$15.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

OK. You might be right. I honestly don't know. I don't believe that is a viable number in the poorer parts of our country. There are not enough businesses in very small towns who can afford to pay that.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Well, I obviously don't know the exact number but it would be a lot better than what we have now and much more in line with what it should be based on past levels.

As I've said before though, do we really care about jobs that are so low paying that they can't afford to pay more than $7.25 an hour?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Seems to me that is just $7.25 an hour(x however many people make it) that you are now going to task the government with paying, in order to take care of folks who are unable to find work.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

That's ok though.

I mean, my other solution is to have there be no minimum wage, but make it so any company with more than 300 employees can't have a single employee on government assistance, but my guess is that people wouldn't like that because Wal-Mart would have to charge a lot more.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Your alternative suggestion seems to make more sense from a practical application standpoint. Nobody is going to feel bad for McDonalds or Walmart if they have to adjust their business plan to meet the minimum wage. People will rightfully be irked if that same law puts mom and pop stores in small towns out of business.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

People don't really care. There is a reason Wal-Mart is so massive.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If Walmart comes into town and puts a small business owner out of business, it would most likely be because Walmart is selling similar products at a lower price. It would be easier to appease people in that situation. If a dramatically increased minimum wage put that small business owner out of business, there would not necessarily be a different business in line to take it's place. That seems like a significant difference.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Don't take it personally, Seacrest. I suspect that you, Scorehead, and I all have the same basic "skill" which isn't really much of a skill at all, but rather just an ability to connect with people and a list of contacts that we have built over time. I suppose that has value, but it depends on the people. If we're talking big picture, skills, ability, merit, I don't think having a lot of friends is something that should put a man in the upper tier of a "fair" society.

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Freedom is our Strength.

Someone will find a way to provide needed goods and services.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Just means you have what they refer to as social capital. It's a good thing to have but it doesn't make a person extraordinary.

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Why would I take a shot you directed at Scorehead personally?

Connecting with people is a skill. And should be recognized more often as such.

And a list of contacts built up over time is also something of great merit. And often times something that most people don't want to invest their time doing. My guess is, that Scorehead has reaped the rewards of having done so in his industry while many other bailed earlier for "greener" pastures so to speak.

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It can, and often does, make a person wealthier.

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Well, I know you're a middleman. You've got a catalogue and a Cadillac. Seriously though, it's not a skill. It's a club and it's one that's much easier to belong to if you're a white male. I'm not saying Scorehead (or you or anyone) shouldn't trade on that, but we should be able to recognize it and call it what it is. As long time guy said, it's "social capital". And our social capital is dwarfed by real power players, guys that attend Andover and Exeter, then Harvard and Yale, and then go on to run the country.

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Freedom is our Strength.

Your entire premise about me is wrong. And from what I know, the same can be said about your feelings on Scorehead.

My business is not based at all on a catalogue. I have one client in IL. The rest are all over the country. My knowledge culled over years in the same industry is how I can be a middleman and get paid for it. I started at the very bottom and worked hard to get where I am at.

And social capital has nothing to do with my business either.

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First, I didn't really think you had a catalogue. Second, have you been following this conversation at all? It's not about how "hard" anyone works. The guy standing in front of a fryer at McDonald's works hard. It's about how we value what jobs are worth. Also, are you saying that we could have spmack or IMU or whoever make whatever calls you make with the same products and pricing and do the same business as you do? If the answer is no, then of course you're trading on social capital.

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Freedom is our Strength.

What you initially described is defined as social capital. I'm not knocking it, just trying to clarify it.

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Camps could certainly do what I am doing today. It wouldn't take long to learn it, but it would take time for him, or anyone else to feel confident doing it.

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And i don't think that anyone here values my industry very much either.

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Glad it's been pointed out most of the article was hyperbole, but one big scam in this country is disability income. Billions are being wasted on people who frankly need to get their asses out there and work. As to state health care programs, I know for a fact that people are out there working cash jobs and then getting medical procedures for free, costing taxpayers millions.

During the depression, people would get "relief". Nowadays, in a percentage of cases, frankly it's nothing more than a handout. Yes some (probably a majority) of people need and deserve them, but many are just abusing the hell out of the system and are to lazy to work and expect the government to pay for their booze and cigarettes.

The only way anything will change is to implement term limits so people will go into government for a finite period of time to make a difference, not just to focus on re-election and special interests.

My social capital comes from a large family and having attended good schools growing up.

Neither one of these things are currently at play with what I am doing. As a matter of fact, they have altered where and how I do business.

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