You know this video is funny because the reason he gives for healthcare being so high is also the reason quite a few of the articles I read give for college costs being so high.
Hell, a lot of people are comparing the college debt to what happened with the housing bubble a decade or so ago.
That's because they're both intrinsically necessary to survive, both literally and with regards to work.
It's nearly a requirement now to go to college and get a degree in order to acquire a job. As such, college view this event as 'no matter how high we raise the sticker price, they'll still come here, so why not?'
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
Some unions are still going strong and their members are better off for it. Tell me we would be having this minimum wage thing if your average wal-mart employee made what some grocery store union members make.
If Wal-Mart employees made more money it would basically end Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's entire business model is selling cheaply made shit at as low of a price as possible. I hate to get all South Park on this but Wal-Mart is a monster of our own making. If people want Wal-Mart or any other minimum wage employee to make more money the only way it is economically viable is to force consumers to pay more for products.
I buy my coffee from Starbucks because I know they give health benefits to even part-time employees (and do so without a union by the way). I also get my hair cut by a stylist at locally owned salon and tip her well because I know it's hard work and she deserves to be paid more than a Best Cuts employee. This is the only way the lesser skilled can earn a living. You can't just assume there's room for across the board minimum wage increases. You have to break the country's addiction to cheap shit.
Walmart made $20 billion profit last year. Their CEO was paid $21 million.
I think they can afford to pay a living wage to their employees.
CEO's are certainly overpaid and the Waltons are no doubt a bunch of greedy pieces of shit. But they probably pay $40 billion a year (possibly even more) in wages so a significant increase in minimum wage would hit very hard. And since Wal-Mart is a for-profit enterprise the only way you maintain profit margins is to raise prices.
Wal-Mart is a very low margin and very high volume business. They make money because they sell tons of shit
Some unions are still going strong and their members are better off for it. Tell me we would be having this minimum wage thing if your average wal-mart employee made what some grocery store union members make.
If Wal-Mart employees made more money it would basically end Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's entire business model is selling cheaply made shit at as low of a price as possible. I hate to get all South Park on this but Wal-Mart is a monster of our own making. If people want Wal-Mart or any other minimum wage employee to make more money the only way it is economically viable is to force consumers to pay more for products.
I buy my coffee from Starbucks because I know they give health benefits to even part-time employees (and do so without a union by the way). I also get my hair cut by a stylist at locally owned salon and tip her well because I know it's hard work and she deserves to be paid more than a Best Cuts employee. This is the only way the lesser skilled can earn a living. You can't just assume there's room for across the board minimum wage increases. You have to break the country's addiction to cheap shit.
This is a hilarious attitude to take.
I worked at McDonalds for nearly 4 years. I got paid $19.70/hour to run the kitchen on night shift.
US McDonalds employees get paid about $8.25.
And yet the difference in menu item prices is only about %33.
All the extra money certainly isn't going into overheads, as pretty much everything in America is cheaper thanks to the market being about 16 times bigger. Shit, we have to import our kitchen and serving machinery from the US, because Maccas won't let restauranteurs source from alternate suppliers. Our monthly electricity bill was somewhere around $4500, for example.
In the US market you have lower operating costs, and despite slightly reduced individual item prices, a bigger profit margin and greater sales.
Why can't some of that money go towards paying the staff better, and giving them healthcare? The store owners will still be multi-millionaires.
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LuvTheMonkeyHigh Sierra SerenadeRegistered Userregular
Fully 49% of Walmart's outstanding shares are owned by Walton Enterprises, LLC, the family holding company. No other shareholder (including index funds and other investment groups), peaks over 2.5% total ownership.
You know this video is funny because the reason he gives for healthcare being so high is also the reason quite a few of the articles I read give for college costs being so high.
Hell, a lot of people are comparing the college debt to what happened with the housing bubble a decade or so ago.
Ugh college. Because of that debt shit I can't get a loan out and have to work almost full time while in nursing school. Let me tell you. Thats no fun
You know this video is funny because the reason he gives for healthcare being so high is also the reason quite a few of the articles I read give for college costs being so high.
Hell, a lot of people are comparing the college debt to what happened with the housing bubble a decade or so ago.
