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Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
May 10, 2018 - 12:06pm PT
If we didn’t spend almost 3.5% of our GDP on ‘defense’, compared to at the most 1.5% for most Europeans, maybe we could have something to spend on healthcare for the truly needy?

No kidding! More money for healthcare, education, infrastructure, research...

To the left everybody is a victim --except people they consider "structurally can't" be victims (insert race class sex academic ivory tower B.S. here) and your money has to be redistributed according to identity politics.

Binks, capitalism is based on redistribution of wealth, redistributed upward.

“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” -- Warren Buffett
Chugach

Trad climber
Vermont
May 11, 2018 - 03:23pm PT
If we didn’t spend blah, blah, blah on blah, blah, blah - we’d still be broke. Where the hell did that $20 Trillion go? We outspend the universe in education and healthcare and both suck compared to our peers. It’s a lack of leadership and accountability, not spending.
A nation for locusts, by locusts imho.
Sorry for thread hijack.
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
May 11, 2018 - 03:29pm PT
So tell me again, why I need to pay healthcare for my workers? Seems to me the government or someone else should be carrying this responsibility, not me.

As said, basic universal healthcare and pensions should be a function of government which would relieve all employers of this responsibility and provide for a healthier and less worried workforce which would have the freedom to move between employers. Extended private healthcare and pension benefits would still be available for employers to offer as incentives to attract and retain talent.

That we don't already do things this way in this country is an indicator of our collective insanity.
JimT

climber
Munich
May 12, 2018 - 07:14am PT
Well yeah but! Universal health care and the rest in Europe are the responsibility of both the government (if you can´t work) AND the employer/employee (if you do work). The German model is fairly typical, from your gross wages the levy is:- Health insurance is 14.6%, pension 18.7%, unemployment 3.0% and nursing care (like when you are old) 2.55%. One half is paid by the employee and the other half by the employer.
The difference between Europe and the USA is if you are unemployed, unable to work or whatever your contributions are credited by the government.
Chaz

Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
May 12, 2018 - 07:54am PT
One half is paid by the employee and the other half by the employer.

Sounds like wage theft to me.

Where do you think the employer gets the "half" he contributes?

The employee pays both halves.
Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
May 12, 2018 - 08:05am PT
So tell me again, why I need to pay healthcare for my workers? Seems to me the government or someone else should be carrying this responsibility, not me.

What started as a voluntary benefit offered by employers to attract good employees has morphed into an involuntary mandate imposed on employers.

If healthcare cost only a few hundred dollars a year, then healthcare would be a personal responsibility.

But since healthcare can wipe a person's entire life savings in a few short weeks, then universal government healthcare is the only reasonable option. It's a cost that has to be borne by all and spread throughout the entire economy.

America's for-profit system has produced the highest cost in the world, with the worst outcomes (as compared to other first-world nations).

healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
May 12, 2018 - 09:30pm PT
Probably less than 20% of the population is immune to complete financial ruin in the face of a healthcare catastrophe.
Dave

Mountain climber
the ANTI-fresno
May 13, 2018 - 05:32am PT
" Binks, capitalism is based on redistribution of wealth, redistributed upward."

You are joking, right?

Start a business, then tell us what you think about that statement.
- less than 50% of businesses survive five years.
- 99.7% of businesses in this country are small businesses

Most business owners are not getting rich, they are just like the rest of us.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
May 13, 2018 - 09:59am PT
Try and start a small business in Europe if you want to see the future in store for us here if
the Dems have their way. The red tape and mind-numbing bureaucracy boggles the mind.
And fuggetabout any silly notions you might harbor about laying off somebody in the event
of an economic downturn! Oh, and don’t tell me you expect an hour’s work for an hour’s pay?*
That’s some quaint nonsense long laid low by the 35 hour work week and 6-8 weeks of vacay.
And if by some quirk yer company gets unionized then you can look forward to some real pain!
Air France/KLM will sooner than later join Alitalia on the scrap heap of history thanks to union
thugs and sac-less politicians.

*Not to mention the myriad holidays such as the recent ‘Europe Day’. Seriously?

_

Oh, who else saw that the inimitable Bernie Sanders introduced a bill guaranteeing a
taxpayer funded job to anyone who wants it? Has Bernie been vacationing with Cristina
Fernandez and Nicolás Mduro?
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
May 13, 2018 - 11:06am PT
Anit=Fresno...Binks makes a good point although i also have to agree with you to a certain extent...Trump's tax cut was a crumb tossed to the American feudal serfs...Meaningless as far as i can see and it will sunset...Didn't hear too much whining from the anti-government people when the republican controlled government gave the 1% anothr sweet bonus that will do nothing to help the American masses...Look at housing prices and rent in california...there's some upward re-distribution of wealth happening there...The insurance industry is another trickle up industry...That said i wouldn't want the stress of having a small business with all the regulations that Reilly mentions...
bombolini

Boulder climber
San Pedro
May 13, 2018 - 11:10am PT
Good thoughts chipper. Excellent piece.


