Things have certainly changed. And, not for the better. Last week, I ran a series about wages in America. (I also have a Kindle and a paperback with even more such thoughts available for your reading pleasure.) Corporations are not paying living wages, expecting the middle class to subsidize their profits by providing the funds for food stamps, welfare, and Medicaid for their low-paid staff. It is obvious this is true, since the middle class and the lower class provide more than 1/2 the total federal receipts, with corporations barely providing 10%.
Monthly Archives: January 2014
A FIVE letter word. (OK, maybe 3 for some…)
They’re ba-ack… Not the poltergeists, although many of you may consider them part of the genre…No, it’s the required annual tax filings…
Continue reading A FIVE letter word. (OK, maybe 3 for some…)
This is a drone of another sort…
Most of you know that I used to be an academic. Or, maybe I should say that I used to be a professor first and an entrepreneur/consultant second- because I’ve been accused of being an academic forever. Because I want to study everything. And, I tend to lecture (or get on my soap box) often.
This is not something we want to have grow!
We know that water shortages are not just looming- they are here. (Check out this blog post.) But, we are not only running out of water, desertification is occurring – around the world.
Continue reading This is not something we want to have grow!
Living Wages. The End of the Discussion- for now.
║This is the fifth and final segment in this mini-series on minimum wage, living wages, the middle class, and taxes that I started this year, beginning on 7 January 2014.║
Continue reading Living Wages. The End of the Discussion- for now.
Living Wages. The Very Bottom Line.
Here in the DC area, we are about to engage in a new kind of experiment. The minimum wage in the Maryland suburbs is going up to $ 11.50 an hour. As it will be in the city of DC. But, in Northern Virginia, the minimum wage will be the Federally mandated one of $7.25. Do you really think the jobs will leave the northern suburbs and move to Virginia?
Living Wages- Take 3
So, we’ve talked (this is the 3rd part in the daily series about current economics) about who is funding the US treasury. Mostly workers, which surprised most of you. Mostly the poor and the middle class, which clearly confounded you. (Remember- it’s payroll taxes that provide about 45% of the federal take, and the income taxes of the non-rich provide another 15% of the federal take. The rich (top 10%) provide 30% of the annual federal receipts via income taxes and corporations finish off the totals by contributing about 10%.)
Living Wages- redux
So, yesterday, I spoke about how taxes make a difference to the various folks in America. From the working poor to the middle class, to the rich and super-rich.
Living Wages
Do I really care about the minimum wage per se? (I know, I’ve written about it before- as recently as 45 days ago or so: Wage Follies.) No, I worry about living wages and the middle class.
Why don’t my drugs work?
Lots of hoopla this week (when this was written). The FDA is finally acting- it’s asking the big farms to stop using antibiotics when their animals are not sick. What, you say? You mean we use antibiotics for animals that are healthy? You betcha!