Minimum Wage, Again

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
181

[quote]Bauber wrote:

Personal responsibility is tough, but there needs to be more of it.[/quote]

But if everyone had to live by personal responsibility they would have no reason to blame the “Man”, or the “Slave Trader”, or the “Republican Tea Baggers” for their lowly existence. It is always someone elses fault, but never your own. Once you can look yourself in the mirror and state, “It is my bad choices that got me here”, then you can actually make a change and improve your level in life. If it is always someone elses fault you have no reason to change.

Not calling you out Bauber, just piggy backing on your quote.

182

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

[quote]Bauber wrote:

Personal responsibility is tough, but there needs to be more of it.[/quote]

But if everyone had to live by personal responsibility they would have no reason to blame the “Man”, or the “Slave Trader”, or the “Republican Tea Baggers” for their lowly existence. It is always someone elses fault, but never your own. Once you can look yourself in the mirror and state, “It is my bad choices that got me here”, then you can actually make a change and improve your level in life. If it is always someone elses fault you have no reason to change.

Not calling you out Bauber, just piggy backing on your quote.
[/quote]

I completely agree. I was raised to take responsibility for your actions good or bad and take the consequences that follow. These days it is everybody’s or everything’s fault BUT the person perpetrating the acts. Just like you said.

183

[quote]Bauber wrote:

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

[quote]Bauber wrote:

Personal responsibility is tough, but there needs to be more of it.[/quote]

But if everyone had to live by personal responsibility they would have no reason to blame the “Man”, or the “Slave Trader”, or the “Republican Tea Baggers” for their lowly existence. It is always someone elses fault, but never your own. Once you can look yourself in the mirror and state, “It is my bad choices that got me here”, then you can actually make a change and improve your level in life. If it is always someone elses fault you have no reason to change.

Not calling you out Bauber, just piggy backing on your quote.
[/quote]

I completely agree. I was raised to take responsibility for your actions good or bad and take the consequences that follow. These days it is everybody’s or everything’s fault BUT the person perpetrating the acts. Just like you said.[/quote]

See, this why you’re freaking huge. That kind of mentality leads to somebody taking responsibility to also achieve the goals they set for themselves.

184

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

[quote]Bauber wrote:

Personal responsibility is tough, but there needs to be more of it.[/quote]

But if everyone had to live by personal responsibility they would have no reason to blame the “Man”, or the “Slave Trader”, or the “Republican Tea Baggers” for their lowly existence. It is always someone elses fault, but never your own. Once you can look yourself in the mirror and state, “It is my bad choices that got me here”, then you can actually make a change and improve your level in life. If it is always someone elses fault you have no reason to change.

Not calling you out Bauber, just piggy backing on your quote.

[/quote]

If every one lived by personal responsibility , we would need few laws and very little GOV . In other words (YOUR) Utopia

The problem is Greed is good and in that climate you need more regulations because people think cheating and stealing is common business practice

185

[quote]Bauber wrote:
These days it is everybody’s or everything’s fault BUT the person perpetrating the acts. Just like you said.[/quote]

This is the example that has been set by our political and business leaders for some time now. There is a cost when moral standards are abandoned.

‘No bank has ever failed because of the mistakes tellers were making’

186

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

[quote]Bauber wrote:

Personal responsibility is tough, but there needs to be more of it.[/quote]

But if everyone had to live by personal responsibility they would have no reason to blame the “Man”, or the “Slave Trader”, or the “Republican Tea Baggers” for their lowly existence. It is always someone elses fault, but never your own. Once you can look yourself in the mirror and state, “It is my bad choices that got me here”, then you can actually make a change and improve your level in life. If it is always someone elses fault you have no reason to change.

Not calling you out Bauber, just piggy backing on your quote.

[/quote]

If every one lived by personal responsibility , we would need few laws and very little GOV . In other words (YOUR) Utopia

The problem is Greed is good and in that climate you need more regulations because people think cheating and stealing is common business practice
[/quote]

In my world, the banks would have gone bankrupt in 2007-2008. Greed is not good. Achievement is good, and if money comes along with that achievement then that is good. Stealing is bad.

