Randomness

[kunk75]

Maybe I am spoiled in that our neighborhood still has lots of mom and pops but the unions in this country have as much to do with our collective loss of grip on industry as big corporations do. Unions have been terrible for printing, auto innovation and the ny school system just to name a few. They are a huge benefit to those who lack the ambition to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and to those who want guaranteed employment for life but not to the consumer or citizen who isn't a part of their union.

On the second point maybe suburban yippies and park slopers can pay more for books and such, but the vast majority of this country care more about paying less than supporting local business, right or wrong.

[Faust]

The vast majority of the country are consumerist fucktards who care about more about the frequency of shopping than the quality of goods and shopping experience. And have you heard of the little continent called Europe, where big box stores are few and far between? Last I checked, they are doing quite well without them.

And please don't give me that US-centric capitalist bullshit about the unions. If it wasn't for the unions, the workers in this country would NEVER have the benefits they have now. As a matter of fact, it's pretty easy to trace the waning power of the unions and the corresponding increase in income inequality.

It's not the unions that are responsible for Detroit's shitty cars, but the lack of business vision and the arrogant belief that we will forever buy American. Last I checked, Ford's European division has done way better than it's American - and European labor unions make American labor unions seem like child-play.

[kunk75]

saying europe is doing quite well seems a bit of an overstatement frankly. capitalism has been quite good to me, so of course I will defend it. nothing wrong with backing unions if that is your position, just like being a proponent of us-style capitalism is mine, i also think the more "enlightened" areas are far more guilty of blind consumerism than people simply trying to care for their families to the best of their abilities. and many unions where workers have little incentive to exceed expectations nor few repurcussions for not meeting whatever the standard is are just as complicit and responsible for lack of innovation as their corporate overlords.

[sam_tem]

1.) just the way i see it, business is cruel and i don't like it, but i value the money that came from my hard work and will fight to preserve every last bit of it. the reality is simply that the most competitive will win whether we like it or not. if walmart doesn't do it, then whose to say a chinese company won't move into our market and do what walmart isn't willing to do? it's not even the same thing in different states, i'm sure employees in california get paid a lot more and have easier access to gov't assisted benefits than someone working in texas does. the problems here could be alleviated if states would raise minimum wages and move to a single payer health care system, but all this cost a lot of money and we know how that goes. if it's about the rich owners, then a lot of that could be adjusted with a refined tax code. i'm on the side of redistribution of wealth than i am for restricting it. long-term capital gains rate is a joke. we could also remove mortgage interest/prop. tax deduction, employer subsidized health care, higher estate tax, and the list goes on. all these clearly favor the rich and could be adjusted to shovel more money into basic gov't services. you have to keep the carrot in place so some people will still want to work themselves to death for the better of our economy.

this whole thing is really just supply and demand though, not big shop vs. little shop as it was in the 70's or whenever. the reality is there's a hell of a lot of people more than willing to come here and work for dirt cheap in order to better the future of their kids/family. this may lower the wages of low skill work, but to deny them access to our labor market is just cruel and selfish. as the unskilled laber market grows and grows no company can afford to pay more than the market average without going bankrupt as they can't help anyone then as per my example. i just don't find it wise for our gov't to ensure that all workers get a middle class lifestyle regardless of what sacrifices they do or don't make in life.

2.) here's my deal with this, i'm from a small suburb of houston that was 80% hispanic (i'm in central houston now) and the character there wasn't worth preserving. we may have liked the small shops and all, but at the end of the day standards of living take priority. with walmart being aggressive with their suppliers, unions, etc. we could all at least afford a little better lifestyle than we could shopping at joe's corner store. walmart has a done a hell of a lot to make america a competitive retail environment and we're all a direct beneficiary of that. joe may have been a great guy that cared about his employees, but my checkbook is better without him and he probably wouldn't be cashing checks for free for the poor. it all differs based on your socioeconomic level. you may not mind paying extra for a neighborhood with character (as i do with the montrose), but others dont' want to and many can't afford to. that's the beauty of all this, you can choose what you want as long as you're willing to make the sacrifices to get a decent education and rise up out of the low skill market.

as for costco, it's an entirely different business model that requires different standards of work out of their employees. you get what you pay for and every company is well aware of this, it's just that walmart is in a line of work where they can expect little out of their employees and get by just fine.

