We're in a Recession Because the Rich Are Raking in an Absurd Portion of the Wealth

[_Simpson_ 250]

I will get back to this but I have to go for now.

[Captain Oates 911]

I pointed things out earlier that made the US unique and special. You chose to ignore it and move on. Every country is unique and what makes it unique needs to be recognized on a world stage.

You're back on the whole American jail thing again I see. Check out Jesse Pomeroy's story and tell me that you still think the 41 years he spent in solitary confinement was a injustice.

If only that was all you posted.

When I mentioned equal to Souske I was taking notice to the fact he left that statement open ended. I was having fun with the fact that he couldnt say that some countries are better than others and how he felt he had to defend his innocent statement.

Well thanks to my "picky multi quotes" you already know that answer.

Lots of references to previous posts that I can't be bothered going to find - but nothing specific stated.

Never mind, you think the place is special and unique and I think it's just another 1st world country among others with many of the same problems and lack of answers - so there we have it.

But you must wonder why the EU (450 million people) won't extradite to the US ... why can't they think like you ...that the US way has to be the right way. No reason to say 'my country right or wrong' because they are never wrong. Easy

I will get back to this but I have to go for now.

Not work I hope...

[PhiLandShiR 18]

Some of the things he says scare the ####### out of me. Fortunately, he is the farthest

out there on the left-wing lunatic fringe of the Democrat party, and his views are not

shared and are not representative of their thinking.

Do you mean El Buscador??

He is not by any massive stretch of my imagination, anything even close to the same solar system left wing...

He is so far to the right its not even funny....

[Nikita2Charles 32]

I'll tell you of a personal experience when I 1st moved to California at the earlier stage of the Dot.com Boom, The company that brought me here made all kind of promised

to get me to move to the bay area, at the time I saw it more as an advanture, with the moving package expenses, being single, I said hey i'll come over and try it for a year or so then I'll move back to New York.

A year later, I started to realize how expensive the cost of living in the bay area, some of the salary and bonus promises that were made, it wasn't on paper but On several emails, but i wasn't banking on it since I even brought it up to the Hiring manager, It's only via email can you please put them in Writing, because my contract said something else.

That company had so many nice people working for them in the engineering, production team but they didn't value them, it became a JOKE there, the best way to get a raise is to leave and come back.

Let say you get hire, and the annual raise is 3-4% but with inflation and the market jumping at around 6-8%, what happened the new hires are getting way more than you, as an experience person, the trainee is getting paid way more because they would not dare to offer them your current salary.

Needless to say i wasn't about to play that game, I had my neighbor who always wanted me to join this company, within a week i had my interview and decided to take their offer.

Guess what?

On my exit interview, I printed the email info from the HR manager, and I requested her for my exit inteview because I wasnted to give her a piece of my mind.

At the interview

1st think she asked

Is there anything we can do to keep you here( rememeber the trick leave and come back, some folks would go looking for a job with not interntion on taking it but just to get an offer, then bring to offer to HR, then they'll match your salary to the offer)

I told her Thanks, no Thanks, I am not interested due to the fact it's a very deceptive way to give somebody a raise, people should get their fair share for their work.

I asked her

Where do you get the salary info you are currently using

ans: According to this survey, that survey, this is the median or average salary for the Job

Can I see that survey, the data, whose providing those data

ans: confidential

Then I show her all those email she wrote regarding my salary adjustment after i complete my probationary period almost 2 years ago when I joined in, she was numbed,

Then I told her, you guys have so many nice guys out here, I enjoyed working with my team, but it's sad I have to leave but I have to look for my best interest, and over time most of my colleague will start to look after themselves.

To wrap it up i told her

ACTUALLY I AM TAKING A FEW RESUMES WITH ME.

Guess what? 2 weeks later there was a Major salary adjustment at the company 15%, can you imagine 15% JUMP. Do you think they were not aware of it, or just keeping the status quo as long as nobody complain about it?

5 months later, business was booming at my new Job, I got promoted and I hired one of my former colleague, and I asked him to to the rest of the guys a favor, at his exit interview ask to be interview by the Hiring manager, and tell her SO AND SO that USED TO WORK HERE HIRED ME.(remember told her taking a few resumes)

This time it took about 4 months, then everybody got another 10% raised, so in a span of 5 months, the guys there saw a 25% salary Jump, So do you beleive the company didn't know what they were doing, or as long as nobody complained they would still go with slave wages.

