OP ED-"Little Timmy Wants to Know Why Nobody Likes Airplanes Anymore?

[bonal]

It's raining like hell and I'm bored so, we talk about worker bees and I agree they are needed (I'm one) but look at the culture we have created this mind set that kids MUST go to college to be successful and we don't have educators pushing the trades like we used to. There are businesses many that I know of personality that cannot find skilled labor jobs like certified welder machinist equipment operator electric line worker dental assistant clerical assistant etc. The community college system really was a great resource for the type of training to do these jobs. An number of business owners that I have dealt with have told me they want to hire but cannot find people that can do this type of skilled labor. It's all about getting your 4 year degree then you must get a masters and then you need your doctorit and once you do you find there are no opportunities in your field.

[bumper]

DaV8or,

 

An eloquent and spot on response that shows you have a clear understanding of the underlying reasons why free market capitalism has been so good for the US. Not perfect, but far better than most other systems and way the hell better than where the progressives would have us go.

[flyboy0681]

It's raining like hell and I'm bored so, we talk about worker bees and I agree they are needed (I'm one) but look at the culture we have created this mind set that kids MUST go to college to be successful and we don't have educators pushing the trades like we used to. There are businesses many that I know of personality that cannot find skilled labor jobs like certified welder machinist equipment operator electric line worker dental assistant clerical assistant etc. The community college system really was a great resource for the type of training to do these jobs. An number of business owners that I have dealt with have told me they want to hire but cannot find people that can do this type of skilled labor. It's all about getting your 4 year degree then you must get a masters and then you need your doctorit and once you do you find there are no opportunities in your field.

 

I did say that not everyone is college material. That's where the plumbers and appliance repairmen of the world come in.

[bonal]

I did say that not everyone is college material. That's where the plumbers and appliance repairmen of the world come in.

Yes you did, but I'm talking about a cultural issue. Plumbers electricians and the like can make a great living but educators don't want to promote that sort of option. They make their living by keeping them in school forever. They are taught to believe that being a laborer is some kind of failure. I know guys that operate excavators (digging ditches) that make a bus load of money.

[chrisk]

It's raining like hell and I'm bored so, we talk about worker bees and I agree they are needed (I'm one) but look at the culture we have created this mind set that kids MUST go to college to be successful and we don't have educators pushing the trades like we used to. There are businesses many that I know of personality that cannot find skilled labor jobs like certified welder machinist equipment operator electric line worker dental assistant clerical assistant etc. The community college system really was a great resource for the type of training to do these jobs. An number of business owners that I have dealt with have told me they want to hire but cannot find people that can do this type of skilled labor. It's all about getting your 4 year degree then you must get a masters and then you need your doctorit and once you do you find there are no opportunities in your field.

 

The big lie that you have to go to college to be successful....   The colleges have turned into factories producing more gradates than needed with degrees in  English Literature, Woman's Studies, or Psychology.   What do these people do after graduation?   They go to a trade school to learn a skill where they can make a living.  Or they get a PHD and try to teach someone else.   --Some where the higher education system forgot learning for learning own sake does not make you successful. 

 

Masters in Science, Electrical Engineering  1991

[carusoam]

Who really believes a family owned or run business is going to be better for the working bees?

The family are the stock holders. The bees can't even buy into the business.

When the initial leaders are no longer around, and the offspring can no longer handle the business, it often gets sold off through large Wall Street banks and rolled up into a larger company. Many of the bees don't make the transition... They don't even get invited...

Y'all like to vote...buy some shares in the company you work for and vote. You'll get further than telling the dad that you have a different idea than the son or daughter...

Family held companies can be as wacky as any corporate entity. They all have one thing in common. They are run by people that are charged to attain certain goals. If they publish the goals, see how far down the list 'take care of the bees' is...

Selecting an arms builder as an exemplary corporation is bit odd. Right up there with alcohol and tobacco...

Regulations keep some of these separate from each other.

If Berreta is privately owned, you would have to work some magic to own any of it. Marry into the family?

In the US, you can own shares of tobacco and alcohol companies such as Phillip Morris. You can buy in one share at a time if you like...

Belief that the other side is going to be better isn't going to help...

[flyboy0681]

Who really believes a family owned or run business is going to be better for the working bees?

The family are the stock holders. The bees can't even buy into the business.