[kunk75]

Ill never understand why we have an entire arm of govt hellbent on punishing those who had the initiative and put in the hours to succeed. I worked hard for my money and home and we see how well it went when everyone was offered the american dream of a zero down no doc mortgage.

[Faust]

Ill never understand why we have an entire arm of govt hellbent on punishing those who had the initiative and put in the hours to succeed. I worked hard for my money and home and we see how well it went when everyone was offered the american dream of a zero down no doc mortgage.

Congrats to you. But you seem to promote that all-American myth that those who work hardest and are the smartest get most, which is a blatant lie.

[genevieveryoko]

...Any advice would be nice please!

watch this:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashion_s_free_culture.html

anyway I don't think the two sweaters look exactly alike, they definitely have a different cut.

[zamb]

Ill never understand why we have an entire arm of govt hellbent on punishing those who had the initiative and put in the hours to succeed. I worked hard for my money and home and we see how well it went when everyone was offered the american dream of a zero down no doc mortgage.

no time to reply in detail, but wasn't it the smart hard working well qualified ones who offered them a Zero down mortgage and made off handsomely in the process..............

wasn't they the ones who ignored the warnings that this behavior who lead to epic disaster, and aren't they the ones now with wads of cash in their bank accounts and Safe havens who are essentially unaffected by the fallout?

[kunk75]

It once was true but is increasingly less so. I grew up poor as shit but now making somethiing of yourself is not so easy

QUOTE=Faust;279671]Congrats to you. But you seem to promote that all-American myth that those who work hardest and are the smartest get most, which is a blatant lie.[/QUOTE]

[kunk75]

Yes, but bankers and lawyers are a whole other breed in my estimation.

no time to reply in detail, but wasn't it the smart hard working well qualified ones who offered them a Zero down mortgage and made off handsomely in the process..............

wasn't they the ones who ignored the warnings that this behavior who lead to epic disaster, and aren't they the ones now with wads of cash in their bank accounts and Safe havens who are essentially unaffected by the fallout?

[sam_tem]

Congrats to you. But you seem to promote that all-American myth that those who work hardest and are the smartest get most, which is a blatant lie.

yeah, that's the hard part to accept. i have no doubt that some construction worker works a hell of a lot harder than i do in my cushy office (offshore work excluded). does an engineer deserve to have an hourly wage 5 times as much as him, a lawyer 7 times as much, an exec. 20 times as much because they all went to school for 5 years? years spent groveling up the corporate food chain may support it, but probably not. if the profits are to be had then the companies will pay it though. unfortunately you can't manipulate the profitability of different industries without running them off to another country.

america is all about working smart not hard, for better and worse.

[zamb]

yeah, that's the hard part to accept. i have no doubt that some construction worker works a hell of a lot harder than i do in my cushy office (offshore work excluded). does an engineer deserve to have an hourly wage 5 times as much as him, a lawyer 7 times as much, an exec. 20 times as much because they all went to school for 5 years? years spent groveling up the corporate food chain may support it, but probably not. if the profits are to be had then the companies will pay it though. unfortunately you can't manipulate the profitability of different industries without running them off to another country.

america is all about working smart not hard, for better and worse.

Yes, and thats why if as a nation we are not careful it will lead to our demise...........there is no substitute for hard productive work, and ultimately those who do it consistently and methodically well will always prosper without the flights of fancy.

its for this reason why if I were to ever get wealthy it will only come by providing a great product or service to society that people can appreciate and will be willing to pay for rather than investing in some corrupt corporation that rips off the consumer in order to pay dividends on stocks.............

the universal laws that govern profitability and progress cannot be altered and those who believe they are smart enough to outsmart these laws are the stupidest ones around...............

[zamb]

On another note, this great city called NY, seems to be getting progressively worse and rather quickly,

Tomorrow there is an increase in all the tolls along with an increase in the cost of public transportation.

this delusional Jackass we have disguised as a mayor has laid off firefighters, closed fire stations, is cutting public service left and right but has hired a ton of ticket officers to write bogus tickets for driving new yorkers................

and to think this idiot has his sights set on running for president...........

[BSR]

capitalism has been quite good to me, so of course I will defend it.

[Lane]

very well-said posts sam_tem