During the recent recession that caused most of the people in the world to lose income, the richest 1 percent in our country, the top 440 families of billionaires gained 12 percent in income. This is due to the fact that Wall St. and the Banksters were and continue to be bailed out while home owners and worker were trickled down on. Oh sure, some banks had to pay fines but compared to the profits that most of these institutions made during the recession, it was just a slap on the wrist or another cost of doing business that will be passed along to the rest of us poor and middle class people.
If just half of those gains that went to those 440 families were spent on child poverty in the US, there would be no child poverty in the US. But why should we make the rich choose between a Lear jet or another yacht? After all, they got their wealth distribution from us to them legally so why should they give half of it away just to keep some kids that aren't even theirs from starving? I have nothing to compel them other than to say, it's the right thing to do.
Corporations can't be asked for the money because their charters require their main objective to be making money for their share holders. That's their job, not feeding poor kids or paying their fair share of the nations taxes for roads, water, sewage, courts, the military or other government necessities.
That's why about two thirds of corporations didn't pay any federal income taxes according to a a government accounting office study from 2008.
So if the rich and two thirds of the corporations in this country don't want to pony up and help keep this country competitive with good infrastructure, education, health and an environment we would all like to live and do business in, who will? The poor. Let me explain.
Below is a picture of the McDonald's menu taken in 1979 in my Southern California home town.
The Big Mac on the menu costs .65 cents. The minimum wage for both California and federal was set at $2.90 per hour. Today that Big Mac costs somewhere around $3.79 cents today in the same state which is about 580% more that it cost in 1979. If the minimum wage had kept up with the cost of the Big Mac it would be about $16.00 per hour today. Instead it is half of that here in California.
So you can see what is wrong with our economy. A few fat cats have taken all the cream and most of the milk and left us with the scraps to fight over. Our buying power has gone down as fewer and fewer people can afford products that continue to rise in cost.
My fix? Raise the Federal Minimum Wage to $15.00 per hour. The cost of labor has actually gone down for most products we buy so while the Big Mac may go up a dollar, most people would have 7 more dollars per hour to make up that dollar. This also wouldn't put many people out of work because it would apply to everyone that has employees so your competition would be under the same labor burden as you are.
The problem with the current minimum wage, aside from the obvious points I have already made, is the fact that someone that works full time qualifies for many different kinds of welfare. They also pay almost no federal taxes because they are in poverty. Full time workers are in poverty all over this country so they haven't anything to give back in the way of taxes or charity. If they were suddenly making double or more in actual wages, these millions and millions of people would not only be raised out of poverty, they wouldn't require as much welfare or state help either. And the added benefit that will help fix the country will come from the increased payroll taxes paid by the poor.
Think about it, if Wall St., much of Main St. and the richest folks in this country don't want to pay the taxes that help keep our country competitive and healthy, let the poor do it by letting them pay taxes and take part in what used to be called the American dream.
The current gap between the rich and the poor in this country is out of step and threatens the stability of our great country. Me must act now because as Senator Bernie Sanders says "Dispair is not an option."
If just half of those gains that went to those 440 families were spent on child poverty in the US, there would be no child poverty in the US. But why should we make the rich choose between a Lear jet or another yacht? After all, they got their wealth distribution from us to them legally so why should they give half of it away just to keep some kids that aren't even theirs from starving? I have nothing to compel them other than to say, it's the right thing to do.
Corporations can't be asked for the money because their charters require their main objective to be making money for their share holders. That's their job, not feeding poor kids or paying their fair share of the nations taxes for roads, water, sewage, courts, the military or other government necessities.
That's why about two thirds of corporations didn't pay any federal income taxes according to a a government accounting office study from 2008.
So if the rich and two thirds of the corporations in this country don't want to pony up and help keep this country competitive with good infrastructure, education, health and an environment we would all like to live and do business in, who will? The poor. Let me explain.
Below is a picture of the McDonald's menu taken in 1979 in my Southern California home town.
The Big Mac on the menu costs .65 cents. The minimum wage for both California and federal was set at $2.90 per hour. Today that Big Mac costs somewhere around $3.79 cents today in the same state which is about 580% more that it cost in 1979. If the minimum wage had kept up with the cost of the Big Mac it would be about $16.00 per hour today. Instead it is half of that here in California.
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| Photo from Jay Freeman |
So you can see what is wrong with our economy. A few fat cats have taken all the cream and most of the milk and left us with the scraps to fight over. Our buying power has gone down as fewer and fewer people can afford products that continue to rise in cost.
My fix? Raise the Federal Minimum Wage to $15.00 per hour. The cost of labor has actually gone down for most products we buy so while the Big Mac may go up a dollar, most people would have 7 more dollars per hour to make up that dollar. This also wouldn't put many people out of work because it would apply to everyone that has employees so your competition would be under the same labor burden as you are.
