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Riches in a few hands (In surprise, Greenspan says concentration of wealth a worry)
Chicago Tribune via HoustonChronicle.com ^ | July 20, 2004 | WILLIAM NEIKIRK

Posted on 07/21/2004 6:50:12 AM PDT by Max Combined

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Tuesday that he is concerned about a growing concentration of income in the United States, adding that the educational system has not created enough skilled workers.

At the same time, Greenspan said the recent rise in inflation appears to be short-lived, while warning that the central bank will become more aggressive in increasing interest rates if stronger inflationary pressures persist. He said the recovery was sustainable despite a recent "soft patch" in June. He added that inflation figures had risen but attributed much of the rise to "transitory factors" like a spike in oil prices.

"Economic developments have become quite favorable in 2004," he said.

The Fed chief created something of a surprise by agreeing with Democratic campaign statements that there is a growing gap in wages based on skill levels, with upper-income households benefiting more than any other group from the economic recovery.

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
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Due mainly to illegal aliens and imports from China suppressing wages for the unskilled.

One has to get an education or be willing to compete with illegal Hispanic labor, which is cheap, but not as cheap as Chinese labor.

1 posted on 07/21/2004 6:50:13 AM PDT by Max Combined
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To: Max Combined
Riches in a few hands (In surprise, Greenspan says concentration of wealth a worry)

Yeah, like the Kennedys, Rockefellers, Heinzs, Kerrys, and Streisands.

2 posted on 07/21/2004 6:55:00 AM PDT by Attillathehon
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To: Max Combined

"One has to get an education or be willing to compete with illegal Hispanic labor, which is cheap, but not as cheap as Chinese labor"
One has to do both.


3 posted on 07/21/2004 6:56:27 AM PDT by GSlob
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To: Attillathehon

And the Greenspans.


4 posted on 07/21/2004 6:58:09 AM PDT by DOGEY
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To: GSlob

If one has an education, one does not really have to compete with illegal Hispanic immigrants. Instead, the upper classes are leveraging the cheap labor to make even more money.

You are correct, however, that even with an education one has to be concerned about China, since they have lots of well educated folks who are willing to work hard for peanuts.


5 posted on 07/21/2004 7:00:38 AM PDT by Max Combined
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To: Max Combined
Due mainly to illegal aliens and imports from China suppressing wages for the unskilled.

Okay, I can agree with that, yet only partially.

The root cause is callousness. The driving factor and the enabling factor BOTH is completely fiat money.

The illegal aliens here are -- most -- hard workers. Yet they come in illegally and thus by that alone -- learn disresepect of law. The elites -- the 537 elected elites in the Beltway, and many many more in money centers work to lower and elininate borders, for in their callousness they think they are insulated by the easy money of low rates absent any safegaurd on creditworthiness, cheaper goods and cheapering labor

6 posted on 07/21/2004 7:03:14 AM PDT by bvw
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To: Max Combined

I would start by seizing all of the assets of John & Theresa Kerry, John Edwards, Edward Kennedy, George Soros, and the Hollywood and media elite.


7 posted on 07/21/2004 7:10:27 AM PDT by Brilliant
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To: Brilliant

The Iron Law of Wages at work. Good job free traders, just like we having been saying Free Trade leads to a two tier society, the very very rich and the very very poor.


8 posted on 07/21/2004 7:15:05 AM PDT by jpsb (Nominated 1994 "Worst writer on the net")
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Comment #9 Removed by Moderator

To: Max Combined

"The "insourcing" of jobs into the United States from foreign investment is at the moment greater than the jobs lost overseas, he said."

Since when is foreign investment considered "insourcing" of jobs? Horse pucky. Greenspan is no capitalist, big suprise, if he fears too much wealth in the hands of a few. If the government would stop gouging them for 50% of their wealth we might not need foreign investors or their influence.

One of the reasons America was great is becaused we harnessed man's personal greed and ambition for the benefit of all. A man was free to be wealthy and produce more wealth by investing in start up companies and inventions, putting his poorer family in business and thereby providing jobs for the less quick.