That's because they're both intrinsically necessary to survive, both literally and with regards to work.
It's nearly a requirement now to go to college and get a degree in order to acquire a job. As such, college view this event as 'no matter how high we raise the sticker price, they'll still come here, so why not?'
This has actually got me interested in finding different programs for higher education myself.
I know a lot of friends who are 40-50k in debt with not much to show for it, but they did choose bad degrees. I chose Electrical Engineering myself which was good, but kind of burned myself out from doing the school and work thing at the same time.
So...being 30k in debt, I stumbled upon a work-study program at my job that was way cheaper and has about the same payout that I would get in my EE field.
So, I was like fuck it...why not.
Dragkonias on
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
Fully 49% of Walmart's outstanding shares are owned by Walton Enterprises, LLC, the family holding company. No other shareholder (including index funds and other investment groups), peaks over 2.5% total ownership.
Anyone that describes the Waltons as anything but greedy pieces of shit is dreaming.
Some unions are still going strong and their members are better off for it. Tell me we would be having this minimum wage thing if your average wal-mart employee made what some grocery store union members make.
If Wal-Mart employees made more money it would basically end Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's entire business model is selling cheaply made shit at as low of a price as possible. I hate to get all South Park on this but Wal-Mart is a monster of our own making. If people want Wal-Mart or any other minimum wage employee to make more money the only way it is economically viable is to force consumers to pay more for products.
I buy my coffee from Starbucks because I know they give health benefits to even part-time employees (and do so without a union by the way). I also get my hair cut by a stylist at locally owned salon and tip her well because I know it's hard work and she deserves to be paid more than a Best Cuts employee. This is the only way the lesser skilled can earn a living. You can't just assume there's room for across the board minimum wage increases. You have to break the country's addiction to cheap shit.
This is a hilarious attitude to take.
I worked at McDonalds for nearly 4 years. I got paid $19.70/hour to run the kitchen on night shift.
US McDonalds employees get paid about $8.25.
And yet the difference in menu item prices is only about %33.
All the extra money certainly isn't going into overheads, as pretty much everything in America is cheaper thanks to the market being about 16 times bigger. Shit, we have to import our kitchen and serving machinery from the US, because Maccas won't let restauranteurs source from alternate suppliers. Our monthly electricity bill was somewhere around $4500, for example.
In the US market you have lower operating costs, and despite slightly reduced individual item prices, a bigger profit margin and greater sales.
Why can't some of that money go towards paying the staff better, and giving them healthcare? The store owners will still be multi-millionaires.
I use to work at a McDonalds in highschool, my current roommate is still a manager there. He has been there since we were in high school. He makes about $8.95 an hour
Some unions are still going strong and their members are better off for it. Tell me we would be having this minimum wage thing if your average wal-mart employee made what some grocery store union members make.
If Wal-Mart employees made more money it would basically end Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's entire business model is selling cheaply made shit at as low of a price as possible. I hate to get all South Park on this but Wal-Mart is a monster of our own making. If people want Wal-Mart or any other minimum wage employee to make more money the only way it is economically viable is to force consumers to pay more for products.
I buy my coffee from Starbucks because I know they give health benefits to even part-time employees (and do so without a union by the way). I also get my hair cut by a stylist at locally owned salon and tip her well because I know it's hard work and she deserves to be paid more than a Best Cuts employee. This is the only way the lesser skilled can earn a living. You can't just assume there's room for across the board minimum wage increases. You have to break the country's addiction to cheap shit.
This is a hilarious attitude to take.
I worked at McDonalds for nearly 4 years. I got paid $19.70/hour to run the kitchen on night shift.
US McDonalds employees get paid about $8.25.
And yet the difference in menu item prices is only about %33.
All the extra money certainly isn't going into overheads, as pretty much everything in America is cheaper thanks to the market being about 16 times bigger. Shit, we have to import our kitchen and serving machinery from the US, because Maccas won't let restauranteurs source from alternate suppliers. Our monthly electricity bill was somewhere around $4500, for example.
In the US market you have lower operating costs, and despite slightly reduced individual item prices, a bigger profit margin and greater sales.
