50 Percent Of American Workers Make Less Than 28,031 Dollars A Year

originally posted by: AlaskanDad
Something is not right here:

The Social Security Administration has just released wage statistics for 2013, and the numbers are startling. Last year, 50 percent of all American workers made less than $28,031, and 39 percent of all American workers made less than $20,000. If you worked a full-time job at $10 an hour all year long with two weeks off, you would make $20,000. So the fact that 39 percent of all workers made less than that amount is rather telling.

This is more evidence of the declining quality of the jobs in this country. In many homes in America today, both parents are working multiple jobs in a desperate attempt to make ends meet. Our paychecks are stagnant while the cost of living just continues to soar. And the jobs that are being added to the economy pay a lot less than the jobs lost in the last recession. In fact, it has been estimated that the jobs that have been created since the last recession pay an average of 23 percent less than the jobs that were lost. We are witnessing the slow-motion destruction of the middle class, and very few of our leaders seem to care.

well---I did not vote for that skum-bag golfer who brags that 'he' created more Jobs than were lost to the Banker-Takeover of the USA in the 2008 takedown which continues to this day as a realistic 'Depression' instead of a highly fraudulent claim of a 'recovery'

a reply to: Phage

Lets go into buisness together PHAGE and we can clean up on em and make MO-MONEY.

a reply to: St Udio



ahhh, that's just good buisness.

a reply to: St Udio


Why would i care if you were demacratic , republican or independent ? Any one of the choices i still win. I always win.

originally posted by: khnum
a reply to: ~Lucidity

My dopey country is finalising free trade agreements with China and Japan,God only knows how many job loses that will create,the thing is none of us vote for this crap and they certainly dont tell us at election time that they are going to do such things

we have 75% of jobs here in the service industry so on the upside they cannot outsource too much to japan and china...in saying that whatever skilled work that does get sent will hurt

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: khnum

a reply to: ~Lucidity



My dopey country is finalising free trade agreements with China and Japan,God only knows how many job loses that will create,the thing is none of us vote for this crap and they certainly dont tell us at election time that they are going to do such things

we have 75% of jobs here in the service industry so on the upside they cannot outsource too much to japan and china...in saying that whatever skilled work that does get sent will hurt

As long as there is a PROFIT to be made, then we'll do it, whatever it takes. Take advantage of a bad situation and turn it into a PROFIT.
AND more Profit and do it again somewhere else.

a reply to: cloaked4u

As long as the person at the top makes more then the rest of the company combined x10, then I'll run the company for you.

a reply to: St Udio

I pride myself on managing to 'flourish & thrive' while taking-in only minimum wage income from SSDI (under $14,700. Yr)
and then relying on the mere pittance COLA increases (whenever A-Whole ᴓbama decides to grant COLAs) to live on...

my person-to-emulate is Ralph Nader who publically made his tax records available to show that he 'lived' in under $15 K per year ...and he is still probably still doing so----
He (Ralph) was front-running the 'Carbon Footprint' stigma, at least 2 decades before wasteful living became a no-no in the eyes of the public

I can only say that I am not a pauper...I have PM stocks, a IRA, I pony up 3K a year in property taxes, I have electric car, I enjoy time with a performance artist weekly, and my executive level (45 yo) son still asks me if his future stock options (replacing Bonuses) is a good deal

a reply to: St Udio

You don't deserve the 15k you do get! You should stop complaining. Maybe you should donate your time to a company as an intern and earn your keep.

originally posted by: cloaked4u

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: khnum

a reply to: ~Lucidity



My dopey country is finalising free trade agreements with China and Japan,God only knows how many job loses that will create,the thing is none of us vote for this crap and they certainly dont tell us at election time that they are going to do such things

we have 75% of jobs here in the service industry so on the upside they cannot outsource too much to japan and china...in saying that whatever skilled work that does get sent will hurt

As long as there is a PROFIT to be made, then we'll do it, whatever it takes. Take advantage of a bad situation and turn it into a PROFIT.
AND more Profit and do it again somewhere else.

yep and greed seems to todays modern epidemic ....and there does not seem to be a cure

Besides the shipping of jobs overseas and our manufacturing base disappearing, I think we need to address the elephant in the room which is our banking system, and more specifically our central bank. Anyone that takes the time to research it will come to the realization that all other causes, when it comes to our issues with our economy, are secondary. 4 major reasons that we are in this situation:

1) Globalization
2) Limits of resources
3) Limits of energy
4) Our central banking practices

Until those things get addressed there will be no recovery and we will become debt slaves. All money created and in circulation has a negative value, meaning that for every dollar printed it has debt attached to it. Our money system is one big ponzi scheme. I think it's time more people learned about it.

originally posted by: cloaked4u
a reply to: St Udio


Why would i care if you were demacratic , republican or independent ? Any one of the choices i still win. I always win.

no no.... it's not about the Party....
IT is all about 'I-Told-You-So'

you don't win
I win because I have not been degraded to obscurity by the pretender-in-the-WH

I don't do FS(Snap Cards)/ or 99 wks of layoff money/or Medicaid...

please do keep up your illusion there buddy

a reply to: St Udio

Yeah, take away their bonuses, put it in your pocket. Thats just good buisness. Don't take it personal, that's what cha tell em.

originally posted by: St Udio

originally posted by: cloaked4u

a reply to: St Udio





Why would i care if you were demacratic , republican or independent ? Any one of the choices i still win. I always win.

no no.... it's not about the Party....

IT is all about 'I-Told-You-So'



you don't win

I win because I have not been degraded to obscurity by the pretender-in-the-WH



I don't do FS(Snap Cards)/ or 99 wks of layoff money/or Medicaid...



please do keep up your illusion there buddy

The ILLUSION, is the GAME. I tell that to all the little bee's.

a reply to: onequestion

... but he's not wrong.

