4) Some animals are more unequal than others.
Gini coefficients, 2011:
USA 0.477
Mexico 0.472
Anticipated right-wing counterarguments:
1) I found different data that shows the U.S. is really slightly more equal than Mexico, not slightly less!
2) This is totally irrelevant. Poor people deserve it.
3) When I criticized Mexico in the past for its inequality, that was totally different.
4) Some animals are more unequal than others.
So?
The tails on our income "bell curve" are further apart, but our ENTIRE bell curve is to the right of Mexico's, i.e we are (across the board) more wealthy than Mexico.
5) it's the result of technology, globalization and education not policy.
I know you're going to try to wiggle out of this, but the usual meaning of "entire bell curve" in the context you used is the region in between -3 sigma and +3 sigma, which would mean you are claiming that the income distribution curve for the United States is shifted 6 standard deviations to the right of that of Mexico. This is nonsense; the U.S. is shifted only 1 standard deviation to the right of Mexico. Mexico's median is right about the 16th percentile for the U.S.
So the US as a whole is wealthier than Mexico. Thanks for the enlightenment.
Also a lower class that actually works industriously instead of living on government handouts.
I think that falls under #2
yep, CC is a globalist who expects US workers to work for sweat shop, subsistence wages so they can compete with Mexicans, which is essentially what corporate globalism was/is all about, plus no tariffs (paid to the hated govt).
6) This just proves why we need to get rid of all the illegals.
7) Not surprising we're like Mexico, just look around at all the Mexicans
8) It's Barack Obama's fault because Democrats need more poor people to vote for them.
9) This just shows what happens when we turn our back on God, take prayer out of schools, and let gays marry
10) Back when black people were slaves, they had owners to take care of them. See what happens when we make them fend for themselves?
Gee, if their lower class is so much more industrious than ours, maybe we should let more of them immigr...
BZZZT!!! RIGHT-WING LOGIC ALARM!!! DOES NOT COMPUTE!!!!
My point is that the so called "safety net" competes with entry level unskilled jobs. No unskilled person just immediately jumps into a good well paying job. They start out in entry level positions and as they learn skills in their field their compensation and responsibility increases and they finally end up with that "good" job.. In the US the "safety net" competes directly with entry level jobs and and it demotivates people to accept entry level positions. Why work when you can stay home and get a check in the mail and have your Lone Star card refilled every month doing nothing? Some in here make fun of the kids in Mexico selling chiclets on the street but they learn at an early age that if you don't work you don't eat.
11) This just proves we need to cut welfare.
I'm not saying that but it's clear what we are doing isn't working.We now have 4th generation welfare queens and it has become a lifestyle.
12) It's not a fair comparison. Mexico doesn't have welfare queens like the U.S. does.
The safety net competes with entry level jobs because of how ridiculously low the minimum wage is.
So whats the right number?
$15.00 an hour
For totally unskilled bottom of the barrel labor. That's all that works for minimum wage now.
Wow.
If minimum wage had actually moved according to worker productivity in the last 40 years it would be over $20.00 an hour. $15.00 is still a joke but at least it's a living wage.
And plenty of people who have worked at Wal-Mart for years either make minimum wage or less than a dollar an hour more. What would you suggest they do?
Not only that, it's also a matter of cost of living... bottom of the barrel rarely owns a home, and rent adjusts with inflation pretty much every year... salaries, not so much.
If they are working for minimum wage for Wal Mart for years you have to admit they aren't the brightest bulb on the string and are getting paid what they are worth and need to adjust their life style accordingly. Those companies are always looking for bright motivated people to integrate into their management programs and move into good jobs. It is my understanding that HEB (as an example) has managers making solid 6 figures that started out bagging groceries.
Cost of living? Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and see who gets hurt worst. Welcome to $10 Big Macs.
There's no way to adjust your lifestyle to $7.25 an hour.
I'd also fully agree they aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, which is why I think they need to be protected by a livable minimum wage. That way they're actually being productive and have incentive to not live off the government teet.
Walmart's entire business model is being able to pay its employees a below living wage while getting subsidized by the government via food stamps and medicaid for their grunt workers. I'm sure a few anecdotal examples of rags to riches stories at HEB are nice but I put more weight on the stat that 25% of America makes less than $10.00 an hour.
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