The problem with the current minimum wage, aside from the obvious points I have already made, is the fact that someone that works full time qualifies for many different kinds of welfare. They also pay almost no federal taxes because they are in poverty. Full time workers are in poverty all over this country so they haven't anything to give back in the way of taxes or charity. If they were suddenly making double or more in actual wages, these millions and millions of people would not only be raised out of poverty, they wouldn't require as much welfare or state help either. And the added benefit that will help fix the country will come from the increased payroll taxes paid by the poor.
Think about it, if Wall St., much of Main St. and the richest folks in this country don't want to pay the taxes that help keep our country competitive and healthy, let the poor do it by letting them pay taxes and take part in what used to be called the American dream.
The current gap between the rich and the poor in this country is out of step and threatens the stability of our great country. Me must act now because as Senator Bernie Sanders says "Dispair is not an option."
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ReplyDeletewish the liberals would stop there support of top 1% and making poor pay everything. Obama been in office 5 plus years and still giving his rich buddies all these breaks. Recession happend the month he got elected. He had control of all branches of government remember that is how he passed obamacare without any republican votes. so if he wasnt protecting the top 1% then he would have done tax reform just like he did obamacare. But the liberals wanted to protect the rich. Bush tax cuts expired and obama continued them. Dont bother blaming republicans because dont forget the dems passed obamacare without the republicans so why didnt they pass tax reform. So you have only one person to blame for this and it is the liberals and Obama
ReplyDeleteraising minimum wage to 15 would bring everyone working out of poverty level which would actually have them bringing home less money because of the tax cuts they get. it will also make them unable for subsidies for there healthcare. So actually raising earnings will hert average worker by Companies hiring less people and by making there tax obligation go up. Problem with everyone thinking raising minimum wage will help anything
ReplyDeleteThat's true. The whole system's self-destructive with the real problem being Western industrial societies unable to compete economically with Asians who can out-produce and undercut most any American company's costs of operation. Because our economy costs more to operate on all levels. The Scandinavian countries have a good working economy but theirs too is geared to a global economy that is totally unsustainable. What good is a new Volvo when if China tries to make enough cars for just their populations they would smog the entire world. A radical change has to occur, but not like anything seen previously with radical political activism that doesn't address deep economic restructuring, and, frankly, you cannot get that in today's world in the old fashioned way anyway, i.e. via political revolution or reform because of the very entrenched "American Way" of capitalist ideology that only seems to create a weak and ineffectual "Progressive" backlash in America unlike European counterparts because things have never gotten that bad--the Great Depression coming the closest to inspiring radical revolution in Americans, and that never happened. Liberalism bought it off as did WW II. Progressive activists, seeing that radical activism doesn't work in America, still never understand only radical change helps--not replacement of Republican office holders with Democratic ones. What is to be done then?
ReplyDeleteMy solution has been my life's social change work: attempting to create a workable alternative community economy via using the existing capitalist system against itself, i.e deliberately going into Big Business with an aim to put bad polluting, exploiting, Fat Cat Big Business out of business. Create new employee owned green businesses, i.e. socialize, economically democratize existing corporations by employee stock option buyouts, e.g. Winco and Costco. But still that won't do anything in the long run because they too operate on existing economic principles and conditions that aren't sustainable. So we really need a new type of community oriented corporation model that not only divvies up profits far more equitably between all who produce commercial products but changes those products to replace bad existing technology with green sustainable alternative systems and things that don't end up destroying us or the planet.
Anonymous 9:08 pm. First of all, the democrats only had a majority in congress for about 90 days at most because republicans in Minnesota refused to seat Al Franken for almost a year. http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2012/06/07/the-big-lies-of-mitt-romney-v-obama-had-a-super-majority-in-congress-for-two-years/
ReplyDeleteBush was losing 750 thousand jobs a month in the months leading up to Obama being sworn in so you have your facts wrong about those two facts. Look them up yourself.
As for tax cuts for the rich, the sequester we are currently under was a grand bargain with dem's and repub's both in agreement and that took place when republicans were in control of the house and had control of the senate by using the filibuster to block any progress in the senate.
So...you are just plain wrong about most of your assumptions and have nothing to back them up.
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Nice try trying to get out of it, but no sir it is you who is wrong. So you are saying that in 90 days he couldnt tax the rich. like he campaigned on. He and the liberals were able to pass obamacare but couldnt tax his buddies the rich. Obama threatens to veto anything to with obamacare so why did he do the obama tax cuts. Bush's tax cut expired. Crazy the web you liberal will weave when confronted with your own failures. The facts are obamacare got passed without any republican votes, so the libs could have taxed the rich aswell but did not. Why is this. Was obamacare more important then taxing the rich and if so then that was a choice the liberals made nothing to do with the republicans. And the bush tax cuts expired and then obama signed into law the the obama tax cuts. Thoser are both facts you can not dispute. And while we are at refusing to swear in people. how about delaying Browns swearing in in boston to stop him from voting against obamacare. The only good thing is no republicans voted for obamacare so this is all on you guys. Like pelosi said we have to pass the bill to know whats in it. Well you libs passed it and know we all know whats in it. Whats in it is exactly whats the republicans said was in it
DeleteAnonymous 9:14 pm, companies don't hire people because wages are low, they hire people because they need human labor to make their businesses work. If they don't need people they don't hire them. You are correct in part about losing tax breaks and welfare but since the poor don't hardly pay federal taxes, that point seems moot. The idea that they won't qualify for as much welfare is my point. People that are able to work, should work. Those that can't should be helped. A larger tax base helps those that cannot help themselves. The rest of us would do better because we would all see our incomes go up. If my assistant gets a raise, so do I.
