Fast-food walkout U.S. workers strike in several cities to call attention to low wages.

I see a lot of people talking back on economics 101.

But if the model was any good...would we be in the dire economic straights we are in now?

Einstein said insanity is trying to fix problems from the same understanding you started with...

I think that sentiment applies here. Current economic reasoning and models don't work. But keep on with it, I'm sure the change we all are seeking will be found in current economic ideals...



Cirque

reply to post by CirqueDeTruth

I see a lot of people talking back on economics 101.

But if the model was any good...would we be in the dire economic straights we are in now?

The economic problems we are seeing are not the result of Econ 101. They are the result of those who decided Econ 101 wasn't making them enough money and went far afield of basic economics.

As it turns out Econ 101 is actually getting things back to a more normal status.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by oblvion

 

You are making blanket statements. I have had many total slackers work for me that didn't deserve a livable wage. So i fired them.

Not all employees produce. And no one would produce at all without the guidance of someone who knows how to run a business. You know, that guy you think produces nothing: the owner.

I have worked for and run many business ventures, mostly construction type jobs, but not all, some corporate, some franchise.

This is why I take the position I do.

In corporate, I was a parasite, the less I pay in "labor" the higher my bonus, as was saving the company money by only paying a worker $9 an hour when hes was worth at least $11 or even $12, but my personal bonus was higher, so it was mine or his, I chose mine early on.......my soul now hurts because of this.

In franchise business, I had a manger that would pick napkins up off the floor and put them in the napkin holder....I gave her a raise......my soul hurts from that as well. Though to be honest, she surpassed me, and has last I heard even taken them out, and straws, and wraps even out of the trash and used them to save cost, thus increasing her bonus from "waste"

I taught here well....

Only later on did I discover I had a "soul". and it aches now...it is a debt I cannot repay...if there is a hell, I, me, my soul personally deserves to go there, I did what was "right" for the business and my bouns.

I was as wrong as it gets, I screwed people over, I denied raises that were earned, I hurt people on a personal level, I "served" the "machine" all in the name of personal gain.


In the end, I walked away. I have for the past 7 years served my fellow man, not fed off of them, as most companies do, simply sucking the life out of folks for personal gain.

I hold the beliefs I do for a reason, I lived the "dream" I made over $80k a year easy in my early 20's, in the end though, I believe it cost me my soul, and it is a debt that I cannot ever pay back.

I am not even religious, I dont even believe in GOD, so me saying that it cost me my soul is a very big deal, I dont even believe in a "soul".

However, if there is a GOD and/or a HELL, there is a special place reserved for me I assure you, I was the typical "greedy, self righteous type".

I deserved it ALL, because I was born talented, and gifted with intellect. There was nothing I wasnt good at, I could and would do any job with minimal training if the price was right.

I was wrong, I stole from the employees, they never even knew it, I stole from the employers ( though I was very well compensated) and they never even to this day, after more than at least 1 IRS still dont know it.

The problem is ......I, as in me, my person, myself, I..know it.

I was a liar, a cheat, a scandal in motion, and I was so good, I was never found out, this makes me regret it more.

How did they not see?

How did they not notice?

How even after the IRS audited the books did no one find out?

Mine is now for the last 7 years been one of absolute truth, I have done absolutely NO WRONG.

I have been celibate for 5 years, I am apparently attractive enough, I have had many attractive women approach me, but I live in a self imposed exile, as penance for my unprosecuted crimes.

I chose the name "oblvion" for a reason.

My soul is lost in the oblivion of human greed, I am unworthy, I dont deserve happiness, i am only in my mid 30's, if I make to 100 I will not yet suffered the same share of misery I intentionally caused others for personal greed.

In the end, the money is not worth it at all, I would if I could, go back, and with a clean soul, lived the life of a slave, than lived the couple of years I did in the thrall of corporate greed driven existence.


I merely hope to save a scant few from this life, though it is not an equivalent exchange, I pray it is enough to reclaim my humanity from the void.

HOLY EFING HOTWINGS BATMAN!!!!!!!!


In between my last post and it posting on the forum the site has undergone a complete format change, not saying I dont like it but DAMN IT MAN!!!!!!!

WARN A MOFO PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

reply to post by oblvion


I know right! Lol

I don't like the way my avatar shows up on the tablet. Don't know if its the same on my computer. I love that avatar, my daughter drew it for me as an ATS avatar.