I have no clue what world you live on, but I am from the Planet Earth. Maybe you should come check it out.

Utopia can never happen because people are fallible. Once Progressives learn that then we will be better off.

187

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

In my world, the banks would have gone bankrupt in 2007-2008. Greed is not good. Achievement is good, and if money comes along with that achievement then that is good. Stealing is bad.[/quote]

Just trying to play Devil’s Advocate, but many oil executives have stated they want to increase exports of oil so the price of gasoline in America rises so they can become more profitable. If greed is not good like you say then what should happen in this situation?

(FWIW I think greed is inevitable)

188

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

In my world, the banks would have gone bankrupt in 2007-2008. Greed is not good. Achievement is good, and if money comes along with that achievement then that is good. Stealing is bad.[/quote]

Just trying to play Devil’s Advocate, but many oil executives have stated they want to increase exports of oil so the price of gasoline in America rises so they can become more profitable. If greed is not good like you say then what should happen in this situation?

(FWIW I think greed is inevitable) [/quote]

Lower tax on gas. Profit margin goes up, cost stays low(er).

189

GAs tax is one of those “hidden taxes” no one really thinks about. No state in the world would give up one of those.

190

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

In my world, the banks would have gone bankrupt in 2007-2008. Greed is not good. Achievement is good, and if money comes along with that achievement then that is good. Stealing is bad.[/quote]

Just trying to play Devil’s Advocate, but many oil executives have stated they want to increase exports of oil so the price of gasoline in America rises so they can become more profitable. If greed is not good like you say then what should happen in this situation?

(FWIW I think greed is inevitable) [/quote]

Lower tax on gas. Profit margin goes up, cost stays low(er).[/quote]

Staying on Devil’s Advocate, but what would keep them from trying to increase exports even more to increase profit margin even more? It’s not as if their current profit margin is very low by any means, but as gas prices have gone down they have decreased profit margin. To combat this oil companies have stated they want to export more oil to increase the costs of gasoline here. Why would one assume that if the gas tax lowered 5 cents oil executives wouldn’t try to increase profit margin by say 4 cents? Lowered taxes does not always mean lowered prices.

Again FWIW I’m not an anti-greed guy, I was just curious how D looked at these things by saying he thought greed was not good.

191

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

In my world, the banks would have gone bankrupt in 2007-2008. Greed is not good. Achievement is good, and if money comes along with that achievement then that is good. Stealing is bad.[/quote]

Just trying to play Devil’s Advocate, but many oil executives have stated they want to increase exports of oil so the price of gasoline in America rises so they can become more profitable. If greed is not good like you say then what should happen in this situation?

(FWIW I think greed is inevitable) [/quote]

Lower tax on gas. Profit margin goes up, cost stays low(er).[/quote]

Staying on Devil’s Advocate, but what would keep them from trying to increase exports even more to increase profit margin even more? It’s not as if their current profit margin is very low by any means, but as gas prices have gone down they have decreased profit margin. To combat this oil companies have stated they want to export more oil to increase the costs of gasoline here. Why would one assume that if the gas tax lowered 5 cents oil executives wouldn’t try to increase profit margin by say 4 cents? Lowered taxes does not always mean lowered prices.

Again FWIW I’m not an anti-greed guy, I was just curious how D looked at these things by saying he thought greed was not good. [/quote]

It’s been a while since I looked, but I’m pretty sure most oil companies have pretty tight profit margins.

If the State/Fed lowered taxes (to help both companies and consumers) then they could impose an export Tariff on oil companies to recoup lost taxes, if said companies took advantage of the reduction in tax and increase exports anyway.

It’ll never happen though.

