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Income inequality
The money system is eliminating the middle class.
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/more_than_half_of_all_americans_make_under_30000_dollars_a_year_20151027
More Than Half of U.S. Wage Earners Make Under $30,000 a Year, According to a Shocking New Report
Posted on Oct 27, 2015
Wage statistics for 2014, recently released by the Social Security Administration, provide proof to the claim we all feared was true: The middle class is actually disappearing. As the online publication Washington’s Blog notes, 51 percent of U.S. workers in 2014 made less than $2,500 a month before taxes—which is below the poverty line for a family of five. What’s worse is that as the numbers in the original report are parsed, other stunning facts become clear. For instance, the fact that nearly 40 percent of Americans aren’t even making $30,000 but rather are earning closer to $20,000. Or that 70 percent of workers made less than $50,000 in 2014.
All of this just illustrates in vivid detail how far the wealth gap in the U.S. has widened. We’ve gotten to the point where the majority of U.S. citizens are barely making enough to make ends meet, and let’s face it, most aren’t even scraping by.
The “raw” average wage, computed as net compensation divided by the number of wage earners, is $7,050,259,213,644.55 divided by 158,186,786, or $44,569.20. Based on data in the table below, about 67.2 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the $44,569.20 raw average wage. By definition, 50 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the median wage, which is estimated to be $28,851.21 for 2014.
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/more_than_half_of_all_americans_make_under_30000_dollars_a_year_20151027
More Than Half of U.S. Wage Earners Make Under $30,000 a Year, According to a Shocking New Report
Posted on Oct 27, 2015
Wage statistics for 2014, recently released by the Social Security Administration, provide proof to the claim we all feared was true: The middle class is actually disappearing. As the online publication Washington’s Blog notes, 51 percent of U.S. workers in 2014 made less than $2,500 a month before taxes—which is below the poverty line for a family of five. What’s worse is that as the numbers in the original report are parsed, other stunning facts become clear. For instance, the fact that nearly 40 percent of Americans aren’t even making $30,000 but rather are earning closer to $20,000. Or that 70 percent of workers made less than $50,000 in 2014.
All of this just illustrates in vivid detail how far the wealth gap in the U.S. has widened. We’ve gotten to the point where the majority of U.S. citizens are barely making enough to make ends meet, and let’s face it, most aren’t even scraping by.
The “raw” average wage, computed as net compensation divided by the number of wage earners, is $7,050,259,213,644.55 divided by 158,186,786, or $44,569.20. Based on data in the table below, about 67.2 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the $44,569.20 raw average wage. By definition, 50 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the median wage, which is estimated to be $28,851.21 for 2014.
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Replies
Thank the Donalds..
Mike
All the more reason to bring back unions and raise the minimum wage.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-21/this-is-what-raising-the-minimum-wage-did-to-jobs-in-11-states
Fixed for accuracy
Also you cannot outsource construction and many other jobs. It is only a matter of time however when they can offshore your job, maybe you should not be so short sighted.
FWIW, they can't even offshore my assistant's job. Goldman Sach tried it. Abject failure.
We already do this. All agreements since 2001 and some earlier, like NAFTA, have labor provisions monitored by a subsection of the Department of Labor.
Ha!
. . . .
Moved to Montana, gonna be a dental floss tycoon.
If we can't do "better" it may be because our trading partners realize the only competitive advantage they have is in labor.
“I see no need for union representation,” says Adrian Leslie, line worker at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant. “We are being treated fairly here.”
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/10/uaw-not-welcome-in-the-south/
http://www.ibtimes.com/why-mercedes-benz-ditching-new-jersey-moving-south-1774770
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/06/15/auto-jobs-mexico/71224972/
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/29/business/la-fi-0329-autos-unions-20110329
Mike
Or maybe because corporations favor a weak labor force, we don't want to do better.
So, let's suppose I'm the PM of India. I may really want to set the minimum wage at $20 per hour, but then I'd probably realize that Western companies wouldn't come to Mumbai.
It's all about economics and stuff.
Fixed it for ya
Exactly
........
Not to mention VW has a different management philosophy than most.
And if they still go there, how exactly are you bringing back unions?
So, I'll just say I what I said originally. You want to make unions strong, bring back tariffs.
It's not just VW. It's Honda, Toyota, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan...
http://www.businessinsider.com/bmws-massive-non-union-plant-is-basically-a-huge-screw-you-to-unions-2011-2
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2014/02/20/the-uaw-is-losing-its-grip-on-auto-industry-labor/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/06/15/auto-jobs-mexico/71224972/
I am saying bring unions to Mumbai.
I have no problem with jobs going overseas. I have a problem with paying those employees pennies per day with no regard for workplace safety. The fact that you think American workers should compete with that only demonstrates what an oligarch you really are.
But sure bring back tariffs.
In all honesty, I wonder how much Faux News Adrian watches. It baffles the mind how the working class has turned their backs on labor organizations.
No good reason to join a union
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2015/04/14/Why-78-Million-Millennials-Are-Choosing-Non-Union-Jobs
Also, the article states no reasons other than right-to-work laws are crushing unions and that unions are on the decline in general. Once again, I postulate that, in part, these people see the very unions that would fight for their wages and benefits to be the enemy.
Can't wait to we have some labor riots again so I club some rightwad with a baseball bat like he was a baby seal. Not you, of course, Joe!!
Doesn't sound far off.
Dues structures vary widely from union to union. The United Auto Workers, for example, generally charges the equivalent of two hours’ straight-time pay per month. Other unions charge a fixed monthly rate, or a percentage of members’ pay (generally 5% or less, and more often 1-3%, though higher and lower rates aren’t uncommon).
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/12/17/closer-look-at-union-vs-nonunion-workers-wages/
Maybe if unions spent money on their members instead of Democrat politicians they would be more attractive?
Would you want to work for an employer who ignores your contributions? What about one who only promotes on seniority? The answer to these questions explains why union membership keeps falling: unions have not adapted to the modern workplace.
http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2013/1/why-union-membership-is-declining