Originally posted by: Bowfinger
Originally posted by: blackangst1
Originally posted by: ahurtt
People are earning it but they just aren't being paid for what they are earning. The number of hours worked per week over the years has been steadily increasing in trend that disproportionately outpaces the amount of income people are bringing home. It's not that hard to comprehend really. . .taxes go up, inflation goes up, general cost of living goes up, cost of education goes up, health care goes up, all faster than wages go up. Net effect, lower standard of living for working people. We're earning it, we're just not being paid what's due.
And yet thr standard of living for our poor gets better also and remains close, if not at the top, of the heap worldwide. Strange.
What's strange about it? America is an incredibly prosperous country. It's just that prosperity is increasingly going to the very top instead of being shared proportionately with the working class.
It was, in part, sarcastic, sir. Im well aware of what you said as truth; however, Im not sure what you mean by proportionately.
(please put on your big boy pants before reading this.)
The fact is, both the rich and the poor receive bennies. First the poor. They get subsidized health care, food, housing, zero or close to zero federal tax liability, and typically work jobs that arent...glamorous. Lets face it. I doubt most people would choose to work fast food. Or work day labor picking up trash on the road. Or even work as a checker at retail. But lets face it - the intelligence and creativity required for these jobs is almost zero. ANYONE can do them. Do they contribute to the welfare of the country? Absolutely! I mean, SOMEONE has to make those burgers, right?
And how about the ultra rich? Im not not talking about 7 figure millionaires, Im talking about 8 figure and above. Well, they benefit by having senators looking out for their financial well being, because in most cases senators are rich too. But what do they actually take in the way of services from the government? Not much, really. Other than enjoying their lifestyle the government protects.
First, the fact is, the majority of wealth in the country was not inherited. Sure there are the Hiltons, the Waltons, etc; however, if you look at the who's who you will see it was either created by them or started as a lower amount. That says something! You "tax the rich" crowd always seem to use AIG execs and their ilk as examples. How many people really can do their job? Do you have any idea what it takes to run a Fortune 500 company? Do you think its all about playing golf and travelling around having lunches? Most on this board seem to think that, which just shows their naivity. If you look at the track histories of most of these execs, CEO's, CFO's, CTO's, etc you will see most are highly educated, and have worked their asses off to get there. Yes, luck sometimes plays a part, but its not like you just get put into a multi-millionaire position because a friend owes you a favor. It doesnt work that way. Fact is, a very small percentage of people in this country have either the intelligence, creativity, or the motivation to accomplish what these men and women have accomplished.
The number of jobs with that much responsibility, vs the number of jobs that impact really no one, is HUGE. A CEO/exec/etc who fucks up can ultimately affect not only the livelyhood of hundreds of thousands or more of people (shareholders), but can completely turn their employees at the bottom's world UPSIDE down. Thats a fuckload of responsibility. The guy at McD who fucks up....well, not much fallout there.
Do I think CEO's make too much money? In most cases, no. The last 50 years have been tremendous for our country in the way of wealth creation. Our markets are fucking DEEP. That has made available huge amounts of money to offer execs to seduce them to their comanies. Thus, we get huge signing bonuses and compensation packages. But at the same time, quality of life has gone up for the poor as well. You mention proportionate? How the fuck do you measure it? Percentages wont work. You could say the poor's pay has increased blah blah blah while the rish's has increased blah blah blah. Sire the rich's will be higher; however, so has their responsibility of the rich. Companies have gotten larger, etc.
The bottom line is, yeah the rich have gotten richer, but so have the poor. I dont have a problem with wealth, and the envy on this board is fucking amazing. But the whole boo hoo hoo the poor have it so bad and all the rich do is buy yachts is absolutely BULLSHIT. Very few people could do the job of CEO of a Fortune 500 company. And for the number of people their fuck ups would touch, I say go ahead and pay em big. If they have a track history of bringing value, innovation, investors, and growth to a company, theyre worth it.
So, in closing, to answer your statement:
It's just that prosperity is increasingly going to the very top instead of being shared proportionately with the working class.
of course is correct. But dont forget so has the responsibility upon the shoulders of most execs. The guy making burgers has the same responsibility as he/she did 20 years ago - none.
(let me finish by saying the above rant is not absolute, and is meant to be general in nature.)
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