We've been over this. In a globalized economy, American wages are going to go down. American wages are going to go down regardless of what the President does. If he's an economic genius and incredibly lucky, he might be able to slow the rate of wage decreases, but that's about it. Gene, what did you seriously expect to happen, once American workers started competing with Indian workers and Chinese workers and Mexican workers? By global standards, Americans are extremely overpaid. Globalization means that will change.

His problem is that he thinks that someone in McDonalds deserves to get paid $10 an hour for flipping burgers. I have always believed that fast food were places where teens could make a few extra bucks to learn what working for thier own money is about. Now a day it's considered a job to maintain a family and people like Col want them to pay $10 an hour. He thinks that those who make more money than they need should give that extra money to those who don't have enough. Since when did it become anyones responsability to work, make money and give some of it someone else who doesn't make enough? He a dork, there are plenty of brand new SUV's on the streets, Best Buys is not declaring bankruptcy and Walmart seems to alway be full with long lines every time I go there so i don't know where all these people are getting this money that Col says they don't have.

The issue is that ONLY the people at the top are doing well under Bush and The GOP.

That is why most Amerivcans do not support Bush

The issue is after TAXES AND INFLATION.

Aren't you the resident idiot that wants to RAISE taxes back to pre-Bush tax-cut levels, if not beyond?

I believe you long since blew the right to complain about after tax wages or personal wealth. You're only complaining because you want people to have more for you to tax away from them.

As our analysis suggests...

That says it all, doesn't it?

The issue is that ONLY the people at the top are doing well under Bush and The GOP.

Simply not true. I am doing far better financially today. Everyone I know is doing better.

That is why most Amerivcans do not support Bush

Simply not true.

Once again you've sought out something to help support your deluded ideas and once again you've been shown to be an idiot. When will you learn?

Oh, and here's a little piece of news for you; Bush isn't up for re-election.

What about the possibility that wages were over-inflated in the late 90s and did not accurately represent the value of the work being done?  The Dot Com boom saw salaries for anything related to technology skyrocket.  This really offset the continued decline in manufacturing jobs and other blue collar work as offshoring gained momentum, and technology made many menial tasks automated.  IT workers likely represented a good chunk of the skewed data in the last decade, and the bust, while sudden and painful, was the beginning of an adjustment period to bring salaries more in-line with the value of the job.

That's the thing Col, you get paid in line with the value of your job.  Flipping burgers is worth pretty much nothing on any reasonable scale measuring skill and societal value.  Any monkey can do it, and no one actually NEEDS it.  IT workers were commanding gargntuan salaries a few years ago because the percieved value didn't match actual value.  Now that the dust is settling and IT is being incorporated more into traditional business structures, the value of an IT job is becoming more reasonable.

As the population increases, the number of valuble jobs does not increase accordingly.  As time passes we have more and more people going for roughly the same number of jobs (actually, more jobs now than in past years, so the odds are slighly better).  As the pool of qualified applicants increases for any given job, the value of that job is decreased.  Basic supply and demand principles at work.

Add in globalization, which is a double-edged sword you don't want to properly acknowledge, and the pool of workers vs number of jobs gets even worse.  Now, lets say we get rid of globalization, we bring manufacturing back on-shore.  What happens then?  Suddenly we may be faced with more jobs than workers available.  The result?  Workers are in demand and command much higher salaries.  Good for the worker right?  Partially.  As they get paid more, the cost to produce a good or service also increases accordingly.  Increase the prices enough, and suddenly you're complaining again about how salaries aren't keeping pace with the cost of living.

Nowhere is there anything written that says we have a right to have a job.  We have the right to persue a job.  We have the right to strive for work and money to support ourselves in the manner we most desire.  But there's nothing saying it should be guaranteed to us.  There's also nothing saying we have the right to a salary that keeps pace with our costs of living, especially when people include an HDTV in that list of "must have" items.

Reply #20

Oh come on Zoomba, don't try to inject reason into a Col Klink thread, it just doesn't seem right somehow.

terpfan1980

I want to increase taxes on that top 10% that can afford higher taxes to help balance the budget. Anyone that suggests we continue the deficit is the IDIOT!

The data I have posted from both these agencies clearly shows that on the average only the top 10% are doing better. There may be some below the top 10% that are doing better but on the average most Americans are worse off now then when Bush took office.