Why can't some of that money go towards paying the staff better, and giving them healthcare? The store owners will still be multi-millionaires.
There's a simple answer to that.
Because the owners want more for themselves and have no incentive to share that wealth. The jobs are minimum wage jobs requiring no skills and only a basic education. Even with high employee turnover, there's always enough labor supply to meet the demands of the jobs without having to raise the wage.
I agree with you in principle, but morals/social contract/compassion are not requirements for business in a capitalistic system.
You're betting on the upper of the upper class taking a hit and not passing it on to the consumers (middle). That has never gone the way of the middle class in the history of ever. There is no leverage short of open, armed revolt that will open their wallets to distribute wealth more evenly. Unfortunately far to many people are living well off enough and are educated enough to know that shit can get a whole lot worse.
Until Americans can overthrow the government view a web poll or a Facebook thumbs up/down, the peasants will not be revolting.
I'm still sitting here waiting to find out if I am
Do you get backpay? I know that can vary depending on position
Boss called late last night and said it depends, like direct government workers (i'm with a contractor), on congress passing a provision for backpay so they can get the money they'd need to pay us
so fat fucking chance probably
At least the company's still paying the have-to-work essential persons
Uh yeah...it's not gonna fix everything in a snap. But what universe are YOU living where not giving employees representation against their employers is NOT going to fix anything? Right now, if you're not in a union and your employer cuts off your insurance and cuts your pay 10% what exactly are you going to do to fight back against it?
Find another job.
Look at this post.
An entire political party in a country thinks this is a reasonable response with nothing wrong in saying it. Said political party has lost two elections in a row now and doesn't know why.
Uh yeah...it's not gonna fix everything in a snap. But what universe are YOU living where not giving employees representation against their employers is NOT going to fix anything? Right now, if you're not in a union and your employer cuts off your insurance and cuts your pay 10% what exactly are you going to do to fight back against it?
Find another job.
Look at this post.
An entire political party in a country thinks this is a reasonable response with nothing wrong in saying it. Said political party has lost two elections in a row now and doesn't know why.
Uh yeah...it's not gonna fix everything in a snap. But what universe are YOU living where not giving employees representation against their employers is NOT going to fix anything? Right now, if you're not in a union and your employer cuts off your insurance and cuts your pay 10% what exactly are you going to do to fight back against it?
Find another job.
Look at this post.
An entire political party in a country thinks this is a reasonable response with nothing wrong in saying it. Said political party has lost two elections in a row now and doesn't know why.
Uh yeah...it's not gonna fix everything in a snap. But what universe are YOU living where not giving employees representation against their employers is NOT going to fix anything? Right now, if you're not in a union and your employer cuts off your insurance and cuts your pay 10% what exactly are you going to do to fight back against it?
Find another job.
Look at this post.
An entire political party in a country thinks this is a reasonable response with nothing wrong in saying it. Said political party has lost two elections in a row now and doesn't know why.
You're betting on the upper of the upper class taking a hit and not passing it on to the consumers (middle). That has never gone the way of the middle class in the history of ever. There is no leverage short of open, armed revolt that will open their wallets to distribute wealth more evenly. Unfortunately far to many people are living well off enough and are educated enough to know that shit can get a whole lot worse.
Until Americans can overthrow the government view a web poll or a Facebook thumbs up/down, the peasants will not be revolting.
Thats an increadibly pessemistic view of things. There are people in the government fighting for our rights. It just always get buried and its sad that more americans don't seem to care about government
Uh yeah...it's not gonna fix everything in a snap. But what universe are YOU living where not giving employees representation against their employers is NOT going to fix anything? Right now, if you're not in a union and your employer cuts off your insurance and cuts your pay 10% what exactly are you going to do to fight back against it?
Find another job.
Look at this post.
An entire political party in a country thinks this is a reasonable response with nothing wrong in saying it. Said political party has lost two elections in a row now and doesn't know why.
You're betting on the upper of the upper class taking a hit and not passing it on to the consumers (middle). That has never gone the way of the middle class in the history of ever. There is no leverage short of open, armed revolt that will open their wallets to distribute wealth more evenly. Unfortunately far to many people are living well off enough and are educated enough to know that shit can get a whole lot worse.
