Blog response.....

Here's what I'm responding to in order to keep things straight...http://mamareallytried.blogspot.com/2013/07/political-bitch.html

I’ll first respond to the blog – and handle the comments later.  Probably not what you were looking for Lauren, but is what it is.  Let me start by saying that the relationship between myself an Lauren is interesting.   

However – what you feel is mostly right.  It is hard.  Employers are cutting hours and not for profits in the first quarter (which was at the end of March, but I’ll get to comments later). 

Truth be told, My generation and your generation are the laziest generations compared to those before us.  Working 18 hours a day was nothing to my grandparents generation.  16 hour days were nothing to my parents generation.  Now we complain about working 8 hours a day.  Not enough time on the Xbox on Playstation or Facebook or whatever.  I still work two jobs.  Morning starts about 6:30 am.  Work regular job – and when I’m not in a hotel, I work at the tax shop or I umpire.  So day starts at 6:30 – get home in the summers about 8pm.  Winters get home about 10pm.  I’d love to feel your pain here. 

I don’t think that everyone working two jobs at 25 hours a week will create this catastrophe of on the job accidents, burnout, etc.  Really, even with two jobs – you are working 50 hours a week.  Scheduling sucks, but it’s 50 hours.  Remember I work 50 a week in my regular job (salary, so paid for 40) then work another 20 in a second job.  I’m working 70 hours a week.  Yes – it sucks.   But it’s what I have to do right now.  After 16 months of unemployment it’s what I have to do.  And unemployment was 3 years ago. 

Now, to continue my walking uphill to school through 4 feet of snow, uphill both ways story….I can’t say that I had to take out student loans.  I was left with a trust fund that paid for my schooling.  Fortunately (if you want to say that) my mother was smart enough to bank money for us after my Dad died when I was 5.  When she died when I was 9, I had a good sum of money there that paid for my local college and helped me buy a house.  Now – keep this in mind too:

 I was working through college, not only full time, but 20 hours of overtime.  I went to school part time since I had 2 kids that I also had to support.  I swept floors until I could move up to packaging steel coils, and then moved up to a machine operator position.  As a machine operator, I made a whopping $11 per hour.  All the while – going to campus on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  We didn’t have online classes way back in 1998.  Al Gore hadn’t invented the internet yet.  Energy supplements were black coffee.  Starbucks didn’t exist – so no double shots of espresso either.

This isn’t a 5 year zombie walk.  It’s a couple of lazy generations not realizing the value of work.  Wanting something for nothing.  Everything to be given to them.  Unfortunately, I see a bad pattern of this continuing and even more of an extreme.  “The Ex” and I have discussed this on more than one occasion and he doesn’t like where his generation is.  Not Generation Y – more Generation Gimmie. 

But you bring up good points.  I too have seen people that have told me, “I’m not going to look for another job because it’s going to be less than unemployment.”  Seen people that get on disability pretty much because they can.  Heard people complain at the tax office because their refund should be higher – even though there refund was what I paid in.  The incentive is that you make your own way.  You don’t need a government incentive.  In fact, this was done before – way back in the 1990’s when the Democrat golden child was in office – Bill Clinton.  See – Rick Santorum (you may remember his name from a couple of years ago…) wrote a bill that put people on the payrolls and not on the government dole.  It was a welfare bill that has been steadily undone over the last multiple years of a Democrat controlled congress.  It worked.  Bill Clinton saw HUGE job gains because of it in his second term.  Obama Claus – has given more out of the government dole and unemployment is the same (say what you will about job creation – more on that later).

I don’t think this was the grand master scheme by Obama.  Get more people working more jobs.  May play into the Job Creation number though.  Cut half your workforce at McDonalds and you’ve created twice as many jobs.  I don’t think this was the master plan though.  I think this falls into what I have called for years – unintended consequences.  Many would say – looks great on paper.  Now, we’ve had another delay in the employer mandate.  Which, by the way, cost my household $150 per month.

