$900,000,000,000.00 in Pork

[billcoe]

Well, when a kid from High School with 0 job experience can make $50k a year in the car and aerospace industry, while a college engineering graduate makes the same, something is wrong...

 

Its called union

 

Yes, I agree, litigation is also a huge concern. As far as I am concerned, the judge should be allowed to rule against the litigator for twice the damages they were seeking from the defendant when its clear its a complete BS case. Like the McDonalds coffee case and umpteen millions of other cases.

 

It would clear up our legal system in a jiffy.

 

Brian

 

The car workers make more than that especially if you calculate in all the other costs. You won't get an argument from me. I use to think it was insane what a truck driver could make when the Teamsters were strong. Now truck drivers struggle.

 

Google the McDonalds case. It might change your mind or soften your stance as the results were not as bad as commonly thought.

 

The big question here is what are we going to get for 900 billion dollars. Thats an obscene amount of money.

 

Take care

 

 

Bill

[mattp]

I suspect that our over litigious legal system is a much greater cost. That hidden tax gets slapped on us by our fellow jurists. If average people on these juries started looking askance at some of these lawsuits and calling bullshit, they'd go away. They do have an actual function of helping to protect us all.

 

As with the coffee case, Bill, I think you'd find you've been misled if you looked into this. For example:

 

Even in liberal California, the rate of filings has plummeted 45 percent over the past decade. And those overly sympathetic juries Newsweek derides as so eager to dole out big bucks to injured victims?

 

In 2001, they voted against plaintiffs in 75 percent of all medical malpractice trials, according to the federal government's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0410.mencimer.html

 

My trial lawyer friends tell me it is almost always the DEFENSE attorneys who request a jury because juries are consistently suspicious of the plaintiff's counsel and stingy in their verdicts. Ask every one you know about frivolous lawsuits, litigation costs, and unjust jury awards. Then consider how they are likely to react if seated on a jury.

[Stefan]

How much of the invasion in Iraq cost us?

[j_b]

How much money did the Fed reserve "lend" to banksters during fall 2008? around $2.5 trillion.

[JosephH]

Turns out that "outspending" the Soviet Union into defeat on the back of an artificial housing boom has downstream costs - particularly when you try region-building in the ME on the back of the very same plan and debt load...

 

[richard_noggin]

Well, when a kid from High School with 0 job experience can make $50k a year in the car and aerospace industry, while a college engineering graduate makes the same, something is wrong...

 

Its called union

 

 

Brian

 

Yes one reason for this is collective bargaining by the union for the American dream of a family wage

The other is most of the upcoming work force does not want to get their hands dirty or bleed or sweat for a pay check, which made a shortage of young workers coming into the trades or manufacturing industry, compound this by the fact the majority of the younger generation was put through collage by mommy and daddy and then there education was out sourced to overseas by their mommy’s and daddy’s generation hence you have blue collar workers making as much as white collar workers

 

Oh and BTW if you have ever worked around the areo space of auto industry you would find out it's the collage educated idiot's being overpaid and wasting all the money not the poor smuck that had to go to work after high skool and was working part time at the age of 13 through skool like I did

GO OBAMA !!!!!

 

 

Edited February 13, 2009 by richard_noggin

[JosephH]

Well, when a kid from High School with 0 job experience can make $50k a year in the car and aerospace industry, while a college engineering graduate makes the same, something is wrong...

 

Its called union

 

So, you're more concerned with, and obsessing over, people with families making (god forbid) $50k as opposed to MBA's making $1-300m even when they fail. 2007 bonuses alone on Wall Street amounted to $33b - that's 660,000 $50k families worth. Or, the $15k necessary to bring 2,200,000 families up from $35k to $50k. Personally, I don't think we're getting our money's worth as a society.

[Dechristo]

Well, when a kid from High School with 0 job experience can make $50k a year in the car and aerospace industry, while a college engineering graduate makes the same, something is wrong...

 

Its called union

 

 

Brian

 

Yes one reason for this is collective bargaining by the union for the American dream of a family wage

The other is most of the upcoming work force does not want to get their hands dirty or bleed or sweat for a pay check, which made a shortage of young workers coming into the trades or manufacturing industry, compound this by the fact the majority of the younger generation was put through collage by mommy and daddy and then there education was out sourced to overseas by their mommy’s and daddy’s generation hence you have blue collar workers making as much as white collar workers

 

Oh and BTW if you have ever worked around the areo space of auto industry you would find out it's the collage educated idiot's being overpaid and wasting all the money not the poor smuck that had to go to work after high skool and was working part time at the age of 13 through skool like I did

GO OBAMA !!!!!

 

 

So, the only ones not at fault are you and Obama.

[Dechristo]

Well, when a kid from High School with 0 job experience can make $50k a year in the car and aerospace industry, while a college engineering graduate makes the same, something is wrong...

 

Its called union

 

So, you're more concerned with, and obsessing over, people with families making (god forbid) $50k as opposed to MBA's making $1-300m even when they fail. 2007 bonuses alone on Wall Street amounted to $33b - that's 660,000 $50k families worth. Or, the $15k necessary to bring 2,200,000 families up from $35k to $50k. Personally, I don't think we're getting our money's worth as a society.

 

This could all be addressed and served through tax restructuring, tailored in a creative way.

 

 

I know.

 

It's irresponsible, fantasy talk of a wild-eyed revolutionary.

[JosephH]

I'm all for it so long as they're restructured to fit on one side of single sheet of 8.5 x 11 copier paper.

[billcoe]

Love the chart JH. (esp. the circled word nastiness lower right hand corner:-) . lol

 

A big problem as I see it with the 9 gazillion is this. If you get the pork, ya gotta take the frog as well.

 

Maybe secretary of Commerce is still available for the Frog since Bill Richardson and 2 others have pulled out....?

[Dechristo]

I'm all for it so long as they're restructured to fit on one side of single sheet of 8.5 x 11 copier paper.

 

and, on soft paper.

[Dechristo]

Maybe secretary of Commerce is still available for the Frog since Bill Richardson pulled out....?

Miss Piggy is Secretary of Commerce!12/?

Edited February 14, 2009 by Dechristo

[rbw1966]

whats green and smells like pork?

 

 

 

 

 

kermits finger

[Doug]

why does miss piggy douche with vinegar & honey?

 

 

 

because kermit likes sweet and sour pork.

[Wastral]

To Joseph PH:

 

I have stated previously that I don't blieve that ANY corporate CEO or officer should make more than 10x what the average worker makes.

 

The only exception would be someone who created their own company like Bill Gates who took all the risk to make the company work. IN that case they should be able to make whatever their hearts desire.

 

This corporate thievery by top exectutives has got to stop. Its thievery couched in "contract" terms. They destroy the company in the long term to make the company look good in the short so they can take their bonus's and run.

 

Brian