 

 

And from what I have personally seen, nothing turns family against family more than a family run business in which they are joint owners.

[flyboy0681]

Yes, and so this one place where tax cuts appear to have worsened the situation ... You want to hammer on ... while you disregard the ten other states where over the past five years, tax cuts and a balanced budget (lower government spending) have dramatically helped. So when you want to discuss the results of ALL the states who have cut spending lately and balanced the budget ... I'll start taking you seriously again ...

 

 

Found this about North Carolina and their recent tax cuts. You seem to have the wrong idea about me, I don't like taxes as much as the next guy and I'm not a tax and spend kind of person, I just think that cuts need to be executed wisely - not shoot from the hip as these states did.

 

 

Similarly, North Carolina passed tax cuts in 2013 that cut the top individual income tax rate from 7.75 percent to 5.8 percent (and 5.75 percent in 2015). That plan also reduced the corporate income tax rate, expanded the sales tax to include some services and eliminated the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

 

Originally expected to cost $600 million per year, the tax cuts are costing at least $200 million more because the promised economic growth from the cuts hasn't come to pass. That led to a state revenue shortfall of $445 million in 2014. North Carolina has the second-biggest funding cut to its schools among states this year. And the tax cuts are now expected to cost North Carolina over $1 billion a year once fully implemented.

 

Like Kansas, the North Carolina plan is also a tax shift from the wealthy to everyone else. The plan increases taxes, on average, for the bottom 80 percent of North Carolinians while providing almost a $10,000 tax cut for those making close to $1 million. Almost two-thirds of the net tax cuts will go to the richest 1 percent of North Carolinians

[flyboy0681]

58% OF AMERICANS OPPOSE AHA...YET GOP IS GOING TO FUND IT AND THE AMNESTY MEMO.

WHAT A COMPLETE MESS!

 

That's a funny statistic. A recent Gallop Poll showed that yes, while over 50% oppose the law, over 75% agree with provisions of the law, such as elimination of pre-existing conditions, the inability of a plan to drop you like a hot potato if you get sick or miss one premium, kids on their parents plan until 26. I guess what American's don't like is the mandate itself.

 

But you are correct. WHAT A MESS!

[bonal]

When a govt agency is talking about a tax cut costing money what that means is its going to cost THEM money. In other words they won't be able to take as much from us. My big problem is so much of my money is wasted by the administration of any governing body if they would clean up their wasteful spending there would be plenty to spend on the services that are needed without having to keep raising tax rates. I don't have to run through the lists we all know about how they spend and spend and spend some more.

[flyboy0681]

I tuned into one of the cable news channels and they were discussing some provisions of the new budget bill that the democrats are having a cow over. The item in question scraps a provision of Dodd-Frank which currently prevents banks from investing in certain derivatives. These derivatives were partly responsible for the collapse. The provision also puts your government on the hook in case those investments go south and permits a bailout of the bank due to those bad investments. This item was sponsored by the GOP by the way.

 

Where does this fit with the conservative mantra of "no future bailouts"?

[rob]

Funny, I just read that Brownbacks answer in Kansas is really not an answer at all, instead he is just delaying the situation. Pushing it back till next year.

In his campaign ads he said he was going to "hit the accelerator on his agenda". He wasn't lying.

[AndyFromCB]

SCRAP OMNIBUS. FUND TO 1/15. THEN DO INDIVIDUAL BUDGETS FOR DEFENSE ETC...

 

Scrap the defense budget, let all involved get real jobs that actually contribute to society as opposed to blowing shit up, watch the deficit disappear and all debt be paid off in less than 10 years. Yes, as simple as that at a trillion and some change a year...

[flyboy0681]

Scrap the defense budget, let all involved get real jobs that actually contribute to society as opposed to blowing shit up, watch the deficit disappear and all debt be paid off in less than 10 years. Yes, as simple as that at a trillion and some change a year...

 

Guess you didn't read the latest Fox News poll which shows 81% of those interviewed expect an attack here by ISIS real soon. We need to spend a trillion a year to defend Mainstreet.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/12/11/fox-news-poll-81-percent-expect-isis-attack-on-us-majority-says-keep-gitmo-open/

[AndyFromCB]

Always classic when the four cylinder scooter rolls in the thread. Thanks so much for your contributions...

Over A Trillion...

PASSED.

Way to go America.

Way to go.

I'm out. Politics is for idiots.

