Are YOU better or worse off today than 7 1/2 years ago?

[dimensionallava]

no
not even close

those corporations
they are not American
they are owned by shareholders
who might not be American

the corporation's obligation is to the shareholders
the leadership has a fiduciary responsibility to look after the shareholders' interest

the shareholders' interest may or may not align with that of the government
if there is a distinction between those two interests, then that of the shareholders' MUST prevail

one of the ways to enhance shareholder value is to become more profitable
and one way to do that is to buy goods and labor required by the corporation from the best value source
which source may not be an American source

to insist otherwise could impose conditions upon the corporation which would cause it to lose its profitability, and thus share value
that works against the shareholders' interest. which interest the corporate leadership is obliged to make paramount in its decisions

good point! we should get rid of those things

 

[Southern Dad]

Of course you think that way. You're a conservative. And people wonder why the work place is an adversarial environment where it's us against them rather than we are all in this together. Your company outsources jobs? We should tax the **** out of you. Your company does not support the community it resides in yet somehow benefits from being there? Get the hell out. All the way out, not partially out.

People create jobs to fill a need. They produce product and services consumers will purchase. Those same consumers need jobs in order to obtain the funds with which to purchase product. It's a feedback loop which works best when both sides of the equation are near equals. Job creators must make a profit too, investors must make a profit. This can only work well when the system is well balanced. Employers and employees are equals in the equation.

Corporations which violate this compact damage the system. They want to take while not giving in proper proportion. They seek to take advantage of poorer populations for labor while continuing to sell to their home country where a higher standard of living means greater expense. Bastards.

You bet we outsource jobs. The truth is not every business is making money hand over fist. Some of them are hanging on. Still profitable but barely. When you have unions that demand more and more every contract renewal, you start looking for other solutions. When your healthcare premiums 76% paid by the company go up significantly, you start looking for ways to cut expenses. There are only two expense that move the needle in this business. People and paper. Since newsprint keeps going up, that only leaves on thing. If we can get better quality work, with a faster turnaround time, halfway around the globe, why shouldn't we?

Unions that continue to demand more and more from corporations, administrations that saddle industries with additional labor expenses in the way of increased healthcare premiums, they are responsible for those jobs going overseas.

 

[justabubba]

good point! we should get rid of those things

what things?

 

[dimensionallava]

what things?

corporations obviously, they sound awful

 

[Fearandloathing]

Of course you think that way. You're a conservative. And people wonder why the work place is an adversarial environment where it's us against them rather than we are all in this together. Your company outsources jobs? We should tax the **** out of you. Your company does not support the community it resides in yet somehow benefits from being there? Get the hell out. All the way out, not partially out.

People create jobs to fill a need. They produce product and services consumers will purchase. Those same consumers need jobs in order to obtain the funds with which to purchase product. It's a feedback loop which works best when both sides of the equation are near equals. Job creators must make a profit too, investors must make a profit. This can only work well when the system is well balanced. Employers and employees are equals in the equation.

Corporations which violate this compact damage the system. They want to take while not giving in proper proportion. They seek to take advantage of poorer populations for labor while continuing to sell to their home country where a higher standard of living means greater expense. Bastards.

Well, I am NOT a conservative, but I have to say that is the most over-simplistic and erroneous explanation of economics I've ever encountered.

I have no idea what you mean by "people create jobs to fill a need"; whose need? Jobs are created by the combination of invention, development, experience and.....................something leftists always forget. Any idea what we're missing here?

Capital. Money. Somewhere in the cycle, even if it is simply delivering pizza's, somebody has to come up with the cash for a car and license. In business we call that investment.

Nothing happens without it.

Jobs are not created for people, they are created by market demand. If there is no market demand or if the product is too expensive, you don't start the business.

Workers are not part of the cycle unless there is a shortage of manpower. If I start a business mowing lawns [again investment in truck and tools] the only reason I would hire someone is if I had too much work for myself. Now, he does not have a right to that job anymore that I have a right to **** his wife, if the customers are unhappy and leave, so does he.

So now we see that it is actually the reverse, the worker must make his own investment in the plan in the form of showing up on time and doing quality work.

Finally, the only jobs a government ever 'created' were bureaucrats and military. Private investment has created every other job the US has ever had

 

[Bodi]

Better... MUCH BETTER. My divorce came through 4 years ago.

 

[Unitedwestand13]

good point! we should get rid of those things

Should shareholders be switched with stakeholders

 

[dimensionallava]

Should shareholders be switched with stakeholders

no holders at all, nobody gets anything to hold, no more holding of the things

 

[Van Basten]

Better and Obamacare helped my family out.

 

[instagramsci]

no holders at all, nobody gets anything to hold, no more holding of the things

abolish holding

 

[instagramsci]

I've graduated high school since then so a resounding yes on that front :mrgreen:

Though I have exponentially more debt

Neither of these really have Obama factoring anywhere so, mixed? i dunno

 

[ajn678]

You bet we outsource jobs. The truth is not every business is making money hand over fist. Some of them are hanging on. Still profitable but barely. When you have unions that demand more and more every contract renewal, you start looking for other solutions. When your healthcare premiums 76% paid by the company go up significantly, you start looking for ways to cut expenses. There are only two expense that move the needle in this business. People and paper. Since newsprint keeps going up, that only leaves on thing. If we can get better quality work, with a faster turnaround time, halfway around the globe, why shouldn't we?

