How can we achieve a living wage?

Buddha2525

Well-Known Member
I've thought long and hard on the subject. The top management, such as the CEOs, make up to hundreds of of years wage for each year, compared to the poorest.

And, you bleeding hearts are correct, it's not right.

But what can we do about it?

I don't see having a minimum wage solving this problem.

The only ones who benefit from a minimum wage are the welfare corporations, who cry foul when they lose out on even a penny's worth of profit, and then demand to pay no taxes as if they had a "loss." Government doesn't shift the tax brackets, and makes more money that first year, or however long until it implements "tax reform." Goods and services increase their base so that the net overall is no better off for those who made the new "living wage" every so slowly see their "living" increase. Rents increase. Then we start the whole increase minimum wage again, rinse repeat.

Not a solution!

Our next "solution" is trying to become a South American dictator style government. But that ends up in hyper-inflation, such as what happened during the 2002 economic crisis. So scratch that.

The only solution is for government to take control of supply and set a recommended price, with a floor and ceiling, on all goods and services. Otherwise corporations resort to attrition revenge by flooding the market with easy to make garbage, causing shortages on essentials so they can sell at a huge profit, and relocating to a country with slave labor wages.

Which brings me to another point. In order to stop corporations from investing in sweat shops and importing, even with government control of our goods and services, there would need to be tariffs added which make them equal to domestics, with a slight to moderate extra luxury tax on foreign bought goods and services to give business the needed push for enlightenment and compassion, not motivate them for greed.

How we do this without giving up what an American means, is beyond me.
 

Grandpapy

Well-Known Member
Corporations are not People loyal to a Country.
Being a stockholder, Investing in Communism is the fastest way for me to make my tax cuts pay off.
Pretty simple.
Look to Boeing (and many corps) for the future, China is the profit hub. A happy China makes happy Corporations, which in turn makes happy little Americans with little dividend checks that can be cashed at Applebee's.
China wins.

So they are 35 years into their 70-year plan, with another 35 years to go. If they published their plans back in 1980, people would say that they were crazy. Now it looks like something quite do-able.
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-two-100-year-plans-of-the-Chinese-Communist-Party-for-Chinas-global-role

Exxon and Boeing know that Islands in the So Pacific are more important than educating your child in how to build a better world.

The lack of having a plan is someones plan.
 

Buddha2525

Well-Known Member
Corporations are not People loyal to a Country.
Being a stockholder, Investing in Communism is the fastest way for me to make my tax cuts pay off.
Pretty simple.
Look to Boeing (and many corps) for the future, China is the profit hub. A happy China makes happy Corporations, which in turn makes happy little Americans with little dividend checks that can be cashed at Applebee's.
China wins.

So they are 35 years into their 70-year plan, with another 35 years to go. If they published their plans back in 1980, people would say that they were crazy. Now it looks like something quite do-able.
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-two-100-year-plans-of-the-Chinese-Communist-Party-for-Chinas-global-role

Exxon and Boeing know that Islands in the So Pacific are more important than educating your child in how to build a better world.

The lack of having a plan is someones plan.
That's my question. How do we force corporations to be "loyal?" There has to be a motivation. Even during the USSR, McDonalds still did business there, but didn't export Rubles, and instead bought vodka and sold that for USD, etc.

In other oppressive governments, a corporation isn't allowed to be owned by a foreigner and must be a government owned. So McDonalds allows them to be called McGubbys and secretly puts a portion of profits into their corporate account.
 

Buddha2525

Well-Known Member
Are you worth a living wage?
How do you get a living wage and at the same time prevent hyper-inflation and supply shortages?

There are enough corporations and individuals with hundreds of millions, billions, and now Apple with over a trillion, they can afford to do nothing for years and possibly decades, screwing with economies out of spite and hate.

Look at what happened with the big car companies, they were said "too big to fail."

It can even get to the point of war, because they're so childish.
 

ANC

Well-Known Member
70 is the magic number.... take any average increase and divide it into 70.... that is how many years of that increase it would take before the next increase is more than all the increases together up to that point combined.
 

Buddha2525

Well-Known Member
70 is the magic number.... take any average increase and divide it into 70.... that is how many years of that increase it would take before the next increase is more than all the increases together up to that point combined.
Workers are already struggling with finding a job with Seattle's $11.50 minimum wage, let alone the $15 target, and that's a far cry from the $25.65 living wage.
 

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
That's my question. How do we force corporations to be "loyal?" There has to be a motivation. Even during the USSR, McDonalds still did business there, but didn't export Rubles, and instead bought vodka and sold that for USD, etc.

In other oppressive governments, a corporation isn't allowed to be owned by a foreigner and must be a government owned. So McDonalds allows them to be called McGubbys and secretly puts a portion of profits into their corporate account.

Corporations ARE loyal. They are loyal to legislation which protects them. Since they are protected, they, like government are not as affected by consumer feedback as they would be without the protectionism. This is true, because licensure et al, is a form of repression designed to reduce competition to the benefit of those who have some form of legally protected monopoly.

The answer is remove the protectionism and let a free market proliferate.
 

Buddha2525

Well-Known Member
Corporations ARE loyal. They are loyal to legislation which protects them. Since they are protected, they, like government are not as affected by consumer feedback as they would be without the protectionism. This is true, because licensure et al, is a form of repression designed to reduce competition to the benefit of those who have some form of legally protected monopoly.