Until Americans can overthrow the government view a web poll or a Facebook thumbs up/down, the peasants will not be revolting.
Thats an increadibly pessemistic view of things. There are people in the government fighting for our rights. It just always get buried and its sad that more americans don't seem to care about government
and the less regulation around business than most other western countries is why the company that I work for (an IT startup) even sent me here. And I guess it's a big part of what makes america america.
but I'm in new york and it's obvious that things are pretty shit for a much larger number of people than pretty much any other western democracy I've been to.
and it's fine if you think that regulation is bad, for whatever reasons. Just say that
but pretending like an increase in minimum wage, worker protections or whatever whatever socialist program is somehow a threat to the whole system is kinda stupid. Because every other western democracy has those things, and for average joe it tends to work out better. And the whole system doesn't come crashing down. And when the whole system comes crashing down, it tends to be because of other things.
Ok I have to ask and its probably a stupid question. I work for an American company (but as part of its EMEA business unit). I work with lots of American people and some of them are against Obamacare simply because the United States is in too much debt.
How is the US in so much debt when they're NOT forking out for universal healthcare?
I love the NHS but I appreciate that its as expensive as fuck to run and takes a big chunk out of the overall UK budget. To my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong), the US doesn't have such a financial commitment.
I had a discussion with an American friend about the cost of health care, and after being aghast at the cost of health insurance, I asked how much he saves in taxes compared to someone like myself in a socialist country like Canada. Turns out, we both make roughly the same amount of money, he pays more in taxes, and then he still needs to pay for outrageously expensive health insurance on top of that. GOD BLESS AMERICA
How does that even work?
Most people have no idea what they actually pay in taxes.
At most, there may be a very tiny slice of low-middle income in the US where you could actually pay more than an equivalent Canadian
And you can say that from any kind of a position of authority because?
No he's probably right. Maybe some Americans of equivalent incomes have a higher marginal income tax rate but with all the other taxes Canadians on average pay far more. Not to mention the average cost of living is far higher in Canada.
We do pay more in taxes than a lot of states seem to be charged, but it balances out in how little we have to pay personally for education and health care.
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That's because they're both intrinsically necessary to survive, both literally and with regards to work.
It's nearly a requirement now to go to college and get a degree in order to acquire a job. As such, college view this event as 'no matter how high we raise the sticker price, they'll still come here, so why not?'
CEO's are certainly overpaid and the Waltons are no doubt a bunch of greedy pieces of shit. But they probably pay $40 billion a year (possibly even more) in wages so a significant increase in minimum wage would hit very hard. And since Wal-Mart is a for-profit enterprise the only way you maintain profit margins is to raise prices.
Wal-Mart is a very low margin and very high volume business. They make money because they sell tons of shit
This is a hilarious attitude to take.
I worked at McDonalds for nearly 4 years. I got paid $19.70/hour to run the kitchen on night shift.
US McDonalds employees get paid about $8.25.
And yet the difference in menu item prices is only about %33.
All the extra money certainly isn't going into overheads, as pretty much everything in America is cheaper thanks to the market being about 16 times bigger. Shit, we have to import our kitchen and serving machinery from the US, because Maccas won't let restauranteurs source from alternate suppliers. Our monthly electricity bill was somewhere around $4500, for example.
In the US market you have lower operating costs, and despite slightly reduced individual item prices, a bigger profit margin and greater sales.
Why can't some of that money go towards paying the staff better, and giving them healthcare? The store owners will still be multi-millionaires.
Ugh college. Because of that debt shit I can't get a loan out and have to work almost full time while in nursing school. Let me tell you. Thats no fun
This has actually got me interested in finding different programs for higher education myself.
I know a lot of friends who are 40-50k in debt with not much to show for it, but they did choose bad degrees. I chose Electrical Engineering myself which was good, but kind of burned myself out from doing the school and work thing at the same time.
So...being 30k in debt, I stumbled upon a work-study program at my job that was way cheaper and has about the same payout that I would get in my EE field.
So, I was like fuck it...why not.
