*stimulus debate thread*

Apparently, we don't do 'discussion' anymore.

I thought rightists are always saying that pay goes up when employers are forced to negotiate wages for labor? So why the fuck are jobs still not paying people even as much as a pitiful amount of unemployment? You don't need to answer. It's obvious.

A good gage I like to use for what the real min wage is fast food ‘now hiring’ rates.

At this point in my city it’s 14 bucks an hour and we’re significantly below the cost of living index.

That’s awfully close to the 15/hour you guys wanted but now people don’t even want that to go back to work which makes sense. Why go work for 15/hour when you could sit on your ass and have a half year vacay.

Damn, you are lucky! My wife and I just got a house as well, but 3x contractors have no showed on me for the water line job. I've dug the 5' down, 40' long trench myself. I'm not hurting for the money, but IMO it is government returning my own money, they aren't 'giving' me jack.

I would love to contract out more work on this house, but the construction workers aren't showing up where I'm at. Too busy fishing and smoking dope I think.


More to the point, people have to be willing to re-locate and move in these times to secure the opportunity out there. The Heals Act stimulus and unemployment coverage is huge if you live rural, but tiny if you live in a large city. I don't think it should be adjusted either, people need to adjust and move.

This post was edited by RedFromWinter on Jul 28 2020 03:44pm

First, I think it's good for people to have free time. I don't see why we value laboring so much. The wealthiest people don't labor. They travel and visit museums and go for outings on their yachts and play golf and attend operas and learn to paint and play instruments and read books. And they are only able to do this because of millions of workers enabling them to live the Renaissance in a restricted, exclusive format.

But to address the point, minimum wage should be well over $20. That's a mere $41k before taxes, rents, etc. It still leaves barely enough, but it's enough to allow single income homes to exist again. That's something I've always been confused about when it comes to the Republican socioeconomic agenda. Rightists claim they pine for the era of the single-earner nuclear family, where a parent could be home with the children and take care of the household while the other utilizes their high school or lower education to ensure their family is fed, clothed, provided with healthcare, and allowed to purchase modern amenities. But the social values of close communities and even closer families is unachievable under a cut-throat capitalist system that forces wages down through inflation and siphons wealth out of society while providing only a very few of the wealthiest individuals with the ability to invest their time and resources into their children and family units. A Democratic economic plan and Republican social agenda are compatible, whereas the Republican economic agenda and the Democratic social agenda of "do as you will" seem to align better. The mixed messaging and preferences of this binary system is a bit like a hamster wheel. Revolution is only possible inside the cage.

This post was edited by inkanddagger on Jul 28 2020 04:47pm

Not to mention the times they pine for were also the hayday of government funded science, strong social welfare programs, huge public investments, etc. etc.

Seems like the best times in American history were directly contradictory to their policies.

Then again they don't actually want that. They want to live in a fantasy world where people can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and (the point of that analogy is that it's impossible for bootstraps to support a person.)

you can do all these things without being a member of the landed gentry

golf is a little expensive at first and opera maybe start with the old youtube to get a taste

and yes putting in numerous hours of labor can be inefficient. unfortunately most of out ancestors didnt do it way back when and get lucky with accumulating so much wealth so we continue to toil for the spoils while the rest sail into clear seas with nothing to worry about

Looks like some prominent members of the GOP are taking issue with the party's plan.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/28/politics/republican-reaction-gop-stimulus-plan/index.html

Ted Cruz doesn't want more stimulus, and instead wants to allow businesses to open again.
Rick Scott (FL) doesn't like where the money is going.
McConnell doesn't like the funds going to the FBI
Ron Johnson (WI) doesn't want authorization of funds at all.


etc. etc.

Looks like there's going to be lots of in-fighting among the GOP before we have a serious bill on the table.

If you don't want 4 more years of this, you are obviously an idiot liberal.

Lol, Fox News.