It Happened

[noonereal]

I'm a Rep partly because I have fought my way to a (fairly) decent paying job - [/QUOTE]

I don't follow?

What is the relationship?

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Twodogs

Do I want to lose my job? No. Have I shopped jobs? Yes. I'm a Rep partly because I have fought my way to a (fairly) decent paying job - with no HS diploma. I didn't stay at a sweep the floor / clean the toilet job and complain I wasn't making enough!! That's how steel and auto companies go out of business.

Pete

Absolutely![/QUOTE]


As you agree,
Can you explain to me the "That's how steel and auto companies go out of business" part? I don't get that either.

[d-ray657]

I beleive that the response will be something along the lines that union contracts don't sufficiently distinguish between lower skilled jobs and higher skilled jobs.

Many, however, believe that anyone working should be able to bring home enough pay to stay above the poverty level, and that executive pay should not reach 500 times the average pay of workers. This is particularly true when executives justify their pay by putting people on the streets.

Regards,

D-Ray

[merrylander]

In most industrial countries the spread between labor and highest management is 40 times. Seems to me that ought to be fair enough.

What did in the steel and auto companies was plain old fashioned mis management. The steel companies did not re-invest and upgrade their mills while making big profits. Meanwhile, countries that had their mills bombed flat built new better mills.

The big three simply stopped listening to their customers, and though they turned that around some years ago people went for the imports even though it amounted to shooting oneself in the foot.

[piece-itpete]

Originally Posted by noonereal

I'm a Rep partly because I have fought my way to a (fairly) decent paying job -

I don't follow?

What is the relationship?[/QUOTE]

I don't vote for the evil GOP because I'm afraid I'll lose my job! And if some guy figures out how to build a company that makes him $5 mil I'm ok with it.

Heck more than ok - that guy is doing a lot more to help us all than I am!!

And I hope my boss can afford a Rolls, no kidding. No money for him = no raise for me. My pay is generally a percentage of the money I generate, and that is largely true of everyone particularly in the long run.

Increasing productivity is the only true justification of increased pay. The only way we can sustain a higher standard of living over someone making $1/hr is to be many many times more productive than they are. And in general we still are - for now.

Unions? I got a job in a union shop, carpenters. Mostly good guys and the steward was a fair, tough man. But within 2 weeks I was told 'if we were in Vegas we'd have broken your fingers already'. I was young, I was hungry, I sure as heck wasn't scared of him and his cronies, of course I worked hard.

I've run machines, and I've fixed them too. If I ran a machine and it went slightly out of tolerance, I have to sit on my butt and wait 3 hours for a maintence man to turn a freakin screw? A drive through cities like Detroit show the fallacy of that system.

Where's the smilie that goes, blah blah blah? It'd sure suit me today

Pete

[BlueStreak]

Do I want to lose my job? No. Have I shopped jobs? Yes. I'm a Rep partly because I have fought my way to a (fairly) decent paying job - with no HS diploma. I didn't stay at a sweep the floor / clean the toilet job and complain I wasn't making enough!! That's how steel and auto companies go out of business.

Pete[/QUOTE]

I understand that, Pete. Did you read the entire post?

Dave

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Increasing productivity is the only true justification of increased pay. The only way we can sustain a higher standard of living over someone making $1/hr is to be many many times more productive than they are. And in general we still are - for now.

The productivity increase over the last five or six years far outstripped wage increases. Sure, you either figure how to make more widgets per hour or jack up the price, otherwise there is no pot from which to get the wage increase.

But if that other guy making $1/hr is doing it in China or India then you are simply asking us to degrade our standard of living to match theirs.

[piece-itpete]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

I understand that, Pete. Did you read the entire post?

Dave

I assume you mean about temps etc? You'll love this - I sold temp help for a while

Yes, I worked a lot of different jobs :yes:

One place used 50+ temps operating an entire assembly line (waffle makers etc) oversaw by a bare handful of... perms? I wouldn't have worked there if I could help it! Probably closed now.

Some used temps as a hiring pool. Some in the middle. Heck I worked as a temp many years ago. One nice thing - if I didn't like the job I'd quit it and temp co gave me another (if I gave them a couple days notice).

Btw, I reread your #40 and missed this gem the 1st time around - 'government cheese is delicious'. Can't stop laughing. Then you mentioned stoned all the time. Sounds vaguely familiar

Originally Posted by merrylander

The productivity increase over the last five or six years far outstripped wage increases. Sure, you either figure how to make more widgets per hour or jack up the price, otherwise there is no pot from which to get the wage increase.

But if that other guy making $1/hr is doing it in China or India then you are simply asking us to degrade our standard of living to match theirs.

So far they can't meet our productivity outside mostly basic stuff, although that will surely change. When they weather both their political problems and their coming currency crisis (both very serious) they will then have higher costs too

Plus we'll never had the superiority we had after ww2. I'm not much of a protectionist, we thought the cars in the 70s were bad!

Pete

[merrylander]

WHo knows, what gave us the superiority after W II was the GI Bill, and they just ressurected it.

[piece-itpete]

Heck Rob, agreed, who knows. It's really kinda a scary time I think.

Pete