Wal Mart's Exploitive Practices Attacked By Website

Wake Up Wal-Mart ^

[Clintonfatigued]

Because of Wal-Mart's inadequate wages and benefits, Wal-Mart employees are eligible for $2.5 billion in Federal assistance, which comes from your tax dollars.

[Aliska]

I do feel we need to invest heavily in education.

For what? Business, teaching, science, engineering, etc.?

Not everyone is cut out for that and never will be in this life.

Even if they were, who will sweep the floors, run the carwashes, and all the menial labor our society requires and what and how will they be paid?

The thing that really bothers me to maintain the standard of living some of us demand/desire/require, we must continually have an underclass in one form or another to do the jobs nobody is willing to do unless they are well compensated and even then . . . A continual stream of untrained, uneducated illegal immigrants isn't sustainable forever.

I respect where you are coming from, much of it makes sense, but the education mantra is not a cure-all for our societal ills. What you have said raises many questions that will need practical solutions.

In reality, we will probably always be playing musical chairs between the rich and poor, in one form or another until the end of time, with a diminished middle class, despite the efforts of all the social planners. We will have to adapt, and adaptation may well mean social chaos and other very negative consequences sooner or later.

[Aliska]

Your replies indicate you truly believe in the nanny state.

No I don't. I believe in self-sufficiency which is becoming less and less possible in our complex society.

I do believe in the absence of a utopia which is unattainable, we are going to have to compromise, and my ideal compromise would be the fewer nannies the better.

We already have a socialistic society, and I would like to find some practical solutions to prevent total socialism becoming our way of life.

[bfree]

We already have a socialistic society, and I would like to find some practical solutions to prevent total socialism becoming our way of life.

No you don't. All your posts propose an increase of socialism. You believe in redistribution of wealth. If I pay more for my health care, should I receive the same health care as those that pay nothing? If I make enough to buy a bigger house, should I forfeit that to live in public housing? The utopia you wish for is not possible in our society, only in a totalitarian one and I am not willing to submit to that.

[durasell]

A) Education is never wasted. For someone digging a ditch or mopping a floor knowing the definition of a prime number or the history of country probably won't help them dig a better ditch or mop a floor any cleaner, but it will make them a better citizen. And it will allow them to pass that knowledge on to their children who might not want to go into the ditch digging or floor mopping game.

B)We will always have an underclass, but if that underclass grows too large, then we have a problem. In Victorian England the underclass was called "the dangerous class" for a reason. Poverty breeds a whole host of unpleasant pathologies.

C)We will also probably always have a middleclass, but I suspect it won't look like the middleclass we have today. It will look more diverse, Asian, hispanic, etc. These will be second generation Ameicans will to work those 16 days and whose parents pushed them in a maniacal immigrant fashion to succeed. These are the people who still have faith in the "American Dream" and have no expectations of "entitlement" whatsoever. Living in NYC, I see these people in action every single day of my life. There are many, many NYC cab drivers working double-shifts six and seven days a week for years on end to pay for college educations. There are many deli owners who have a cot in the storeroom to sleep four and five hours a night before returning to work, so they can put a down payment down on a house in Jersey.

D)This is still America and the same people have always won: the rich, the brilliant and the clever who somehow manage to combine their talents with hard work.

[Aliska]

No you don't. All your posts propose an increase of socialism. You believe in redistribution of wealth. If I pay more for my health care, should I receive the same health care as those that pay nothing? If I make enough to buy a bigger house, should I forfeit that to live in public housing? The utopia you wish for is not possible in our society, only in a totalitarian one and I am not willing to submit to that.

It is redistribution of somebody else's income to pay medical insurance claims on the policy your employer supplies you if you file one claim. SOMEBODY ELSE PICKS UP THE TAB. If you pay your own premiums out of your own pocket, you are taking money out of somebody else's pocket if your claims go one penny more than your insurance premium, assuming you have 100% coverage and the portion you can deduct, if you can meet the deduction, on your Schedule A if you itemize your deductions.

Nowhere did I say you should live in public housing. What gave you that idea? You are free to live anywhere you can afford to live.

I have consistently said I want a living wage and health care for every person who works full-time, and society must pay for those who won't or can't for whatever reason which is already a done deal and not an increase of socialism.

This is not easy and it doesn't work fairly across the board. Some poor people get better health care than I do. I cannot in good conscience say they don't deserve it. They just got a break. I get breaks in other ways. Some poor people get substandard health care. That's the way the cookie crumbles at the level of socialism we are already at.

If that makes me advocating more socialism, that makes you a selfish person who cares only about yourself.

I will go for something that works with the least possible increase of socialism, and preferably a decrease in the socialism we already have.

Now don't say any more things I did not say. You are needling me.

Oh, and tell the owner of this site he shouldn't get medical disability. That is a form of socialism. I would be the last person to deny a veteran or anybody medical benefits and a living wage if they are able to work. A living wage would put more money into the economy, so things could even out or even improve.

[Aliska]

I hope you are right; I don't have a problem with it; I think you meant 16 hours a day.

I take exception with this:

There are many, many NYC cab drivers working double-shifts six and seven days a week for years on end to pay for college educations

Some people working too hard too long develop premature health problems which cost society. I've seen it.

[bfree]

Nonsense once again.

[Aliska]

I just got a nice letter from Senator Grassley. Makes my day. Of course, it came off a word processor, and the signature was probably some high tech facsimile, but he did what he could to try to save some disabled woman in Florida.