Anyone that describes the Waltons as anything but greedy pieces of shit is dreaming.
Well I had to have a job offer to get a visa so essentially I'm stealing a bootstrap from a potential self-made american
https://medium.com/@alascii
https://medium.com/@alascii
I use to work at a McDonalds in highschool, my current roommate is still a manager there. He has been there since we were in high school. He makes about $8.95 an hour
I'm not saying it can't I'm saying a 33% raise in product cost is significant.
There's a simple answer to that.
Because the owners want more for themselves and have no incentive to share that wealth. The jobs are minimum wage jobs requiring no skills and only a basic education. Even with high employee turnover, there's always enough labor supply to meet the demands of the jobs without having to raise the wage.
I agree with you in principle, but morals/social contract/compassion are not requirements for business in a capitalistic system.
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
Are you white and christian?
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
I'm still sitting here waiting to find out if I am
Do you get backpay? I know that can vary depending on position
Ah, but there's that study done that shows that significantly increasing the minimum wage in the US would only pump the prices up by a few cents.
http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/resources/Minimum_Wage_petition_website.pdf
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/02/15/53603/a-higher-minimum-wage-will-not-hurt-u-s-businesses/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-16/u-s-minimum-wage-lower-than-in-lbj-era-needs-a-raise.html
I cannot deal with people that think this is only shutting down the parks and that "those parks suck anyway"
=/
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
I think what unions do for their employees is great but unions themselves can be a bit of a shitshow
I had to seek full time employment at whole foods after I was unable to get trained as a meatcutter because we were only allowed x number per district
You're betting on the upper of the upper class taking a hit and not passing it on to the consumers (middle). That has never gone the way of the middle class in the history of ever. There is no leverage short of open, armed revolt that will open their wallets to distribute wealth more evenly. Unfortunately far to many people are living well off enough and are educated enough to know that shit can get a whole lot worse.
Until Americans can overthrow the government view a web poll or a Facebook thumbs up/down, the peasants will not be revolting.
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
Hullis, do you currently work at Whole Foods?
I hope it lasts until Halloween.
Then I can start up my ghost tours of the vacant Capitol Hill.
Bring your shitty cameras, dowsing rods and $15 dollars as we search for the illusive spirits of the American Dream and Jimmy Carter!
Boss called late last night and said it depends, like direct government workers (i'm with a contractor), on congress passing a provision for backpay so they can get the money they'd need to pay us
so fat fucking chance probably
At least the company's still paying the have-to-work essential persons
Look at this post.
An entire political party in a country thinks this is a reasonable response with nothing wrong in saying it. Said political party has lost two elections in a row now and doesn't know why.
Steam
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
I'm just telling you what works
I'm a contractor as well, good luck sir
I know you're just making a joke but if the Furlough goes on a month I'm going to either have to take out a loan or lose my apartment
I don't think anyone would say unions are perfect. But they are the only way to represent yourself against any transgression by your employer.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
You have literally no concept of reality
Not the only way. Just the way that requires the absolute least effort on the part of the citizen.
In keeping with the Democratic platform
Thats an increadibly pessemistic view of things. There are people in the government fighting for our rights. It just always get buried and its sad that more americans don't seem to care about government
How well is your concept working out today?
Okay please explain what else you can do
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
A pessimist is what an optimist calls a realist.
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
You cannot be serious. There is no way.
obviously it's why I'm here
and the less regulation around business than most other western countries is why the company that I work for (an IT startup) even sent me here. And I guess it's a big part of what makes america america.
but I'm in new york and it's obvious that things are pretty shit for a much larger number of people than pretty much any other western democracy I've been to.
and it's fine if you think that regulation is bad, for whatever reasons. Just say that
but pretending like an increase in minimum wage, worker protections or whatever whatever socialist program is somehow a threat to the whole system is kinda stupid. Because every other western democracy has those things, and for average joe it tends to work out better. And the whole system doesn't come crashing down. And when the whole system comes crashing down, it tends to be because of other things.
https://medium.com/@alascii
I am serious.
We do pay more in taxes than a lot of states seem to be charged, but it balances out in how little we have to pay personally for education and health care.
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