General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What I like to tell my RW friends regarding their "working HARDER to EARN a better wage" chestnut - [View all]Warpy
(111,255 posts)I have one word to say to them: ENRON.
Yes, ENRON. People who worked there did all the right things. They fought their way through school, earning top grades while they ran up debt. They joined what was supposed to be a platinum plated company that hired only the best. They worked hard, paid their debts, settled down, had families, and put every spare dollar into company stock.
Then the Republicans who ran the company cleaned out the till and left the hard working employees with nothing but certificates for worthless stock. Since that company only ripped off labor, most got off Scot free, even Skilling's conviction now in jeopardy.
I ask them what bad decisions those folks made. Many of them have still not recovered, they lost everything after their jobs disappeared.
You want to talk about poor folks, talk to some of them first so you know what you're talking about. Their stories will amaze you because nobody woke up one day and thought "What do the simple folk do? I guess I'll get poor and find out!"