade and global geopolitical actions (wars) benefit disproportionately those on the higher income bracket and yet receive a lions share of our tax dollars and government efforts.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11067335396478304398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-60722882135151251032011-01-04T15:41:45.302-04:002011-01-04T15:41:45.302-04:00It's not just the manufacturing sector that...It's not just the manufacturing sector that's been hit, it is also the "knowledge workers" whose jobs have been offshored. I have a 4 yr University degree in Computer Science and the job market has been iffy since 2000 / 2001, especially since none of us are getting any younger and IT is a young person's market (because they get paid less). I know a lot of IT people with a lot of education & skills that are also un- / under-employed. I think offshoring jobs - be it manufacturing or high-tech - is a bad idea. Corporations get rich and the cost is no jobs, loss of the middle class along with a lost ability to innovate. With no middle class left, who is going to buy the cheaper products?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-38217938246783169802010-12-30T20:11:45.249-04:002010-12-30T20:11:45.249-04:00I don't see this as rich v. poor, but rather n...I don't see this as rich v. poor, but rather non-skilled v. skilled/knowledged. <br />As some have pointed out the people who are earning more or are in more secure employment are "knowledge workers." This is problematic since it doesn't account for the variety of people that exist in society. <br />Think about the high school class room, some are smart, some are hard workers, some work enough to get by, some slack off. Some people are good with knowledge others are better with tangibles. <br />To outsource skills that we have in country is bad work force development, which created a bad foundation for future job markets. A person should be able to get a viable job out of High School to provide for a family. If the quality of education is in doubt then augment high school with an associate's degree. Not every person in the country should have to have a 4 year university education as that's not relevant to most occupations. We need as a nation to bring back full time non-skilled and trade jobs (both traditional and high tech) to have the workforce reflect actual skills present in our nation's population. Otherwise we'll be stuck in situation where all non-skilled work and certian skilled work is done out of country where our regulations have little impact. Trade disparities will continue as we teach other nations how to make the things we invent, full time non-skilled work will be harder to find, and we'll make other nations rich as we have numerous unemployed/underemployed and they exploit their labor pool.<br /><br />Just my thoughts on the matterCodynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-812715175020860882010-12-30T15:59:24.904-04:002010-12-30T15:59:24.904-04:00This article is misleading. You're implying t...This article is misleading. You're implying that rich people keep their jobs, and poor people lose them.... but to back it up, you use some statistics that show that people who keep their jobs tend to become more wealthy than those who lose them. Not only is that stating the obvious, it also doesn't prove your initial statement. Now, it would be more interesting, if possible, to see a study comparing income/status 5 years ago, and income/status of those same people now. That could prove/disprove the notion that rich people stay employed and the rest of us don't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-46254255471254734282010-12-30T14:30:20.180-04:002010-12-30T14:30:20.180-04:00As Martin Luther King reminded his followers; you ...As Martin Luther King reminded his followers; you get to vote once every 2 or 4 years for change, but you have power each day; by how you spend your hard earned money. Don't like conglomerates, wealthy oligarchies, corporate titans, then don't buy their products/service. Follow money and you'll find where a persons' heart is.<br /><br />Want proof: Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott by American blacks forced bus company to drop its racist seating policy in two weeks. Why, they were losing money. Economics trumpets all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-36019659299387928092010-12-30T11:42:25.856-04:002010-12-30T11:42:25.856-04:00The United States is no longer a manufacturing bas...The United States is no longer a manufacturing based country. The decline of manufacturing in this country has erased the opportunity to enter the work force by those that do not have the money or the desire to continue on to college. Manufacturing used to provide a livable wage and the ability to provide for a family. The majority of what is available now is minimum wage work.Our High Schools no longer offer shop classes like carpentry/woodworking,automotive repair, or machine shop. And if they do they are hindered by the lack of funding to those classes because of the so called lack of interest. If a young person wishes to learn a trade they are now directed to Colleges for profit that put the individual in great monetary debt at the end of the so called education process. Moving manufacturing out of the United States has taken away the opportunity for young people to enter the workforce to become productive members of society.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-20563731380514804232010-12-30T10:43:24.252-04:002010-12-30T10:43:24.252-04:00What to do with the “Uns”
