Who else is tired of US companies carping about having to pay living wages

[cantstandbush]

taxes, unions, and benefits to workers so that's why the out source?

Anyone see the COSTCO special on 20/20 last night? Makes you just want to puke about the other companies hiring illegals and buying on the cheap from China and other slave-labor countries.

My god, the only thing that matters to these people is not earning a reasonable profit but the bottom line for stock. Those among the biggest whiners about taxes and benefits to workers pay multimillions to their CEOs without blinking an eye.

It really is sickening. This country's standard of living was highest in the world because of the rights and wages of its workers thanks to unions and government regulations. Now we are to believe that those very same things hurt us? I don't get it. Everything is relative. I don't mind paying higher prices if I earn higher wages and have good benefits. I was amazed to learn today also that most of the bankrupticies in this country are the result of medical expenses that take such a toll because we do not have any healthcare insurance system for our citizens.

When will people wake up in this country and stop buying the corporate sleazeball carping?

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Just think how much less they would have to spend if there was HEALTH CARE

provided for everyone, outside of employment....

[hollowdweller]

4. I was thinking the same thing! Even if we could just slow the inflation

[SharonAnn]

2. It's greed. Pure, unadulterated greed.

[ashling]

9. Ain't capitalism grand

:sarcasm:

[emanymton]

3. Privatize Profits. Socialize Costs. Straight To Hell.

[depakid]

14. and the sheeple will be cheering all the way to the brink

til they fall in, of course. Then they'll be looking for someone to blame.

I wouldn't want to be a Fox "news" personality when that eventuality comes....

[emanymton]

17. Don't Worry. Blame Clinton And The Democrats. It Won't Be Long.

[napi21]

5. I watched 20/20 last night and I agree with you.

There was another post on DU today that said politics is all about gaining power over others. If you think aobut it, that's exactly right!

The Pubs have always been the Party of Big business and ultimate Capitalism. The Dems have always been about fighting for the common good and controling rampant capitalism.

Somehow, we've let our elections become about a whole lot of other things, and have forgotten the basics.

We've all now seem what total Pub control means. Maybe THAT should be the base argument in the next elections!

[Cleita]

7. We are going to have to reform our elections first.

They know they can't win legitimately, so they cheat and the way we do elections leaves them wide open for cheating.

[0007]

13. Since I can remember way back to the FDR days, most all politicians

ran on the abortion issue, gun control, or the big government argument, after the argument was created by said politician.

[drm604]

16. Somehow...

"Somehow, we've let our elections become about a whole lot of other things..."

There's no "somehow" about it. How it occurred is that Republicans intentionally made it about other things - things they had a chance of winning on. They knew that if they ran on real issues - issues that matter - they'd lose. Running on "other things" is part of an intentional and carefully thought-out plan that they've been working on for decades.

[Cleita]

6. People believe that their prices will go up.

Nothing is further from the truth. It's all about obcene profits. The companies want you to believe this and they are destroying our country with their lack of regulation. Let CostCo show Wal-Mart the future.

[shenmue]

8. Me for one

There always seems to be enough money to pay the executives millions a year.

[Ouabache]

10. And EACH ONE of the Waltons is a BILLONAIRE many times over

no cut in their take, eh?

[davekriss]

11. Over the last 25 years...

...class war has been waged with convenient idealogical fervor to the benefit of the top tiers of our society.

I'm going to be lazy and not use the most current numbers available, but take a look at these:

In 1983, the top 1% of the U.S. owned 33.8% of our net worth; by 1998 that 1% owned 38.1% That's nearly a 13% INCREASE in their share of the pie.

In 1983, the bottom 80% of the U.S. owned 18.7% of our net worth; by 1998 that fell to 16.6% That's a 11% DECLINE in share of wealth.

(If you're curious, the top 20% minus the top 1% saw their share of national net worth decline from 47.5% to 45.3% over this same period.)

What did this top 1% do to "earn" this shift of wealth from the bottom 80% to their own pockets? Did they personally invent better mouse traps? Bring wealth and leisure to all mankind? No, they got better at appropriating profit from the value stream the masses created. How? Propoganda, indoctrination, brute force (especially in third world countries) -- by convincing States that capital should be free to "invest" anywhere while labor is pinned down in nation-states, forced to compete by price against their own -- the top 1% succeeded in increasing their share by doing nothing that we, the masses, would value.

Globalism is a front, a propoganda ploy meant to justify freedom. That freedom, however, is the freedom of the master to exploit the worker -- a "divine right" claimed by the powerful over the powerless.

Same as it ever was...

(Numbers are from http://www.inequality.org/factsfr.html.)

[KharmaTrain]

12. Limit Stock Holdings By CEOs

One big motivation for this mindset is how it affects corporate profits. In the 80's, people got upset with corporations that had common boards and would grant each others CEO bigger and bigger raises...so the system was "changed" that those salaries would be based on "performance"...based on the stock price or corporate earnings. This has led to the "bottom lining" of so many companies...cutting any and all costs to increase the revenues (especially in 4th quarter) that prop up the stock price and other indexes that add millions of extra dollars in executive coffers.

[Warpy]

15. Personally, I'd like to see the MBA qualifying its holder

to be a fry cook or car wash attendant. The emphasis on short sighted, immediate profit gains plus the ingrained contempt for all employees has led to the abolition of the old social contract between management and workforce and the result is quickly becoming a feudal state where these guys are going to have to look elsewhere for their consumer base, because they destroyed it here.

I've worked a long time in healthcare, and you could certainly tell when the MBA types took over from the doctors who originally founded the HMOs. Suddenly the focus became denying care completely instead of delivering it in time, while cutting staff to hideously unsafe levels.

The corporate psychopaths are simply killing the goose that laid so many golden eggs over the past 75 years by deciding it's cheaper not to feed it.

[NMMNG]

18. You know why the US companies whine about paying living wages?

Because their CEOs want to keep all of that money for themselves!

James D. Sinegal
President & CEO
Costco Co.

In 2004, James D. Sinegal raked in $4,101,372 in total compensation including stock option grants from Costco Co..

And James D. Sinegal has another $25,345,995 in unexercised stock options from previous years.

http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/ceou/database.cfm?tkr=COST&pg=1

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H. Lee Scott
President & CEO
Wal-Mart Stores

In 2005, H. Lee Scott raked in $17,542,908 in total compensation including stock option grants from Wal-Mart Stores.

And H. Lee Scott has another $4,537,582 in unexercised stock options from previous years.

http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/ceou/database.cfm?tkr=WMT&pg=1

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Robert J. Ulrich
Chairman & CEO
Target Corp.

In 2004, Robert J. Ulrich raked in $12,709,300 in total compensation including stock option grants from Target Corp..

From previous years' stock option grants, the Target Corp. executive cashed out $31,742,925 in stock option exercises.

And Robert J. Ulrich has another $148,131,419 in unexercised stock options from previous years.

http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/ceou/database.cfm?tkr=TGT&pg=1

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Hundreds more at Executive Paywatch Database