US and EU politics

[mysiteguy]

Record unemployment, GDP growing faster than the previous administration, businesses a record number of more jobs available than workers (6.6 million https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-u-s-increased-in-april-to-record-6-7-million ), US poverty rate lowest since the global financial crisis, DOW is high, ISIS is smaller, food stamp rolls are down due to people getting employed, US oil production set to be the largest in the world, lower taxes, hundreds of billions of dollars are repatriated money, companies like Walmart handing out raisings and increasing their minimum hiring wage, manufacturing up and growing, record tax revenues, MS-13 gang members targetted and deported, illegal immigrant arrests up, increased generic drug competition, prohibition on interstate health insurance sales scaled back, increased terrorist tourist screening, etc.

Those desperate times? It seems to me the desperation is coming from the left. Perhaps if they started focusing on the little guy for a change, like they historically did, instead of on illegal immigrants and special interest groups. There's a lot to legitimately ridicule about Trump, but the left needs to start having an actual message rather than being then their only tactic being haters.

 

[Nev_Dull]

Whilst I hold no affinity to Donald Trump, he is the elected leader of USA and deserves the respect that the office brings; we are, after all as countries, supposed to be allies and friends.

Well said. Except it is the office that deserves respect. The man, like all leaders, needs to earn it. So far, Mr. Trump has managed to alienate himself from nearly all of his country's traditional allies and friends, embrace common enemies, and confound his own party. I don't think he could have done more to destabilize western alliances if he were working for Mr. Putin himself. If there is method in his madness, we've yet to see it.

 

[zappaDPJ]

According to this BBC report the younger generation are behaving in a way that's 'truly shocking society'. They are drinking less, taking less drugs, not getting pregnant, smoking less and even getting arrested less. These days it seems they prefer to 'spend time with their families'. Whatever happened to sex and drugs and rock and roll?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/44880278

 

[Maddox]

According to this BBC report the younger generation are behaving in a way that's 'truly shocking society'.

They must have been around your neck of the woods to take that survey - they want to come where I am; sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll are in full swing here, more so than ever. Kids run around in gangs shouting, screaming, urinating, drinking and having sex in public - it's only the rock 'n' roll that's missing as they prefer (c)rap music instead.

As always, the BBC are very selective in their reporting.

 

[Nev_Dull]

Wow! Life sounds exciting where you live, Maddox.

We have those youth gangs here too. I see them all the time in coffee shops, huddled together over some board game, clutching their low-fat mochas and herbal teas. Nefarious bastards.

 

[Maddox]

No such luck for things being so innocuous here. Usually they are in groups of 12 to 20 and they reek havoc; they turn over waste bins, destroy flower beds, burn cars, destroy anything that makes the community look a better place, often turning it into a real waste land. It's a shame because a lot of what is being done in the community is for their benefit, but I guess it's just not exciting enough for them. I have to say that not all of the kids are the same, but there's enough of the rotten ones to make this a frightening place to venture out, especially at night.

 

[mysiteguy]

According to this BBC report the younger generation are behaving in a way that's 'truly shocking society'. They are drinking less, taking less drugs, not getting pregnant, smoking less and even getting arrested less. These days it seems they prefer to 'spend time with their families'. Whatever happened to sex and drugs and rock and roll?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/44880278

On the flip side, more are staying at home instead of being booted out by their parents...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...y-buy-homeowners-housing-market-a8043891.html

Its a bit harder to live a partying lifestyle under mom and pop's roof!

 

[zappaDPJ]

On the flip side, more are staying at home instead of being booted out by their parents...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...y-buy-homeowners-housing-market-a8043891.html

Its a bit harder to live a partying lifestyle under mom and pop's roof!

That's very true. The majority of young people simply can't afford to take the first step on the property ladder. Rents are also high which makes saving for a deposit almost impossible.

 

[Nev_Dull]

No such luck for things being so innocuous here. Usually they are in groups of 12 to 20 and they reek havoc; they turn over waste bins, destroy flower beds, burn cars, destroy anything that makes the community look a better place, often turning it into a real waste land. It's a shame because a lot of what is being done in the community is for their benefit, but I guess it's just not exciting enough for them. I have to say that not all of the kids are the same, but there's enough of the rotten ones to make this a frightening place to venture out, especially at night.

That is a shame. At the risk of sounding psychological, there has to be a reason behind it all, other than a lack of respect. It seems more like acts of frustration and anger. While it isn't that bad, we do have some similar behaviour here, mostly in the larger metro centres where the prices and rents are high and income potential for those youths is limited. Some provinces are raising minimum wages up around $15/hr to help alleviate that sense of hopelessness and frustration.

 

[Nev_Dull]

I know, right? But then, you could get a flat for less than $200 a month as well.

 

[CarlosX360]

Some provinces are raising minimum wages up around $15/hr to help alleviate that sense of hopelessness and frustration.

Quite on the contrary.

In San Francisco, this isn't true. Rent there is about (and around) $5000 a month. Where I used to live in California? You'd be lucky to have anywhere close to $1500 for a 2-bed home, we had 3 bedrooms (the third room is supposed to be a garage). We were one of those lucky ones, but family didn't see it like that. Most places charge you around $2,000 or more.

