Why do the middle class have less to spend?

[Twofox]

This should be pretty obvious, but no one talks about it. It goes like this:

Why does our money not go as far as it used to? Rising energy prices.

Holy fuck batman! What does the price of oil have to do with anything?

It costs more to ship the goods, which raises the prices of those goods, which makes people pay more, but does not necessarily make more money for the outlets since they don't raise their profit margins very much over time. Therefore the wages they pay don't keep up with the prices they have to charge and still be able to stay in business, which makes the wages not go as far as they used to.

Are corporations greedy? Hell yeah! And CEO's make way too much money, but blaming the rich for the disparity in wages and how far a dollar goes is way off base. Sounds great and too many people believe it, but it just isn't true. The imbalance is there, but not for the reasons everyone is positing them to be caused by.

This message has been brought to you by an independent voter.

 

[Truthmatters]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

 

[Full-Auto]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

so a gathering of people should have no voice, is that what you are saying?

Do you understand the right to assembly?

 

[Dune]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

so a gathering of people should have no voice, is that what you are saying?

Do you understand the right to assembly?

She didn't say they don't have a right to assemble.

 

[Full-Auto]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

so a gathering of people should have no voice, is that what you are saying?

Do you understand the right to assembly?

She didn't say they don't have a right to assemble.

The right of assembly doesnt mean you forgo the right to free speech.

You would not be trying to say that a collection of business people do not have the right to a collective voice are you?

 

[Twofox]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

Ok this has absolutely nothing to do with the OP. Please stay on topic.

The point of the OP was that high energy prices are the main reason for absic costs rising every year, which translates into the middle class making less and less in a relative way. Everyone blames something else.

 

[Mr. Peepers]

The point of the OP was that high energy prices are the main reason for absic costs rising every year, which translates into the middle class making less and less in a relative way. Everyone blames something else.

Complete horse shit and you know it. The middle class is disapearing due to the plutocratic system we have now. It is not an accident that corps have killed the unions and have stagnated wages for 30 years... American workers are more productive than ever and are raking in record profits for these "too big to fail" companies, but the workers are seeing ZERO of a percentage of the gains from those profits even though they're working harder than ever. From another independent voter....

 

[ABikerSailor]

This should be pretty obvious, but no one talks about it. It goes like this:

Why does our money not go as far as it used to? Rising energy prices.

Holy fuck batman! What does the price of oil have to do with anything?

It costs more to ship the goods, which raises the prices of those goods, which makes people pay more, but does not necessarily make more money for the outlets since they don't raise their profit margins very much over time. Therefore the wages they pay don't keep up with the prices they have to charge and still be able to stay in business, which makes the wages not go as far as they used to.

Are corporations greedy? Hell yeah! And CEO's make way too much money, but blaming the rich for the disparity in wages and how far a dollar goes is way off base. Sounds great and too many people believe it, but it just isn't true. The imbalance is there, but not for the reasons everyone is positing them to be caused by.

This message has been brought to you by an independent voter.

Interestingly enough, 72 percent of the corporations on the Forbes 500 have made RECORD PROFITS so far this year, and have exceeded expectations.

The rich get richer, get more tax cuts and corporations get lots of money in subsidies (even though they don't need them).

Meanwhile? The rest of us are shouldering the burden for the rich. Yanno.......I'd like to have enough money to pay capital gains taxes at the rate of 18 percent rather than the current 28 percent that I now pay.

 

[Twofox]

The point of the OP was that high energy prices are the main reason for absic costs rising every year, which translates into the middle class making less and less in a relative way. Everyone blames something else.

Complete horse shit and you know it. The middle class is disapearing due to the plutocratic system we have now. It is not an accident that corps have killed the unions and have stagnated wages for 30 years... American workers are more productive than ever and are raking in record profits for these "too big to fail" companies, but the workers are seeing ZERO of a percentage of the gains from those profits even though they're working harder than ever. From another independent voter....

What you speak of is greed, and both parties are completely, irrevocably guilty of it. This is also part of the problem.

 

[Jarhead]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

I agree..

So what about unions?

 

[Charles_Main]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

Your an idiot, they are People. Cooperation's are owned by People. Usually by Millions of Stock Holders, and they have every right to fight for policies that help them do Business in the country that they contribute to.

 

[Mr. Peepers]

I agree..

So what about unions?

Same thing. I propose only individual PEOPLE can give and there is a $100 limit. No "group" of people should EVER have voice and unfettered access (through dollars and lobbyists) to our electoral system. We need to take power back from megacorps and we need to do it immediately.

 

[Mr. Peepers]

Your an idiot, they are People. Cooperation's are owned by People.

