wealth inequality

[Deleted]

...And not everyone can take those jobs jobs abd employment are FINITE

You act like if everyone got some "skills" and a degree a job is waiting that is not true.

You can improve all you want someone will ALWAYS be bottom rung and not everyone can get the better jobs because their are nit enough

You sound like a McDonalds employee that is sick of working and wants to stay at home all day watching Jerry Springer and whatever other tv shows you get during the day while getting a livable wage for free paid for the people that actually have skills to do a job. (In all your posts, not just this one).

[Stormspark]

But they aren't earning "shit wages". If you want to experience earning "shit wages", go to a third world country and work 60 hours a week for $200 a month - now that's "shit wages". The minimum salary in the US allows a person to rent their own place and have a stable life, always having enough money for food, clothes, etc. - and that's minimum, the vast majority of people earn way more than that. Median quality of life in the US is one of the highest in the world, so when people talk about "shit wages" in the US, I wonder: what do they compare them to?

Sure, if you work your whole life in McDonalds in a rundown town, your life won't be fancy. But you will still have a financial security on the level unavailable to the poor back in the old days. A person living on the minimum wage in 70-s would be almost homeless, compared to how they live now. Plus, no one prevents you to spend some time on self-education and land a better job; people who never do anything to improve their lives have only themselves to blame, and even in states with high welfare such people tend to not do very well.

No, it doesn't. Minimum wage is not even enough to pay rent in most of the US now. Unless you have roommates of course.

[Captain N]

No, it doesn't. Minimum wage is not even enough to pay rent in most of the US now. Unless you have roommates of course.

Which oddly enough people against wage increases are OK with. Basically it boils down to they're OK with having other people subsidize living arrangements (as long as it's not them) but they're against a Company being responsible for paying its workers.

[Sorrior]

You sound like a McDonalds employee that is sick of working and wants to stay at home all day watching Jerry Springer and whatever other tv shows you get during the day while getting a livable wage for free paid for the people that actually have skills to do a job. (In all your posts, not just this one).

I am unemployed and looking for wirk if you truly must know. I currently receive disability.

I want a job and am looking at a basic job.

I despise shows like jerry springer btw and want a way to give back.

You assume I have such jobs because I believe in a LIVING wage and that fair pay for wirk is good

I will tell you why. I was raised by parents who are baby boomers they grew up with good pay for their work before colleges became overpriced as all hell. Before people were paid bullshit wages.

I want the same CHANCE they got. I don't want things for free I want to work but right now believe it or not I get almost as much as I woukd on minimum wage working full time.

I plan to find a job and earn money soon enough. If I get called back.

My stance on basic income is because I feel employment period is dying. Automation will replace even most "skilled" jobs before too long.

It also would allow an employee to strike or leave a job instead of being grateful to even have one. It woukd allow more people to have jobs instead of one person needing 2-3 jobs.

Overall it would make things better for everyone.

But yes assume everyone who has empathy or wants America to be strong again

I look towards the future.

Also how much do you make? I guarantee you you are bring underpaid as well and should be making 30-40 an hour

Look at the Australian poster who mentioned 18 an hour minimum and that a friend of his makes 22 an hour at McDonald's

Most developed nations have MUCH better pay abd far better social systems Unions still exist in many as well.

And saying we are not a broken economy and messed up country by saying could be worse is asinine.

[Shadowferal]

Just a bit over 150 years ago there was slavery in the US, and the inequality between slaves and the richest citizens was magnitudes higher than the inequality we are facing nowadays. Even 60 years ago black population was waaaaaay worse off than the poorest free whites, so... People who say that inequality nowadays is the highest in the history of the US probably haven't studied the history in question much.

Speak for yourself when it comes to not studying history.

Slaves weren't considered US citizens.

[Deleted]

People who drop out from high school have better average education than decades ago, but apperently nowadays they don´t deserve a livable wage unlike decades ago.



What do you think will happen if everyone was a good student? Will jobs just be created for them because they were good students and made an effort? The jobs at mcdonalds aren´t given to them because the owners of mcdonalds are good people, it´s because they need the workforce, somehow needing people to do work doesn´t equate with paying them a livable wage anymore.

Looks like people already are in the mud fighting over scraps.

Low end people have always been in the mud, fighting over scraps

Currently, companies WANT to hire people, but they have trouble finding suitable job applicants, because of overemployment and because the people do not have relevant skills, even with treshold set low.
So yeah - if there were more good students, the entire world would be a better place.

