Unions made Michigan the greatest state to be in for decades.If they could then those companies would be forced to pay better. But the truth is probably that those are the best jobs available. Back when I was growing up you could go get a good paying union job with a high school degree. Those jobs are gone. MAGA? We were great when a guy like my dad (high school drop out foreigner) could go to Ford, get paid great, great benefits, pension, a union to protect him from being fired. Unions built the biggest and best middle class the world has ever seen. You trickle down Republicans have never created a middle class like we did. Also add in the GI Bill, social security and medicare. WE created the time when America was great for the masses. America was great before the new deal but the middle class and poor struggled. After the New Deal and unions the middle class boomed. Of course the top 1% didn't like it and they took back all those gains starting in the late 60's.
Are Wages Rising or Flat?
To hear politicians tell it, wages are rising at the fastest rate in a decade, are the same as they were 45 years ago and are at a 60-year low. And all three claims could be correct, depending on what measure is used to justify it.
“There’s not necessarily one way [to look at wages] and that’s why you can get all the conflicting claims
The bottom line, as shown in the graph below from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is that real wages over the long-term peaked in the early 1970s, before generally falling over the next few decades and then beginning to climb back up starting in the mid-1990s.
President Donald Trump said that “wages are rising at the fastest rate in a decade.”
During Obama’s last four years in office the average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers went up 4.9%. Over Obama’s entire two-term tenure, wages were up 4.2%.
Over President George W. Bush’s eight years in office, wages also increased by 4.2%, and under President Bill Clinton, they went up by 6.4%. Those figures are up 2.3% under Trump, 3.9% under Obama’s second term and 4% over his eight years in office.) HE WAS DEALING WITH THE GREAT RECESSION!!!
Now, let’s turn to Trump’s second claim: “Wages are rising at the fastest rate in many decades.” That’s not correct, but it’s close — it’s the fastest rate in about one decade, when looking at nominal hourly wages year-to-year.
Last fall, newspaper headlines touted this news. At the time the 12-month percentage change in nominal average hourly earnings for all workers and the rank-and-file topped 3% in August 2018 and has remained above 3% since, according to BLS. That’s the highest rate since it topped 3% in late 2008 and early 2009.
But this 3% nominal growth was significant. In recent years, as the economy recovered from the 2007-2009 Great Recession, economists have been bemoaning slower wage growth than would be expected as other measures, such as employment, improved. “Wage growth is definitively accelerating. Employers are now struggling to fill open positions and have no choice but to raise wages quickly.”
But 3% isn’t the fastest nominal rate “in many decades,” as Trump said. In fact, the 12-month growth topped 4% for most of 2007, 2001 and 1998. The current growth, Shambaugh said, is “still a little below … what you think a roaring economy might get you.” The growth is “good,” he said, but “not unprecedented, not historically great.”
There’s also support for the president’s claim that wages are “rising the fastest for the lowest income Americans.”
The EPI report, however, noted the sizable percentage gains at the upper percentiles over a longer period of time, such as since the Great Recession, and it found greater 2017-2018 gains among low-wage workers in states that had increased the minimum wage.
workers are getting a smaller share of the economic pie than they used to.”
If we want to know if wages are higher or lower than they used to be or how they’ve grown, we’d look at the inflation-adjusted figures, as we did above. It’s a reminder to voters that these talking points about wages can be more complicated than they appear, and they don’t always tell the whole story.
Yeah....unions were so great they drove the companies out of the northeastern US.
Knew a guy in Missouri making $189,000 a year with OT on the Ford assembly line.
Thats BULLSHIT!!!! And people wonder why car prices are so fucking high.
Of course they did you stupid fuck. They insisted the employees pay well.
And they didn't drive them out of the northeast you fucking idiots! If those jobs went to Kentucky instead of Mexico and China I would agree with you. But do you notice even those fucking rednecks in red states wanted too much? Notice the corporations didn't ship jobs to Arkansas? They bypassed the ignorant south and went to Mexico and China. And I remember in the 2000's you stupid fucks defended it. You said you liked the cheap prices. It took Trump to say what we were saying for you to wake up. OMG.
Why are Toyota's and Honda's so expensive? They're made in the south. I don't see much price difference do you?
Toyota Camry $25K
Fusion $24K
LOL....There were no car or truck manufacturers in the South,now there are a bunch of em. Wonder why........
You said hondas and Toyotas were so expensive yet there's only a thousand dollar difference between the Ford and the Toyota.