192

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

In my world, the banks would have gone bankrupt in 2007-2008. Greed is not good. Achievement is good, and if money comes along with that achievement then that is good. Stealing is bad.[/quote]

Just trying to play Devil’s Advocate, but many oil executives have stated they want to increase exports of oil so the price of gasoline in America rises so they can become more profitable. If greed is not good like you say then what should happen in this situation?

(FWIW I think greed is inevitable) [/quote]

Lower tax on gas. Profit margin goes up, cost stays low(er).[/quote]

Staying on Devil’s Advocate, but what would keep them from trying to increase exports even more to increase profit margin even more? It’s not as if their current profit margin is very low by any means, but as gas prices have gone down they have decreased profit margin. To combat this oil companies have stated they want to export more oil to increase the costs of gasoline here. Why would one assume that if the gas tax lowered 5 cents oil executives wouldn’t try to increase profit margin by say 4 cents? Lowered taxes does not always mean lowered prices.

Again FWIW I’m not an anti-greed guy, I was just curious how D looked at these things by saying he thought greed was not good. [/quote]

It’s been a while since I looked, but I’m pretty sure most oil companies have pretty tight profit margins.

If the State/Fed lowered taxes (to help both companies and consumers) then they could impose an export Tariff on oil companies to recoup lost taxes, if said companies took advantage of the reduction in tax and increase exports anyway.

It’ll never happen though. [/quote]

IIRC gas stations profit margins are extremely volatile and can be low, but I thought energy producers margins like Exxon, Chevron were usually much more consistent. I could be wrong though. I just wanted to know if D thought oil companies exporting more to increase cost of U.S. gasoline was greedy and if so what (if anything) should be done about it.

193

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

In my world, the banks would have gone bankrupt in 2007-2008. Greed is not good. Achievement is good, and if money comes along with that achievement then that is good. Stealing is bad.[/quote]

Just trying to play Devil’s Advocate, but many oil executives have stated they want to increase exports of oil so the price of gasoline in America rises so they can become more profitable. If greed is not good like you say then what should happen in this situation?

(FWIW I think greed is inevitable) [/quote]

Lower tax on gas. Profit margin goes up, cost stays low(er).[/quote]

Staying on Devil’s Advocate, but what would keep them from trying to increase exports even more to increase profit margin even more? It’s not as if their current profit margin is very low by any means, but as gas prices have gone down they have decreased profit margin. To combat this oil companies have stated they want to export more oil to increase the costs of gasoline here. Why would one assume that if the gas tax lowered 5 cents oil executives wouldn’t try to increase profit margin by say 4 cents? Lowered taxes does not always mean lowered prices.

Again FWIW I’m not an anti-greed guy, I was just curious how D looked at these things by saying he thought greed was not good. [/quote]

It’s been a while since I looked, but I’m pretty sure most oil companies have pretty tight profit margins.

If the State/Fed lowered taxes (to help both companies and consumers) then they could impose an export Tariff on oil companies to recoup lost taxes, if said companies took advantage of the reduction in tax and increase exports anyway.

It’ll never happen though. [/quote]

IIRC gas stations profit margins are extremely volatile and can be low, but I thought energy producers margins like Exxon, Chevron were usually much more consistent. I could be wrong though. I just wanted to know if D thought oil companies exporting more to increase cost of U.S. gasoline was greedy and if so what (if anything) should be done about it. [/quote]

You could be right, I’m not sure.

Edit:

I think whether it’s greedy or not depends. Every company wants to increase their profit margin. Oil companies are in the unique position of being taxed more so than other companies on their product. They’re also in the unique position of producing a product people generally need (although the amount of “need” varies).

It’s hard to say, but like I said, a reduction of tax plus a tariff on exports beyond x amount (to account for an increase) is one possible solution.

194

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]H factor wrote:

[quote]dmaddox wrote:

In my world, the banks would have gone bankrupt in 2007-2008. Greed is not good. Achievement is good, and if money comes along with that achievement then that is good. Stealing is bad.[/quote]

Just trying to play Devil’s Advocate, but many oil executives have stated they want to increase exports of oil so the price of gasoline in America rises so they can become more profitable. If greed is not good like you say then what should happen in this situation?