Chipper , always remember the "golden rule". The ones with the gold make the rules.
JimT

climber
Munich
May 13, 2018 - 11:07pm PT
Sounds like wage theft to me.

Where do you think the employer gets the "half" he contributes?

The employee pays both halves.

Curious thinking! I think the employers "pays" both halves with money they have obtained from their customers.
Bad Climber

Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
May 14, 2018 - 06:41am PT
There is so much wrong with American sick care that it's hard to know where to start. Insurance is mostly to blame as it drives up costs in crazy, crazy ways in no small part because what is paid for a service is totally divorced from the person receiving it. We go to the doc and get whatever and insurance covers it, at least those lucky enough to have good coverage. And boy, do providers charge! My wife, who recently went on Medicare, had a brief meeting with her doc. Talked about about health issues, and she left with a renewed prescription. The charge? $475!!!!!111!!!11!1 What the hell? Your tax dollars at work. Now, imagine if there was true competition. What if prices were posted up front? What if she could go across town and get the same service for half? Over $200 clams for that little meeting sounds like good wages to me.

BAd

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
May 17, 2018 - 09:44am PT
Somebody, I’d be happy to tell you, but you wouldn’t believe me and you would find some way to denigrate it. And it isn’t my fault if I know more than you about most any topic you want to pick. And I wasn't aware you had hacked into my portfolio to see how I can afford to sit on my ass all day pontificating. I’m sorry that you aren’t smart enough to figure out how not to work.

But in a most likely vain attempt to have an adult conversation about ‘wages’ Reuters says...

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari on Thursday repeated his view that low U.S. wage growth despite very low unemployment is a "big conundrum."
One theory that may explain the unexpectedly slow growth in wages, he said, may be that there is more slack in the labor market than 3.9 percent unemployment suggests. Another potential explanation is that businesses have gained bargaining power at the expense of workers, giving them the upper hand in wage negotiations. Kashkari was speaking at an event in St. Paul, broadcast on the regional Fed bank's website.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Coincidentally, I had dinner the other night with two internationally known economists and they will be the first to acknowledge the discrepancy between the official UE rate and the actual one. My question is if you are unemployed in this economy are you even employable?
Splater

climber
Grey Matter
May 17, 2018 - 04:52pm PT
Tax rates are much lower on the super rich, even before the trumpeter grafter tax cuts.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/04/as-the-rich-become-super-rich-they-pay-lower-taxes-for-real
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
May 17, 2018 - 09:43pm PT
Reilly...Throw us working stiffs a bone would you...
Bad Climber

Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
May 18, 2018 - 06:25am PT
Hey, Splater, fo' reelz. I knew a very smart woman who was engaged in constructing tax laws just for the stinkin' rich. When was the last time YOU had a customized tax code? Jeez.


BAd
Lennox

climber
in the land of the blind
May 21, 2018 - 10:09am PT
Today, the Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision in Epic Systems Corp. v Lewis (NLRB v. Murphy Oil and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris) that deals a significant blow to the fundamental right of workers in this country to join together to address workplace disputes. For over eighty years, the National Labor Relations Act has guaranteed workers’ right to stand together for “mutual aid and protection” when seeking to improve their wages and working conditions. However, today’s decision clears the way for employers to require workers to waive that right as a condition of employment.

The use of mandatory arbitration and collective and class action waivers—under which workers are forced to handle workplace disputes as individuals through arbitration, rather than being able to resolve these matters together in court—makes it more difficult for workers to enforce their rights. These agreements bar access to the courts for all types of employment-related claims, including those based on the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Family Medical Leave Act. This means that a worker who is not paid fairly, discriminated against, or sexually harassed, is forced into a process that overwhelmingly favors the employer—and forced to manage this process alone, even though these issues are rarely confined to one single worker.

Today’s decision undermines the National Labor Relations Act and further erodes workers’ rights and freedoms. Workers depend on collective and class actions to combat race and sex discrimination and enforce wage and hour standards. It is essential to both our democracy and a fair economy that workers have the right to engage in collective action. Congress must act to restore this fundamental right and ban mandatory arbitration agreements and class and collective action waivers.


https://www.epi.org/press/in-murphy-oil-decision-the-supreme-court-deals-a-significant-blow-to-workers-fundamental-rights/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/21/supreme-court-backs-employers-over-workers/355923002/
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
May 21, 2018 - 10:20pm PT
Quoteof course that's your question! Here

You’ll bite on anything! If you guys were fish you’d be extinct.
I come from a long line of proud Irish union stiffs. Take another wild stab.
Bad Climber

Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
May 22, 2018 - 05:58am PT
@xCon:

to recap,
the growth of unemployment is a boon to employers as it assists in reducing the wages theyre required to pay to produce their product

Seems a good argument for illegal immigration. Repubs look at it this way. Dems pander for votes. Situational sink hole. Ugh.

BAd
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