Homelessness grows as more live check-to-check

USA Today ^ | 8/12/03 | Stephanie Armour

[Gothmog]

Homelessness in major cities is escalating as more laid-off workers already living paycheck-to-paycheck wind up on the streets or in shelters.

As Americans file for bankruptcy in record numbers and credit card debt explodes, more workers are a paycheck away from losing their homes. Now the frail economy is pushing them over the edge. With 9 million unemployed workers in July, the face of homelessness is changing to include more families shaken by joblessness.

[harpseal]

Hmmm... Maybe, then, importing these H1-Bs isn't such a bad idea, long-term? ;-)

I am all for hard working intelligent immigrants who come here with the goal of becoming citizens but that is not the issue of H1B visa grantees they are not given immigrant status. they are guest workers brought in strictly to interfere with the free market in American wages.

Free markets are only good for maximizing ytour profits when they maxximize someone elses you object. That is a class act you got there.

[Gothmog]

I know, that's why I included that part, ha ha ha.

[DugwayDuke]

"Clearly it does to some extent depend upon product but Boeing in its own self interest should pay a wage sufficient to their employees so they can as a general rulepurchase seats on flights using Boeing aircraft." - harpseal.

So Henry Ford paid his employees enough so that they could afford cab fare? Nice try.

No, Henry Ford's real "stroke of genius" was to use modern production techniques like the automated production line to produce cars cheap enough to be purchased by the average worker. Ford didn't get rich selling his product to his employees, he got rich selling millions of cars to the rest of the country.

[jjm2111]

There was a "secretary" at a former job who was pretty much useless. The only computer skill she learned was how to plain a mean game of solitaire. She then quit her job because talking to her friends on the company dime while playing computer games (multishirking) was "too much".

After a couple of years of daytime soaps she is having a hard time finding a job, because she doesn't even know how to use Word. Something she could have mastered while on the job.

[harpseal]

No living wage crap heremerely the fact that there are less people employed today than on January 1, 2003. Further there are substantial numbers under employed. Further, the layoffs appear to be increasing. Our current account trade deficit continues to rise. The deficit with China is rising fastest and is I believe I could be wrong the largest of any nation.

Given the current state of the economy and government policies there is a whole lot that can and needs be done.

1. Get rid of government subsidies for offshore investment of US companies. OPIC is the first such program which should go but support of World Bank programs that subsidize the outflow of Capital would be another.

2. Use tariffs on those nations which are engaged in unfair trade practices such as currency manipulation (China and India for example), those nations which refuse to open their markets to US products (China for example with uts 50% tariffs on US consumer goods and non tariff barriers), those nations that subsidize competition to American Industry(airbus for example) and those nations which have slave conditions for their workers.

3. Use tariffs and other means to prevent the relocation of jobs offshore that are essential to the national defense. If necessary take control of the company seeking to export vital technology or industry by means of eminent domain (No I do not like this last option and I will only defend its use as an absolute last resort like say in the case of rare earth magnets essential to smart bomb technology).

4. An immediate end to guest worker programs. If people wish to come to the USA to work and make a life let them immigrate according to the rules.

5 Provide economic development zones where the corporate income tax is zero for operations within these zones. In order to operate in this zone a company must agree to only purchase American components if available and employ only American citizens or legal immigrants in these operations.

6. Scale back unnecesary regulation.

7. Increase the domestic content in purchases by the Department of defense and give absolute preference in non-domestic content to proven allies of the USA over say the French or Germans.

8. Do not allow expense involved in moving operations overseas to be included in business expenses under the IRS code.

9. Prosecute for perjury anyone who has made a false staement in order to employ an H1B or L1 visa worker. I will be lienient on the actual perjurer if he/she was ordered to make this false statement and he/she provides testimony to aid in the conviction of the person ordering the perjury. Just because a person is a CEO does not give them a pss on criminal behavior.

10. Prosecute anyone who orders the transfer of vital defense technology overseas except to stroing allies of the USA. The UK, and Australia come to mind as meeting these criteria first.

Absolutely nothing there is socialist. It is entirely centered on the free market.

[jjm2111]

"Here's complete MS Office training, free of charge. Press F1 "

ROFLMAO!!!

[Chemist_Geek]

I refer you back to Gothmog's post...

Like her, hard-working, motivated, intelligent, etc. The ones that stay in China (according to her) seem to be the flip side of the coin.

Long-term, if we drain the brains from overseas then they won't present as grave a threat, right?

I'm thinking that even if they're eventually shipped back to their homeland, then they might not be as anti-American as they might have been had they not lived here.

The flip side, is, of course they will understand us and our weaknesses somewhat better having lived here...

On the third hand, as an American-born scientist, I'm concerned about retaining our native capability to do research...

So, overall, I don't know...

[jjm2111]

"So let me get this straight, someone who moves back into their parents home is HOMELESS? Odd....

Leftists actually have a term for this: Hidden Homeless. (i.e. if you don't have a 4br 4,000 sq ft. TriBeCa loft, you're "homeless") I ain't living till I find the right place.

