How much have earnings dropped for workers on average? How does this compare to the drops in the 70’s and 80’s?.

$20,000 thousand a year to live in New York $4.65 an hour I was making more than that almost ten years ago as a manager at McDonalds how many roommates to an apartment is legal?
At what point does it become to expensive for young workers to drive to a job?

I like this I’m live blogging with a rewind button!

American wealth inequality is greater today than in the pre-World War One age we called the Gilded Age – it was only gilded for some.

That’s actually captured in the name — it was dubbed the Gilded Age by Twain as a contrast to a Golden Age, because the gold was a thin layer of opulence and excess.

Sounds awfully familiar…

The Restaurant Business is a growing section of the economy I’m pretty sure business has dropped off in Seattle.

I think oil price speculation might be the last bubble of the new gilded age.

How can this reality be turned into a message that will reasonate against those who created the reality, namely the Republic Party?

Homeless people are working two or three jobs getting home to late to go to a shelter sleeping outside…and then I presume going back to work the next day without a shower?
Sorry I just gave up TV…when it seems I should have gave up eating out.

Morgan Spurlock Thirty days living as a homeless person working at a Senate GOP favored restaurant in DC?
without showering
Bwahahaha

I wish the video would not cut out and go back to the beginning when I go to Google to check spelling or look for a link.

There is a stupid article on CNN’s site about the holiday BBQ being more expensive. Like people don’t know that already!

Where do Lou Dobbs and Glen Beck eat an expose of the lives of the workers at their favorite restaurants might work too.
Anyone know where they eat?
Maybe the Lake should develop some undercover investigative capability to do follow up on these GRITtv topics.

You can Digg this post HERE

Americans now enter the Gelded Age.

Life in a bubble there is a reason why the MSM does not get it!

Without immigranst how many restaurants close in New York? I wonder what the numbers are in Texas at the Chimp’s favorite place?

The hilllllbilllllies of WV and Kentucky don’t care if they are working harder and longer for less money. As long as they can vote for a white grandfatherly figure (man) for President then they are happy as pigs in shit. These rubes enjoy being taken advantage of by their white masters.

BTW, O/T from the “It Ain’t Over ‘Til the Lady In The Pants Suit Steals The Nomination Says It Is” Dept:

In an interview with The Associated Press, Clinton said she is willing to take her fight to seat Florida and Michigan delegates to the convention if the two states want to go that far.

Asked whether she would support the states if they appeal an unfavorable rules committee decision to the convention floor, the former first lady replied:

“Yes I will. I will, because I feel very strongly about this.”…

absolutely speechless, except-
please tell me you’re kidding – my snark detector may be faltering.

Proposed tv commercial
At the open back door to a restaurant Sick restaurant workers are coughing on the food while a Mom walking from a back parking lot holding a baby with two or three kids holding on to her skirts looks on in horror.
Then we close with the words
PAID SICK DAYS CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO HAVE THEM?
Can you afford for your sick and contagious friends not to have them?

Prospective new troll alert:

…John McCain’s campaign, it turns out, is asking McCain’s supporters to go to certain blogs and leave comments that pass on the campaign’s talking points for the day. They’ve also created a points system to provide some incentive, the Politico’s Jonathan Martin reports…

I’m sure that is what the GOP is thinking about the voters there that their Saps, Suckers, Rubes!
I’m thinking the voters there like everywhere these days are quite well informed about the issues.
Except for the 30%ers who sadly are everywhere.

There was a GOP comment a few days ago at the NY times google financial page, the GE page and at the Toyota page some GOPer said Obama was going to tank the economy.
Crap I might have to spend more of my time down there:(

Be on the lookout for all manner of Repu’ublicist concern trolling and sockpuppetry.

OT The price on the July contract for West Texas Intermediate surged 3.2% to $133.72 before retreating to a new settlement record of $133.17. Retail gasoline prices, meanwhile, reached another record high of $3.81 per gallon.

The same day, U.S. oil company executives told the Senate Judiciary Committee that oil prices whould be between $35 and $90 a barrel if they were based on production costs and supply and demand.http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/may2008/db20080521_850142.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_top+story

Yep oil prices the next speculative bubble

Bill Kristol says that McSame might pick Lieberman as his running mate. One can hope…

Would like to see an ad in the fall that shows the symbol of the Republican Party, the elephant, slowly morphing into an ostrich with it’s head buried in the sand. During this transformation show pictures of respected Republicans i.e. Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower that then progresses to images of DeLay, Larry Craig,Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Bush etc.. Not your grandparents Republican Party, is it?

bah!