You have some great "ideals", but lack the knowledge to understand why they are ideals and can't be realities.

The realities and challenges of running a business are multi and varied. It's easy to say "wages should be more equal", but it doesn't take into account so many factors.

T̶o̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶ j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶e̶w̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶ w̶i̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶ a̶n̶d̶ ̶m̶a̶i̶n̶t̶a̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶ v̶i̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶ d̶i̶s̶t̶r̶i̶b̶u̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶ n̶e̶t̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶.̶ ̶ M̶a̶n̶a̶g̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶ s̶t̶a̶f̶f̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶ a̶s̶s̶u̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶ a̶c̶c̶e̶p̶t̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶q̶u̶a̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶p̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶a̶k̶e̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶e̶s̶ ̶ (̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶ c̶a̶r̶e̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶ y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶ b̶u̶s̶i̶n̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶ r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶)̶.̶ ̶I̶n̶ ̶ o̶r̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶ a̶s̶s̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶f̶f̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶e̶,̶ ̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶ m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶w̶a̶g̶e̶,̶ ̶ m̶e̶a̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶i̶n̶y̶ ̶ e̶x̶a̶m̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶ t̶h̶e̶ ̶ m̶a̶n̶a̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶a̶l̶e̶s̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶ v̶a̶l̶u̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶ p̶r̶o̶d̶u̶c̶e̶r̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶w̶hi̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶ w̶h̶y̶ ̶w̶e̶ ̶ a̶r̶e̶ ̶m̶o̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶l̶w̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶ t̶o̶w̶a̶r̶d̶s̶ ̶ a̶u̶t̶o̶m̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶.̶ ̶P̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶k̶e̶p̶t̶ ̶ h̶a̶p̶p̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶ m̶o̶t̶i̶v̶a̶t̶e̶d̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ c̶o̶s̶t̶s̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶ m̶o̶n̶e̶y̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶n̶o̶-̶ o̶n̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶ s̶a̶t̶i̶s̶f̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶u̶n̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶ w̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶ a̶n̶d̶ ̶e̶a̶r̶n̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶...

Where posible, I am going to minimise my businesses risk by reducing the responsibility at the lower levels, assuring a better product... and as a result pay the lowest worker, who has almost no risk and responsibility (other than reading a manual) the lowest wage... if they don't like it, I will hire someone else.

I started a business with similar ideals, and quickly realised the realities... I am less friends with my staff than when I started, but we also have a succesful business... I have taken all the risk, my staff have well paying jobs, suited to their contribution and the revenue coming into the business... I make a good wage, yet am still in debt because of the business... why shouldn't I reap the rewards as my business grows? Why do new staff that I hire deserve equal wages when they have assumed none of the risk and came on board after years of toil to gain benefit from my hard work?

Your attitude confirms to me that you would and will do the exact same thing as one of these boss's once you are in a position to... it's all peaches, love and mungbeans when you don't have the responsibility and can complain about the higher-ups... but once you become one of the higher-ups, the realities start to set home, and idealist valuse get replaced by risk and reward.

All of this is the exact same thing in all businesses, but in giant corporations, they have the stability to take the concepts even further.

Is that right?... well yes it is, unless you want everyone to be special... so no-ones special.

In general, despite your complaining, general quality of life for the populace across the world is always increasing... the fact that you can spend so much time in a comfortable enough position to post on ATS highlights this fact more clearly than all of your complaining to the contrary.

Maybe one day, generations from now we will reach a point such as Star Treks ideal universe (as long as we don't collapse), but a collapse would leave the majority of the world in a much worse position than they currently are. After a collpse that $20k/annum (and the associated concepts around even having a wage) would seem like a luxury to 99% of the population.

Suck it up, and spend less time on ATS...

This thread is a whinge fest about capitalism.

PS. Kind of feel like I should add a "Gen Y" whinge fest... but then I remember almost the exact same feelings when Gen X was in its 20's... lol... guess nothing really changes... just gets replaced by youth. ;-)

a reply to: puzzlesphere

So it's no problem that we have massive wealth inequality and continuing massive inflation and loss of purchasing power of the dollar while corporate profits grow to increasingly staggering amounts while they ship jobs overseas and wages not only stagnate but decline due to an over abundance of labor?

Nothing to see here right?

a reply to: onequestion

We always have had massive wealth inequality (for thousands of years)... and probably always will.

The world is more connected than ever, so all countries are "shipping jobs overseas" looking for the best value... it's the nature of capitalism... but markets change. Cheap labour in China and India will lead to those countries moving up the socio-ecconomic rank, and when they are high enough and labour is not so cheap, jobs will shift again. Maybe even back to the US once its socio-ecconomic position drops ebough.

The big shift is going to be the erosion of all borders, and the melting pot of inter-mixing cultures.

a reply to: onequestion

Maybe what needs to change is the concept of "legacy"... Why should the offspring of a self made billionaire get to inherit those billions?... when they are likely a selfish brat who never had to work for anything, and hasn't developed the concept of a good work-ethic...

... but then isn't it the billionaires right to provide for their lineage?... it was likely a factor in why they became motivated enough to make the billions in the first place... to provide for their family...

If I make billions, can I not leave it to my considerably less motivated family? Should I?

... hmmm... a conundrum.

a reply to: puzzlesphere

I'm not opposed to you making billions. What my problem is, is you making billions off of slave labour while not providing a substantial part of your employees with a reasonable quality of life.

You making billions while everyone who works for you gets by on crumbs is a problem.

I think this is an issue we can find balance with. I am personally impacted by the economy as I'm a personal trainer which I know, is a very saturated market, and have worked in construction which I'm honestly sick of. So I have a tendency to be more aggressive to the ultra wealthy. I'm fully aware of this.