(FWIW I think greed is inevitable) [/quote]

Lower tax on gas. Profit margin goes up, cost stays low(er).[/quote]

Staying on Devil’s Advocate, but what would keep them from trying to increase exports even more to increase profit margin even more? It’s not as if their current profit margin is very low by any means, but as gas prices have gone down they have decreased profit margin. To combat this oil companies have stated they want to export more oil to increase the costs of gasoline here. Why would one assume that if the gas tax lowered 5 cents oil executives wouldn’t try to increase profit margin by say 4 cents? Lowered taxes does not always mean lowered prices.

Again FWIW I’m not an anti-greed guy, I was just curious how D looked at these things by saying he thought greed was not good. [/quote]

It’s been a while since I looked, but I’m pretty sure most oil companies have pretty tight profit margins.

If the State/Fed lowered taxes (to help both companies and consumers) then they could impose an export Tariff on oil companies to recoup lost taxes, if said companies took advantage of the reduction in tax and increase exports anyway.

It’ll never happen though. [/quote]

IIRC gas stations profit margins are extremely volatile and can be low, but I thought energy producers margins like Exxon, Chevron were usually much more consistent. I could be wrong though. I just wanted to know if D thought oil companies exporting more to increase cost of U.S. gasoline was greedy and if so what (if anything) should be done about it. [/quote]

You could be right, I’m not sure.

Edit:

I think whether it’s greedy or not depends. Every company wants to increase their profit margin. Oil companies are in the unique position of being taxed more so than other companies on their product. They’re also in the unique position of producing a product people generally need (although the amount of “need” varies).

It’s hard to say, but like I said, a reduction of tax plus a tariff on exports beyond x amount (to account for an increase) is one possible solution. [/quote]

I have always been under the impression that oil companies still get tax incentives . maybe their taxable income gets hit harder but this is the problem with such a complicated tax code .

Yeah they get taxes 100% of a %1 taxable income

195

3.7 billion subsidies

196

pittbulll, if the minimum wage is raised to X, what is to stop businesses from raising their prices to a level that makes X equivalent to today’s minimum wage?

197

[quote]NickViar wrote:
pittbulll, if the minimum wage is raised to X, what is to stop businesses from raising their prices to a level that makes X equivalent to today’s minimum wage?[/quote]

What happens when the price of cotton goes up ?

198

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]NickViar wrote:
pittbulll, if the minimum wage is raised to X, what is to stop businesses from raising their prices to a level that makes X equivalent to today’s minimum wage?[/quote]

What happens when the price of cotton goes up ?
[/quote]

The prices of things made with cotton go up, or alternative materials are used.

I assume that since you asked a question with such an obvious answer, you already knew the answer. So you’re already aware of the fact that a baseless increase in wages will either cause the prices of goods to increase proportionately, or cause jobs to be exported to nations where manufacturers can afford the price of the good sold by workers, right?

199

[quote]NickViar wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

What happens when the price of cotton goes up ?
[/quote]

The prices of things made with cotton go up, or alternative materials are used.

I assume that since you asked a question with such an obvious answer, you already knew the answer. So you’re already aware of the fact that a baseless increase in wages will either cause the prices of goods to increase proportionately, or cause jobs to be exported to nations where manufacturers can afford the price of the good sold by workers, right?[/quote]

bingo , so what prices go up, they go up all the time , the problem is wages for the working class have failed to keep pace with the prices going up .

200

[quote]pittbulll wrote:
bingo , so what prices go up, they go up all the time , the problem is wages for the working class have failed to keep pace with the prices going up .
[/quote]

So you just want to give a larger number as the answer when someone asks what is America’s minimum wage? Doesn’t that seem kind of ridiculous? I can understand arguing for an increase in purchasing power(although there’s no way to make that happen), but you admit that you just want to answer with a higher number when asked a question.