The present problem of ...What to do with the “Uns”<br /><br />The present problem of un/under-employment of the least skilled and of those in least demand by employers, is the surfacing of a major growing trend in the world's economy. It is rooted in the growing automation of all work. Computers and robots will do more and more of the work necessary for the support of the human race.<br /><br />The well-to-do, who own the means of production, will enjoy increasing wealth. Those who have no asset interest in the world economy will be marginalized and discarded in ever increasing numbers.<br /><br />This is the root of the present economic crisis, but it is not yet recognized as it has just been described. <br /><br />As time goes on, the sidelined population will be seen as a drag on the economy and the wealthy of our society will realize that there will never again be a place for all the un/under-employed. This will lead to the wealthy creating situations through actions and inactions that reduce the “Uns” in large numbers.<br /><br />Reduction methods used to deal with the “Uns” will be the old, tried and true methods of the past: the unrestricted growth in economic privation; starvation/famine; increased death due to lack of medical care; and wars and conflicts precipitated through various types of action and inaction by the wealthy and powerful.<br /><br />As the competion for resources and employment opportunities increases, money, connections, power, and education will be ever more important tools in helping one find employment as fewer and fewer real productive jobs are left. Day by day, there will simply be fewer jobs that have not been taken over by machines.<br /><br />The consequences of this growing automation have been largely ignored up till now. Most attention has been paid to the smaller aspects of the overall problem. But, with the advent of the top 5 or so percent of the wealthiest people in the U.S. owning 85 percent of the assets of the country, the trend now begins to stand out in clearer relief.<br /><br />In a sane and compassionate society, the obvious solution to this problem is to shift to the use of units of production as the basis for the U.S. income tax system instead of it’s present form, thereby shifting the payment responsibility to the production of the machines. And, the wealth created by the machines that is received as tax should be in part, redistributed to all the people of the country. If this does not occur, then the un/under-employed will simply have no way to provide for themselves.<br /><br />This will be the most important crisis facing the United States and the world this century as it becomes clear that the present unemployment situation is not going to get better for those who have already been cut off from any employment opportunities.<br /><br />It is likely that this issue, “taxing the output of the machines for the support of those who have lost their employment opportunities to the machines,” will likely be decided in the streets over the next several years. This is so because, as unemployment becomes permanent for those at the bottom of society, the “Uns” will become more desperate, angry and violent, when they realize that the wealthy are not going to help them with out a fight.<br /><br />James Flaherty<br />Guilford, CT<br /><br />Dec. 30, 2010Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-71197296961323778352010-12-30T09:48:56.151-04:002010-12-30T09:48:56.151-04:00does it surprise you.. rich people have more money...does it surprise you.. rich people have more money and poor people have less.. that seems to be the moral of this article..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-67807701771011884482010-12-29T09:29:47.444-04:002010-12-29T09:29:47.444-04:00I'm not sure this trend will continue, due to ...I'm not sure this trend will continue, due to the offshore outsourcing of highly paid workers. However, the curve makes sense to me. The higher paid workers generally have more highly sought skills, and have the experience and education as well. The US is moving very quickly toward a knowledge-worker culture, so those at the lower end of the spectrum will generally be out of luck and forced into retail or BACK into day laborer jobs currently held by immigrants. From an economic perspective, it's disconcerting what the effect of millions of unemployed or unemployable people will do to the economy. My guess is that our taxes will become similar to many European countries. Our economy will basically consist of three different types: highly paid management, offshore resources for everything else, and millions of unemployed being taken care of by the taxes of the wealthy. At that time it will be too late, but it will be clear that sending jobs to India was a short sighted plan to boost profits and make a small number of people richer. But they will eventually pay that back with their taxes when all of the disenfranchised are in poverty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-80492347206436510022010-12-23T11:13:43.097-04:002010-12-23T11:13:43.097-04:00Its called the wealth effect.
When you print $12T ...Its called the wealth effect.<br />When you print $12T to inflate asset speculation, you get asset bubbles that make those who own those assets much wealthier.<br />The poor do not so any wealth appreciation, because they generally do not have assets to appreciate. <br />No goods or services are produced.<br />This creates short term improvement at long term costs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com