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I find it outrageous!!
I wish my son was as aggressive as you about getting a Union Job. He likes doing what he wants when he wants too much to be tied to a regular job. Good thing his wife has a great job with the state of Alaska. I have lined up two great Teamster jobs that he just did not want to pursue. Kids.
Must be Michigan. Here the greeters make me feel like a teenager they are soooo old.
Don't forget your beloved Hillary was on the WalMart board of (UNION BUSTING) directors for 6 years. Until Bill ran for the Presidency and they thought it may come back to bite em in the Bleep!
Long before Sam Walton died he was moving into towns and undercutting the mom & pop stores. When he died he was the richest man in the USA. He did not get there being benevolent.
Toyota, Honda, Kia, BMW, Mercedes and now VW are all building cars here. It could be they are getting away from the repressive Unions in Japan and Europe. Maybe you should look at the government in Michigan as to the higher cost of living than in the South. Much of it is higher taxes on both business and individuals. Both are ultimately paid by the consumer.
The problem is that people are enamored with the Normal Rockwell fantasy of Mom & Pop, but never understand that Mom & Pop charged too much in this modern era...Sam Walton simply did it better, and the empty shops on Main Street are simply part of change, and change for the better...when WalMart comes into town, I would bet, altho I have no figures to prove it, that the townspeople's disposable income goes up simply because they now buy their goods cheaper...that is what happened when the supermarket came into town, and now dry goods (and also food) are cheaper thanks to WalMart...
BTW, don't think that the Mom & Pop only bought American goods...much there was imported goods, but nobody was looking...
Just like black and white TVs are from the ancient era, so are some Mom & Pop stores...do you buy your TV from the local repairman, or go to Circuit City or Best Buy for a selection of many TVs...
Mom & Pop are like UAW...part of the past, they had their day when they were needed, but that passed about 30 years ago for both...
Get over it...
I think you have made a good case several times on the subject. A close look at the USSR for 70 years of its existence should convince Rocky that his idea is bad. I don't think he can relate to that.
I said that govt spending wasn't a bad thing all of the time.
You said nothing of the sort. Here is what you wrote, taken directly from your post:
Under Clinton the deficit was actually in the BLACK and thus the national debt was being paid off.
An organization can't have a deficit and be in the BLACK, whether it is government or a private business.
Doesn't answer why the UAW isn't advocating that all UAW retirees the age of 65 or older switch to Medicare, given that it is cheaper.
If nationalized health insurance is such a good deal, why isn't the UAW taking advantage of the one nationalized program that its members can use, and would help the financial condition of the companies that employ the lion's share of its members?
dallasdude: Medicare doesn't pay for everything either. There is a thing called medigap. The employer pays until you reach 65 and there after pays for the medigap.
No kidding. Maybe that's one reason it costs less to administer (given that you originally claimed that government health insurance programs cost less to administer than private plans, and Medicare would be included with those other government plans), along with a more uniform group of beneficiaries than those covered by private insurance companies.
Now you know why certain forces worked so hard to warm up to China 35-40 years ago....right at the height of western manufacturing strength and working class standard of living. Not a coincidence.
Gagrice made this comment:
"Like it or not Rocky we are being consumed by a global market. We cannot compete with our cost of living. Our standard of living will go down to meet the rest of the world as it comes up. "
We MUST find that middle ground, because if our standard of living goes "DOWN" all hell will break loose.
Now, if it "SLOWS" to the point where other countries catch up, and we aren't hurt so much, that would be a different story.
Gagrice, Rocky, and Bob; this is where I think Unions will be useful in the coming decades. As an example, I saw a graph in the USA Today on friday that showed the top 5 contributors to the Democratic and Republican Governors committees. The top 5 for the Dems, ALL UNIONS. Reps, ALL CORPORATIONS. Lets face it; all that money is for greasing the skids-"lobbying" as it would be. I mean, if corporations can lobby Congress to do their bidding, who is going to stick up for us???
No offense manegi, but comparing the U.S. to India, is like comparing apples and rocks side by side !!! India, is a very poor 3rd world nation and the only western influence was from the British, but the country is over populated and it wasn't until the last 20 years they started reinvesting in our country especially in education.
