I thought we were in the best economy ever?

[gaara4158]

Why do people feel like they are entitled to "raises"??? Seriously, Trump is doing all the heavy lifting in the US government. Maybe, just maybe, for a change someone could help him! But until that time why do people need raises at all?

Where Trump comes from you WORK for your money...it's not just handed to you!

To match the rise in the cost of living. Why do investors feel entitled to profits? Investing isn’t work.

 

[carl_b_me]

To match the rise in the cost of living.

That's weird. Is that real?

Why do investors feel entitled to profits?

Ummm, because they EARNED them!

Investing isn’t work.

But it is someone else's money. If I give you a dollar you BETTER give me interest back. Investors create the jobs that the workers get to do (well, really the CEO creates the jobs and then tells the investors he'll need so much money to make those jobs for the workers) and when they sell their goods the FIRST PEOPLE who get rewarded are the brave souls who ponyed up the money in the first place. Otherwise those workers wouldn't have jobs!

Investors are the cornerstone to everything and they MUST be rewarded. Then the CEO THEN, and ONLY if money is left over, do the workers get something in addition to their pay. And cost of living? Well, you can either pay someone more every year or the workers can make necessary adjustments in their lives to accomodate this "cost of living" increase (whatever that is).

 

[Ken-1122]

I take it you think the definition of middle class is people who earn a living wage.

Yes. What's your definition of Middle class? And how do they differ from the poor? And what constitutes a living wage?

 

[TLK Valentine]

Yes. What's your definition of Middle class? And how do they differ from the poor?

The poor are 1-2 missed paychecks away from ending up living in a box.
The "middle class" are about 5-6.

 

[Ken-1122]

What is your definition of a "booming" economy?

It is not the number of jobs created. Many of them are part time, temporary, and not living wage jobs.
It is not the number of employed Americans. Many of them work part time and don't earn living wages.

Are you suggesting there is a larger percentage of part time, temporary jobs, and a larger percentage of jobs that don't pay a living wage than before? Or are you simply pointing out that those type of jobs still exist as they always have.

 

[Ken-1122]

The poor are 1-2 missed paychecks away from ending up living in a box.
The "middle class" are about 5-6.

What do you base this on?

 

[gaara4158]

That's weird. Is that real?

Yes! Where’ve you been?

Ummm, because they EARNED them!

No, the person they threw the money at did. An investment is in no way guaranteed a return. Many investments end up losing the investor money. It’s a gamble, not production.

But it is someone else's money. If I give you a dollar you BETTER give me interest back.

It’s not your money anymore once you invest it. You then own a share of the profits. Profits are generated by labor, not investments. You get interest if I profit. If not, you made a bad investment.

Investors create the jobs that the workers get to do (well, really the CEO creates the jobs and then tells the investors he'll need so much money to make those jobs for the workers) and when they sell their goods the FIRST PEOPLE who get rewarded are the brave souls who ponyed up the money in the first place. Otherwise those workers wouldn't have jobs!

Jobs aren’t created by people with a bunch of money lying around. They’re created by people with more work to do than they can handle alone. Work is generated by demand, and demand is generated by people with a means to buy, aka money. Wages. Higher wages drive up demand for more goods, which generates the profits you feel investors are so entitled to.

Investors are the cornerstone to everything and they MUST be rewarded. Then the CEO THEN, and ONLY if money is left over, do the workers get something in addition to their pay. And cost of living? Well, you can either pay someone more every year or the workers can make necessary adjustments in their lives to accomodate this "cost of living" increase (whatever that is).

Investors would have nothing to invest in, CEOs would have no one to employ, sellers would have nothing to sell if the masses weren’t in a financial position to purchase their goods. The less you pay your labor, the smaller the pool of potential customers you have. Investors really eat their own tails when they demand the lion’s share of the profits. Cost of living wage increases are critical to the maintenance of a capitalistic economy.

 

[Ken-1122]

The unemployment rate means literally nothing. People get fired. People retire. People work at temporary jobs. People quit for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with the company's budget. People work part time. People work at two jobs to make ends meet. People are underpaid. What don't you understand about all this?.

That has been going on forever. The difference is, there are less people unemployed, and more people employed than before.

 

[carl_b_me]

Yes. What's your definition of Middle class? And how do they differ from the poor?

Why should there be a difference?