Have fun...

 

You seem so resigned. Cheer up, man. None of this matters anyway. Just paper money.

[carusoam]

Price of fuel is down so much lately...

It's like everyone just got a pay raise or tax cut.

Unless you work for an energy producer or don't use energy...

The last time gas prices were this low, it was because the economy tanked and demand went with it.

Now, the economy is greatly recovering and supply is out running demand...

No government shutdown expected.

Stock markets are within 2% of all time highs, 401ks and retirement plans are intact. Ebola and ISIS are lessened even at their origins...

The sun is shining isn't it?

[flyboy0681]

Price of fuel is down so much lately...

It's like everyone just got a pay raise or tax cut.

Unless you work for an energy producer or don't use energy...

The last time gas prices were this low, it was because the economy tanked and demand went with it.

Now, the economy is greatly recovering and supply is out running demand...

No government shutdown expected.

Stock markets are within 2% of all time highs, 401ks and retirement plans are intact. Ebola and ISIS are lessened even at their origins...

The sun is shining isn't it?

 

And it's all Obama's fault.

[DaV8or]

So Dave, the bottom line is provide for those that will not work or they will revolt and we will have a socialist U.S.?

O.K. Got it. Don't agree, but I got it.

 

Not quite what I'm saying. In every nation and every land throughout time there has been those who just don't want to work. No matter what we do, there will always be those. We don't really have to provide for them, they get by by begging and exploiting kind hearted people's generosity.

 

What I was trying to say is we need to preserve work for those that do want to work. We need people to work and every time a company outsources production, outsources accounting, outsources engineering, outsources customer service, buys foreign made equipment and supplies instead of domestically made, we kill jobs these workers can do. Automation, robotics and technology only compound the problem and there are only so many retail and service jobs available.

 

I'm sure that Bumper can tell you, as he employs 25 people, that employees are your single biggest expense in a business usually. Cutting just one, or two positions can dramatically improve your bottom line if you can figure out a way to do it. My thought is, at some point we should ask ourselves, should we? If the company is making money and everyone is happy, do we really need to scheme on a way for the company owner to make even more at the expense of some of the workers? What is best for the country?

 

I witnessed this happening at See's Candy. I used to work on an annual employee appreciation party for them. We would shoot a video for all the employees to watch and in it it would celebrate the workers that had been with the company the longest and what they liked about working at See's. See's Candy used to be the kind of company where you would go to work for them right out of High School and stay there until retirement.  There were generations working at See's side by side.

 

The company always made money and was never a troubled asset. It ended up being sold to Berkshire Hathaway. They saw it as a good solid "brand" that they could turn over and make some good money. They went in there and discovered that See's was still making candy the same way they did in the 1920s... by hand. People formed, decorated and packaged millions of chocolates all by hand. The level of machinery and automation used to be about 1930s level IMO. Well, you guessed it, this could not stand.

 

Even though See's had built a reputation as being a genuine old fashion confectionery company, apparently in the eyes of Warren Buffet's guys, that was just for the ads and commercials, not reality. New machines were ordered and installed as technology had long since been able to do these jobs. I think around 20-30 % of the workforce was cut. Morale plummeted and the video I used to work on for the annual party was cut too. I haven't been over there in a long time.

 

No doubt in a very short time, profits were way up. Once again a great investment opportunity by Warren Buffet. The question is, was it the right thing to do? It's just one small company, but this has happened all over the country all manor of small companies over and over again. The net result is there are less and less jobs to do for the kinds of people that used to work at the See's factory. And because there is a glut of this kind of lower skill labor, the wages are driven way down by competition.

 

It's not that people don't want to work, it's just that there isn't as much work to do. Add to that a swelling population and you have a problem. Capitalism is a great thing. Super Capitalism, I'm not so sure about. The fastest way to invite Communism into your country is to have the majority of the population earning very low wages, or no wages at all while at the same time have a tiny portion of your population earning enormous amounts of money.

 

We used to have a good little balance going on, but times changed. Technology has provided the means for globalization and automation and the associated profits that can go with that. The thing is, it's a choice, not an inevitability. Are profits always better than people? Is the US economy better off top heavy, or more evenly distributed? I guess we'll find out.

 

It's still the land of the free and we can still make our own business choices and investments. I do not believe in the social engineering and gerrymandering that goes on with the Democrats and the socialists. I believe we should be free to make choices and without government interference, I just wish people with power and money, would actually think about those choices before they make them.