So when you conduct that experiment in the US, the outcome is likely to be the same - i.e. reduction in choice, higher costs, and ultimately a less competitive economy. The outcome (for the world's most powerful country) can be even worse if other countries continue to trade with each other, and US simply gets cut ouf of the global economy. Also, this experiment is easier to conduct in poorer countries (where the accompanying inefficiencies are not clearly visible due to their already low level of productivity), but in a rich country like the US, the downward adjustment of living standards would be near-cataclysmic in the first few years.
Your incorrect because the world depends on us for their survival. We have enough natural resources and at one time had enough diversity in our economy of service and manufactoring jobs we could tell the world to go to hell unless they trade on our terms and conditions. The biggest obstacle is our corporations like the cheap slave labor thus they buy off our politicans and we get un free trade agreements. :mad:
Of course, you would have the satisfaction of everthing being "Made in USA", and a high level of public sector employment (since Governments tend to play a much larger role in such controlled economies). I experienced that in India, and trust me, it is not fun. But yes, it is a matter of philosophical preference, so I am aware that I cannot convince you.....as you cannot convince me.
Hey, we agree !!! :P
-Rocky
-Rocky
On a side note Rocky, applied for a border security job this afternoon and got a test date for 9/25/08 but after reviewing sample test questions there was so much damn spanish on it I'd have learn that I'd have to take college classes to learn it. My brother took 6 years of Spanish, and even had a hard time reading it. :sick: The U.S. Border Patrol Officer job looks appealing but you are required to work in the Southwest, part of the U.S. in the beginning and for a $30K salary to start and 5 months of schooling the requirements are very high. I honestly feel I wouldn't pass the Spanish or this so-called artificial language portion of the exam. Go check it out. 60 pages of pre-exam sample test questions and tell me if any white boy with no foreign language schooling could pass this ???? :surprise:
"The Rock"
PS
We have a friend that just finished the school in NM. He speaks Spanish which made it easier. I would have a hard time learning Spanish for the job.
That reminds me of one of my outrages. The Fire fighters in Oregon that had to learn Spanish or get demoted as supervisors. There were too many fire fighters that cannot speak English so Oregon was requiring the managers to be able to communicate with them.
Hmm...my first day working for Boeing is this Friday. Since the IAM, which is on strike, is not a part of Boeing in St. Louis I don't think it will immediately affect me. The Boeing division where I'll be at mainly produces things for the military. I suppose a long strike that costs the company $1 million per day could have an adverse effect on any profit sharing checks.
Friday will be interesting. I'll work the day shift at Boeing and my last day as a UAW employee with Chrysler that evening. I'm both happy and sad about the transition.
What would a fair minimum wage be?
How about for a factory worker with no experience?
How about for a factory worker with 5 years experience?
What should Walmart be paying it's greeters?
Just curious...
No offence taken, you are simply stating a fact. My point was that it is BECAUSE of the poverty India could conduct that experiment (since most Indians had very low expectations to begin with) without having a revolution on its hands. So as a kid (and later as a university student), I did not feel that we were going backwards, it is just that we did not realise how fast standards of living were going up in other countries (e.g. the South East Asian countries). I assume the Russians felt the same way.
We have enough natural resources
Really? Have a look at the energy dependency the US has today (http://atlas.aaas.org/index.php?part=2&sec=natres&sub=energy) - And that is just one "natural resource" that you need to sustain the current American lifestyle. Of course US will be self sufficient in feeding and clothing itself, but plan to have more soya bean and corn on your diet.
Of course, US is more blessed than most in terms of natural resources - but it is less about what you have, and more about what you consume. And my point was - Is the average American willing to put up with the dramatic change in his/her lifestyle (to fit in with what the US can produce on its own)?
I find it outrageous!!
Completely agree! Sometimes I wonder whether I'm in the twilight zone with how screwed up this has become!
There's this one old lady at work who was a federal employee, retired at age 62, and came back to work as a contractor in early 2004. Now this is just hearsay, so take it with a grain of salt....but I heard she was making $25 per hour at the time. Now she was just part time, 24 hours per week, and didn't get health insurance or other benefits, so I guess you have to take that into account. Her health ins was covered by her retirement package, though. Now, if she just got a 4% raise every year, she'd be making over 30 bucks and hour today!