Cirque

nightstalker78
reply to post by Aazadan

 

If what you say is true then you are/were simply not worth hiring. You probably have a horrible background (read: drug or alcohol addiction. Or you have some kind of record. If,as you claim,you have all those degrees you'd be working.And making good money.

ETA : I currently work in retail,and someone like you would be useful in corporate. if you passed the background check you'd get hired instantly.

edit on 30-8-2013 by nightstalker78 because: (no reason given)

I've never been arrested, no drug issues (never used any), and I can count the times I've drank alcohol on one hand. The jobs simply don't exist.

queenofswords
So many people see the big profits of the large companies like McDonald's and because these people don't understand business, they automatically think, "why doesn't McDonald's just spread their wealth to the lowly hamburger flipper".

They don't realize that each McDonald's is a franchise, owned by a small business person, who is responsible for, not only payroll, but a host of other expenses. On top of all that, they have to pay a fee to the mother company based on their profits.

Basic explanation of franchises

Some of us are fully aware of that and our opinion is that the corporation should be moderated so that they aren't slaving out their franchisees and their entire staff list.

The solution is not to just leave it as it is. That would be telling corporations that they are allowed to be slavedrivers of American citizens. Worse than slave owners in some ways though, really. At least slave owners made sure that their slaves ate and had somewhere to sleep.

Phage
reply to post by CirqueDeTruth

 

I see a lot of people talking back on economics 101.

But if the model was any good...would we be in the dire economic straights we are in now?

The economic problems we are seeing are not the result of Econ 101. They are the result of those who decided Econ 101 wasn't making them enough money and went far afield of basic economics.

As it turns out Econ 101 is actually getting things back to a more normal status.

edit on 8/30/2013 by Phage because: (no reason given)

I can try and simplify. The Goose was cut open, now there are no eggs.

the service economy in America was a tough sell to those wise.

Basically it means ---------a society of SERVANTS!!

exterminator, HVAC, plumber, food worker, retail worker, etc... SERVANTS!!

most employed americans are SERVANTS!..

we have been SCAMMED..

supposedly the ww2 'brought us out of depression'.. so War ends depressions? how?

why hasn't it worked this time?

reply to post by HanzHenry


What are you babbling about? Servants? Everyone has to earn a living. You expect to play video games and have everything provided to you? Then you belong in your mother's basement. The only alternative I see is to become a farmer and make/barter for all your other needs. How is that any different than providing a service to others?

jjkenobi
reply to post by HanzHenry

 

What are you babbling about? Servants? Everyone has to earn a living. You expect to play video games and have everything provided to you? Then you belong in your mother's basement. The only alternative I see is to become a farmer and make/barter for all your other needs. How is that any different than providing a service to others?

Good one, Mother's basement? come up with that al by yourself? I have 2,500sqft house in socal.. I am medically retired service-connected veteran... WHAT HAVE YOU EVER DONE?

play video games? maybe my kids they have wii..
I play online chess does that count? ANd I have sent my mother money $350/mo since 1993.. How about THAT!

Nope, there are other alternatives..
Instead of one rich guy with everyone slaving underneath, people form partnerships.. That guy at the top would pay more to avoid washing dishes himself.

You KNOW NOTHING of the labor movement in America..! much like the rest of the pompous windbags.. oral defecation from ivory toilets

reply to post by camaro68ss


I totally agree with your statement

If you have to work in fast food for a living what you need to do is vote Obama and the Dems out, not force your employer to raise prices and pay minimum wage workers more. Because if you raise the cost of the product, raise the pay of the worker...the product and your employer may go out of business. If you elect people who know how to build businesses, allow the business to thrive...then they can pay more without charging more and everything will get better. Hell...you may even end up working somewhere else...if you prefer.

So...want someone to blame? Blame your voting choice.

WeAreAWAKE
If you have to work in fast food for a living what you need to do is vote Obama and the Dems out, not force your employer to raise prices and pay minimum wage workers more. Because if you raise the cost of the product, raise the pay of the worker...the product and your employer may go out of business. If you elect people who know how to build businesses, allow the business to thrive...then they can pay more without charging more and everything will get better. Hell...you may even end up working somewhere else...if you prefer.