[harpseal]

henry Ford was not producing cars he was producing automobiles for the mass market. Boeing is producing planes for the mass market? The model T ford was not the primary cab when it was introduced and horse drawn cabs were really the norm at the time he was coming up with the assemby line production for his automobiles. I note Ford was not the first to introduce assembly line production as this was done in the gun business well before Ford started his business.

[Mad Dawgg]

If you have a business that makes plastic goods like wastepaper baskets and such and you have to hire someone to administer your Retirement plan, your Healthcare plan, a union liaison employee, an employee that deals with the E.P.A. and OSHA, etc. etc. etc. Not to mention all the money wasted paying into FICA taxes and dealing with government paperwork.

So now you are mired down in crap that has absolutely nothing to do with making plastic products. Then all of the sudden your competition is off-shore making the same damned product you do for a nickel on the dollar!

Half the reason for the high cost of medical care is due to Medical Benefits. Nobody is concerned with how much medical care costs because well it is taken care of for them. Just show em your card and it is all is well!

Tis a shame so many in America are sucked in by this crap! We used to be a nation of individuals who lived the American dream, now most of us are sheep bleating about benefits and who is gonna take care of me!

[Gothmog]

IMHO these H1-B types have been importing themselves to America since the mid 1600s, ha ha ha.

[harpseal]

Long-term, if we drain the brains from overseas then they won't present as grave a threat, right?

Like I said they do not have immigrant status.

I'm thinking that even if they're eventually shipped back to their homeland, then they might not be as anti-American as they might have been had they not lived here.

You are thinking that do you have evidence to support it or merely your thoughts.

The flip side, is, of course they will understand us and our weaknesses somewhat better having lived here...

No comment becuase this is really irrelevant to the H1B discussion or L1 discussion. On the third hand, as an American-born scientist, I'm concerned about retaining our native capability to do research...

Then you should be concerned about new opportunities for recently degreed individuals in teh hard sciences and engineering.

So, overall, I don't know...

I note you did not comment on the issue of putting Americans out of work and depressing otehr Americans income by the government artificially manipulating the supply of techinically competent people.

[Timesink]

Anyone who approaches life with an attitude like that is probably going to be dumb, poor, and a loser no matter who they vote for. Which means they are wasting their time even on Election Day, too.

Don't worry, those types don't bother to show up to vote at all. Unless someone offers them a free carton of Marlboros, anyway.

[harpseal]

249 cars should read cabs

[jjm2111]

"Half the reason for the high cost of medical care is due to Medical Benefits"

Well, the Medical Malpractice industry and doctor's attempts to counter it (40 tests for a sprained knee) certainly contribute.

[DugwayDuke]

"What difference does the fact that his family business might benefit from tariffs when tariffs clearly create an overall improvement in teh investment envirornment within the US."

Motivations are always relevent particularly when someone has been caught distoring facts.

Whether tariffs improve the investment environment is debatable particularly when they raise the cost of doing business for both business and consumers.


"The only ones who do not benefit from an increase in tariffs overall are those with vested interests in imports."

Such as consumers?

"tariffs are Constitutional and the original intent of the framers can easily be ascertained as to teh Constitutionality of protective tariffs by simply looking at the fact that the Second act of the firs Congress was to enact a protective tariff."

Tariffs were used to fund govenment, not protect jobs and wages.

"There is a US Spureme Court opinion which makes note of this. Tariffs are a conservative tenet and to me the question is what jsutification is there for open access to American markets by foreign nations that restrict American products from free entry to their markets."

I favor the use of tariffs to combat unfair trade practices. I do not favor the use of tariffs to increase costs to businesses and consumers so that other business and citizens can profit at the expense of their fellow citizens.

[Timesink]

In as much as 100 is the same thing as 4000, sure.

Home run!

[samuel_adams_us]

Actually, they affect everything like it affects everyone else, I am just not looking to fill my pockets as fast as the rest are, I would rather do the long term thing, not the short term mistake.

[DugwayDuke]

"henry Ford was not producing cars he was producing automobiles for the mass market. Boeing is producing planes for the mass market? The model T ford was not the primary cab when it was introduced and horse drawn cabs were really the norm at the time he was coming up with the assemby line production for his automobiles."

No, Boeing doesn't produce airplanes for the mass market. It produces airliners to sell to airlines who sell tickets to ride on the airplanes made by Boeing. You're the one who implied that companies should pay wages so it's employes could buy it's product. Now, you're trying to change Boeing's product from airliners to seats in the airliner. Nice try, but this is a bad argument.

"I note Ford was not the first to introduce assembly line production as this was done in the gun business well before Ford started his business."

I never said he invented the process, I said his "stroke of genius" was to apply this concept to auto production.

[Conservative til I die]

I totally agree with you. I've got a degree in Marketing. I like marketing, but working for agencies or managing accounts is tough, because employment tends to rise and fall with accounts and more importantly, accounts' budgets. I'm planning to go back and get my MBA in market research. Pay is better, I like doing it, and there's always a demand for research and polling (just check about 50 threads a day here on Gallup, Quinnipeac, Zogby, Nielsen, Gartner etc. for evidence). I'm doing this whether or not I'm working.