Sorry for the double post, but why is it disingenuous to compare Vermont to Nevada? Granted, we have different economies (as much as any two states), but both economies rely very heavily on tourism and service related jobs.
This is why our rulers are able to rule. They have created this false class warfare secnario in order to divide the people and deflect attention from the true class warfare, the rulers and the ruled. The state relies on misdirection. Wake up people. Stop being sheep. Your rulers don't care about you at all. You are cattle to them, nothing more.
what about the people who build the fancy houses, cut the lumber, install the bathroom fixtures, tiles, make the boats, the engines, the parts that make the engines, the car seats, seatbelts, tires, etc etc etc etc.. you didn't account for those people, just the ones who sell the final product. If rich people didn't buy fancy things then the people who make those things wouldn't have any work.
And no one is saying the rich shouldn't be able to buy those things. It's not a trade off... if the povvos make $2 more an hour, the wealthy are not going to crumble into the bad end of a line graph. The point is that raising the minimum wages isn't going to stop the wealthy from being able to buy fancy cars and houses, and all of the trimmings. People can still accumulate wealth. Minimum wage doesn't only impact the cost of production. Yes, the obvious argument is that if you have to pay your employees more, your overhead goes up. If there were absolutely no other variables, then yes, the cost of that product will logically rise. But there are other variables... Raising the minimum wage puts more disposable income into the hands of the people who buy the goods and services those very businesses are trying to sell to. If the cost of your overhead rises, but the return is a higher sales volume, the cost of your product or service may not have to rise at all. Your sales might even increase - depending on the type of business you own. I just don't understand it... people get so indignant at the thought of someone earning $9 an hour and redistribution of wealth, but the majority of the wealth in this country is only being distributed in one direction.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sxrgFIiZhA]Austin vs Thom - Battles Lines Crossed Over Minimum Wage - YouTube[/ame]
Yes, that's a very good point. However, your statistic here also paints a grim picture on exactly why nothing may change for the better, since over that same 30-year time span that CEOs went from a 30:1 ratio to over 200:1, we've had at least seven increases in minimum wage at the Federal level. Kinda sucks to say this, but historically speaking, it seems that minimum wage increases have helped cause this massive separation of wealth. Let's hope that new policy helps curb that corruption. Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath.
Its gonna fuck alot of people over when the bussiness's they work for cut their jobs due to increased costs
Most people just don't want to hear it. It's about rich vs. poor, the wealth gap, etc... Most people really don't seek truth, but the rather the answers they find most appealing.
I just read an interesting article that showed where the "growth" in the US economy went in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, 93% of the gains went to income earners above $358,000. If you look at 2010 and 2011 data together, 121%, yes, that's right, 121% of the growth went to income earners between $367,000 and $8,000,000. How is that possible, you ask? Because it was *taken* from the income levels of the rest us. You have all tried to this picture of the poor, downtrodden business man, who's costs are rising, and extra benefits or a higher salary for his employees will come out of his pocket, and our costs will skyrocket, and the sky will fall if the minimum wage is raised even a little bit. It is just not a linear equation. Meanwhile, in the real world (based on actual data), the business man is taking away your benefits, lowering your salaries, and laughing all the way to the bank. The One Percent Gobbled Up the Recovery, Too | New Republic
Obama is a socialist and his enemy is greed. If you look at the pay gap between executives and entry level employees in corporate America the difference is staggering, especially when looking at that difference over time and notice the ever widening trend. If the middle class is getting squeezed, and it is, and banks and corporations are hoarding cash, and they are, and the economy is not growing, and it ain't, then it's pretty obvious that the people need more money to buy more stuff to support more people so the GDP numbers stay positive.
Middle class is getting squeezed due to monetary and fiscal policy. Banks are sitting on excess reserves because of monetary policy. The economy isn't growing because of monetary policy. Nominal GDP remaining positive means nothing at all.
Trumpeting monetary and fiscal policies as the sole reasons for a struggling housing and jobs market is false. GDP remaining positive means we are not in a recession and plays a huge role in investor confidence and political commentary.
They aren't the sole reasons, but they are the primary reasons for sure. Real GDP is negative already. It has been for a long time. We are in a depression that never ended. GDP is just a loose indicator, it isn't something to base policy off of.