Hypocrisy?

[internope]

I just don't understand people who sit at home and get a free check. Where is their pride? I hired 4 managers in the last few months and each of them make at least twice minimum wage AND have the opportunity to grow their incomes. Oh, and I'm getting ready to hire 3 more....

Wow *twice* the minimum wage and they get the "Manager" title which makes them exempt from qualifying for overtime?

Yeah, maybe an out of work engineer should jump at the chance to destroy their career and their family's future by working as a fast food manager instead of collecting the unemployment insurance that they paid for and are entitled to.

[texastorm]

Wow *twice* the minimum wage and they get the "Manager" title which makes them exempt from qualifying for overtime?

Yeah, maybe an out of work engineer should jump at the chance to destroy their career and their family's future by working as a fast food manager instead of collecting the unemployment insurance that they paid for and are entitled to.

I am not reading where anyone here is against unemployment. But I have a friend who has been on unemployment for well over a year. To her credit she is using that time and money to go to school.

But after that unemployment runs out, do you and your family live on welfare because you believe your entitled to be an engineer, or do you go clean bathrooms at the Walmart for 7.50 an hour so you and you family can eat? I admit welfare probably pays better, and that needs to change.

[internope]

I am not reading where anyone here is against unemployment. But I have a friend who has been on unemployment for well over a year. To her credit she is using that time and money to go to school.

But after that unemployment runs out, do you and your family live on welfare because you believe your entitled to be an engineer, or do you go clean bathrooms at the Walmart for 7.50 an hour so you and you family can eat? I admit welfare probably pays better, and that needs to change.

You cannot feed, clothe, and house a family on $7.50/hr. What public assistance (and there is very little of this) and private charity money there is available goes to make up the difference between Walmart wages and a basic living wage. Those of us left in the middle-class (50k+) end up picking up the tab for Walmart's practices through taxes, charity, and higher costs for health care when hospitals and doctors eat the bills that Walmart and fast food peasants can't pay.

[sgreger1]

I don't think anyone here is against unemployment. Certainly it benefits us all to have a safety net. I think the argument here is that you are screwing yourself if you stay home for a year or two because you establish a huge gap in your employment record. You think companies will "understand" that you weren't working due ot the economy but I can't tell you how wrong you would be in saying that. They will hire someone who has been working the whole time over someone who stayed home for a year. It says a lot about the person (at least they think it does).

It just really sucks for those who are genuinely unemployed and want to work but can't find work, because everyone who is just slackign gives a bad name to those who are actually trying to get work. And employers can't tell the difference in just one interview, you know?

I do agree that you shouldn't go straight to doing that though, because it devalues the value of your labor. Since employers ask what you got paid at your last job it's difficult to explain that "well my last job paid $15 an hour but my REAL last job totally paid like $35! They are going to be like "$15 it is!". Don't want to sell yourself short, but having a quarter of the country stay home and not be productive for several years is just absolute murder to the economy and therefore to everyone else who has remained productive.

[sgreger1]

You cannot feed, clothe, and house a family on $7.50/hr. What public assistance (and there is very little of this) and private charity money there is available goes to make up the difference between Walmart wages and a basic living wage. Those of us left in the middle-class (50k+) end up picking up the tab for Walmart's practices through taxes, charity, and higher costs for health care when hospitals and doctors eat the bills that Walmart and fast food peasants can't pay.

Healthcare is the biggest factor I think. One of the reasons Japan is doing well is that the burden of providing healthcare isn't on the employer. With a strong national healthcare system we could make it much easier for small and medium sized businesses to hire, and make it much more affordbale for the middle class to obtain healthcare. We all save money in the long run and it should help hiring pick up a little.

[lxskllr]

I'm having issues finding something I can physically do. I'll look at jobs, and think I can't do that for 8 hours. Even something simple like standing at a register would be intolerable. I'd be ready to jump out of my skin by the end of the day. I've been doing side work; lately sanding down a house. I can do that because I can take my time, and stop every once in awhile. I still can't stand up straight by the end of the day, and not too many real jobs are gonna let me stop every half hour or so, and lay on my back. I can't do this forever, but I don't know wtf I'm gonna do for a real job. I need to operate a chair somewhere, but those jobs seem hard to get for some reason :^/

[EricHill78]

I had health insurance at my last job when I made manager wife was able to be my secretary. We were making pretty good bank. Planning on buying a house.. The economy went south. Business went under. Now I'm making peanuts. I can't afford health insurance for myself. I'm supposed to be taking preventative medications for my chron's/ulcerative colitis but cant afford them. I have to smoke to calm down flare ups which is sad. I hate smoking now. My son has health coverage which is is important to me. My father wanted me of course to be more successfull than him which I was slowly but surely about to accomplish. My dad paased away a couple years back while I was doing good for myself. It felt great, you know my father being proud of me. I'd be embarassed him seeing me now.