The answer is remove the protectionism and let a free market proliferate.
Sorry, I don't see that working. How are they loyal if you removed that protectionism and another country gives them a better deal? Corporations are like athlete superstars. If you don't pay them their millions, they go free agent and sign for another team. And because of their egos, another team is usually always found who'll give in to their demands because their profit potential.
 

Grandpapy

Well-Known Member
How do you get a living wage and at the same time prevent hyper-inflation and supply shortages?

There are enough corporations and individuals with hundreds of millions, billions, and now Apple with over a trillion, they can afford to do nothing for years and possibly decades, screwing with economies out of spite and hate.

Look at what happened with the big car companies, they were said "too big to fail."

It can even get to the point of war, because they're so childish.
The goods and services sold were produced by an army of 1.7m people employed by US subsidiaries in the country.
https://www.ft.com/content/170b7016-746c-11e8-aa31-31da4279a601

1.7m voices lobbied at Washington everyday.
 

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
Sorry, I don't see that working. How are they loyal if you removed that protectionism and another country gives them a better deal? Corporations are like athlete superstars. If you don't pay them their millions, they go free agent and sign for another team. And because of their egos, another team is usually always found who'll give in to their demands because their profit potential.

That proves my point that corporations are really just people seeking an advantage held in place by government.

So in the absence of a coercion based central authority, how much power would corporations have becomes the question.

Also, you can attempt to ensure the presence of equal opportunity, but even if that were the circumstance you can't ensure equal outcomes, since people have different abilities, motivations and desires.

So then the question becomes, in a world of equal rights, which person(s) has the right to force another person to do anything, other than leave them alone of that is what they want? In other words a "living wage" which occurs thru coercion is self contradictory if that living wage is an attempt to create parity, since the coercion destroys the equality of individual choices being a viable option.
 

Fogdog

Well-Known Member
Sorry, I don't see that working. How are they loyal if you removed that protectionism and another country gives them a better deal? Corporations are like athlete superstars. If you don't pay them their millions, they go free agent and sign for another team. And because of their egos, another team is usually always found who'll give in to their demands because their profit potential.
You show up around midnight and stop posting around 6 AM. Where do you live, Budd? What's your agenda?

To the point of the OP, what is the objective of legislating a living wage? Maybe we could achieve those objectives without mandating that businesses pay high wages for low value work.
 

Unclebaldrick

Well-Known Member
You show up around midnight and stop posting around 6 AM. Where do you live, Budd? What's your agenda?

To the point of the OP, what is the objective of legislating a living wage? Maybe we could achieve those objectives without mandating that businesses pay high wages for low value work.
I thought he said he was South African (I may be wrong) but he sounds Canadian or Norwegian to me.

Good English skills though
 

Fogdog

Well-Known Member
A real Buddhist would not use the term "bleeding heart"
He just said that to tweek us. It's not as if he'd be the first one to do it, much less what happens among regulars around here. He's clearly fiscally conservative. It would be nice for once to talk to a right winger who can write complete sentences and actually thinks rather than emotes. I'm not sure if he's a paid for shill, a troll or somebody who came here for the same reason most of us do.
 
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redivider

Well-Known Member
How do you get a living wage and at the same time prevent hyper-inflation and supply shortages?

There are enough corporations and individuals with hundreds of millions, billions, and now Apple with over a trillion, they can afford to do nothing for years and possibly decades, screwing with economies out of spite and hate.

Look at what happened with the big car companies, they were said "too big to fail."

It can even get to the point of war, because they're so childish.
you are assuming that a living wage means hyperinflation - which it doesn't. minimum wages in several European countries, Australia and New Zealand hovers around 20 dollars an hour.

free health care and almost free education - combined with strong wage minimums = economic growth. NOT HYPERINFLATION.
 

schuylaar

Well-Known Member
I've thought long and hard on the subject. The top management, such as the CEOs, make up to hundreds of of years wage for each year, compared to the poorest.

And, you bleeding hearts are correct, it's not right.

But what can we do about it?

I don't see having a minimum wage solving this problem.

The only ones who benefit from a minimum wage are the welfare corporations, who cry foul when they lose out on even a penny's worth of profit, and then demand to pay no taxes as if they had a "loss." Government doesn't shift the tax brackets, and makes more money that first year, or however long until it implements "tax reform." Goods and services increase their base so that the net overall is no better off for those who made the new "living wage" every so slowly see their "living" increase. Rents increase. Then we start the whole increase minimum wage again, rinse repeat.

Not a solution!

Our next "solution" is trying to become a South American dictator style government. But that ends up in hyper-inflation, such as what happened during the 2002 economic crisis. So scratch that.

The only solution is for government to take control of supply and set a recommended price, with a floor and ceiling, on all goods and services. Otherwise corporations resort to attrition revenge by flooding the market with easy to make garbage, causing shortages on essentials so they can sell at a huge profit, and relocating to a country with slave labor wages.

Which brings me to another point. In order to stop corporations from investing in sweat shops and importing, even with government control of our goods and services, there would need to be tariffs added which make them equal to domestics, with a slight to moderate extra luxury tax on foreign bought goods and services to give business the needed push for enlightenment and compassion, not motivate them for greed.

How we do this without giving up what an American means, is beyond me.

how do we get paid the same as our male co-workers? why do i get paid less in base for more experience and better performance?
 
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