And, what did she do, pray tell, for the $25-30 per hour? Come in late, leave early, lots of long lunches, plenty of personal phone calls, lots of gossiping. She'd occasionally file something or update a database, or whine to me when the copier jammed or one of the printers needed a new toner cartridge. Oh, and whine about some windfall thing from the 80's that she says screwed her out of her social security. She did a lot of whining. Oh, and carrying on about how you just can't make it nowadays, yet she was bringing in over $60K per year just on her retirement! Just that alone is probably more than the median household income in this country! Now maybe not in the DC Metro area, but I'm sure it's more than adequate as long as you don't think you're entitled to live in the Taj Majal or something.
Just goes to show though, that sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you work...but just make sure you're friends with the right people.
During the 1990s the oil companies did a lot of early retirement buyouts and then rehired the people on a contract basis. Some got big cash settlements over $100k plus years added to their retirement packages. I did not know the Feds would hire people on contract like that.
In San Diego starting wage is $8.50 at WalMart. I imagine the greeters are part timers.
Well these weren't buyouts, but just people who put their 40 years or whatever in, and were eligible to retire, so they did. Then they'd apply for jobs at my company and get picked up. I guess it's a sweet deal, if you can swing it.
It is kinda sad though, how much bloat there is in the gov't and contractors and such. I mean, the old lady I referenced above, they basically created that job for her, just to help her out. In fact, they actually created a few new jobs...for awhile they had FOUR people doing the same job that one guy used to do...and he did more than the four of them put together!
Thanks, Gagrice. I think I might put the bike up for a few months as far as riding to work goes. I don't want to acquire a weird reputation too early in my new job.
After a few weeks of day shift rush hour traffic I might start scouting some potential routes. The map looks like it would be about 9 miles further each way and busier roads for a better workout.
In San Diego it is still a sea of Tahoe, Denali, Escalades on the highways. Good ole buy American Republicans are the majority here. Lots of Buicks, Olds and Caddies driven by retired military guys. The widows usually end up with a Camry as it is easier to park at the mall. No doubt the econo boxes are making inroads with the higher price of gas.
I think a poll of what Democrats and Republicans drive would be an eye opener for the UAW guys. Remember talk is cheap....
" Under Clinton the deficit was actually in the BLACK and thus the national debt was being paid off. "
Au contraire mon frere, you have bought into the bs that comprises the Clinton years. Repeat after me. There never was any budget surplus. Verily I shall show you that each year added to the budget deficit and increased our national debt. Darn hard to do if you have a true surplus. You didn't really believe the cbo, did you ?
http://treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo4.htm">link title
<a href="
I was in Bloomington, IL a few months ago driving downtown. I turned around in the city hall parking lot and they had about 10 Prius' with municipality plates on them. Nice.
I do because it's a fact
Clinton presided over the longest period of peace-time economic expansion in American history, which included a balanced budget and a reported federal surplus.[8][9] Based on Congressional accounting rules, at the end of his presidency Clinton reported a surplus of $559 billion. On the heels of a failed attempt at health care reform with a Democratic Congress, Republicans won control of the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years.[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton
Read below what the greatest president in this country's history did for us !!! :shades: It's really a shame we can only have one William Jefferson Clinton, the closest I've seen to him was his wife of course but also General Wesley K. Clark. I believe Lou Dobbs, would make a fine president. Did any of you watch the independents convention hosted my Lou Dobbs ??? God, I love that guy !!! :shades:
He would be the perfect working mans president. He is very well grounded !!!
http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Bill_Clinton_Budget_+_Economy.htm
-Rocky
-Rocky
-Rocky
-Rocky
Well how many Lexuses does John & Cindy McCain own ??? Last time I checked they were still made in Japan !!! :surprise:
Obama, drives a Chrysler 300C and hopefully next November, he will be riding in a Cadillac !!!! :P
-Rocky
What would a fair minimum wage be?
I have heard others say $10 an/hr. but that is before gas hit $4 a gal.
How about for a factory worker with no experience?
There is so much various jobs in factory work it just depends. Since we are on a automobile website a entry-level assembly job in the automobile industry should pay around $18 or $19 an hour.
How about for a factory worker with 5 years experience?
