War of the future: gap between rich and poor growing

[Digital_Trucker]

Ditto, for the most part. That's why there are so many illegal immigrants in the US doing jobs that Americans are perfectly capable of, but not willing to do.

[August]

Originally Posted by Digital_Trucker

Ditto, for the most part. That's why there are so many illegal immigrants in the US doing jobs that Americans are perfectly capable of, but not willing to do.

Not willing to do for the slave wages that undocumented workers will accept you mean...

[Jimbuna]

Despite the creation of the National Minimum Wage in the UK, many thousands still accept rates that are at or close to poverty level.

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by August

Not willing to do for the slave wages that undocumented workers will accept you mean...

That's certainly part of it, but how many Americans do you think would actually do that work for a reasonable wage?

[August]

Originally Posted by Digital_Trucker

That's certainly part of it, but how many Americans do you think would actually do that work for a reasonable wage?

By reasonable i assume you mean above minimum wage?

Well people work at places like Wal-mart for around that amount. Besides laws of supply and demand apply here. Illegal workers short circuit that process.

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by August

By reasonable i assume you mean above minimum wage?

Well people work at places like Wal-mart for around that amount. Besides laws of supply and demand apply here. Illegal workers short circuit that process.

People "work" at Wal-mart for "around that amount" (whatever that means) because it's not really "work". If you offered above minimum wage to those folks that work at Wally-World to do real physical labor, I doubt you'd get very many to take the job. I would hazard a guess that if you went to the local unemployment office and offered "around that amount" to the entire line waiting for their unemployment check, food stamps and other entitlements, they wouldn't be willing to do the work that illegals do either.

Laws of supply and demand do apply here. There is a demand for people willing to do physical labor for a low amount of money and there is no supply of American workers willing to do this. Either the demand side has to change (and we pay higher prices for our food because higher wages are paid to the employees) or the supply side has to change (people become willing to work for less in order to have a job). Illegals fill this gap. Remove them from the equation and one or the other (or a compromise of the two) have to take place.

[SteamWake]

why some people take delight in such matters is beyond me

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

why some people take delight in such matters is beyond me

Who is taking delight in these matters?

[August]

Originally Posted by Digital_Trucker

People "work" at Wal-mart for "around that amount" (whatever that means) because it's not really "work". If you offered above minimum wage to those folks that work at Wally-World to do real physical labor, I doubt you'd get very many to take the job. I would hazard a guess that if you went to the local unemployment office and offered "around that amount" to the entire line waiting for their unemployment check, food stamps and other entitlements, they wouldn't be willing to do the work that illegals do either.

Laws of supply and demand do apply here. There is a demand for people willing to do physical labor for a low amount of money and there is no supply of American workers willing to do this. Either the demand side has to change (and we pay higher prices for our food because higher wages are paid to the employees) or the supply side has to change (people become willing to work for less in order to have a job). Illegals fill this gap. Remove them from the equation and one or the other (or a compromise of the two) have to take place.

I said "around that amount" because it varies depending on where you are in the country. All their wages however are within a buck or two of federally mandated minimum wage.

And yes if prices are based on illegal below minimum wage pay then yes that is a compromise that should be met. To argue otherwise is to favor slavery, pure and simple.

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by August

I said "around that amount" because it varies depending on where you are in the country. All their wages however are within a buck or two of federally mandated minimum wage.

And yes if prices are based on illegal below minimum wage pay then yes that is a compromise that should be met. To argue otherwise is to favor slavery, pure and simple.

My bad for not getting the around that amount definition. You'll have to pardon me for not being very good at interpreting the language (as evidenced by my wife's continual fascination with my inability to "read between the lines" )

Definitely agree with you regarding how things should be in a perfect world. If the cost of an item is based on the below standard wages of the producer, then we should be willing to pay more in order for the working person to make a decent wage. However, if we take that stand, then we shouldn't be buying anything at Wally-World, anyway, since the prices of many of their products are based on the below standard wages of people overseas making those products, so the people at Wally-World would be out of work, too.

My apologies for getting off of the original subject, which is the widening gap between the "haves" and the "have nots". We could discuss the reasons for that 24/7 for years and not come to a solution. There are thousands of reasons why some have and some don't with the "fault" lying on both sides, the solution is equally difficult to quantify.

[Frame57]

Ok. Here is a brief story of my experience.

I mowed lawns and had a paper route when i was a kid to have money.

I joined the service in 78, did two and a half hitches, then sadly got a medical discharge. Top pay at that time was close to 40K a year for me.

I got a job as a mechanical engineering designer. Pay was 7.25/hr. Not good money but the only engineering job around. So, I worked at Wendy's at night to suppliment my income.

Took a job as a letter carrier, income was back to 40k a year. Desirous to stay in Engineering I went to night school to get my degree.

Took an entry level job in Biomedical Engineering making 30K a year, now with the training and experience I make about 75K with profit sharing. Company car etc...

Point is, is that it takes a while and it takes work to get there. I could still be making a dinky wage in Florida, but I like to live life a bit and would rather rob a bank than receive food stamps being abled bodied.