And what constitutes a living wage?

Whatever you can live on. But on a national scale it would be the minimum necessary to stay alive so whoever does the most with the least defines the living wage. I think we can actually drop wages because people all over the world exist on just a dollar a day and stuff!

 

[GodLovesCats]

Are you suggesting there is a larger percentage of part time, temporary jobs, and a larger percentage of jobs that don't pay a living wage than before? Or are you simply pointing out that those type of jobs still exist as they always have.

I am pointing out when people say how many people have jobs they don't take into account how many of them earn living wages. When people say how many jobs have been created, they don't say how many of them are permanent living wage jobs. They just say, "More people have jobs now," and assume there are more people not living paycheck to paycheck.

 

[GodLovesCats]

That has been going on forever. The difference is, there are less people unemployed, and more people employed than before.

That does not make the economy better if there are just more jobs, not more people earning living wages where they work.

 

[GodLovesCats]

Whatever you can live on. But on a national scale it would be the minimum necessary to stay alive so whoever does the most with the least defines the living wage. I think we can actually drop wages because people all over the world exist on just a dollar a day and stuff!

It goes way beyond staying alive. Health care, what you wear, housing, utilities, you name it - there is so much more than just the literal definition of living to actually say you earn a living wage.

 

[Ken-1122]

No, the person they threw the money at did. An investment is in no way guaranteed a return. Many investments end up losing the investor money. It’s a gamble, not production.

True! And if the company does not provide a return on investments, the investors will pull their money out and put it somewhere else and the company will go out of business. So it is very important to a company to provide as much of a return on investment as possible

It’s not your money anymore once you invest it. You then own a share of the profits. Profits are generated by labor, not investments. You get interest if I profit. If not, you made a bad investment.

Investments allow the company to grow. Growth allows more labor and profits.

Higher wages drive up demand for more goods, which generates the profits you feel investors are so entitled to.

No, higher wages drives up the cost of production resulting in higher prices of products which drives down demand.

The less you pay your labor, the smaller the pool of potential customers you have.

No, the less you pay your labor the lower you can afford to sell your product which increases the pool of potential customers for you.
But then; the less you pay your laborer the more likely he will quit and go somewhere else also.

Investors really eat their own tails when they demand the lion’s share of the profits.

If that were true, investors wouldn’t demand the lion’s share of profits!

 

[Ken-1122]

Why should there be a difference?

Because there is a difference between middle income and lower income.

Whatever you can live on.

Most people living by themselves can live on minimum wage.

But on a national scale it would be the minimum necessary to stay alive so whoever does the most with the least defines the living wage

Staying alive? There are people living in homeless shelters with no income at all staying alive!

 

[Ken-1122]

That does not make the economy better if there are just more jobs, not more people earning living wages where they work.

Umm.. the economy is doing better, and income (adjusted for inflation) is the highest it's been since the 1970's when 2 parent incomes weren't as common as they are right now.
Are Wages Rising or Flat?

 

[Ken-1122]

I am pointing out when people say how many people have jobs they don't take into account how many of them earn living wages. When people say how many jobs have been created, they don't say how many of them are permanent living wage jobs. They just say, "More people have jobs now," and assume there are more people not living paycheck to paycheck.

I disagree! statistics show that wages are up!
Are Wages Rising or Flat?

 

[Ken-1122]

It goes way beyond staying alive. Health care, what you wear, housing, utilities, you name it - there is so much more than just the literal definition of living to actually say you earn a living wage.

What constitutes a living wage is completely subjective; it varies from person to person.

 

[Allandavid]

It is a dramatic turnaround from 2016.

Untrue...you’re repeating some of Trump’s lies.

Employment, for example. More jobs were created in the last 3 years of Obama’s administration than these last 3 years of Trump’s.

Please read my signature line...

 

[GodLovesCats]

What constitutes a living wage is completely subjective; it varies from person to person.

Working part time for less than $8 per hour is not a living wage for anyone.

 

[Ken-1122]

Untrue...you’re repeating some of Trump’s lies.

Employment, for example. More jobs were created in the last 3 years of Obama’s administration than these last 3 years of Trump’s.

Please read my signature line...

If so many jobs were created during the Obama years, why was the unemployment rate so high?
U.S. Unemployment Rate Drops To 3.7 Percent, Lowest In Nearly 50 Years