Decades ago, low end people often starved. That does not happen today. The work of normal people helped them.

[May90]

No, it doesn't. Minimum wage is not even enough to pay rent in most of the US now. Unless you have roommates of course.

In most of the US? We must be living in different USes then.

[Deleted]

I am unemployed and looking for wirk if you truly must know. I currently receive disability.

I want a job and am looking at a basic job.

I despise shows like jerry springer btw and want a way to give back.

You assume I have such jobs because I believe in a LIVING wage and that fair pay for wirk is good

I will tell you why. I was raised by parents who are baby boomers they grew up with good pay for their work before colleges became overpriced as all hell. Before people were paid bullshit wages.

I want the same CHANCE they got. I don't want things for free I want to work but right now believe it or not I get almost as much as I woukd on minimum wage working full time.

I plan to find a job and earn money soon enough. If I get called back.

My stance on basic income is because I feel employment period is dying. Automation will replace even most "skilled" jobs before too long.

It also would allow an employee to strike or leave a job instead of being grateful to even have one. It woukd allow more people to have jobs instead of one person needing 2-3 jobs.

Overall it would make things better for everyone.

But yes assume everyone who has empathy or wants America to be strong again

I look towards the future.

Also how much do you make? I guarantee you you are bring underpaid as well and should be making 30-40 an hour

Look at the Australian poster who mentioned 18 an hour minimum and that a friend of his makes 22 an hour at McDonald's

Most developed nations have MUCH better pay abd far better social systems Unions still exist in many as well.

And saying we are not a broken economy and messed up country by saying could be worse is asinine.

Its very easy to say these things when you are sitting at home jobless as you won't be the one paying for all this shit.
You will only be benefiting (for now, as you don't have a job).

I can guarantee you I am not underpaid, I already make quite a bit more then you said I should be getting.

Also in Australia they make more money but everything also costs a LOT more money then in Alaska.

As I said, this is easy to say from your perspective seeing you are not the one paying for all this stuff.

[May90]

Speak for yourself when it comes to not studying history.

Slaves weren't considered US citizens.

And where did I say they were?

I don't understand why 2 people already make up stuff when answering to my comment I never said. Is the comment unclear somehow?

[unbound]

keep hearing about this... yet rockefeller was worth approx 10x what bill gates is worth in today's money.

Wealth inequality was a problem back then too. As a nation, we started addressing it, and now we are backsliding to the same problem.

If you want to understand wealth inequality better, here is a great video you can watch:

[Independent voter]

The upper middle class in the US is growing, it's up like 13%.

The rich are doing better too.

The middle class is shrinking do to globalization. What can you do about that? Vote for Trump?

The poor are still poor.

[cFortyfive]

So because technology advanced, people should be happy earning shit wages?

Sure. Get a tv watch your pleb games and shut up

[Shadowferal]

In most of the US? We must be living in different USes then.

As someone that used to live in a ghetto...yeah, you obviously live somewhere else that isn't the US.

Quite frankly, when it comes to poverty you've shown an amazing depth of ignorance.

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And where did I say they were?

I don't understand why 2 people already make up stuff when answering to my comment I never said. Is the comment unclear somehow?

You made an invalid comparison...."Slaves to wealthy...Look how wide that gap is..."

[JohnBrown1917]

The upper middle class in the US is growing, it's up like 13%.

The rich are doing better too.

The middle class is shrinking do to globalization. What can you do about that? Vote for Trump?

The poor are are getting more poor*

Fixed it.
The middle shrinking only means even more poor people.

[Deleted]

As someone that used to live in a ghetto...yeah, you obviously live somewhere else that isn't the US.

Quite frankly, when it comes to poverty you've shown an amazing depth of ignorance.

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You made an invalid comparison...."Slaves to wealthy...Look how wide that gap is..."

In May90's defense, he shows a lot of ignorance on most topics.. not just this one.
Stop belittling him!

[Bigsilly]

I'm so weary of hearing, "The Ballad of Hard Work". This idea that if you just show up and "work hard" that everything will be nice and fair and you'll be okay.

It's beyond bullshit and only deflects from the actual issues. Even the most basic element of it - the idea that just working hard means anything at all - is bullshit, too.