See – my wife is a part time worker.  She had been working 32 hours a week at her company for several years.  Due to the Obamacare regulations of being under 30 hours a week for a company with 50 employees or more – she was cut back to 28 hours.  It’s not Fox News Channel rhetoric.  It’s real.  Guess we just transitioned Patrick Carey.

I’ve done my research as you can see.  I’m going to make a presumption that you are an Occupy whatever or wherever.  I’ve done more than reading.  I’ve talked to Occupy Indianapolis.  I was at their rally at the statehouse, not as a participant, but to see what they were thinking.  I’d guess you haven’t been to a Tea Party rally.  Time to turn of MSNBC and Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews.  You have no shot with her.  She’s gay. 

Truly – if you look at it – The Affordable Care Act is an Obama, Pelosi, Reed bill.  It’s actually hurt the American worker.  A 38 hour job is no more.  Companies can’t shoulder the cost.  And in reality, neither can the working class.  This is not free healthcare.  It's going to cost.  Especially the young as they are trying to work up the ladder.  You are required to have healthcare starting January 1, 2014.  You will get subsidies based on your 2012 income.  Hopefully, you won't get a raise or a better paying job since you will have to PAY BACK the subsidies you received.  Lower income, higher subsidy.  Goes back to the dis-incentive to work and better yourself Lauren mentioned.

 

Not sure where the first quarter profits came from, but again – the first quarter ended in March.  Perhaps you should do some research on when quarters end.  It’s July.  Let me know – I’ll spend the $1 and send you a calendar.  Hell, I’ll email you a link and you can download one. 

There’s no magical speculation in the reduction in hours.  I live it – every month losing my wife’s $150. 

OK – on to Job Creation.  You do realize that according to Gallup, job creation today is not what it was in 2008?

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127541/Job-Creation-Index-Weekly.aspx  

February 2008 – 28.  June 24 2013 – 24.  Pretty easy to add jobs when nobody is working.  Reality is that if you do your homework on this and download the numbers, the average is 10.4 on the index scale. I gave some leniency as well and started it in February of 2009.  Sorry, bro – your chosen president sucks on job creation.  Don’t even go that we needed to spend more money to get more people working.  Keynesian isn’t working and it doesn’t work when you are in a deficit.  The Fed has been pumping money for years now.  It’s not working. 

Now – let’s talk about the Nazi Republicans.  I remember not too long ago that the entire left was bitching like crazy about a sign that had a Hitler moustache on Obama (note that they also did this to G.W. Bush).  But now you say Nazi Republicans?  Can you spell out which bills exactly the Republicans shot down that would have created jobs?  I can already predict that you can’t and I’m a racist, homophobe, right wing, neocon, 1%-er.  I’m sure I’ve left something out there – but you can feel free to fill it in.  But conservatives are the hateful ones.  Nice play there showing true colors of the left. 

Not sure if and where you work, but part of my pay is based on performance.  Guess what CEO pay is based on…..performance.  Yes they have a big salary.  On stock option.  Stock tanks?  So does their pay.  Haven’t they earned it?  Have you ever seen a P/L statement?  Do you even know what that is?  Good thing somebody does. 

Companies aren’t greedy.  People are greedy by nature.  We all are.  Otherwise, why would the Occupy (formerly) exist?  They want what someone else has.  They want the money that the CEO’s have right?  Is that not greed?  It’s not earning your way to the top.  Occupy (and you from your comments) just want it.  PLEASE explain to me why that is not greed.   

Please explain to me what the Occupy movement has donated to charity.  I know that Rush Limbaugh doesn’t take a penny from the sales of his Two If By Tea company.  That goes to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation.

See, we conservatives don’t have to flaunt what we do with our money to get a “feel good” moment.  We just donate.  We play golf in outings that benefit the local food pantry for twice the cost of golf.  We tithe to our Church.  Not seeing that much greed there.  I’ve been blessed in life – I give back.  Most conservatives do.