So...want someone to blame? Blame your voting choice.

short-sighted easily manipulated sheeple ---> still blame Obama!! ffs..


Yeah, Obama has been behind the 1913 Fed, Glass Steagall, 1971 gold standard change, the 2008 crash, Agenda 21, job off-shoring over the last decades, heck It was probably Obama's fault the Hindenburg blew up! etc..

couldn't be a shadow group pulling strings? NOPE ----> it is Obama's fault.

reply to post by vtcajun

Minimum wage was not created to help people. It's there because those in charge need to know just what they can charge and get away with, and have convinced the masses and there representatives who are all complete idiots that its good for them. McDonald and WallMart can afford to pay people much more. Yet it is cheaper to them to pay politicians and special interests millions and millions of dollars each and every year to keep such things in effect, its the whole premise of why big business exists, or the whole time scale to profit sharing system they have in place, its basically a covert attack and a scam on great majority of peoples, ie the working class.

Like I said the whole thing is a scam, its all there to pass the buck on = record profits. It is definitely what your or other of the populous would call war of the classes, the definitions and everything has changed the logos and labels, but everything remains the same. The magic is in the fact that over generations and time they have conditioned the "working class"

reply to post by Phage


there is another solution.

say a corporation generates 10 mill in clear profits per month. this is after all the staff/managers/owner and utilities etc have been paid. at the end of the year keeping that average, the company generates a total $120mill in total clear profits. the company could easily.. allocate an extra million or two to salaries for the following year. and if they make another 120 mill in that year or more, they can then allocate another 2 million out of that in salaries and so on.

a small percentage. one that in no way affects the operation of the business and it's bankroll for maintaining equipment etc. it could be more than i used in my example as well.. 5mill or 10 or 20 mill. theres still 100mill piling up every year. once those employees catch on, theyll be pressuring management to find ways to bring in more customers to increase profits.. LOL all the tables will be flipped.

what happens in the real world is year after year 120mill in profits will be generated. in addition to flipping burgers the worker now has to also sweep the floor, wipe the counter 12 times a day instead of 6, loses his insurance plan and the price of everything around him raises. but his salary stays the same.

we are talking large and very large corporations here.

in effect what we've got is that when people go pay for a burger, theyre paying for the name mcdonalds on the burger. and part of that payment comes from the sweat off the backs of the burger flippers who didnt get a raise.

but i dont know bout you.. my homemade grilled burgers are better than any mcdonalds. and when i pay for food, i dont care about the name. it needs to taste good and be healthy! the rest is just semantics.

What's amusing to me is most people have no clue about who owns what really. This first video explains a solution, and the second really spells it out. I hope this adds to some understanding or what we could be doing:

So I take it a bunch of low level workers finally found out what their free insurance was going to cost

reply to post by NorEaster

Ya obviously none of them really have a good grasp of the situation and were it could lead. A few minutes talking with some of them would make you think your talking with a bag of bricks, and I have done exactly that. Its almost as fun as arguing with Christians and Muslims about there religions and god. In fact I did that yesterday, its amazing the holes in there logic not only on there very religion they follow but the facts that they spout, but in a way arguing rhetoric is a sport in and of itself. And so it seems to be about everything. Holding two or more contradicting believes in your head and believing them is for all intensive purposes a great skill to have in social group structures among humans, in fact it is a necessity, without it this whole house of cads may fall faster then intended. Ignorance is a glue as well as bliss. But we shall see were this whole thing leads.

Originally posted by mikell
So I take it a bunch of low level workers finally found out what their free insurance was going to cost

Oh snap.

(as the kids say)

reply to post by filledcup

the company could easily.. allocate an extra million or two to salaries for the following year. and if they make another 120 mill in that year or more, they can then allocate another 2 million out of that in salaries.

Neat. With about 1.8 million employees that means each one gets about a buck.

in addition to flipping burger the worker now has to also sweep the floor, wipe the counter 12 times a day instead of 6

Aw shucks. You mean they have to do their job.
www.mcstate.com...

loses his insurance plan

Huh?

and the price of everything around him raises. but his salary stays the same

Really? You seem to know a lot about the employee review and promotion policies.

and part of that payment comes from the sweat off the backs of the burger flippers who didnt get a raise.

How do you know they don't get raises?

I avoid McDonald's burgers every chance I get but not because I think they crew members aren't being paid enough.