I believe so, just more evidence the market not regulation sets labor floors.

How is that evidence of anything?

 

More than likely it's all the bad pub about them being some of the richest people in the world with the fattest profit margins yet they pay next to nothing. Or just getting ahead of a potential increase in wages to effect an earning line in a more positive manner.

 

If the only way a business owner can make a profit is by paying next to nothing wages than you should not be in business or are in the wrong business. If you can afford to pay decent wages and chose not to, to make even more profits than you are a scumbag terrible human being. If you support that behavior than you need to take a look inside at what your values really are. 

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How is that evidence of anything?

 

More than likely it's all the bad pub about them being some of the richest people in the world with the fattest profit margins yet they pay next to nothing. Or just getting ahead of a potential increase in wages to effect an earning line in a more positive manner.

 

If the only way a business owner can make a profit is by paying next to nothing wages than you should not be in business or are in the wrong business. If you can afford to pay decent wages and chose not to, to make even more profits than you are a scumbag terrible human being. If you support that behavior than you need to take a look inside at what your values really are. 

 

Publicity and the reaction to it is a huge part of market adjustments. Walmart isn't raising their wages because a new federal minimum wage requires it, they're raising their employee's wages because the market is balking at them for paying such low wages, and people like you, me and plenty of others have used other resources because of it. Walmarts not stupid, they know that, so they're adjusting their pay scale. The market not the fed is doing that.

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Publicity and the reaction to it is a huge part of market adjustments. Walmart isn't raising their wages because a new federal minimum wage requires it, they're raising their employee's wages because the market is balking at them for paying such low wages, and people like you, me and plenty of others have used other resources because of it. Walmarts not stupid, they know that, so they're adjusting their pay scale. The market not the fed is doing that.

 

Unfortunately the market doesn't react very often.


For example, we still have companies using child labor with unsafe work conditions in order to get lower costs.  Unfortunately it takes a lot for the average person to say "Convenience doesn't matter, human lives do."  Just look at how successful Apple is.

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke. 

How is he on a soapbox? Because he got an education and put himself where he is and can give advice about it he's on a soapbox? I don't think so.

Anytime someone starts going on about 'this generation' I have to roll my eyes. This generation has it tougher than any generation that came before it.


Up until the '70s you could support a family of 4 on a single income. Have a house and a car too.


From then until the turn of the century, you needed two incomes to do that.


Nowadays everyone works just to scrape by and make rent, maybe have some money for food at the end of the week.

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Anytime someone starts going on about 'this generation' I have to roll my eyes. This generation has it tougher than any generation that came before it.


Up until the '70s you could support a family of 4 on a single income. Have a house and a car too.


From then until the turn of the century, you needed two incomes to do that.


Nowadays everyone works just to scrape by and make rent, maybe have some money for food at the end of the week.

The free market worked for those it was supposed to work for. Are you not pleased?!

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Publicity and the reaction to it is a huge part of market adjustments. Walmart isn't raising their wages because a new federal minimum wage requires it, they're raising their employee's wages because the market is balking at them for paying such low wages, and people like you, me and plenty of others have used other resources because of it. Walmarts not stupid, they know that, so they're adjusting their pay scale. The market not the fed is doing that.

What's the love affair with a free market that rarely works? The true free market takes advantage of the workforce and tends towards monopolies that take advantage of the economy. You are literally espousing an idea over people. You have to understand how that pisses people off. 

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Unfortunately the market doesn't react very often.


For example, we still have companies using child labor with unsafe work conditions in order to get lower costs.  Unfortunately it takes a lot for the average person to say "Convenience doesn't matter, human lives do."  Just look at how successful Apple is.

 

That's a fair argument, perhaps it doesn't react fast enough or often enough. However I'm just pointing out in this case it is the market not regulations dictating change in this case.

 

Anytime someone starts going on about 'this generation' I have to roll my eyes. This generation has it tougher than any generation that came before it.


Up until the '70s you could support a family of 4 on a single income. Have a house and a car too.


From then until the turn of the century, you needed two incomes to do that.


Nowadays everyone works just to scrape by and make rent, maybe have some money for food at the end of the week.

 

You can't be serious? You think we have it worse than the generation that had to fight WW2 or even Vietnam? Previous generations had to rebuild an economy after devastating foreign wars, deal with segregation and the fuel shortages of the 70's?

 

You can still raise a family on a single income, it just means making living choices most people are not comfortable with. I own my home, have two cars and I'm the only income in my household. The American dream isn't dead, you just have to be willing to adapt and change, perhaps if people find an area to expensive they should seek an area with a lower cost of living, that's what I did.

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That's a fair argument, perhaps it doesn't react fast enough or often enough. However I'm just pointing out in this case it is the market not regulations dictating change in this case.