The demonrats shake him down and scold him for not sharing enough. I think if a man makes a million in a year and the fed shakes him down for 40% of it and his state shakes him down for 10% of it, he is an oppressed individual. It was Bush's tax cut, for "the rich", that had a big part in stimulating the economy and bringing it out of the reccession we all were headed into.


10 posted on 07/21/2004 7:17:46 AM PDT by MissAmericanPie
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To: Max Combined

Sheeeesh! The cream is STILL rising to the top? Heat still rises? Gotta pass a law............LOL


11 posted on 07/21/2004 7:20:27 AM PDT by litehaus
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To: jamesnwu

You stopped paying attention. That lede sentence, summarizing Greenspans view, is a window into his Objectivist thinking.

You need to take all other factors into account. Political Election Year. Issues/Ideas to be advanced.

Greenspan is advocating in his subtle way, SSI Privatization, and echoing the conservatve postion on the School system....which leads to School Vouchers.

The BUSH agenda.

12 posted on 07/21/2004 7:21:55 AM PDT by hobbes1 (Hobbes1TheOmniscient® "I know everything so you don't have to" ;)
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To: MissAmericanPie

You dont understand what Greenspan is saying. See above.


13 posted on 07/21/2004 7:23:34 AM PDT by hobbes1 (Hobbes1TheOmniscient® "I know everything so you don't have to" ;)
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To: MissAmericanPie

I agree with your post. We should all fear the SOLUTIONS to the problems of outsourcing AND income discrepancies as much if not more than the problems themselves.


14 posted on 07/21/2004 7:30:52 AM PDT by wayoverontheright
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To: Max Combined
"...adding that the educational system has not created enough skilled workers."

Well, two points:

1) It's true that our educational system is a finely tuned moron manufacturing machine - but talented individuals can easily bypass the misinformation they get from those obsolescent juvenile jails we call schools and educate themselves enough to qualify as "skilled workers".

2) We have enough skilled workers in America to, but they aren't willing to work as cheaply as skilled workers in India and China.

15 posted on 07/21/2004 7:31:36 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves
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To: Max Combined

George Soros

Ben Cohen

Warren Buffet

France


16 posted on 07/21/2004 7:33:22 AM PDT by Stallone (Make love not war! ~ Lynndie England)
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To: hobbes1

I'm just quoting him.


17 posted on 07/21/2004 7:34:08 AM PDT by MissAmericanPie
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To: Attillathehon

See, if it was all in MY hands, we'd be fine.


18 posted on 07/21/2004 7:34:36 AM PDT by nina0113
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To: Max Combined

In Tx. all I see are mainly Hispanics working on building houses which means labor expense is much lower than say 10 yrs. ago but the costs of houses keep rising so it's obviously pure greed on the part of builders to eliminate Americans and hire illegals.....which is against federal law but hey that seems to be a minor issue to law enforcement these days.

The galling part of this scheme is that these builders and others who hire illegals now have a system in place where they can pay minimal wages to their workers knowing full well the taxpayers are being socked with expenses such as food, housing, medical, etc. to buffet their cost of living. It's totally criminal and it shows what depths we've sunk to in this supposed "nation of laws".


19 posted on 07/21/2004 7:35:17 AM PDT by american spirit
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To: bvw
"fiat money"

Yeah, right.

If we were still using gold, the massive influx of cheap, unskilled labor, would still drive down the wages of labor. It is a matter of supply and demand. At the same time, the huge numbers of uneducated Hispanics makes for a large underclass, which makes for a large gap between those who are educated and technologically savvy and those who have nothing going for themselves other than a strong back.

It seems like the folks who use the term "fiat money" are obsessed with the term, filtering every problem through this lens. You might as well get over it, because we are not going back to the gold standard. Gold has very little intrinsic value. The only reason it has value is because traditionally, folks have given you the stuff you want when you gave them gold. They do the same thing now for paper currency, so why use gold? Anyone will sell you gold for dollars, even the biggest gold bugs. In any case, paper currency is going out as well. Soon it will be just numbers in your account statement.
20 posted on 07/21/2004 7:35:27 AM PDT by Max Combined
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