The Puffer Forum

bertie 83 wrote:In business its not what you know or do. Its who you know or do. I have got pretty much nowhere because i refuse to lick buttocks. Where as people under me at work who chose to lick buttocks have succeeded, wierd. I would much rather work 3 jobs and not lick buttocks to live comfortably. However i believe a slight redistribution of wealth would kick start an economy cos people who could not afford before would buy items. Many items. Just my little outburst over. If i did not have to work so much, i still would to keep producing the money to keep my family comfortable and get extras to make them happy. My little girl is my world

+1. I refused to brown nose at my old corporate job and got the boot. I also took them to the Labor Board in San Jose and won. I have been on my own since I was 16 and my parents divorced. While my friends were getting their first cars and going on field trips for graduation, I was out looking for a job, watching pets or baby sitting so I could participate in extra curricular activities in school. I am now a senior at SJSU working hard and paying out the butt for a piece of paper that is supposed to help me get ahead of life. I don't mind the work, it builds character. But how much more will I have to do to be able to afford my own home here in the bay area? How am I supposed to start a family, pay my bills, put gas in the car and have pets (a luxury I know, but one I am not willing to forgo) with only working one job? I am getting a degree then going BACK to school so I can become a vet technician so I can work two jobs to be able to buy my own home and do all the other things I want to do. Again, I don't want handouts, I want the wealth distributed better.

In class today, we had presentations about big names in business ethics. One name that came up was Warren Buffet. He pointed out to Obama, that on all his securities, dividends and other misc income, his total tax percent for the year was only 19%. We in the middle class, myself included, who doesn't make nearly as much as he does, not even close by a LONG shot, pay a total of 33%. In finance, we discussed how to kick start the economy, and the best way we found to do that, was to cut taxes for the lower income brackets. The more money in our pockets, mean the more we would have to spend. As long as the occupy movement is for distributing wealth, getting corrupt politicians to get out of corporate beds, and getting the USA back to where we used to be, and not struggling or failing to pay off debts, then I am all for it. The moment that stops however, I will be against it.

100% what i am saying. However dont take from the people who work 60 + hours to get extras. Like me

bertie 83 wrote:100% what i am saying. However dont take from the people who work 60 + hours to get extras. Like me

There is nothing wrong with that :p it just means that you have very little time >< I did that for about 1.5-2 years, and I just couldn't do it anymore, not if I wanted good grades anyways LoL.

Iliveinazoo wrote:I obviously know nothing of your work situation but that director may have got to where he was by gaining clients and contacts and much of the wining and dining could have been networking which potentially kept many people in a job. Sounds like he had a cracking job, but it probably meant that he spent lots of time away from his family and therefore it would not be the job for me.

We are not yet at the point in our technology where we don't have to rely on fossil fuels hence the reason that we still use them.

If you can find a better alternative to the banking system then crack on but be careful what you wish for because my country at least, without a major manufacturing industry anymore would be a far poorer place without it.

If the world didn't rely on the like of money then it would have to rely on something just like it, the human race would not simply start to help each other out and that is because living and surviving is hard work.

Yes and no... The exec I was talking about is an Ex-Buffalo Sabers hockey player who just "walked" into the position. Just a total shmooze hound. There were many many other people far more qualified to be there than he was. Many times over in larger businesses, if you are good at what you do they tend to keep you there.

As a matter of fact we are at a point where we don't have to rely on fossil fuels for the majority of our power consumption. The problem lies in the "costs" involved in implementing these alternative energies.

Last point.. this is just a micro snap shot of what "could happen".. Look at this forum. There are dozens of members "helping eachother out" out of hundreds of members. Some are very dedicated and many come and go. I don't think PP has handed out a single pay cheque as of yet. It is a kind caring community and we do what we can.

I am no economist, nor a banker and don't hold a Ph.D but I know there has to be a better way.

just check the videos:
http://www.invertplanet.com/forum/f29/v ... ct-58.html

Here you go. This picture sums up very succinctly exactly how I feel. This picture brought tears to my eyes.

This one is good as well.

RTR wrote:I have a basic and strong mistrust in ideologies which propose a free ride. There is no such thing as free lunch or free education. Someone always pays. Anything worth having should be worth its price or the effort required to gain it..

