Fudge_Brownie Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 17 hours ago, Burn-E said: Your argument Alden is that the market is inefficiently aligning wages with skills. While I would agree that financialization has created incentives to wildly over compensate CEOs I have a hard time accepting the argument lower tiered. I never would have put it that eloquently, but yes. And I find it hard to say that executives are compensated better than ever, perhaps too much, while not expecting that it took money out of pockets on the lower tiers. You've been writing a lot of powerpoints, speaches, or reports lately, haven't you? 1 hour ago, gmsgltr said: The problem I see, especially with others around my age (27) today is that there is MUCH more competition and more monetary distractions today... My parents, when they were around my age, weren't paying for: Netflix, internet, fancy cell phones and service plans with fucking insurance for when you drop it in the toilet, special car insurance, $4 coffees, craft fucking beer, organic artisan handmade natural blah blah t-shirts, every other night out eating dinner, and the list goes on... there are a considerable amount of distractions available today that eat at your monthly earnings. The only person I can REALLY judge here is myself. Yeah I do millennial shit, but I can hold myself from the distractions. To an extent. Monetary 'distractions' is a nicer way of saying that you need to improve self control, or ability to save money. I just spent $75 on an energy drink order, so I don't want to make it sound like I say this from my high horse. But I think you're describing middle class spending habits that are fairly acceptable, as long as you have the income to do it. And aren't complaining about being broke. I'm sure some "in my day" self-deluded asshat will be happy to scoff at your $4 coffee while forgetting they paid $800 for a VCR or a HandyCam. And $800 in 1985 is $1800 adjusted for inflation. It'd be more interesting to see what hasn't scaled well. I believe housing and college have outpaced inflation significantly. But electronics have gotten cheaper, and cars last much longer. I suspect car insurance is quite a bit higher - might have to go look that one up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmsgltr Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 Good points... Electronics may have gone down, but the gap has increased in bottom to top tier electronic pricing, and the amount/total of electronics used/needed/purchased has drastically increased for all of us. There are simply more things today that most deem necessary for everyday use regardless of class... than what people paid for before... that's all I am saying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn-E Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 True statement with regards to media as a component of consuming the average home monthly bills. If you look back on what a typical consumer's bills were back in 1990 before the internet kicked off and before mobile phones became a social norm: Monthly assumed household of 3: 1. Cable TV: $40 2. Landline: $30 + long distance calls cost - typically another $20-30 3. Newspaper subscription: $20 4. Magazine subscriptions: ~$10 5. Stamps for mail: ~$5 6. Movies: $20 (assuming $4 per ticket, maybe go see 2 movies per month, once just as a couple once with the kid) So sum that up = $145 With inflation that turns into $272. Now, ask yourself how much do you pay for all the main media expenditures? 1. Cable TV + Internet + Landline = $230 2. Magazine: ~$2 3. Stamps: ~$1 4. Mobile phone: - $125 with installment payment for phones (that's a household of two on T-Mobile and updating phones every 2 years) Add that up: $358 If you have any music subscriptions or app subscriptions or website subscriptions that could increase another $20-50. We haven't even touched on special $4 coffees or other common indulgences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmsgltr Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 29 minutes ago, Burn-E said: Exactly... and there is sooo much more to list... Most have TV's in every room, rather than one lol. Each cable box costs more too. Tablets, laptops, smart watches then their subscriptions... It blows my mind seeing people at work getting Starbucks or even Dunkin every morning. Especially the specialty $4+ drink lol. Then they go out to lunch and spend $12+ And I know for a fact that my position is greater... and they are my age... then they give me a hard time from brining my bag lunch or leftovers or my own coffee in the am... There are sooo many more ways for us to waste our money today. Self control is out the door with most in their 20's and 30's. Don't get me started on credit cards lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 2 hours ago, Burn-E said: 1. Cable TV + Internet + Landline = $230 I'm not sure that's the norm, especially for those who subscribe to all other monthly services. If you cut that in half (I pay $115/mo, no phone pkg) it brings your total figure in line with the previous one. I'm sure many pay more than I do, but I think 230 is pushing the upper limit. Granted, I think we can all agree this isn't a comprehensive comparison. I think the consumer pricing index (CPI) does a lot of this analysis for us, but I haven't spent the time to figure out what they cover. I bet they've covered this. 1 hour ago, gmsgltr said: Don't get me started on credit cards lol I've crossed paths with a few people that I think to myself "do they make a lot more money than I think? Or do they just have massive credit card bills?