That same worker with 5 years experience should at least making $27-30 an hour.
What should Walmart be paying it's greeters?
$10 an hour w/ benefits.......
Just curious...
No problem!!!
-Rocky
The bottom line is cheaper fuel= more UAW jobs=more truck and SUV sales. Hopefully GM's management will finally see the light and get the Volt, out earlier than 2011.
-Rocky
I wonder if the Walley World "associates" will get commissions for selling those Bricklands, Geely's, Chery's, in a few years to the masses ???
Spoke with my best friend Beth, tonight and she said it's a morgue in new cars. I told her how cool the Volt, is and that a Cobalt, replacement the "Cruze?" won't be here soon enough. She sold a pre-owned saturn, today and my ex co-worker Dale, sold a Aveo. I still can't believe anyone with any sense would buy such a pile ??? It's an embarrassment to show people the Corvette, Silverado, Malibu, and go here's are beautiful Aveo !!! :surprise:
Good God, I might not have any so-called "executive experience" but I'm sure this Maverick, could reform General Motors. :P
"The Rock"
P.S. imidazol97, check your email pal !!!!
They don't just stand at the door and talk to other Walmart employees anymore in some cases. Some of the greeters were on task, but at one of three in our area, it seemed to be an opportunity to spend quality time with a bro or sister.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Well, I may be a government contractor, but I work for NASA, so it's not like I'm hanging out on Capital Hill or anything! And there are a lot of trucks, which is an area still dominated by GM, Ford, and Mopar. It's just that when it comes to cars, you don't see a lot of newer domestic nameplates.
There's a lot of scientists, engineers, middle managers, financial people, etc here. Not a lot of stuffed shirt politicians, or people who are out to dress to impress...which often carries over to your car. Anyway, because of the scientists and engineers and their quirky ways, I guess, you see a lot of hybrids. Plenty of Priuses, both first and second gen. Even a good smattering of Insights and Civic Hybrids. Also a healthy turnout of Subarus and Volvos, which used to be considered quirky in the past.
And I guess a lot of financial people and middle managers are just going to go for sensible, reliable, fiscally prudent cars, like the Accord and Camry.
Oh, and the gov't itself is still buying domestic cars. I remember back in 1996 or 1997, we picked up 5 Olds Achievas for a total of $65,000. I saw one of them in front of our building the other day, big dent in the door. I'm sure those things have lived a hard life. This morning there was a Dodge Caravan parked out in front. I think we still have a Corsica floating around somewhere, too. I've also seen an Explorer, a Jeep Liberty, and surprisingly, a Jeep Grand Cherokee used by Security. Lately though, I've been seeing a new-ish Nissan Xterra running around. Base model that looks really cheap in white with gray bumpers, and plain steel wheels. That actually surprised me, seeing a foreign nameplate on a gov't vehicle.
I'm just thankful that I live in an area where there are alternatives to Walmart. There are two K-marts, a Target, Sears, and plenty of large grocery stores around, so at least we have some variety. And most of them are actually closer to me than the Walmart! I imagine for a lot of people though, Walmart is the only game in town, and unless you want to drive 20-30 miles out of your way, you're stuck with them.
I'd love to see the workers in China and India wise up and get sick of being treated like slaves. The whole world's workers should refuse to be treated like slaves! Then where are the greedy corporate fat cats going to go?
lemko: actually, you hit the nail on the head...most new WalMarts around Atlanta are clean and nice in the first year they open...then, you can watch the place change to the point where the obnoxious stench upon walking thru the front door is disgusting...most normal folks simply go elsewhere, the unknown "problem" for WalMart in the future...the reason they hire seniors as greeters is that their sense of smell does not work anymore...
rocky: your wage plus benefits for someone saying "Welcome to WalMart" now shows beyond any reasonable doubt, that you don't have the slightest idea about business, skills or economics...they simply are not worth it, and you obviously would not know how to run a lemonade stand if you had one...if you were employed by one, you would expect health insurance at no out of pocket expense for you, and all this from 50 cent glasses of lemonade...
rock, your credibility and your youth will count against you until you grow up and wise up to how business really works, and reading Alice in Wonderland does not count toward your Business MBA degree...:):):):):)
Here's what you're overlooking. Although that young Chinese factory worker is putting in 6 days per week to earn $150/month, that's 2 or 3 times what he could earn in the old collective farm where he probably grew up. It's hard to see yourself as exploited when you're really a lot better off today than you were 10 years ago.