You can't be serious? You think we have it worse than the generation that had to fight WW2 or even Vietnam? Previous generations had to rebuild an economy after devastating foreign wars, deal with segregation and the fuel shortages of the 70's?


You can still raise a family on a single income, it just means making living choices most people are not comfortable with. I own my home, have two cars and I'm the only income in my household. The American dream isn't dead, you just have to be willing to adapt and change, perhaps if people find an area to expensive they should seek an area with a lower cost of living, that's what I did.

Becareful up there on your soapbox :blink:

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You can still raise a family on a single income, it just means making living choices most people are not comfortable with. I own my home, have two cars and I'm the only income in my household. The American dream isn't dead, you just have to be willing to adapt and change, perhaps if people find an area to expensive they should seek an area with a lower cost of living, that's what I did.

 

Honestly, I can't imagine my wife and I making it on one salary.  We even own our own house (though my mother-in-law paid for it.  The old house we had was too small for us to live in, and the floors were falling apart, and the earthquake damaged the foundation.  My wife's Uncle is a contractor and did the job, and he said we were lucky that the house stood as long as it did)

 

Back when my wife was in college (and working at the mall at the time) we were barely able to make it with three kids.  I can't imagine having a house payment during that time (I inherited the old house from my grandmother) or a car payment (we both already had cars).  We did eventually buy a van because it's hard to haul three kids around.    My wife wound up selling her old car, and got a slightly cheaper one.

 

Granted, we could cut a lot of stuff out and probably make it.  Though back when we were struggling, we didn't have satellite television.  We just had an antenna.  


Our area is a bit expensive -- but moving would ultimately cost us more because we own our land, and our home.  We couldn't sell our old house because of the shape it was in.  And if we move now, my wife loses her tenure, not to mention the step increases she's accumulated, she'd have to start from the beginning.  And then there's my job.  I only have an associates degree, and probably wouldn't be able to get a comparable job elsewhere.  We'd also have to pay for a nanny for the twins most likely.  (When we need a sitter, we've got plenty of family to ask around us)

 

Moving isn't always a feasible option, even in the high cost areas.  Of course growing up, this place wasn't as high cost.  But we're close to DC so everyone who works for the government lives around here.  (My parents worked for the government themselves).   I know if we had a house payment, we'd probably have been broke.  Especially if only one of us were working.  


Can you support a family on a single income?  Maybe.  Depends on if your job is a good one or not, and on the area you live in.  You don't always have the option of moving easily.  And you want to find an area with good schools, which tend to be more expensive as well.  

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke. 

That's a fair argument, perhaps it doesn't react fast enough or often enough. However I'm just pointing out in this case it is the market not regulations dictating change in this case.

 

 

You can't be serious? You think we have it worse than the generation that had to fight WW2 or even Vietnam? Previous generations had to rebuild an economy after devastating foreign wars, deal with segregation and the fuel shortages of the 70's?

 

You can still raise a family on a single income, it just means making living choices most people are not comfortable with. I own my home, have two cars and I'm the only income in my household. The American dream isn't dead, you just have to be willing to adapt and change, perhaps if people find an area to expensive they should seek an area with a lower cost of living, that's what I did.

The extend to wich I agree is that money does not do nearly as much as it used to. That is the fault of both inflation and the lack of increase in wages to keep up with increased productivity and increased profits. 

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That's a fair argument, perhaps it doesn't react fast enough or often enough. However I'm just pointing out in this case it is the market not regulations dictating change in this case.



You can't be serious? You think we have it worse than the generation that had to fight WW2 or even Vietnam? Previous generations had to rebuild an economy after devastating foreign wars, deal with segregation and the fuel shortages of the 70's?


You can still raise a family on a single income, it just means making living choices most people are not comfortable with. I own my home, have two cars and I'm the only income in my household. The American dream isn't dead, you just have to be willing to adapt and change, perhaps if people find an area to expensive they should seek an area with a lower cost of living, that's what I did.

You didn't have to do subsistive farming out in the boonies to live on a single income before.

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The extend to wich I agree is that money does not do nearly as much as it used to. That is the fault of both inflation and the lack of increase in wages to keep up with increased productivity and increased profits.

Wage growth has fallen sharply behind inflation. Inflation is not the problem. Jobs are the problem. There aren't any.

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Anytime someone starts going on about 'this generation' I have to roll my eyes. This generation has it tougher than any generation that came before it.

Up until the '70s you could support a family of 4 on a single income. Have a house and a car too.

From then until the turn of the century, you needed two incomes to do that.

Nowadays everyone works just to scrape by and make rent, maybe have some money for food at the end of the week.

I'm thinking The Depression was pretty damn rough too.


