Why so many poor?

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   Sooner28posted 11 years ago

   I thought a rising tide was supposed to life all boats!
   
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/1 … 24343.html
   
   Even hard productive work isn't paying off..
   
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/2 … 52920.html

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      JaxsonRaineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What is with all these articles?
      
      Wages are below what they were before the global recession, and this is supposed to be news?
      
      It's media doing what they do. If the stock market is in an upward trend, and has gained 5000 over 10 years, they will report that the world is ending if it drops 200 points.
      
      Also, keep in mind that any time you see something talking about wages or real wages, they aren't including the cost/value of benefits.

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         Sooner28posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         It's important because it's unfair first of all.  Rising productivity isn't being rewarded with a raise! 
         
         Furthermore, it's also important because corporate profits are back to pre-recession levels, yet there is still widespread unemployment and wage stagnation.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/0 … 78340.html

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   Cagsilposted 11 years ago

   Too much distortion and manipulation tactics by some of the most dishonest people of the world has continued to keep the level of poor people to rise.

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      Druid Dudeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Too few rich.

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         Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         More or less. Yes.

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   Druid Dudeposted 11 years ago

   Most of the people who died on the Titanic were the less financially fortunate. On a different note, going by the facts of the sinking, you stood a slightly better chance of getting a lifeboat if you were a dog. 1/4 of the crew were saved, 1/4 of the passengers were saved, but three of the nine dogs on board were saved, making their chances slightly better.

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   carlarmesposted 11 years ago

   We are all going to get poorer on a steady downward trend. imagine a cake, divide it by four,now divide it by 6 and then divide it by 12. The more we breed the less room we have to move, the more expensive the resources become because we have to share it with even more people. 4 billion when I was born, 6 billion now, 9 to 12 billion when I die but the cake is the same size and it is not going to get bigger. more people on the planet = less quality per person on the planet.

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      Druid Dudeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      agreed, we should be rationing world wide.

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      Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Disagree.

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         Druid Dudeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Solutions Cag...solutions. Without a better suggestion your disagreement is pretty lame. Do you disagree with the premise that the population is out of control and our resources are finite?

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            Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I'm sure you would like solutions, however, I'm not required to give any solution when I disagree with a statement.
            Population out of control? I guess that depends on how you want to look at it. I would go as far as to say that there are simply too many ignorant people breeding, if that helps. And, as far as resources being finite? That might be so.

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      Sooner28posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Overpopulation is a significant problem; however, I'm not sure what practical solutions there are to it.  People are stupid, and they continue to reproduce without any thought about the future of the planet.
      
      Forget global warming.  Forget big business pollution.  If our numbers become too bloated, there is no question that the standard of living for the average person will DRASTICALLY decrease.

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   Dr Billy Kiddposted 11 years ago

   No, no, noooo... A rising tide lifts all yachts.

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      Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      Yeah, all small boats sink otherwise.

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   Amy Bechererposted 11 years ago

   I am now poor, for the first time in my life.  Two years ago I finalized a divorce and was laid off 2-weeks later due to the economy.  I had worked for a small, family-owned, electrical contractor for 13-years, had an excellent work ethic and had just received a fantastic annual work performance review before I got the news from a company that called me "family". Approaching retirement age, I find I fall through the cracks. Realistically, all that I spent a lifetime working towards is quickly dwindling.  I am now looking for HUD housing, have no health insurance and a future where I will, more than likely, remain in poverty. And, no, I haven't given up, as I continue to look for work. But, as all signs, for the last two-years point south, I must prepare for what I see.  As everyone breathing knows, I am not alone. The disappearing middle-class is reality now. Many who lost their jobs are now part of the long-term unemployed, where opportunities for work slip away as the months without a job accumulate. Those who have fallen into poverty understand the mountain they must climb to recovery. Here in St. Louis, it has been reported that job growth is lagging behind the rest of the nation.  Recently, the STL Post-Dispatch suggested that those looking for a job had best relocate. However, the reality is that the longer anyone is out of work, the financial cost of relocation is beyond their means.  Poverty means struggling to meet basic needs.  No more hairstyling appointments, no more new clothing (all necessary for job interviews) leaving confidence as bedraggled as poverty looks.
   
   Poverty is prevalent today because money equates to power and those without power don't have a voice. Although I lived my whole life adhering to a strict budget, living within my means, I was leveled by circumstances beyond my control with a layoff, courtesy of choices made by our government. My record of consistently being employed left me confident I would quickly find another job. But, time has changed my tune, as I see many qualified, educated people who remain unemployed. As a result, foreclosures here are on the increase again with no help, as promised, from the banks.
   
   Once the domino effects of poverty take over, it takes nothing short of a miracle to change the tide.

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      Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      No miracle required. Just a new sort of awareness will do the trick.

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      Sooner28posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great response.  Your story illustrates an important point, which is that many people are poor because of circumstances beyond their control.
      
      The rich get richer, and the rest suffer.

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   Dr Billy Kiddposted 11 years ago

   This next election should finish off the middleclass. We've been divided among ourselve. As long as we hate each other, we'll never get our power back from the wealthy.

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      Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What in the world makes you think the citizens ever had power to begin with?

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         Amy Bechererposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I am not politically sophisticated, but it seems, from my vantage point, the poor were always second-class, easily ignored, castigated citizens.  Today, because of a government with little forethought and no brakes on spending, there are just more poor.  Where government walks, money talks.

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            Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            And would you like to now tell me what your post has to do with the post you responded to? Just curious.

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               Amy Bechererposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I was simply agreeing that the poor never did have power.

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                  Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Okay.

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         Dr Billy Kiddposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         There has been power when people fought for it. People once fought for their rights. Veterans and their families fought the U.S. Army in 1932 and died to get their WWI benefits which Congress denied. People fought and died to get labor unions and that 8 hour day. Now, that's being all turned back. When we think of veterans when think of PTSD and homeless. When you think of your job it's how much of a pay reduction would I accept to keep it. Yes, productivity is up, but those in charge want to keep unemployment up too. That has been working well to suppress wages, which are at their 1976 level. To get to the question, why so many poor: the economy has been rejigged to suipport the wealthy. Downward mobility is the result.

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            Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Pure illusion.

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   The Suburban Poetposted 11 years ago

   The energy industry is facing a brain drain in the future due to an aging work force. Take a look there for long-term prospects if you are young.
   
   I think a lot of the unemployment problems we have are due to how incredibly productive we are at work. I'm 53 and back in the late 80's I had a secretary. Now I have Microsoft Word. That's just an example of how productivity gains has hurt the common man. And they are constantly seeking more efficiencies everywhere you look. They want more and more automation and the inventions are going to be there.

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      Sooner28posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This means the future will have to involve massive amounts of welfare for 90% of the population because there will be literally NO jobs; or, our society will have to be fundamentally restructured.  I prefer the latter view.

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