She could never answer my question at the exit interview

DO YOU LIVE HERE IN THE BAY AREA

ans: YES

DO YOU ACTUALLY BELEIVE THIS SALARY< SURVEY OR NOT< REFLECTS THE COST OF LIVING HERE IN THE BAY AREA?

She could never give me an answer, while during the same time the company was bought over, and the directors, CEO salary, more than triple while the engineers salary stayed stagnant, Once the company became public then so much more info became public, Stocks and bonuses were distributed to X company, then nobody around knows who got those bonuses, and so on, we only found about it on a techinical publication.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Do you mean El Buscador??

He is not by any massive stretch of my imagination, anything even close to the same solar system left wing...

He is so far to the right its not even funny....

[Heracles 417]

Question for you, off-topic.

Besides love, what other reasons does a European (including brits) have for wanting to move to America at a time when Europe (including GB) is actually doing quite well?

In reality, if it was not for work or love, why would anyone else from a first world country move to the US? Before anyone gets their panties in a twist [name starts with s...] , I am not saying the US is a bad place. However, when compared to others, in terms of Q.O.L, crime and so forth, the US is behind the ballgame big time.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

In reality, if it was not for work or love, why would anyone else from a first world country move to the US? Before anyone gets their panties in a twist [name starts with s...] , I am not saying the US is a bad place. However, when compared to others, in terms of Q.O.L, crime and so forth, the US is behind the ballgame big time.

One answer is wealth. Your better off in the US if you are wealthy. You are worse off if you are not.

[Captain Oates 911]

In reality, if it was not for work or love, why would anyone else from a first world country move to the US? Before anyone gets their panties in a twist [name starts with s...] , I am not saying the US is a bad place. However, when compared to others, in terms of Q.O.L, crime and so forth, the US is behind the ballgame big time.

Actually - It suits me coz I have no kids here and I don't need to work. I can live here coz everything (gasoline/cars etc) are cheaper than the UK so long as wifey keeps working for the health care.

Wide roads and lots of parking and sunshine and less rain. On this shallow level I am happy to be here.

On any sort of deeper level, I am scared and appalled by much of American Society - especially the legal system (trial by tv and life with no parole) but the nut job political extremists and religious people are also frightening.

Luckily I can ignore it and have a nice life.

In January, as a USC, I could import my son and daughter - no way ! The reality of grants and health care and the vicious penal system etc means I would be scared to death for them.

I think every immigrant has their own circumstances and some, like me, can handle it with relative safety; but others, for whom a social safety net is important, would be crazy to come here.

I do have a pal in Atlanta who came here in 1995 but he clings to his GC and will not do USC. His daughter and grandchildren are here. He has lots of dosh from a good job. He says he is shallow and the US is shallow and as long as you deal with the place on a shallow level, then life is fine.

I hear a lot of folk on here who have come for love but have no money. It must be hard for them here. A world of worry about health care and crime etc. No safety net. Cans of food collected. Para military police. What chance retirement at 55 and pay your own healthcare out of your pension ? none.

When I was in the UK I was uneasy about the extreme tolerance which made us mugs - from this US perspective, I can see that the tolerance and gentleness of the UK is it's number one asset. Village bobby compared to these brooding para militaries? It's nice to know it's there - just in case

Edited July 16, 2010 by saywhat

[Heracles 417]

One answer is wealth. Your better off in the US if you are wealthy. You are worse off if you are not.

Which when it comes down to it, is the same deal in most 2nd and 3rd world countries. Thus my repeated predictions of where the US is headed. To the contrary of that of course, the wealthy don't so well in first world countries, where there is a large and successful middle-class.

[Captain Oates 911]

Which when it comes down to it, is the same deal in most 2nd and 3rd world countries. Thus my repeated predictions of where the US is headed. To the contrary of that of course, the wealthy don't so well in first world countries, where there is a large and successful middle-class.

Too true - it's the difference between being on safari in kenya and living in a shack like Obama's brother

Same country - different world.

What I don't understand is my affinity to the Latinos. They seem like Europeans. Their culture is so easy going and they get my sense of humour. Like they don't need to 'present' themselves at all times and they don't need to refer to the human bottom in every single sentence and they aren't obsessed with politics and religion and nationalism. It just isn't part of their world which is about barbecues and just hanging out and playing with the kids. They seem much happier than the anglos. It's weird.