Yes, you could support a family of four and have a house and a car. What you couldn't do was support a family of four, buy two new cars, pay for cell phones for all four family members, have the deluxe cable/internet package, have computers and tv's for everyone in the family...etc. etc. etc. You get where I'm going with this....

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What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???

Becareful up there on your soapbox :blink:

Your wife work? You got kids? Own a home or pay rent? You said 'bio meds' so I assume you are some sort of medical technician? Supporting a family on that wage?

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I'm thinking The Depression was pretty damn rough too.


Yes, you could support a family of four and have a house and a car. What you couldn't do was support a family of four, buy two new cars, pay for cell phones for all four family members, have the delux cable/internet package, have computers and tv's for everyone in the family...etc. etc. etc. You get where I'm going with this....

No, I don't.


40 hrs a week at $15/hr works out to be about $400 dollars a week and that's well above minimum wage.


$1600/mth barely covers rent in most areas.


The problem is wages and jobs.


Edit: and my grandfather lived through the depression. Makes a lot of comparisons to then and now.

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Honestly, I can't imagine my wife and I making it on one salary.  We even own our own house (though my mother-in-law paid for it.  The old house we had was too small for us to live in, and the floors were falling apart, and the earthquake damaged the foundation.  My wife's Uncle is a contractor and did the job, and he said we were lucky that the house stood as long as it did)

 

Back when my wife was in college (and working at the mall at the time) we were barely able to make it with three kids.  I can't imagine having a house payment during that time (I inherited the old house from my grandmother) or a car payment (we both already had cars).  We did eventually buy a van because it's hard to haul three kids around.    My wife wound up selling her old car, and got a slightly cheaper one.

 

Granted, we could cut a lot of stuff out and probably make it.  Though back when we were struggling, we didn't have satellite television.  We just had an antenna.  

Our area is a bit expensive -- but moving would ultimately cost us more because we own our land, and our home.  We couldn't sell our old house because of the shape it was in.  And if we move now, my wife loses her tenure, not to mention the step increases she's accumulated, she'd have to start from the beginning.  And then there's my job.  I only have an associates degree, and probably wouldn't be able to get a comparable job elsewhere.  We'd also have to pay for a nanny for the twins most likely.  (When we need a sitter, we've got plenty of family to ask around us)

 

Moving isn't always a feasible option, even in the high cost areas.  Of course growing up, this place wasn't as high cost.  But we're close to DC so everyone who works for the government lives around here.  (My parents worked for the government themselves).   I know if we had a house payment, we'd probably have been broke.  Especially if only one of us were working.  


Can you support a family on a single income?  Maybe.  Depends on if your job is a good one or not, and on the area you live in.  You don't always have the option of moving easily.  And you want to find an area with good schools, which tend to be more expensive as well.  

 

My cars are not new, my home is a mobile home, my kids private school is a church school, but it's living within my means. I'm just trying to illustrate the notion that we're all way worse off then those before us isn't really that accurate. The difference is today what was once perceived as luxuries are now perceived as necessities. Heck it wasn't to long ago AC was a luxury........

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My cars are not new, my home is a mobile home, my kids private school is a church school, but it's living within my means. I'm just trying to illustrate the notion that we're all way worse off then those before us isn't really that accurate. The difference is today what was once perceived as luxuries are now perceived as necessities. Heck it wasn't to long ago AC was a luxury........

 

In ways we're better off than those before us, but in ways we're not as well.  Getting a job is no longer as simple as it once was.  Corporate Cronyism is taking over.  The price of housing has skyrocketed.  It's true that Air Conditioning was once a luxury.  As we advance, it should no longer be considered a luxury.  Cars were once a luxury too, but they became a necessity.  Imagine not owning one today.  The same goes for the internet.  Imagine not having access to it.  We should want our future generations to be better off than we were.

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke. 

Your wife work? You got kids? Own a home or pay rent? You said 'bio meds' so I assume you are some sort of medical technician? Supporting a family on that wage?

What difference does it make? I supported a family for 20+ years on constuction and manual labor as well..

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What difference does it make? I supported a family for 20+ years on constuction and manual labor as well..

 

They need something else to whine about, how easy we all had it and how hard they have it. That's why they also have to blame us for destroying the world, they can't hack real life outside their snowflake bubbles.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Anytime someone starts going on about 'this generation' I have to roll my eyes. This generation has it tougher than any generation that came before it.

Up until the '70s you could support a family of 4 on a single income. Have a house and a car too.

From then until the turn of the century, you needed two incomes to do that.

Nowadays everyone works just to scrape by and make rent, maybe have some money for food at the end of the week.

I don't disagree, at all, but I don't think he was on a soapbox.

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