A few years ago I was in a bargaining unit negotiation and the representative from management told me that our wages and benefits were worth about $90 an hour. Considering that the average wage in that unit was $15 an hour, I thought his $90 was nuts. And also considering that I wasn't stupid enough to think the other side was going to be up front and honest, I checked with the comptroller who told me a few days earlier the wage and benefit package was approximately wages plus 40%. Doing the math I knew we weren't close to the $90 my opponent claimed.
So I quickly proposed that I would take the $90 an hour and pay for my own insurance.
This of course got shot down. The management rep said I was being silly. What was really silly was when the management rep told me his wage and benefits cost the employer less than ours even though he made two and a half times our average salary.
The interesting point here is that the guy who made two and a half times more than me, in his mind, thought he was making less.
In all the debates I've had with right wing bloggers about graduated taxes and cuts that benefit the wealthiest, they always use the same tired and horseshit argument about the wealthy working harder and longer hours to get wealthy so they deserve all this great stuff.
Mitt Romney has four palatial homes. The McCains have either seven or nine. They can't remember. Now if these rich people are working such long hard hours, where do they find the time to live in all these homes? I don't remember any pictures of Cindy McCain toiling with the fat dude that loads Miller High Life. I do remember her spread in Vogue where she was pretty much just laying around a mansion in her expensive blue jeans.
There is blame all over for the state of the economy. The right wing rich say we didn't let the Bush tax cuts work. They're more concerned with their tax cut than the well being and financial solvency of our Country. There are deluded right wing bloggers that would have us believe crushing debt is a good. And these are the same people that would try to convince a guy making $15 an hour is better off then they are.
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7 comments:
I've always said that most wealth is more by accident than design.
Funny, about the manger's numbers - we once received a memo outlining all our "benefits" and how much they cost our employer (this was just before they told us we would not be getting a raise), and one item was parking with some ridiculously high number. We had free parking in the parking lot the company owned. But since the number is what it WOULD have cost us IF we had to pay for downtown parking, even though we weren't downtown, etc, they added this item.
Being in charge doesn't necessarily make you the smart one; just the well connected one.
They add any crap they can. One cost accountant I knew added things like the lights and cost of fuel to operate equipment as a benefit. It was ridiculous the stuff they attributed as employee benefits. Guys like this joker run our economy. No wonder we're screwed.
Your a municipal employee, a job your daddy gave you. Seriously, how hard do you work? You fucking jackoff!!!!!!
You know Took, if you went ahead and signed in before posting you might get some hits on your site from people with real measurable intelligence.
Don't make me go ORACLE on you Brother.
rockync said..."I've always said that most wealth is more by accident than design."
Clever, but can you really believe that? Amazing what one finds when surfing leftie blogs.
"In all the debates I've had with right wing bloggers about graduated taxes and cuts that benefit the wealthiest, they always use the same tired and horseshit argument about the wealthy working harder and longer hours to get wealthy so they deserve all this great stuff."
Hmmm. Two points
One, it's not that the wealthy work harder, but differently. After all, what really is "harder?" Carpenters work awfully hard, but so do mathematicians. Many carpenters can barely add a column of numbers, and mathematicians barely hammer a nail straight.
In our system we determine pay by market value. As it is, some professions are valued by consumers more than others. The higher the value as measured by demand as a ratio to supply, the more they are paid. Interestingly, neither you or rockync seem not to be aware of this.
Two, where are you going with all this? You throw all this out but do not really come to any conclusion.
So are you arguing for socialized pay scales set by the government? Do tell.
Market value and responsibility.
The post Speaks for itself. I don't want to be lied to and workers are as much a part of the success of business as management. I hope that clears things up for you Tom.
well I just got a Masters degree in science and yet make $ 15 an hour.I have student loans which will never get paid off at this wage.
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