Corporations are not individual "people" and should have ABSOLUTELY no voice in our elections. Period.

 

[Jarhead]

The point of the OP was that high energy prices are the main reason for absic costs rising every year, which translates into the middle class making less and less in a relative way. Everyone blames something else.

Complete horse shit and you know it. The middle class is disapearing due to the plutocratic system we have now. It is not an accident that corps have killed the unions and have stagnated wages for 30 years... American workers are more productive than ever and are raking in record profits for these "too big to fail" companies, but the workers are seeing ZERO of a percentage of the gains from those profits even though they're working harder than ever. From another independent voter....

Corporatrions killed the unions as they were no longer necessary and they overstepped their boundaries. We have HR laws, discrinmination laws, minimum wage laws, osha reguklations....all tro oversee what unions were to oversee. Sadly for unions, the high paying execs of the unions deemed it best to use strong arm tactic (such as strikes) to get the businesses to make decisions that are not in the best interest of the business.

American workers are NOT more productive now...that is a talking point. Technology has made production better...not the workers. A man used to turn a lathe to make fittings...now he pushes a button.

You speak talking points and at the same time show how little yuou really know about the topic.

 

[Jarhead]

I agree..

So what about unions?

Same thing. I propose only individual PEOPLE can give and there is a $100 limit. No "group" of people should EVER have voice and unfettered access (through dollars and lobbyists) to our electoral system. We need to take power back from megacorps and we need to do it immediately.

we agree.
And I like the 100 figure as well.

 

[Mr. Peepers]

American workers are NOT more productive now...that is a talking point. Technology has made production better...not the workers. A man used to turn a lathe to make fittings...now he pushes a button.

Actually, yes they are. Private companies are so bare bones these days, that one person is often doing the work of 3 people, but they are not getting compensated for it. THAT is the problem.

Study: US workers are world's most productive - Boston.com
All Work and No Pay: The Great Speedup | Mother Jones

 

[Jarhead]

American workers are NOT more productive now...that is a talking point. Technology has made production better...not the workers. A man used to turn a lathe to make fittings...now he pushes a button.

Actually, yes they are. Private companies are so bare bones these days, that one person is often doing the work of 3 people, but they are not getting compensated for it. THAT is the problem.

Study: US workers are world's most productive - Boston.com
All Work and No Pay: The Great Speedup | Mother Jones

what you fail to see is that one person is doing the work of 3 because technology allows for it.
Vocemail...allows for one receptionist...not 3
Wordprocessing allows for 1 secretary, not 3
Automated CNC machinery allows for one set up man...not 3
email allows for one mailroom guy...not 3
touch tone customer service auto response allows for one CSR not 3
Airport kiosks allw for one counter clerk...not 3

And of course...I can go on.

 

[ABikerSailor]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

Your an idiot, they are People. Cooperation's are owned by People. Usually by Millions of Stock Holders, and they have every right to fight for policies that help them do Business in the country that they contribute to.

Hey, stupid...........the people of the corporations get a vote just like everyone else.

When they get to use lobbyists as well, that constitutes a second vote.

 

[Full-Auto]

The only reason a corp exsists is to make profit.


They are a tool and not our new kings.


They should not be running anything but their own companies.


They have NO business contributing to our elections

Your an idiot, they are People. Cooperation's are owned by People. Usually by Millions of Stock Holders, and they have every right to fight for policies that help them do Business in the country that they contribute to.

Hey, stupid...........the people of the corporations get a vote just like everyone else.

When they get to use lobbyists as well, that constitutes a second vote.

The same can be said for unions.

 

[auditor0007]

This should be pretty obvious, but no one talks about it. It goes like this:

Why does our money not go as far as it used to? Rising energy prices.

Holy fuck batman! What does the price of oil have to do with anything?

It costs more to ship the goods, which raises the prices of those goods, which makes people pay more, but does not necessarily make more money for the outlets since they don't raise their profit margins very much over time. Therefore the wages they pay don't keep up with the prices they have to charge and still be able to stay in business, which makes the wages not go as far as they used to.

Are corporations greedy? Hell yeah! And CEO's make way too much money, but blaming the rich for the disparity in wages and how far a dollar goes is way off base. Sounds great and too many people believe it, but it just isn't true. The imbalance is there, but not for the reasons everyone is positing them to be caused by.

This message has been brought to you by an independent voter.

I have a better one for you. Who makes up the vast majority of the middle class? Does "baby boomers" ring a bell? They stopped buying, not because they don't have the money but because they don't need anything anymore. They are now downsizing from their homes to their cars to just about everything. For most of them, their kids are on their own and their job is done. They stopped being the driving force behind our economy, and there isn't a damn thing we can do to change that part of the equation.