pan6467

Actually I have argued in past threads that the government should do 3 things to "Band-Aid" poverty for a maximum of 10 years a minimum of 5 and see if it truly helps. If not we can always return to the current system, and the rich have lost 5 years of paying shit wages and making millions.

Those 3 things are:

- Increase wages to a liveable wage (for here we'll use your $13.75, even though that is still only $28,600 a year and for a family of 4 that is sad) and either nationalize healthcare (using a sliding scale fee or make it mandatory that employers pay for F/T employees and their families. These wages and benefits are the very minimum to be paid to ALL EMPLOYEES OF EVERY COMPANY DOING BUSINESS IN THE USA. Therefore there is no "outsourcing jobs" to China, Taiwan, Indonesia, wherever, for cheaper wages. P/T under 40 hours make the same, unless under the age of 18 and still claimed as dependants, then they make 1/2 the wage but the minor working laws remain in place ... again regardless of country).

- A price freeze ON ALL GOODS for a minimum of 1 year, a maximum of 2 years. This allows people to catch up to their debt. As for small business and businesses that show TRUE economic hardship, the government offers grants and tax write offs to help them counterbalance the wages. After the time period you reevaluate the companies and allow price increases but they have to be justified.

- Finally, you put a maximum wage on CEO's. They can only make the maximum payroll of all employees combined. So if you have 100 employees and they make a combined $2,860,000 ($13.75*40*52*100) a year you recieve a $2,860,000 max for your salary.

Yeah, it may sound "non capitalistic" and not what neo-cons want, but with this version of "capitalism" we are seeing the top getting richer and richer and everyone else going farther and deeper into debt.

If we do not do something drastic to help relieve the debt and allow people to make more and not have to go into debt, then we'll drown in mediocrity and countries like China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and even Mexico , those countries we ship our cheap labor to will own us because of the trade deficits, and consumer debt we have accrued because people refused to see that our system is fucked up and promotes a rich and poor and no middle class.

Of course, I'm a radical, a dreamer, and this always gets laughs and very nasty assed comments so I shut up and watch us fall deeper. But Stevo, you asked so........ there it is.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"