Average And Median Net Worth Of Americans

Discussion in 'Money & Finances' started by Hal Pollner, May 24, 2018.

  1. Peter Renfro

    Peter Renfro Veteran Member
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    I am not talking about this board in particular,but the conservative mindset as a whole.
    Do you deny that a majority of conservatives are against affirmative action programs,public assistance, be it food stamps,rent assistance,early education initiatives,drug courts,subsidized day care,and a myraid of other programs design to make life just a little bit easier for the lesser among us?

    I will concede that a "training wage" may be appropriate, but should be limited to the first 18months of employment. Of course that would be unworkable as capitalistic greed would cause an automatic 18 month turn over of employees just as the 37 hour work week became the norm when that became the line between full time with benefits,and exploitation to maximize profits.
     
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  2. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    Not sure what the wage should be for the
    everyday jobbers like retail, and food industry- but more than most minimum wages offer.
    Times sure have changed since retiring five years ago. Daughter who moved in with us for awhile, waiting on info from insurance companies she has applied for.
    One starts at$20 an hour the other$13-15.
    But what they put you through to get hired is rather ridge compared to years ago.
    Like applying for the FBI almost.
    She could barely make it two years ago at $15 an hour the stress level was unbelievable., employees literally dropping dead at work..it got to be too much to handle.
     
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  3. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Whenever a union goes on strike to raise wages and wins, the product cost goes up. It never stays the same, it never goes down, it always goes up.

    Consider everyone in the nation suddenly getting a forced pay raise.
    Note: If someone is already making $15.00 an hour as an outstanding employee and a forced minimum is put into place. The person making the 15 beans will have to get a raise also just to keep him or her above the starting wage.
    The end result is higher product costs for everyone concerned. The supplier for a manufacturing company will have to raise it’s costs and the widget company will have to raise it’s costs accordingly.

    Talk about a recipe for a massive depression......sheesh..........
     
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  4. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I can't speak for a majority of conservatives, but I will speak for myself. And actually, YES... I am against "affirmative action programs,public assistance, be it food stamps,rent assistance,early education initiatives,drug courts,subsidized day care,and a myriad of other programs design to make life just a little bit easier for the lesser among us."

    I believe all those programs were a mistake to begin with, and ended up creating many more problems than they solved. Thanks to the welfare programs implemented in the '60s, the number of children raised in single-family households has tripled. Poverty begets more poverty, and handouts are obviously NOT the answer. Teaching people to be dependent and live in a nanny state is not a desirable outcome.

    And once again, I have taken a thread off-topic. Apologies to all. :D
     
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  5. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Conservatives realize that someone has to pay for all of that stuff. Liberals think it grows on trees.
     
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  6. Peter Renfro

    Peter Renfro Veteran Member
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    Ken, That statement is nothing more than bumper sticker politics. Meaningless. Does not even begin to address the myriad of problems in our society. Life as much as some would like it to be is not black or white, right or wrong.
    Everyone knows that this stuff needs to be paid for. The fastest way to pay for this stuff is to have everyone employed to their potential. It is a fact that a poor person will return every single dollar of his income to the economy. The rich person takes his money out of circulation and stashes it. Does no one but himself any good.
    Yes socialist policies cost on the front end,but if employers would reduce their bottom line,and I am not saying to take a loss,their employees would not be the drain on society as they are now.
    The poor the indigent the addled and the lazy have always been among us and always will be. Beating them with a whip will not make them go away.
    What is your answer to the problem, Sink or swim, Work or die? Sorry the wolf vs the sheep model that exists no longer works for a very large portion of the populace
     
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  7. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Simply saying that everyone should have everything they might ever need in life supplied to them for free, without regard for who is going to pay for it, is meaningful? No, that's just playing to the mindless. Why on earth would anyone want to be employed or work hard at earning a trade if they were going to be given everything they want for free? Why strive to succeed when that will only mean that you'll be paying the bills for everyone who doesn't? Why waste time in college when you can earn a living wage at a car wash? Everything has consequences, but liberals aren't willing to think anything through.

    Someone who is working at MacDonald's or at the Dollar General is there because 1) they aren't qualified to do anything else; 2) the job meets their needs in some way, such as being local; 3) they can't find anything else; or 4) they want to be there for some other reason. Raising the minimum wage beyond the point where it is affordable to hire someone, these jobs are going away. The result is even more people on welfare, which is okay for Democrats because they'd rather people be dependent on government than on themselves.