The oil executives are still thinking in terms of real dollars, the old currency. We now live in a world of Bush dollars so we have to pay much, much more of them.

OT MOD note:
No responding is a constant message I get when on this site, not hundredas but thousands of times. Maybe 15 times a visit, I am a multi daily visitor. You are my news source. Any solution?

The NY Times and GE comments are now back in the old topics for discussion bin are people writing new topics on the financial blogs to push these comments toward the back?
Well GE has had some recent news that may explain it but the Times an article can sit for weeks at the google financial pages unless people write a new article.
Only the hot or dying stocks got rapid article turnover.

Unless you’re part of a tiny minority at the top, you’re probably working harder and earning less.

Yes–if you’re working for $8 an hour, you have to work 1/2 hour just to buy a gallon of gas! Or a gallon of milk!

I get it too…firefox not responding, and then end task, and I have to start all over again…it happens numerous times per day.

I like it what music should play in the background?

My favorite line from this interview was Ed Ott’s — that exploitation is built into the business plan of the restaurant industry(I think he was talking about restaurants, specifically. ) It makes it so clear: exploitation’s written into the US business plan. That’s capitalism, right?
Just checking.
And I guess you’re right about Gilded. Love that Twain. Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming.

Snark or is Hope Alive Joemomentum 2008!
Bwahahahaha!
This time Joe takes down the GOP from inside!

Larry Kissell in BlueAmerica, upstairs!

Come say hi to Larry Kissell!

Games theory suggest otherwise the book fast food nation gives a few examples of restaurants that make money but pay their workers well.
The Costco vs Wallmart debate in retailing another low wage industry.

I remember back in the 70’s…we used to get annual increases of 10% and then 6%….then it went down to 4%…then 2%…then you had to be a superstar to get any increase at all…then they took away vacation days and sick days…then they cut back on health insurance…meanwhile everything went up in price and has ever since…

Just checking.

No. I do not believe capitalism as practiced in the US is necessarily
synonymous with exploitation.
Having said that, it is clear that exploitation does occur, but I do not think that it is the rule.

Yeah, it seemed that it all started falling apart with the energy crisis in ‘75 (?).

79?

When I lived in NYC in 1973, my apartment rent was $180 per month…the very same apartment in 98 was going for $1000 per month. God knows what it is now.

According to this, it was 1973 when OPEC started to balk at shipping oil to us.

I know it was about then that cars started looking like mini-me’s of their former big gas guzzling selves. I think it was ‘77 that the major auto manufacturers were finally designing cars with gas efficiency in mind.

That is what led to offshoring our jobs, NAFTA and the destruction of union shops. Here people are proud not to pay prevailing wage. “The goose that killed the golden egg”…we are the consumers in the worlds largest economy, around $12 trillion plus while the total world economy is over $21 trillion. We pay about $3 trillion in tax.
With disposable income downward bound our GNP (gross national product) and tax base will shrink as well.
Warren Buffet was said we were 1/4 into the financial crisis or credit crunch now.
We as local communities have to become sustainable to succeed in this economic environment. For large urban areas that is less possible. We are in a serious political hammerlock. Thanks to the Neocon policies of the Bushco administration. We are also running out of the ability to hock our future. Let’s get the progressive think tanks working this out. The “Free Market” doesn’t cut it anymore. We need a plan folks.

Study the economic structure of Norway.

Hey guys – Howie and Jane are DOUBLE-Matching $25 dollar donations to an EXTREMELY important and qualified candidate, Larry Kissell RIGHT NOW now at FDL.

That means for every $25 the pups offer – it ends up being $75 for Larry. Please consider a donation for Blue America! Thanks.

Use a separate tab and the stream won’t stop.

Haven’t thought about the music. I’ll leave it open to the pups. Just important to paint the picture of the Republican Party as extremists working against the interests of the commom man/woman.

Is there any study that includes commuting time in the hours worked/dollars earned statistics? I’ve seen studies showing that the average worker is spending more time in his car getting to work, but none that look at the total time spent on your job. Of course, these days they should also subtract the cost of commuting from the wages to get a complete figure.