Only in America

[Sean Hayden]

--everyone hopes to be that guy one day That's just what it sounds like when you bring the issue up.

42 and some others think the guys take more risks, that's how blind they are. Others seem to think they'll never get to be that guy if you start forcing more equality.

[BarnettNewman]

This is the bridge project he mentions.

A friend of mine is on the design team. The owners of the only bridge crossing at Detroit are royally pissed this is moving forward.

[laklak]

I don't worry about how much other people make, doesn't affect me. I try not to get too worried about shit I can't do anything about, got other things to occupy my mind.

Like how I'm going to get the power head off that fucking outboard and building some sort of cradle for it in the garage so I can tear it down. I need some sort of crane or gantry to lift it, it's about 300 pounds and needs to be lifted straight up about 10 inches (careful don't bend the drive shaft or shift linkage), then transported back to my house as there's no garage or workspace where the boat is parked. At least it's on a trailer and not in the water, though that means the crane has to be taller as the top of the motor is over my head. On the plus side that requires clearing out the garage, which Mrs. Lak has been harassing me about for several months. Two birds one stone.

[Forty Two]

Talk about inequality:

US bosses now earn 312 times the average worker's wage, figures show

Astronomical gap between the pay of workers and bosses exposed in report on earnings of America’s top 350 CEOs

That's referring to the top 350 companies. So, one would expect CEOs of the companies that account for total market capitalizations of $15 to $20 trillion to make some solid cash. Just take one look at how much bigger the top few hundred American companies are than any other countries' top 100. The closest competitor to the US is China, and the US top 100 is about 8 times bigger than China's top 100.

Trying to extrapolate that to all workers is not a good use of statistics, because in the US, like 53% of Americans work for small business. And, like 80% don't work for one of the top 350 companies.

And, of course, this is an interesting figure, but it doesn't tell us anything about well-being. Overall, those who take this kind of differential to be a decisive factor to motivate policy are driven by ideology, and not whether we're seeing the greater good for the greater number.

The chief executives of America’s top 350 companies earned 312 times more than their workers on average last year, according to a new report published Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute.

The rise came after the bosses of America’s largest companies got an average pay rise of 17.6% in 2017, taking home an average of $18.9m in compensation while their employees’ wages stalled, rising just 0.3% over the year.

That is illegal here.

Why?

[pErvinalia]

Talk about inequality:

US bosses now earn 312 times the average worker's wage, figures show

Astronomical gap between the pay of workers and bosses exposed in report on earnings of America’s top 350 CEOs

That's referring to the top 350 companies. So, one would expect CEOs of the companies that account for total market capitalizations of $15 to $20 trillion to make some solid cash. Just take one look at how much bigger the top few hundred American companies are than any other countries' top 100. The closest competitor to the US is China, and the US top 100 is about 8 times bigger than China's top 100.

Trying to extrapolate that to all workers is not a good use of statistics, because in the US, like 53% of Americans work for small business. And, like 80% don't work for one of the top 350 companies.

And, of course, this is an interesting figure, but it doesn't tell us anything about well-being. Overall, those who take this kind of differential to be a decisive factor to motivate policy are driven by ideology, and not whether we're seeing the greater good for the greater number.

The wages of the greater number have been stagnant for decades now. There's not much "greater good" in that.

[Sean Hayden]

The ideology of equality --ah, my hair's on fucking fire, run!

[JimC]

The ideology of equality --ah, my hair's on fucking fire, run!

Carried to ideological extremes, it can become absurd dogma. Used pragmatically, focused on true equality of opportunity, it shines a useful light on the extremes of unjust inequality...

[Scot Dutchy]

Inequality is a fundamental in defining third world status of a country. Many other markers are not looking good either. Wealth ownership is another.

Some OECD data to play around with. http://www.oecd.org/social/inequality.htm#education

[laklak]

Yeah buy who's doing the defining and what's their agenda? One thing my increasing age has taught me is there is always a fucking agenda. You want to share all your shit with those starving Bengali fishermen?

[Tero]

WASHINGTON—Fearing for his safety after an incident with Fred Guttenberg the previous day, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was reportedly packing a gun at his Senate hearing Wednesday in case the father of a Parkland shooting victim tried to shake his hand again. “If that son-of-a-bitch comes up and threatens to greet me one more time, he’s got another thing coming,” said a jumpy Kavanaugh, who concealed a semi-automatic pistol in his belt to protect himself against the gun control activist as he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, reaching toward the firearm several times believing he saw Guttenberg approaching to introduce himself out of the corner of his vision. “I’m not going to sit here unable to defend myself against people trying to meet me—I know my Second Amendment rights. This is my confirmation hearing, and if that bastard comes at me again, I’m going to blow off his damn hand.” At press time, a frightened Kavanaugh had grabbed his gun to stand his ground against a threatening black man and shot Senator Cory Booker.

[Tero]

MILWAUKEE, WI—Disappointed at the outcome of the event she’d been eagerly awaiting for weeks, local woman Hannah Kaperski told reporters Thursday that she would have had an awesome time terminating her unwanted pregnancy if it weren’t for the angry protestors screaming outside the clinic. “It’s just such a bummer—you build up these amazing expectations for aborting your fetus only for a bunch of loud, obnoxious strangers to ruin everything,” said Kaperski, explaining that she’d made the appointment as part of a relaxing “me day” after weeks of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed by the prospect of putting aside her current personal and career goals in order raise an unplanned child by herself. “This was supposed to just be a fun self-care day. I was so pumped to brag to all my girlfriends about it, but now I’ll have to include the part of the day where a middle-aged woman spat in my face and called me a murderer. It’s such a buzzkill.” Kaperski also admitted that, once she got past the throng of protesters, she did end up having a pretty fun time inside the clinic.

[Seabass]

It's like something out of a Southpark episode.

[Sean Hayden]

Some cop in Dallas shot and killed a guy she mistook for an intruder after she entered the wrong apartment. No, she wasn't on a call. She was coming home from work!

She still isn't in jail. They wanted more time to investigate. Can you imagine?

I know a guy who did three years because he violated probation by entering the wrong house and falling asleep on a strangers couch.

[Brian Peacock]

Aw come on man. Who hasn't come home pissed and shot the first thing that moved?

[laklak]

Not the first time, she shot a suspect last year but didn't kill him.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/09/09/am ... eport.html

Stupid bitch needs to go to jail. What would have happened if the guy had shot her? You can bet your ass he'd be sitting in the slammer, no matter she broke into his fucking apartment.