You keep contradicting yourself.
First you tell us car manufacturers didnt move south and then you talk about cars made in the south. So which is it?
What the fuck does this even mean?
"Of course they did you stupid fuck. They insisted the employees pay well."
Yes, they pay those southern workers a lot less. And there are a lot less Honda employees in the Honda plant than there are For
Well if Midas wasn't paying it's employees well and they were making a huge profit I would like to see the workers organize and force you to pay them better. But I get the feeling people who work at Midas don't require much pay and those franchises probably don't make very much.
According to Business Insider, the average McDonald's restaurant takes in around $2.7 million a year in sales. ... Some McDonald's franchise owners are naturally going to make more than others, but most franchise owners still pull in an estimated yearly profit of roughly $150,000
mcd franchises make yearly - Google Search
Ok, so after seeing this, I don't think McD workers should organize. If the owner is only making $150,000 a year they shouldn't be making more than $10 hr.
What about Walmart?
With fiscal year 2019 revenue of $514.4 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide.
Walmart had a total of 11,766 stores throughout the world as of 2019.
What I like about Walmart and McD employees organizing is that these companies can't send the jobs overseas like car companies did. That's how they broke the UAW. If they were allowed to ship jobs overseas without being tariffed. If only Trump was president back in the 2000's when Bush was letting 750,000 jobs a month go overseas and not a peep out of him. They loved it because those were high paying union jobs.
What about Walmart?
With fiscal year 2019 revenue of $514.4 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide.
Why does their revenue matter?
What I like about Walmart and McD employees organizing is that these companies can't send the jobs overseas like car companies did.
Right. If you raise their costs too much, they'll just go out of business.
No one said raise their costs TOO MUCH. What's TOO MUCH? Define that.
They're very profitable. They should share those profits with employees. Instead, a lot of Walmart employees are on foodstamps. Where do you think those employees spend their food stamps dollars? At Walmart. It's a brilliant business model if we allow it.
No one said raise their costs TOO MUCH. What's TOO MUCH?
$15 an hour to put a fry basket into the oil is too much.
They're very profitable. They should share those profits with employees.
Is that why you mentioned revenues instead of profits?
Instead, a lot of Walmart employees are on foodstamps.
If they weren't working at WalMart, would they get more foodstamps/welfare or less?
Then you don't understand what made America great. My dad, and all those blue collar auto workers weren't "worth" what they were being paid if you asked YOU TRUMP a Corporation or any Republican. We know this. So stop with the MAGA bullshit. You have no idea what made America great or why it's not great today.
It was great because of social security and medicare. Never before did middle class and poor people have it so good. You want to take these things again you assholes.
Unions made Michigan the greatest state to be in for decades. Of course Bush 1 invented NAFTA with the goal of shipping all those good paying jobs down south.
And now you're crying about paying $15? Well I'm sorry but my dad and none of those auto workers were worth what they were paid. But CEO's today aren't worth what they are paid. But who's to say? Today, the CEO says what everyone is paid. And the BOD. When America was great labor had a seat at the fucking table.
If America was not great in 2015 I doubt it's great for you today. For me, America was great again once Obama got us out of Bush's recession. And the 2000's were a horrible decade for manufacturing and America. The Clinton 8 years were great too.
Trump took over an already great economy. Trump said it wasn't good enough because Obama didn't have over 3% growth. Guess what Trump had after that Tax break he gave the rich? You would think that tax break would have sparked a golden age of economic growth but guess the fuck what he got for it last year? 2.3% growth.
Fucking idiots. But we all know all you idiots care about really is god gays guns and racism. Southern white poor racists and ignorant whites racists up north don't care that they'll never get to retire. Or if they care they'll blame democrats for the cuts. Idiots I tell you! MAGA my ficking ass.
And then unions destroyed it.
And now you're crying about paying $15?
You're free to buy a McD's franchise and pay the low-skilled workers $15/hr and up.
Help them unionize.
And then post your fabulous profits.
Trump took over an already great economy.
1.6% GDP in 2016 was okay, not great.
No, the corporations destroyed the unions. They didn't like paying that well. I get it. But it was you dumb asses who let them ship those jobs overseas. Hell, GW Bush even gave them tax breaks to help them leave.
And the funny thing is the guy you worship Trump, is saying exactly this and you guys are eating it up. This is why I know he's a liar. He aint gonna tariff companies who ship jobs overseas. He threatened a few companies but he won't really. He/They like outsourcing.
