So this is trickle down?

CaptainObvious · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from Ricter:

Cheer up, we've cut over 600,000 people from the public sector these past three years!

Drop in the bucket compared to the private sector, and the 600,000 deserved it based on performance.

Lucrum · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from CaptainObvious:

Drop in the bucket compared to the private sector, and the 600,000 deserved it based on performance.

In fact another 600,000 fired would be a net improvement.

Ricter · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from CaptainObvious:

I think if candidate Romney gave that response in a debate he would drop 10 points in the polls overnight. Basicly the response would be saying you're never going to get a raise regardless of how hard you work or how well the company does, while the company exec's will continue reward themselves handsomely. You peons just be thankful you're employed at all. I'm telling ya', if that's how Romney either positions himself, or get's positioned in that stance by dem's, he's going to have a really tough time on election day.
One of these candidates has to sell working class America a package that they'll be able to see some light at the end of the tunnel as far as their employment opportunities are concerned. Telling them they're going to be lucky just to makes ends meet isn't much for a candidate to run on.

This is the beauty of surplus labor, and it is the reality. The sooner the American working man accepts it the better. If you don't like what the current major equipment manufacturing companies are paying, then start your own major equipment manufacturing company.

bigarrow · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from Ricter:

This is the beauty of surplus labor, and it is the reality. The sooner the American working man accepts it the better. If you don't like what the current major equipment manufacturing companies are paying, then start your own major equipment manufacturing company.

LOL

RCG Trader · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from denner:

What both you and Captain have described is a good synopsis of the past 20+ years of offshoring.

What is really sad that 20 years ago we were told, by a billionaire, and we as a nation tarred and feathered the man.

RCG Trader · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from CaptainObvious:

I think if candidate Romney gave that response in a debate he would drop 10 points in the polls overnight. Basicly the response would be saying you're never going to get a raise regardless of how hard you work or how well the company does, while the company exec's will continue reward themselves handsomely. You peons just be thankful you're employed at all. I'm telling ya', if that's how Romney either positions himself

At this point, how can he NOT position himself this way?

CaptainObvious · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from Ricter:

This is the beauty of surplus labor, and it is the reality. The sooner the American working man accepts it the better. If you don't like what the current major equipment manufacturing companies are paying, then start your own major equipment manufacturing company.

Now you're just being mean.

Ricter · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from CaptainObvious:

Now you're just being mean.

Not intended. Think of it as "tough love".

AAAintheBeltway · Jul 30, 2012

There are two separate issues involved here. One is worker pay. The other is CEO pay. If we are lecturing workers that they have to take what the market says is fair pay, not some artificial wage based on union extortion, then we have an obligation to apply the same logic to CEO pay. My thesis is that there has been a massive breakdown in corporate governance regarding executive compensation. We have a bunch of CEO's sitting on each other's boards playing scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

If they feel they deserve tens or hundreds of millions, then let them start their own businesses or hedge funds. I am pretty sure we can import thousands of chinese or Indian CEOs to run their companies if we can't find any Americans willing to do the job for a few million.

These obscene comp packages are not only hurting shareholders. They provide an opening for demagogues like Obama to exploit the corrosive politics of envy and class hatred. In the end, we all suffer.

Yannis · Jul 30, 2012

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

There are two separate issues involved here. One is worker pay. The other is CEO pay. If we are lecturing workers that they have to take what the market says is fair pay, not some artificial wage based on union extortion, then we have an obligation to apply the same logic to CEO pay. My thesis is that there has been a massive breakdown in corporate governance regarding executive compensation... If they feel they deserve tens or hundreds of millions, then let them start their own businesses or hedge funds... These obscene comp packages are not only hurting shareholders. They provide an opening for demagogues like Obama to exploit the corrosive politics of envy and class hatred. In the end, we all suffer.

This is totally unsupported imo. You can relatively easily find cheaper workers elsewhere, like Asia, but a smarter, more capable executive team is worth $billions to the company - ergo, the present situation. If the CAT folks don't watch out, they'll go the way of the automotive industry, and several other examples of wrong calculation on that front. The bottom line is: you want a better job? get an education, make a difference... you want to stay at the bottom of the scale? you'll be forever replaceable either by a machine or by a hungrier competitor overseas.