ReplyDeleteMy answer to those so called companies that will hire less is they will be put out of business by the businesses that actually have employees to make products and wait on customers. Since all companies would be on the same equal playing field there is no advantage to hiring fewer people unless you just don't want to compete.
Stephen totally gets it. We need to change the entire paradigm. That takes time, education and understanding though. I was thinking of what we could do today to make things better and raising the minimum wage would put more food in peoples stomachs and give more people a sense of empowerment and control of their own lives.
ReplyDeletePeople working full time for the current minimum wage don't make enough money to live a moral life. Most have to resort to working a second job under the table or dealing drugs or stealing. How can we expect people to evolve and learn if they can't even afford rent, tuition, food, healthcare, clothing, heat and other necessities of life? I say it starts with a 180 degree turn on the redistribution of wealth.
well i get it as well, but it is you who would rather blame the republicans. when the facts are not there to support it. If the liberals wanted the rich to pay there fare share like they run on in the election then for them 90 days they controlled everything they would have passed taxes against the rich which they did not do. Know if and whats about it. if Pres Obama wanted the rich to pay he could have done it just like he did obamacare. But the liberals didnt want to tax the rich. And more proof is his exemption form obamacare for unions and big business. So this is all on the dems. President is supposed to lead the nation but actually does not lead anything. never meets with house and senate only meets with dems. then when fox news told the nation that obamacare would be just like it has ended up being the liberals call fox racist. to deflect from the fact that fox was right on the money. As far as company's will fail if they hire less is false they will continue to make there product in other countries and still be just fine. Obamacare has made the companies goto part time employees instead of full time. And then if he was able to which he wont be. but if he got his amnesty bill through it states that if a employer hires an amnestied illegal they dont have to provide healthcare for them thus saving them thousands a year to not hire americans. And the 15 million illegals dont have to have insurance which means they will be going to E.R for healthcare. Marxism does not work and we are seeing it in full swing now. Pres obama wrote his thesis on marxism. Bill marks logic and they say in the markist handbook to control a people you must control there healthcare,(obamacare) You must control there food(GMO)
DeleteSorry the liberal talking points just get me wound up and i tend to go on and on. So i will shorten it up in a simpler way with un disputable facts. Did the bush tax cuts expire in 2010 while President Obama was president? Yes Did president obama extend Bush tax cuts after expiring? Yes Did the dems and president obama control all branches of government for 90 days? Yes. While democrats controlled all branches of government and could have passed bill making rich pay fair share Did they? No While libs controlled all branches of government did they pass obamacare without any republican votes? Yes. so if the libs wanted to make 1% pay fair share they could have and could not have been stopped. So you might not think i have facts but here are some pretty simple ones. You can try and spin out of it but everything i stated here are all factual.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you give the democrats too much credit. If I had thought that Democrats could have accomplished so much in 90 days, I would have registered as one. I didn't even bring up political parties in the post because they both suck. But since we are talking about their similarities and differences, I would have to say that the biggest difference between those two parties is that the Democrats have fewer bigots and racists in their party.
ReplyDeleteNow since the Democrats had this huge 90 day chance to fix the world and raise the minimum wage while raising taxes on the rich but failed, what can the Republicans do to make those happen? What legislation have they offered to help minimum wage workers gain a larger part of the American dream?
I would like to add that there is a small group of progressives in the Democratic party that are trying to help the middle class and hourly workers including those working for the minimum wage. If they were the majority of the party, I would probably become Democrat.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, which branch of the Republican Party do you identify with? They also seem to have two branches, the one that helps the rich and the one that doesn't like Mexicans, gays, blacks, lesbians, Muslims, bisexuals, unions, government workers and transgendered people?
And so I went crazy over your right wing talking points too. I am sorry for that. I left out a third part or fault of both parties, ignorance. There is probably some of that on both our parts too.
ReplyDeleteTrue liberals would fault me in suggesting that the poor should or could pick up the slack of corporations and rich people. I think it is a dialogue we should have. We might find out who is really working and who is really getting welfare (Walmart).
This part here though: As far as company's will fail if they hire less is false they will continue to make there product in other countries and still be just fine.
ReplyDeleteCompanies already do that. That's why service workers need the raise. You can't outsource to another country bed side care for our elderly. Your car mechanic or even car wash. Sorry that can't be made in another country. My big mac also wouldn't be very good if it were cooked and assembled in a foreign country. It would get cold. You totally overlooked an entire segment of the working population in our country. These people can't be outsourced. This is also why it can work.