Anyone that contends that the majority support Bush on any of his policies, including the economy is just NOT looking at reality. Bush and the GOP know they are in real trouble and I hope the voters show these idiots just how unhappy they are with the current way the President and Congress is operating. It does not matter what the subject, most people do NOT support Bush-- Social Security, Border Security, Immigration, Iraq, the Deficit, Trade, Energy. None of these issues has support of the majority for the way Bush and the GOP in Congress have delta with these issues!

You're right Col, most of the Democrats and other people who agree with you don't support Bush.

MasonM

Given the fact that the country has about the same number of Republicans as Democrats and given the fact that Bush has the support of about 1/3 of ALL Americans on most issues, it looks like there are a number of Republicans as well as independents that DO NOT support Bush and the GOP! I am a good example of a person who has supported the GOP for about 40 years and was a member of the Pennsylvania Republican Committee that is totally in disagreement with most of what the GOP leadership and Bush is doing to this country. That is because the elements that control the GOP today has turned to just what is good for the rich and not the majority of Americans. They are fiscally irresponsible and have gotten us involved with nation building in Iraq and now we are in the middle of a Civil War that we can NOT WIN!

the fact that Bush has the support of about 1/3 of ALL Americans on most issues,

Sorry to bust your little delusional bubble but this is not a fact, it's a product of a combination of your delusional imagination and deliberately skewed poll numbers that are meaningless. When are you going to learn that polls are not facts?

The issue is that ONLY the people at the top are doing well under Bush and The GOP. That is why most Amerivcans do not support Bush

Huh? I consider myself doing very well (between my wife and I, we have a household income of $70k+/yr. I don't consider myself part of the top 10%, but I've seen a wage increase every year since 2002 (after I spent a year laid off from my grossly overpaid $100k/yr. job, thanks Dot-bomb!). I've managed to buy a house (no interest-only ARM here) for a reasonable price, and I'm managing to put a little bit away for the future. My debt (aside from my home) will be all paid off in the next two years and I'd have to say, this is the most financialy stable I've ever been.

But I guess I'm doing poorly, eh? I'll let you gander a guess as to whether I think Bush is a stand up guy or not.

Huh? I consider myself doing very well

You're deluded, you're actually doing miserably. Give up now, you're doomed thanks to Bush.

There are some that are not at the top income levels that have benefited from Bush. As I said, there are some that are in the upper middle income bracket that support Bush but his policies do not favor them over the long term or this country. What Bush has done to the deficit, trade, energy and Iraq does not bode well for the future of our country. Not one single major issue has been made better by Bush and the GOP policies. You can delude yourself but the RESULTS tell the tale. We have no real solution for Medicare and Social Security; we have ports that are not secure. Our border is not secure and we have a President that wants to reward people that have broken our laws by the way they entered our country with citizenship. He does not give a dam about the poor or the environment and is destroying our military by over extending the force. In the world we are not trusted and his policies in Iraq and the Middle-East have made us more NEW enemies then ever which makes the job of preventing another 9/11 much harder.

If the Democrats win control of Congress they will begin to investigate Bush and the picture that emerges will not be pretty! It will make Clinton look like a Saint!

If the Democrats win control of Congress they will begin to investigate Bush and the picture that emerges will not be pretty! It will make Clinton look like a Saint!

The democrats have been investigating Bush for years, and haven't found anything. So much that they had to actually make up documents to "prove" something. I haven't read one of your bs posts for months. I come back today and this post is no different than the last one I read several months ago.

You quote liberal talking points.
You quote polls as facts.
You lie about things.
You blame Bush for it all.

What a sad life.

In the world we are not trusted and his policies in Iraq and the Middle-East have made us more NEW enemies then ever which makes the job of preventing another 9/11 much harder.

Ah yes, the typical "the world hates us" rhetoric. Tell us col, who doesn't trust us? The people who support Iran, and bin laden I bet. I love how you liberals care so much what "the world" thinks of you. Remember col, the "world" you care so much about supports people like bin laden, Chavez, Saddam, and Castro. No surprise that the people who support our enemies is the people who you and other liberals care about.

we have ports that are not secure

When's the last time you were at a port? I was at one yesterday and I have to disagree. But then I suppose talking points trump personal observation?

In the world we are not trusted and his policies in Iraq and the Middle-East have made us more NEW enemies then ever which makes the job of preventing another 9/11 much harder.

Yeah, you're right about that. I can hear the bombs going off from here.

More liberal BS without any substance at all.