In much of Asia, farmworkers work & live like dogs. (That's why most of the Chinese who try to sneak into the U.S. are from rural areas - not from the big cities.) For these people, a factory job is a big step up - something that they aspire to. Many of the larger factories even provide subsidized housing & meals. You'd have a tough time trying to convince these people that they're slaves.
By Melica Johnson and KATU.com Web Staff
SALEM, Ore. - Some English-speaking firefighters are losing their jobs because of an Oregon state law that requires them to be bilingual.
The Department of Forestry enacted a law three years ago that requires them to be bilingual, but this year they're actually enforcing it.
2002 was such a devastating wildfire season, contractors were scrambling to find firefighters.
Hispanics often filled their needs on the fire lines.
Follow-Up Story
Lawmakers take notice
Jim Walker of the Department of Forestry said "what we do know is 85 percent of the crew make-up is of Hispanic decent."
But many of the Hispanic fire fighters do not speak English. Walker says the language barrier is a concern.
Those concerns led the state to draft a new rule that all firefighting bosses speak English, and the languages of crew members who don't speak English.
Jaime Pickering, a squad boss overseeing 20 firefighters, says the rule means "job losses for Americans. The white people."
Because of the state's language requirement, Pickering can no longer work as a crew boss and supervise 20 firefighters, he can only manage a squad of four.
Pickering says that "if you have one Spanish guy on the crew, as an English crew boss, you can no longer be a crew boss, you have to step back to a squad boss, which is a demotion."
While the state made the rule change in 2003, it decided to strictly monitor the law this year as Hispanics continue to fill fire lines.
Business MBA degree...a little redundant, no? :P
What are the dealers supposed to do if a buyer wants a very small car with good fuel economy?
"Look, we don't have anything for you now, but if go down to that nice Honda dealer, he will sell you a Fit."
Or, "The Aveo is not a top-notch product, but wait a year and Ford will bring out a version of the European Fiesta, which is a top-notch car."
Perhaps, given your post, you should ask exactly why GM is in trouble, and not blame currency manipulation, the Chinese, Walmart, George W. Bush or bad reviews of GM products in Consumer Reports.
Or did George W. Bush somehow force GM management to import the Aveo and pitch it as a competitor to the Fit?
The day Wal-mart has to pay $10/hr plus benefits will be the day you'll no longer see greeters, or prices will rise to offset the additional expense.
I've worked many years (H.S.-College) working as a clerk in a grocery store along with 3 years management (directly out of college) working for Kroger. My wife has worked in retail since HS gradually moving up to middle management with her Pharmacy Degree, and my dad started as a bottle boy in the '60s and has worked his way up to middle management in purchasing for a grocery chain. My point is I have lots of inside knowledge on how retail works.
When your bottom line is only 1-2% of gross sales you can't pay everyone top wages. Consider that in a chain, not every store is profitable, so the 1-2% of profits from the profitable stores has to pay the way for the unprofitable ones, particularly new stores, it may take 2-3 years to become profitable.
Clerks have always made low starting wages with a pay scale that increases with time on the job/and or promotions. Some chains offer benefits to non-full time help others do not. My wife's employer (large RX chain) offers health insurance to employees avg. 32 hours/wk along with profit sharing etc. Most employees at a retail store like a pharmacy or grocery store make over minimum. If you work retail and you don't have an education your best bet is to work hard and get promoted. The store manager for a Wal-Mart Super center can make $200k/yr with bonus, and over $100k with bonus at a grocery store (those are the high end and it depends on the profitability of the particular store). You may say that's crazy, but do that job, you can't imagine the what it takes keep a Supercenter grossing $90million/yr with over 500 employees or a grocery store that may have 200 employees operating.
The job of a store clerk since inception has never earned a living wage. In retail you need to be at least a department head to make an average wage of $30-40k. This varies by chain as many classify jobs differently particularly if they're union or not. Most grocery chains are union. The idea that pushing carts or carrying out groceries deserves $10/hr is not rational.
-Rocky