[Texanadian 10]

Nothing wrong with the wealthy generating wealth. I also never said we should take their money, rather, what I have said since day one is that instead of someone earning $100 million a year, they earn $60 million and the workers be paid a legitimate salary for their work.

Ford did the same thing you mentioned above back during the Model T days. The turn over rate was terrible working there. So they upped the wages. What do you know? Turnover rate dropped. Reliability of build went up (due to not having to constantly train new people). There is a certain intangible aspect of high turnover that it looks good on paper to the accountants but works poorly for the supervisor and co-workers of said workers.

People displying swastikas outside my house is an advantage of living in the US ?

Hate speech

This is a case of majority rules over the minority. It's precisely what the US is against. Even though to the common average person it may be sickening, to somebody else there is an aspect of free speech and personal choice involved. As long as it's not hurting others, there isn't a problem. Take the obvious case of countries that have banned being gay. The majority in these areas support the idea and are thoroughly disgusted that anybody would want to be gay or that they actually are gay (either way, what's the difference?)........But if a person actually is gay, that doesn't create any problems to other individuals.

Now to take hate speech, again this is something that the majority of people will be against the topic of the speech. But what is bad here could be good somewhere else even though it's considered evil. Take women's rights to protest under the Taliban. They would treat this with the same contempt that we look at hate speech as. But in the USA, you can say what you want. Over in Afghanistan you can't.

[Captain Oates 911]

But in the USA, you can say what you want. Over in Afghanistan you can't.

except when its a TOS violation

Why do Americans always compare them selves to Somalia/Afghanistan etc

Why can't they play in the big league with the big boys

It's so insecure to not be compared with 1st world countries. The Americans ALWAYS do this comparison.

Of course your roads are better than Afghanistan - does that give you a glow of pride ? jeez

That's like me comparing myself to the Walmart gals and saying I don't need to be fitter or to lose weight

Until the US has the self confidence to compare itself to 1st world countries, it will look like a 1.5 world country at best.

If someone stands up in the street in the UK and say all the Pakistanis should be killed, that person is arrested. The US is proud that people can do that with impunity. Well ok if the US is prepared to pay the price. How many UK heads of State have been assasinated or even shot at in the UK ? Eric Bloodaxe in 954 and even then he only had a tiny kingdom in yorkshire.

Then look at the Kennedys and Lincoln and the others - and thats without going to John Lennon and Martin Luther King etc. This wild hate speech that drives all this stuff is not something to be proud of and has never been worth it. Where is the payoff ? Hate and violence only begets more and I don't think there is a payoff - not unless we consider providing meat to the cable channels as being a payoff.

You can't say what you want at work and you can't say what you want on VJ either - so why get away with it in the street or at a soldier's funeral etc ?

It's someone taking something literally and to the extreme - just like some bible scholars and parents allowing their children not to have a blood transfusion or speaking in tongues. It's all too literal. All too extreme.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

That all begs the question: Why do you stay? There must be something you see in us Yanks worth saving.

[Texanadian 10]

except when its a TOS violation

Why do Americans always compare them selves to Somalia/Afghanistan etc

Why can't they play in the big league with the big boys

It's so insecure to not be compared with 1st world countries. The Americans ALWAYS do this comparison.

Then look at the Kennedys and Lincoln and the others - and thats without going to John Lennon and Martin Luther King etc. This wild hate speech that drives all this stuff is not something to be proud of and has never been worth it. Where is the payoff ? Hate and violence only begets more and I don't think there is a payoff - not unless we consider providing meat to the cable channels as being a payoff.

You can't say what you want at work and you can't say what you want on VJ either - so why get away with it in the street or at a soldier's funeral etc ?

Why compare to Somalia/Afghanistan? Because that's the nature of comparative arguments. Why do people promote the idea of helmets on bicycles? So that people don't crack their heads open in the event of a bad accident. Nobody argues that people should wear them because even though you're about 99% unlikely to have an accident like that, that you should anyways. Same with cigarette warnings. They always say this may result in serious medical illness. It never says it may result in serious medical illness 50 years down the road. The best case for any argument is to provide the worst case for the alternate argument. Think of warnings about getting an electrical shock. They don't warn about pain. They warn about death.

I don't remember there being hate speech against the Kennedys. King? Probably, but you sure don't hear about it.

Work and VJ? These are private entities. Nobody is forcing you to abide by their rules. If you don't like either, you're free to post somewhere else and work somewhere else. But government laws are unavoidable.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I shudder at your concept of patriotism

You need to park your fascism.