[DaV8or]

Price of fuel is down so much lately...

It's like everyone just got a pay raise or tax cut.

Unless you work for an energy producer or don't use energy...

The last time gas prices were this low, it was because the economy tanked and demand went with it.

Now, the economy is greatly recovering and supply is out running demand...

No government shutdown expected.

Stock markets are within 2% of all time highs, 401ks and retirement plans are intact. Ebola and ISIS are lessened even at their origins...

The sun is shining isn't it?

 

When's AVGAS going to go down??!! It's still over $5 over here.

[carusoam]

First, strong supply...

Then, North Sea crude oil price...

Then, gasoline futures RBOB price...

Then local gasoline station price..

Then 100LL price...

Then local 100LL price...

Television supplied, non expert evaluation...

Could take a few months...

Best regards,

-a-

[flyboy0681]

First, strong supply...

Then, North Sea crude oil price...

Then, gasoline futures RBOB price...

Then local gasoline station price..

Then 100LL price...

Then local 100LL price...

Television supplied, non expert evaluation...

Could take a few months...

Best regards,

-a-

 

What about all of those conservative pundits that said in 2008 that under Obama gas prices will more than double? I guess it did, but it was due to demand, not policy. I remember Limbaugh qualifying that statement with "Mark my words ladies and gentlemen.." He also said that by the time the 2012 election came around, the Dow would be less than it was at that time. Rush and Dick Morris are my favorite prognosticators.

[carusoam]

There are polar opposites that are at play in this discussion.

The change of price is directly related to the supply and demand curve.

Wall Street is being challenged by this conundrum...

In 2008 - stock market plunged while gas prices dropped...people stopped buying fuel regardless of price. They stopped buying everything, in fear of losing their income...

Demand dropped!

In 2014 - stock market is at all time highs, the economy is growing, people are buying things. New technology has allowed for increased production in the Americas.

Supply exceeded!

OPEC has been unable to set the price and continue to pump as much as they can.

They will have to cut production to make that happen. They don't seem to want to do that for a while.

Thank the new energy suppliers for pressuring the traditional Crude suppliers.

Long live supply and demand and new technologies and the inventors that make this happen...

Encourage the young to be smart and hard working, while being kind to others...

This ethos hasn't changed in 50 years...

The nazi ethos seemed to lack the be kind to anyone part.

As does Ebola and Isis...

Wall Street is seeing oil price drop but is unclear of how it will effect the rest of the economy.

Low oil price should be good (for most). Including the markets.

The challenge for everyone is to understand how this applies to them.

If I had to choose one extreme over the other... Over supply by technology seems better than under use economic depression.

Both cause lower 100LL price to go lower!

Best regards,

-a-

[flyboy0681]

Little Timmy thinks  this is a ploy by police to unlock a phone so that they could search its contents.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30442292

[AndyFromCB]

What about all of those conservative pundits that said in 2008 that under Obama gas prices will more than double? I guess it did, but it was due to demand, not policy. I remember Limbaugh qualifying that statement with "Mark my words ladies and gentlemen.." He also said that by the time the 2012 election came around, the Dow would be less than it was at that time. Rush and Dick Morris are my favorite prognosticators.

 

Only thing that consistently sells to a certain portion of the population is fear: Ebola, ISIS, debt (which BTW, we don't have any as long as we've got cotton to print dollars on), homosexuals, atheists, elitists (better educated), commies, canadians, hell, pitchforks, uncle Satan and the list goes on. And there is good money to be made in confirming ones fears. Makes one feel less alone in this world. 

 

Shit, there is still a few religions hanging around from the end of the world predictions that did not occur in 1800s. World has been ending for a long, long time. I only fear the fearful. Bands of them have attempted to end the world more than once. Hermann Goring was a great purveyor:

 

 

“Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or fascist dictorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peace makers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

[flyboy0681]

 

Only thing that consistently sells to a certain portion of the population is fear: Ebola, ISIS, debt (which BTW, we don't have any as long as we've got cotton to print dollars on), homosexuals, atheists, elitists (better educated), commies, canadians, hell, pitchforks, uncle Satan and the list goes on. And there is good money to be made in confirming ones fears. Makes one feel less alone in this world. 

 

 

 

 

You forgot Mexican's.