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfishing3 Posted August 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 I'm north of that 230 number Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Moo Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 On 8/4/2016 at 6:09 PM, Kevin. said: what about people who cannot do hard labor jobs? My wife has fibromyalgia, she can't go wash windows or be an electrician as she can only stand for about 10 minutes at a time without being in excruciating pain Hard Labor? Hard labor is the guy digging out the side of a house with a shovel to waterproof the basement. Most trades guys really aren't really doing any "Hard labor", labor is for the laborers, the trades guys just do what their actual trade is. There's something for everybody and not every job has to be something mainstream. A lot of girls I went to school with sew bulletproof vests at home, they just sit there and sew. There's all types of very obscure/well paying things to do, you just have to seek it out. Sometimes it's an idea or sometimes it just falls in your lap. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin. Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 lol here's Alain assuming people actually go to the movies anymore (the last 2 movies I've seen in theaters were Finding Dory and The Avengers, to put it in perspective) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn-E Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 1 hour ago, Kevin. said: lol here's Alain assuming people actually go to the movies anymore (the last 2 movies I've seen in theaters were Finding Dory and The Avengers, to put it in perspective) LOL there's Kevin failing at reading comprehension again. The first list was for 1990 expenses. People went to movies. Today they have a plethora of options from Torrents to subscription services and big theater setups at home that largely mimic the movie big screen experience. BUT...here's news for you Kevin. The average weekly attendance to movies has not significantly shifted in over 50 years. I can show you numbers for 2000 to 2015 but they basically show a largely identical trend. In fact, here are the total attendance numbers for 1990-2015 which show something unusual... http://www.cinemablend.com/new/2014-Movie-Attendance-Figures-Brutal-68947.html http://www.the-numbers.com/market/ So guess what, you just happen to be in the demographic that doesn't go frequently. A large number of 12-17, 18-24, and Hispanics tend to still go to the movies monthly. And those in their 50s and 60s are attending more frequently also. In fact, if you pay close attention to the numbers you'll see that in 1990 annual attendance was 1.187 Billion and last year it was 1.34 Billion. Hmmmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn-E Posted August 15, 2016 Report Share Posted August 15, 2016 On July 27, 2016 at 9:53 AM, Burn-E said: For the first time in 52 years one of the Reddest States in the nation - Utah - is very likely going to send its 6 Electoral votes to someone other than a Republican. Trump is going down. Hmmmm, wonder who's having a problem, a YUGE problem in Utah? No one could have predicted that could they? Out of Donald's own mouth this last week: http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-utah-polls-problems-2016-8 If Mormons do one thing well it's mobilize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 It is pretty hard to piss off Mormons. Where is Gary and the Trump train? Woowoo ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmsgltr Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Make Volvospeed Gary again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Anyone else feel like Trump was up to hand Hillary the presidency the whole time? I'm not much of a conspiracy person, but it's funny that the last few weeks since he accepted the nomination he's been much more outlandish than earlier, and is essentially destroying any hope he had at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Long overdue, I finally found the Trump train. Gary still on board? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn-E Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 7 hours ago, Timbo Slice said: Anyone else feel like Trump was up to hand Hillary the presidency the whole time? I'm not much of a conspiracy person, but it's funny that the last few weeks since he accepted the nomination he's been much more outlandish than earlier, and is essentially destroying any hope he had at this point. I have a theory that Bill Clinton is already writing the draft of a book he'll title, "If I Did It?" wherein he will discuss hypothetically how he single handedly destroyed the Republican Party and guaranteed a victory for Hillary by convincing Trump to take a run at it. He sold Trump by showing how it was a no lose situation where even if Trump lost in the Primaries or even the General he would have grown the Trump brand for media opportunities. Let's just recognize that if he did it Clinton is the greatest political strategist of the last century. And remember how Trump does business these days, he goes in and secures a guaranteed return for himself with no regard for the outcome for his partners. What he did with Trump magazine is exactly what he's done to the GOP. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/donald-trump-magazine-employee-confessional-bankrupt-2016-214155 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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