juantoo3
....whys guy.... ʎʇıɹoɥʇnɐ uoıʇsǝnb
Kindest Regards, Mind!
What do you define as "poor?" The poorest people in the states, with the possible exception of Native Americans on a reservation, are still much wealthier than many people considered well off in third world countries. The genuinely poor in Mexico alone risk death to cross the border illegally to gain access to the American system. A typical American looks down on these people with disdain and thinks they are very poor and stealing jobs from Americans, yet these illegal immigrants are grateful for the opportunity to work and earn a living that allows them even to send money to relatives back home. This is but one example, I could list many many more. People complain about American companies going overseas to hire workers for pennies on the dollar. What these same people fail to realize is that Americans shopping at Walmart are not willing to pay the prices that would be required if the products were made in the US. $20 sneakers, for example, would cost more like $50, because of the added cost of unionized labor and benefits commanded by US workers. The complaint continues that those foreign workers are being exploited by being paid so little. Yet if one were to actually ask those workers, those pennies on the dollar per hour actually makes them relatively well off where they are at because their cost of living is much lower. In reality, their living standard is improving! Where before they had little to no money, now they have some, which is much more than they did have. So, there are benefits to shifting manufacturing overseas that are ignored by the American workers who lose their jobs. Yes, these Americans must retrain in order to move into the service economy, but these are the dynamics in a nutshell of the current situation. The American manufacturing worker has priced themselves out of the market.
Now, I could say to an extent that I agree with you when movie stars and sports stars are paid millions for what amounts to very little work compared to the average 40+ hour a week joe. But there is this little thing called supply and demand. If people are willing to shell out $50 a ticket or more, by the thousands to fill a stadium, then why shouldn't an athlete command or receive a handsome salary? And if people are willing to shell out $10 a ticket by the millions to watch a movie (like Star Wars, for example), then why shouldn't the actors and production companies make big bucks? By contrast, if all you do is make 5 cent widgets all day long for a living, and only so many people have a need for widgets, you are not going to make millions. The demand is not there. If all you do all day long is take tickets at the movie theatre, what do you do to justify being paid a handsome salary?
The underlying premise to your complaint is that life is not equal, it is not fair. Guess what? Life isn't fair, and people are not equal, Political Correctness notwithstanding. If a person has poured their blood, sweat and tears into building a company, long hours of sacrifice and hard work, not to mention the risk element of failure and bankruptcy, why should they not be paid better, much better, than a person who sits around moping all day collecting welfare and hitting a crack pipe? So, while I may think you are right in crying about how some people are overpaid (actors, rock stars and sports stars), I think a person who has worked hard to build a company has every right and entitlement to their earnings. If they then choose to buy two or three or thirty or a hundred $20 million houses with their earnings is none of my concern. I am happy for them.
Whether a gift or not is irrelevent, if it is in your possession and ability to use. Even a "loaner" means you have access that the truly poor do not have. That you have the knowledge and ability to use it means education, that costs money, that the truly poor do not have.Mindonfire said:
You are correct, you did not say it. I did. Because it is the natural conclusion to where you were heading, whether you understand that yet or not.
No more so than you distorting mine.
When you find that system, clue me in. In my travels I have yet to find a perfect govenmental or economic system devised by humanity. When the millenial reign is established, then I believe we will both find what we are looking for. Until then, the best we can do is work with what we have in front of us.
Again I will say that wealth is God's blessing. Who am I to say who God should bless and who He should not? What a person does with their wealth is none of my concern. My concern is what to do with what blessings God gives to me personally. I cannot save any other person, nor can they save me. Some people are content with little, some are content with much, some learn to be content with what they are given. Some are not content with any amount, little or much.
I have a few things to add.
What do you define as "poor?" The poorest people in the states, with the possible exception of Native Americans on a reservation, are still much wealthier than many people considered well off in third world countries. The genuinely poor in Mexico alone risk death to cross the border illegally to gain access to the American system. A typical American looks down on these people with disdain and thinks they are very poor and stealing jobs from Americans, yet these illegal immigrants are grateful for the opportunity to work and earn a living that allows them even to send money to relatives back home. This is but one example, I could list many many more. People complain about American companies going overseas to hire workers for pennies on the dollar. What these same people fail to realize is that Americans shopping at Walmart are not willing to pay the prices that would be required if the products were made in the US. $20 sneakers, for example, would cost more like $50, because of the added cost of unionized labor and benefits commanded by US workers. The complaint continues that those foreign workers are being exploited by being paid so little. Yet if one were to actually ask those workers, those pennies on the dollar per hour actually makes them relatively well off where they are at because their cost of living is much lower. In reality, their living standard is improving! Where before they had little to no money, now they have some, which is much more than they did have. So, there are benefits to shifting manufacturing overseas that are ignored by the American workers who lose their jobs. Yes, these Americans must retrain in order to move into the service economy, but these are the dynamics in a nutshell of the current situation. The American manufacturing worker has priced themselves out of the market.
Now, I could say to an extent that I agree with you when movie stars and sports stars are paid millions for what amounts to very little work compared to the average 40+ hour a week joe. But there is this little thing called supply and demand. If people are willing to shell out $50 a ticket or more, by the thousands to fill a stadium, then why shouldn't an athlete command or receive a handsome salary? And if people are willing to shell out $10 a ticket by the millions to watch a movie (like Star Wars, for example), then why shouldn't the actors and production companies make big bucks? By contrast, if all you do is make 5 cent widgets all day long for a living, and only so many people have a need for widgets, you are not going to make millions. The demand is not there. If all you do all day long is take tickets at the movie theatre, what do you do to justify being paid a handsome salary?
The underlying premise to your complaint is that life is not equal, it is not fair. Guess what? Life isn't fair, and people are not equal, Political Correctness notwithstanding. If a person has poured their blood, sweat and tears into building a company, long hours of sacrifice and hard work, not to mention the risk element of failure and bankruptcy, why should they not be paid better, much better, than a person who sits around moping all day collecting welfare and hitting a crack pipe? So, while I may think you are right in crying about how some people are overpaid (actors, rock stars and sports stars), I think a person who has worked hard to build a company has every right and entitlement to their earnings. If they then choose to buy two or three or thirty or a hundred $20 million houses with their earnings is none of my concern. I am happy for them.