Unions that continue to demand more and more from corporations, administrations that saddle industries with additional labor expenses in the way of increased healthcare premiums, they are responsible for those jobs going overseas.

Or perhaps, the people at the top of the business should take a pay cut before they look to go overseas. But I can guess that never crossed those peoples' minds.

 

[tres borrachos]

We're better off than we were 7 1/2 years ago but it has nothing to do with Obama. We both make much better money and the value of our house and our investments just keeps going up.

 

[Southern Dad]

We're better off than we were 7 1/2 years ago but it has nothing to do with Obama. We both make much better money and the value of our house and our investments just keeps going up.

The house value going up is a double edged sword. The higher the value, the higher the property taxes. In truth, a lower value on your house helps unless you are planning to sell or refinance.

 

[tres borrachos]

The house value going up is a double edged sword. The higher the value, the higher the property taxes. In truth, a lower value on your house helps unless you are planning to sell or refinance.

I live in NH. Property taxes are the only taxes we pay. It doesn't bother me at all that they went up, especially for the amenities we get for them.

We're neither selling nor refinancing right now, but we're also not taking anything out of our investment accounts either. The value of our home to us is equally as important as what's in our investment portfolio.

 

[dimensionallava]

abolish holding

yep and abolish money

 

[Winchester]

I live in NH. Property taxes are the only taxes we pay. It doesn't bother me at all that they went up, especially for the amenities we get for them.

We're neither selling nor refinancing right now, but we're also not taking anything out of our investment accounts either. The value of our home to us is equally as important as what's in our investment portfolio.

I can understand it being important but why equally important? Unless downgrading and cashing out at some point is part of the retirement picture. IDK personally I've never looked at homes as an investment, just a way to minimize housing costs and to not be beholden to a landlord.

 

[Winchester]

I've graduated high school since then so a resounding yes on that front :mrgreen:

Though I have exponentially more debt

Neither of these really have Obama factoring anywhere so, mixed? i dunno

Student loans?

 

[99percenter]

Much better. After the worst presidency in US history you have no where to go but up though.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

As we approach the end of the Obama White House years, I'm wondering how his time in office has impacted YOUR life.

In my humble opinion, the conservative media is expert is creating high emotional negative imagery of their opponents. I personally think they're so good at it, they're able to do so despite the fact their own lives are either not adversely affected or even better off thanks to the very opposition they have been conditioned to despise. Example: The people I know who are screaming the loudest about Obamacare already had employer-based group health insurance, were not being forced to buy something they didn't want and are in fact happy that their young adult kids get to stay on their policies until they get jobs that offer health insurance. They're happy the interest rates on their outstanding credit card balance can't be increased.

I've also seen loyalty for the liberal team take priority over their own concerns that if it were not for the fact that liberal policies were being advanced by the people for whom they vote. Example: I have liberal relatives with daughters, nieces and granddaughters who would have gone ballistic at the notion of teenage boys and adult male teachers being able to legally enter the girls shower areas and dressing rooms at schools while female students are undressed but since they choose to be loyal supporters of their political team, they talk themselves into thinking its okay.

Let's set aside team loyalty for this question. Has your own life or the life of your family gotten better or worse over the past 7 1/2 years and feel free to offer an explanation?

My life is better because I've busted my ass to make it better.

Both ideologies have enacted things and taken measures that have made my efforts a lot more complicated.

So - no one gets credit but me.

 

[instagramsci]

Student loans?

yes, and financing my car

 

[mmi]

I chose "other" because I'm in about the same position. I do have increasing difficulty walking, but I can't find a politician to blame that on.

 

[justabubba]

I chose "other" because I'm in about the same position. I do have increasing difficulty walking, but I can't find a politician to blame that on.

allow me:

THANKS Obama

 

[mmi]

THANKS Obama

Who should I thank for the war in Iraq and the collapse of the economy in 2008?

 

[ashurbanipal]

You bet we outsource jobs. The truth is not every business is making money hand over fist. Some of them are hanging on. Still profitable but barely. When you have unions that demand more and more every contract renewal, you start looking for other solutions. When your healthcare premiums 76% paid by the company go up significantly, you start looking for ways to cut expenses. There are only two expense that move the needle in this business. People and paper. Since newsprint keeps going up, that only leaves on thing. If we can get better quality work, with a faster turnaround time, halfway around the globe, why shouldn't we?

Unions that continue to demand more and more from corporations, administrations that saddle industries with additional labor expenses in the way of increased healthcare premiums, they are responsible for those jobs going overseas.

You sound like my old boss, complaining about costs and taxes and regulations all the time...while he was distributing $15m in bonuses annually to himself and his three best buds in the senior VP suites, in a company that nets about $40m annually. A great many businesses seem to run just that way...