[ABW]

Healthcare is the biggest factor I think. One of the reasons Japan is doing well is that the burden of providing healthcare isn't on the employer. With a strong national healthcare system we could make it much easier for small and medium sized businesses to hire, and make it much more affordbale for the middle class to obtain healthcare. We all save money in the long run and it should help hiring pick up a little.

Ummm no...

[EricHill78]

Ummm no...

Lmao you don't know our sgreger. You have to write at least 3 paragraphs of evidence stating your stance or he will not take you seriously.

[ABW]

Then... I retract my statement!!!..lol..

[RobsanX]

Healthcare is the biggest factor I think. One of the reasons Japan is doing well is that the burden of providing healthcare isn't on the employer. With a strong national healthcare system we could make it much easier for small and medium sized businesses to hire, and make it much more affordbale for the middle class to obtain healthcare. We all save money in the long run and it should help hiring pick up a little.

I wish it was that simple. Take Europe for example. There are some very socialist countries there, with high taxes and a high level of entitlements. Countries like Germany and Denmark are doing great, while others like Greece and Ireland are not so much. I'm not sure the differences, but it might make for some interesting investigation.

[GoVegan]

The difference is that in the U.S....you have the opportunity to improve your station in life...through hard work. Not the mentality that EVERYONE is owed a good living, as the Dems and Union officials would have you believe. A person has to work to get there, NOT just show up with a certain skill set.

Yeah OK - you know what? I have worked since age 16. Spent 5 years in the active military and 2 years in the reserve. Worked graveyards for crap wages for another 5 years while going through college. Worked my way up through the ranks with the same employer for almost 15 years. I am in the union. I get a fairly decent paycheck but pay through the nose for retirement and medical. I really get sick of union bashing. Why does everyone assume that middle class union workers were handed their job on a silver platter? I cannot tell you how many 20 hour days I worked to get here. I also cannot tell you how many countless hours of continuing education I need to attend every year just to stay on top. I get tired of hearing conservatives bash the middle class working slob while ardently defending the rights of the rich and corporate CEO's who make more in a year than we can even dream about making in our lifetime. The Republican party of today will not be happy until we have an economy much like Mexico. For every filthy rich person, there will be 1000 people below him saving their pesos to buy a coke on the weekend while being told to be grateful for what they have.

[Darwin]

Well we could just go ahead and tax the living crap out of the rich. It might make us feel better, make things more "fair", but it would not jumpstart the economy or have any discernable affect on the monster federal deficit. Taxing everyone who makes a million bucks or more a year at the rate of 100% would almost cover this year's deficit alone and anyone who thinks that would have salutary effects on the economy or the job situation is a resident of Dreamland. Hate the rich as you please, posit overheated oligarchist conspiracies 'till you turn blue, confiscate the bulk of their incomes in hissy fits of populist high dudgeon, hell check 'em all into the crossbar motel for life but let us not delude ourselves that such actions will result in a single one of us working stiffs being one jot better off in either the short or long run.

[GoVegan]

Well we could just go ahead and tax the living crap out of the rich. It might make us feel better, make things more "fair", but it would not jumpstart the economy or have any discernable affect on the monster federal deficit. Taxing everyone who makes a million bucks or more a year at the rate of 100% would almost cover this year's deficit alone and anyone who thinks that would have salutary effects on the economy or the job situation is a resident of Dreamland. Hate the rich as you please, posit overheated oligarchist conspiracies 'till you turn blue, confiscate the bulk of their incomes in hissy fits of populist high dudgeon, hell check 'em all into the crossbar motel for life but let us not delude ourselves that such actions will result in a single one of us working stiffs being one jot better off in either the short or long run.

Why even go to that extreme? What we need to do is repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy while possibly adding a slight increase, work on repealing the tax cuts for the middle class when the economy starts to get better and then try to keep our spending under control.

[Bigblue1]

Why even go to that extreme? What we need to do is repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy while possibly adding a slight increase, work on repealing the tax cuts for the middle class when the economy starts to get better and then try to keep our spending under control.

really Vegan? anybody who thinks our current predicament is 1 iota caused by not enough income is sorely mistaken...... It comes down to expenditures.... in short we spend a hell of a lot more than we take in..... I DON'T CARE WHAT SIDE OF THE FENCE YOUR ON, IT WILL NEVER WORK WHETHER DEFENSE OR ENTITLEMENTS. You guys ever notice during this whole debt"ceiling" debate it has never been mentioned that the reps and sens should lose a paycheck or two, it's the deployed militry and seniors who paid their own wages into the BS..... WTF is up with that? Wake up peep's this is how they lube you up..... Nobody on this site has mentioned that, I garantee....... Think folks....