Christie: did he know?

[albrecht]

But I don't accept he's a dullard or a marxist or that people who voted in the hope of something different were "deluded" or otherwise foolish.

I agree with you there. This guy Obama is not a dullard. Even if he did benefit from some affirmative action, or whatever other help, he clearly isn't an idiot. He went to good schools through out his career and you aren't going to be able to skate through all of those if you are stupid. No matter how many connections you have or whatever affirmative action policies might be in force. Of course, sometimes that makes someone more dangerous when they are smart and also think they know everything or harbor deep resentments or dark purposes. As for Marxism; there are so many different strains and schools of it that it is harder to judge. Certainly he is not as radical as some of his friends and mentors and likely, as many people do, age has likely dampened some of his opinions. Like most politicians it is probably all about him firstly. But Secondly would be to further internationalist goals and ensure his financial backers and friends gain value by regulatory capture and policies.

[SciFiAuthor]

Minimum wage hikes are simply passed onto the consumer, thus raising the price of goods for the person that just got the hike. They don't really do much else, other than act as an engine of inflation that does no long-term good for the recipient as far as buying power.

What they really are is a method of bribing a low-information electorate and making them think the great politician just gave them a raise when he didn't. He merely bought their vote knowing full well that he was screwing them on the back end.

[albrecht]

Minimum wage hikes are simply passed onto the consumer, thus raising the price of goods for the person that just got the hike. They don't really do much else, other than act as an engine of inflation that does no long-term good for the recipient as far as buying power.

What they really are is a method of bribing a low-information electorate and making them think the great politician just gave them a raise when he didn't. He merely bought their vote knowing full well that he was screwing them on the back end.

Of course. All the costs of taxation, regulations, or minimum wages are passed down to consumers. Actually, I wouldn't mind a higher minimum wage if it actually would change anything (like lessening taxes, lessening welfare, streamlining government, securing the border, etc). But there is no solidarity in America and consumers will always seek the lowest price. So raising the minimum wage would just outsource even more jobs to other countries. Now if consumers would do things like only buy American or from allied countries. Demand any rise in minimum wage will also be linked to a cut in personal tax liabilities. Or the rise in a minimum wage also comes up with securing the border and deporting illegals. I don't mind paying higher prices, to an extent, if the system works. Instead of paying people via government middle-men (social welfare) paying the people by buying a higher priced product. Switzerland, for example, I have no problem paying a lot for things. The country is clean, borders are monitored (though there have been troubling examples of more open borders), and taxation is low.

[VtaGeezer]

If we accept the premise that raising the minimum wage will help things, why not raise it to $50.00 an hour?

You clearly have no real understanding of economics and have just blown any possibility of being taken seriously on the topic. 

[Catsmile]

CEO's earning have not stagnated over the last 40 years. Meanwhile the workers whose backs they stand on... their wages have stagnated. Again, great work if you can get it.
Maybe I should be able to vote for a raise just like the five percenters get to vote for there increased earnings.
Now that is crazy commie talk, letting people vote for their own wage increase... oh wait.

Meanwhile healthcare, higher education, CEO, politicians, cost/earnings are all skyrocketing above and beyond any logical economic indicators. The only indicator being sent from the top down is, just because..."free market". Leaving the "little people" watching their money defy gravity as slips through their fingers racing back to the top. Keeping the "job creators" nest eggs comfy, until the day comes when they want to let their "hard work" trickle down on us.

How much can the little peoples back stand, when the parasites want ever more blood from it's host? 
Fear not you say, I can vote for change. With any luck I get to keep some of the change in my pocket.

We have one more party than pinko commies do... well ain't we special.
The 1% brand such idiocracy wrapped in a flag bearing a cross, as the national anthem plays softly in the background. We can elect heads or tails, forget the fact it's just two sides of the same coin. They are laughing at dividing us. While their offshore nest eggs bloat faster than the drowning corpse they are feeding on.

The system will break if the unchecked greed of the 1% is not balanced out. The "takers" at the bottom with their hands out being trickled on, don't have said magic power. The powerful monied people making the rules will break the system, not the peasants who have to live by those rules.

What to do? Do the powerless redistribute the power/wealth by fertilizing the tree of liberty with the blood of patriots and tyrants, yet again in human history? Do we vote with our pocketbooks, and ballots to tame this beast? No matter where we spend our money, or cast our votes it just feeds one of the other heads of the Hydra we seek to tame. Armed revolution will just give rise to a new Hydra in time, as history repeatedly show us. What to do indeed.

#screwthemankeepingusdown

The 85 Richest People In The World Have As Much Wealth As The 3.5 Billion Poorest
http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2014/01/23/the-85-richest-people-in-the-world-have-as-much-wealth-as-the-3-5-billion-poorest/

[albrecht]

The 1%

Speaking of the 1%. First we had that rich kid get out of his DUI because he suffered from some made-up syndrome due to his wealth. But this one really takes the cake.

A Delaware man, Du Pont heir who lives on a trust fund, convicted of raping his three-year-old daughter only faced probation after a state Superior Court judge ruled he “will not fare well” in prison.

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/crime/2014/03/28/sunday-preview-du-pont-heir-stayed-prison/7016769/

who gives a sh*t if a baby-raper will "fare well" in prison?!?

[Juan]

These responses are amusing.  So (ha) we're talking about boundaries, not concepts?