    Even at a MacDonald's job, those who are willing to do the work can work their way up to a living wage. My nephew took a job at MacDonald's to earn some money while he was in college. He ended up dropping out of college, attending Hamburger U, and was a regional manager for MacDonald's when he retired in his 40s.
     
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  8. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    I am beginning to believe that everyone who is a registered democrat needs to take at least one free on line class in economics 101.
    It wouldn’t do any harm if most republicans took one also.
     
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  9. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    I believe in OFFER & ACCEPTANCE---No one is forced to accept any particular wage or salary. If enough people would refuse to work any job because they feel it is too low watch the offer increase dramatically.
     
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  10. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    Because of out sourcing and automated services and online purchasing, a lot of jobs that were available for our generation, are not available now. Many of the larger business retail and food chains do not offer full time employment because they don't want to offer insurance or benefits. This does leave a large number of people in a bad situation. With child care and transportation, if on current minimum wage, they are making maybe $3 an hour for rent and food. 30 hours times $3. Meanwhile, the companies involved are making billions. For me, the shame is on these companies. This is, ofcourse, a different situation when it comes to small business owners. In the end, we are all paying anyway with food stamps, medical, housing and many other services. I think it would be better to allow people the opportunity of getting a job that pays properly and therefore, getting them off of government assistance. In the long run, even supplementing smaller business owners, would end up costing less.

    Just because a person didn't go to college or maybe isn't even all that bright, doesn't mean they don't deserve to be given a chance to stand on their own two feet.

    I'm certainly not a bleeding heart liberal. I think we should cut a big majority of the hand outs and let people work for their own living expenses, but we can't do that as long as they aren't even making enough money to survive. Somewhere in the great middle, there has to be a solution instead of an argument.
     
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  11. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Very true.
    Along with that train of thought, as an employer I always told my new hires that if they were still working for me after 30 days, they got a raise. I figure that 30 days is enough time to see if someone gets along with others and wants to learn what I wish them to learn.
    After 90 days, I gave an additional raise to those who showed a willingness to achieve excellence. After that it was “time in grade” and if they were key individuals, a share in my bonus or profit whichever case presented itself at the time.

    To me, along with my basic premise for NOT starting someone on the.....dish pit (for instance) out at $15 an hour is it leaves little room to recognize excellence other than a managerial pat on the back.
     
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  12. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I understand that McDonald's is working on developing robots to do many of the menial jobs and voice-activated ordering. They are trying to compete and keep the labor costs low. The minimum wage in their case may not be relevant, but many teenager may not find jobs. I think they already have a robotic "burger-flipper".
     
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  13. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    As a past employer, it all boils down to my own definition of “worth” which is the difference between what someone believes something is worth versus what someone is willing to pay for it.
    If a manufacturer says that a product is worth $10 and I’m only willing to pay $8.50 for it then it sits on the shelf and I go on to find a product that I AM willing to pay for based on my own sense of worth and my need for that product.
    The same for what a person believes himself or herself to be worth. Simply put, when someone is asking for a job, that person is attempting to sell a product ergo it’s his sense of worth versus mine.

    Note: If the government can’t even buy a toilet seat or a hammer for what it’s truly worth, how then can [it] justify placing a worth on what a person’s value is in the job market? Look at their own sense of value if you will. Congress keeps proposing a pay raise for themselves every year and all they have done for the last 18 years or so is sit on their posteriors and complain about how little they get paid whilst arguing about stupid stuff.
     
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  14. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    Yesterday McDonalds opened the first ''To Go'' take away machines in London....

    [​IMG]


    https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/mcdonalds-opens-first-hole-wall-18804975
     
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  15. Bob Kirk

    Bob Kirk Veteran Member
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    For those that complain or think an employer isn't paying enough I'd say to them start a similar business & pay what you think the wage should be. If you don't have the ability to do that then don't bitch about the ones that do.

    It's understood employers advertise to fill jobs, people apply for those jobs. No one is forced to work for the hours, wages the employers offer. I'm not overlooking the fact that many are unable to look for jobs requiring a high degree of skill. Accepting what you can get for the level of ability you have doesn't fall into the catagory of an employer owing you a high wage to do unskilled labor.

    Then there is human nature. Start a new hire at $15.00 min. wage & the employees already having worked up to that pay level will expect their pay to increase. Since profit is the reason businesses stay in business, the employer has a choice. Eat the cost by accepting the lower profit margin or raise prices. I think raise prices is a reasonable conclusion.

    All that to say $15.00 an hour min wage IMO will end up having the opposite effect it is intended to achieve.
     
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