 

[Nev_Dull]

Agreed. Even $15/hr is not a "living wage" in today's economy. What it does, however, is give those minimum wage earners, especially the young, some sense that it's not pointless to work those jobs. Getting together with a couple of mates can get you a small place to live and maybe a couple of dollars left over.

 

[Nev_Dull]

Maybe it's because I'm in a smaller city. Rents were quite a bit cheaper. And, of course, for someone in the position you were back then, we had/have housing assistance programs that provide decent housing for a fixed percentage of income to low income families. (I know, I know. You wouldn't approve of that.)

Canadian public sector workers have always been better paid than their US counterparts as well. My cousin started as a local leo in the early 80s. Even then they were making around $40k.

 

[mysiteguy]

The first minimum wage law, adjusted for inflation, would page $4.20/hour today. Adjusted by the general rise in wages since then it would be $8.86/hour today. Current Federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour. While lower than $8.86, its a far cry from $15/hour those on the left general want.

Minimum wage jobs are typically starting type, no skill jobs, as an entry into the workforce to gain some skills and experience. Half those earning minimum wage are under the age of 25. And of people aged 25 and younger, only 10% make minimum wage, the rest make higher. And they are typically people still supported by their parents going through high school/college/university (62% of those 25 and younger earning minimum wage are students) and their average family income is over $65,000/year.

Of those over 25, only 2% make minimum wage. And only 1% of those married earn minimum wage. And 62% of them live in families who earn 150% or more than the poverty line.

The percentage earning minimum wage decreases by age, until after retirement age, where some take jobs to supplement social security:



And "living wage"? The average family income of all those earning minimum wage is $53,113. It's a falsehood that large numbers of people are relying on minimum wage to support themselves/family.

 

[mysiteguy]

Which is actually a pity. They were sold what amounts to a pig in a poke.
Please, don't get me going there... I'll get either a thread ban or an outright ban.

And what most people don't seem to know, you probably do, is that those of retirement age actually tend to have more assets than any other group. Homes paid off, cars they've driven for years paid off, all their furniture bought and paid for, etc. There are some who must supplement their income to make ends meet, but to hear it from the media you'd think most people of retirement age are living in tents out in the woods, dying of starvation.

 

[Nev_Dull]

and no, for those actually in need I don't have an issue with it. What I do have an issue with is those that are dropping babies just to get more money and the housing.

I can go along with that.

Wow. We actually agree on something around social programs. I'm going to watch out for lightning bolts the rest of the day.

 

[Nev_Dull]

And what most people don't seem to know, you probably do, is that those of retirement age actually tend to have more assets than any other group. Homes paid off, cars they've driven for years paid off, all their furniture bought and paid for, etc. There are some who must supplement their income to make ends meet, but to hear it from the media you'd think most people of retirement age are living in tents out in the woods, dying of starvation.

Maybe it's different in your country, but those stats don't wash here. A great number of people don't have employee retirement plans and many of those can't afford to put much into private ones. Also, many low to mid income families don't own a home or other significant asset. They end up relying on provincial and federal pension plans, which are not indexed to inflation.

We may not be as bad off as some countries, but still, nearly 5% of seniors here are living at or below the poverty line. And given that Canada is set to become the second (behind Japan) country to have 20% of the population over 65, that's a fair number of folks.

Since you like stats, here are some from our side of the border:

​

 

[mysiteguy]

I know many like that (to make ends meet)... and one of the biggest things that are hitting them are the ever-rising property taxes. Many are on a fixed income, and in years past that fixed income would have been adequate. Some of them are just the death of their spouse away from having to go onto public assistance.

Most people are on a "fixed" income. Unless someone makes their money from commission or investments, their income is "fixed" until they get a raise.

The retired boomers...
They were handed the biggest booming economy and prosperity in the history of the USA. They've had much lower historical marginal tax rates than their parents. They've been hearing since at least the 1970s that social security was not sustainable, and had decades to put something away for a rainy day. They have been a have their cake and eat it generation, squandering it, and leaving future generations without hope of getting social security PLUS having to still pay the bills created by the boomers long after they are dead.

The Ants & the Grasshopper
One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

 

[PoetJC]

What I do have an issue with is those that are dropping babies just to get more money and the housing.

A quick comment... A good percentage of the conservatives I know would absolutely agree with these sentiments. And so do I in a certain sense.
But then again ... A good percentage of the conservatives I know - would absolutely prevent said moocher and baby-dropper the option of abortion, whilst giving zero damns about the repercussion of such a mindset: babies forced into a broken foster care system, being bounced around from home to home or being yet another "body" added to a broken orphanage system. And then there's the absurd and ridiculously bigoted mindset that members of the LGBTQ community should not be allowed to adopt, even though the majority who have interest in adopting are more than qualified. But that's a different story I suppose...

At the end of the day though ==> These are not the actions of someone who actually gives a damn about children.

J.

 

[fixer]