That concerned socialism as she was being kept alive at the public expense for the last few years of her pitiful existence.

I suppose that is nonsense, too.

Maybe you don't mean to, but you come across as if you were the last laissey (freudian slip) faire capitalist on earth and everybody else was your lackey, you would be screaming for the slaves (you would be the government) to pick up the dead bodies off the streets so you didn't have to see them, smell them, catch diseases from them, or walk over or drive around them because they were unworthy of medical care because it would be redistribution of your income.

[bfree]

Your half witted attempts at insults aren't worth responding to any longer.

[Aliska]

Your half witted attempts at insults aren't worth responding to any longer.

Thank heaven. I'll put you on my do not talk to list.

[bfree]

I'll be in good company.

[Nowhere Man]

Even if they were, who will sweep the floors, run the carwashes, and all the menial labor our society requires and what and how will they be paid?

Throwing another monkey wrench into the mix, at some time, these jobs will be more automated and maybe even robots will do them at some point so we will end up having another conundrum here that will have to be dealt with.

The thing that really bothers me to maintain the standard of living some of us demand/desire/require, we must continually have an underclass in one form or another to do the jobs nobody is willing to do unless they are well compensated and even then . . . A continual stream of untrained, uneducated illegal immigrants isn't sustainable forever.

True, also there are problems with having an immigrant workforce for the low jobs, look at Europe where a lot of the Moslem immigrants are having an affect on how and where Europe is headed, I think there is potential for conflict there. Same here, already there are ideas by certain fringe groups of taking back the Southwest into Mexico or as it's own separate country. That's the problem we face because there is no will because of the PC crowd to intergrate them into our society like our ancestor had to.

I respect where you are coming from, much of it makes sense, but the education mantra is not a cure-all for our societal ills. What you have said raises many questions that will need practical solutions.

In reality, we will probably always be playing musical chairs between the rich and poor, in one form or another until the end of time, with a diminished middle class, despite the efforts of all the social planners. We will have to adapt, and adaptation may well mean social chaos and other very negative consequences sooner or later.

Yeah, I'm still for a good education, especially if it imbeds a desire to learn. Plus an educated workclass is needed so they know when they are getting shafted. B-) B-P I think durasell eluded to the point to where our fall is coming, especially so if we don't address this issues. I've always believed it myself, my father has been saying to me since 1973 (when I was 7), "America will not exist in its present form when you grow up." He told me different paths we could take from a civil war, an atomic war (back then, the USSR although I still see it possible from other powers today) or most likely, we will just collapse into something like the Balkans on steroids.

If you want something that will curl your hair, I would like to suggest the site, www.johntitor.com, where I heard the story on Art Bell. Basically, Titor was a time traveller from 2036 where basically America collapsed into a dictatorship and Russia freaked out and nuked us and we end up in a civil war. I am dubious on the time traveller aspect of it, I guess I do leave the door slightly cracked for the tiniest possible chance that it could be true, but more likely, the person or people behind Titor and/or the site I feel are trying to warn us of what could happen. Between the rabid left and the free traders, they are going to do this nation great harm.

Getting down to the basics, again, we have many issues that need to be addressed and answers provided for, we cannot sweep them under the rug and the old answers from the past are not going to work.

[antceecee]

My Mom is on Soc. Sec. and works at Walmart part-time. She likes to stay active and the extra money doesn't hurt either.

[Nowhere Man]

Some people working too hard too long develop premature health problems which cost society. I've seen it.

The good doctor, Dr. Peter Whybrow, I told you about talked about that a lot on George Noory. Bascially he says that the way we humans are designed is that we can give such energy in shorts bursts, meaning only for a short duration. After that, fatigue, health problems and such can creep in, not to mention the family problems that can crop up too. It is like taking your car and "redlining" the engine (revving it up to RPM's faster than the engine can take for a long time) and then you start to overheat, you oil starts to cook, valves ping and then your engine just burns up, the block cracks, and/or you throw a push rod. We are seeing this in society, not only with health problems but societial ills too.

[Nowhere Man]

You'll get a kick out of this:

Atlas Shrugged - One Hour Later

BTW, I got a letter from Rick Santorum as a response to my concern over Terri Schindler so I tried to do my share too.

[durasell]

The gap in wages between illegal immigrants and legal or native born is already growing closer in many areas. I don't see it widening any time soon. As previously stated, I was recently offered maid service by a woman from an outlying depressed area that was extremely close to illegal wages. Actually, if you count in her travel time, she was being paid less per hour.

That said, this is America. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "Americans can always be counted on to do the
right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities."

[Gabz]

I do believe in the absence of a utopia which is unattainable, we are going to have to compromise, and my ideal compromise would be the fewer nannies the better.

ROFLMPJO...........all you have advocated is more of a nanny state.....

I am at a total loss for words at this point.

[durasell]

I don't know what "ROFLMPJO" means, but I find the "JO" ending a little worrisome.

[Gabz]

Living in NYC, I see these people in action every single day of my life. There are many, many NYC cab drivers working double-shifts six and seven days a week for years on end to pay for college educations. There are many deli owners who have a cot in the storeroom to sleep four and five hours a night before returning to work, so they can put a down payment down on a house in Jersey.

I can not agree with you more. I was born and raised in NYC (don't miss it a bit) and encountered many of the type people you are talking about.........in fact many of them were the parents of many of my friends and classmates.

[Gabz]

It's just a differnt use of the standard ROFLMAO - instead of the "A" - it's "PJ" (as in pajama)