Common sense would dictate that if you cannot afford something, don't do it. We have a society that has become dependent on Credit Cards and Payday Loans and who have no idea how to save money and not live within their means. Hard Work can actually work, if you have a realistic view on what it will accomplish. Don't think you can work a $12 an hour job and raise a family, that's just ignorant. There are plenty of trade skill positions out there that pay higher. But the effort it takes to get into them requires.... effort.

[Deleted]

I'm so weary of hearing, "The Ballad of Hard Work". This idea that if you just show up and "work hard" that everything will be nice and fair and you'll be okay.

It's beyond bullshit and only deflects from the actual issues. Even the most basic element of it - the idea that just working hard means anything at all - is bullshit, too.

It used to be work hard, now you have to work smart :P.

[Bodakane]

[May90]

What are you owed for being born? For being alive? I think this may be where the major disconnect comes for me and people like Endus.

I would argue - nothing. The world was here before you and will be here after you, it doesn't owe you anything. If we go into the contruct of society of many people, my answer is the same. Society doesn't owe you anything (food,healthcare,shelter) simply because you are here. I'm all for helping people in need, I just don't get this sentiment that you are owed an arbitrary "fair" wage simply because you live in America.

See, I think this is more complex than this. From one moral standpoint, indeed, I would agree that no one owes you anything just because you exist. From another, however, we are all humans with compassion: is it right that one person is making billions and spends them on buying yachts, castles, etc., while another has to beg on the streets, because no one will take them on a job? Yes, the former might have put in much more effort in improving their life - but shouldn't they still want to help the poor, when, say, $10k is nothing for them, but means a world of difference for one beggar?

There is also an economical/social reasoning behind that. When children are born, no one owes anything to them - and yet their parents take care of them and don't ask for anything in return. Why? Because they care about them. The government also helps parents financially. Why? Because these children, if helped, will grow into productive members of society and benefit the economy ultimately.

The society doesn't owe a person anything just because they exist. Can they help them still? Absolutely. Suppose the US implemented the following system: every person working currently or looking for a job immediately after quitting the former gets $2k a month from the government, in addition to possible wages the employer provides. This way, everyone is encouraged to work and has to work (except for people with disabilities, etc.), even the poorest workers still make quite a lot, and the country can afford it: in 2015, the US federal budget was $3.2 trillion, and paying, say, 200 million current workers $2k a month each would cost $400 billion, which will only cut the budget by 1/8: not a catastrophe, considering how much quality of life improves - and that's the purpose of the government, to improve people's quality of life, is it not? That's what it was created in the first place for.

The point is: first world countries, the US included, can afford giving almost everyone a relatively high quality of life. They don't have to, but they can, and if they can, then why shouldn't they? It benefits them in the end: people who live well are happier and more productive, and people not having to work solely for survival and able to actually spend time to find a job they are interested in, since they can accumulate decent savings fast, means even higher work productiveness.

Now, again, like I said, I think the vast majority of people in the US still are doing very well; by my standards, at least. But there is always something to improve upon. No need to scream in horror, "Communism!!!", every time someone suggests a socialist measure; a bit of socialism tends to boost capitalism. Too much socialism kills capitalism, but the richer the country, the more socialism it can afford without crumbling under its own weight. The US is the richest country in the world, and one of the leaders in terms of GDPpc; you bet it is possible to provide all people with high quality of life here. And when the richest person has over $70 billion worth fortune, while the poorest is begging on the streets and sleeping in a rundown shelter - it is apparent that something isn't working as well as it could.

As someone that used to live in a ghetto...yeah, you obviously live somewhere else that isn't the US.

Quite frankly, when it comes to poverty you've shown an amazing depth of ignorance.

This notion in response to my comment would only make sense if most of the US were ghettos.

And, I used to live in a third world run down town, compared to which your ghetto probably was a paradise. I do not boast it to somehow increase my credibility.

You made an invalid comparison...."Slaves to wealthy...Look how wide that gap is..."

How is it invalid? Slaves formed a significant percentage of the population; just because they weren't granted citizen status, doesn't mean they don't make for a good example of inequality.

[Deleted]

"Work socially" is more like it.

Seriously, be appealing to other people (that doesn't necessarily mean "attractive", before some insecure assclown jumps down my throat about it) and just "play the game" well and you'll stomp all those silly "hard workers".

Well, you need some social skills if you want to get higher up of course :P.