America and the world have changed remarkably since I was young. Not since the fall of Imperial Russis has so much of the world's wealth been in the hands and control of so few individuals, and the Russian example was the last vestige of the feudal system, an aberation in its long survival into the 20th century. The 21st century has begun with with a world-wide economy of unprecedented scale and unprecedented concentrations of wealth. That is not in and of itself a good thing, but there are no simple solutions which would effectively alter the current situation. Simple re-distributions of wealth and of the means of sustaining wealth do not work. Those who have the abilities required for sustaining wealth do not need to have wealth given to them, they can get it for themselves. Those who cannot generate wealth for themselves cannot sustain it.

Something for nothing is unfortunately worth what was paid for it. That is even more unsustainable than the current situation.

+1 RTR, thank you, very well put

That second letter reminds me of the people here who have lost their pensions and old age security isn't cutting. Those who are 75+ working as Walmart greeters.

My grandad had to work until he was 85 as he never had a job with a pension. Now the family supports him and my nana so he doesn't have to work.

I went to Wal Mart last year about this time and it was like 2am. The guy checking us out was going very slow, and he looked like he was about 70-75 years old. His supervisor, came over and started to rip him a new one when he asked her for help. He didn't look like he was too comfortable doing what he was doing and he looked exhausted. After listening to her diatribe for about a minute, I stepped in and told her to back the f*** off and that he was doing fine. All I got was an "excuse me?!" and I told her that he was old enough to be her grandfather and that she should have respect for her elders, which IMO the US lacks greatly. I also told her that if she didn't like his pace, she needed to open up one of the other 60 cashier stands that were closed and she needed to get younger employees out here that could work thru the night no problem. It is something to this day that still gets my blood boiling because this older gentleman was near tears he was so frustrated because he wasn't sure what to do. And the more the line backed up, the faster he tried to go, and the more he fumbled. It was heartbreaking to watch because you knew he was trying and you knew that he was getting frustrated. Also, after being a manager myself, I would have NEVER said some of the things she said to him in front of customers, EVER. That is not professional and demonstrates the profound lack of respect that the younger generation has for our older generations. He's working because he had to either work or go hungry because medications are so damned expensive. Even though Wal Mart gives them jobs, I think that the older population that work out of necessity should not be worked at 2am in the morning. This is why I think we need a change. One of the reasons anyways. Turns out he was a vet and a retire-ee but his meds were so expensive, insurance didn't cover all of it, and he still had a huge chunk to pay. I called in to the manager and corporate the next day. Uggh, sorry, again, this story is one of the things that just gets me going.

I really think a majority of the people in these protests are younger people that haven't had real life/world experience. They are people that think the drunk or addicted homeless man should get government handouts to try to get them off the street. They don't understand that in the job market, especially right now, experience means as much if not more than having a college degree, people straight out of college aren't going to get the high end jobs. Banks need to re-organize and re-structure to be a viable entity and the CEO's that are making a ton of cash probably earned their way up or swindled their way up to the top. Place blame where blame lies, the cheats and the swindlers that tanked the banks, mortgage companies, and the stock markets.

Wanting this "share the wealth" thing reeks of the "gimme generation" Kids that grew up with mommy and daddy handing them everything they want and now are in the real world and have no idea how it works.

That will never happen. You get what you pay for.

So true. Screw low taxes; I'll take a functional government any day.

xrayjeeper83 wrote:From what Ive heard(not paid much attention) its just a bunch of useless people that think everything should be handed to them

Maybe you should pay some attention before you make judgments. The people in this movement aren't asking for "handouts." They're pointing out the corruption that puts most of the country's wealth in the hands of 1% of its citizens. Plain old "hard work" doesn't make a billionaire; that's greed and disregard for others' well-being. Wal-Mart is a perfect example. A couple of billionaires make a disgustingly huge profit off of its workers (who they don't pay enough and cheat of their hours), off of the sweatshop laborers who get paid only a few cents for that five-dollar shirt, by driving local shops out of business, and even off of our own beloved fish. GSPs are the victims of capitalism, too - people looking to make money, not caring if they cause suffering. The "99%" is not a bunch of bums or career welfare-grubbers; it's anyone who's not ridiculously wealthy. A good portion of these non-rich people are suffering as the result of the economic crisis, which many economists believe is the result of very rich people mishandling the nation's wealth.

The only people I've seen asking for "handouts" on the 99% signs are people who NEED them - young single moms who are trying to get through school and need welfare to support their kids until they earn their degrees, severely handicapped people who clearly can't work, and so on. Social security and other such programs are in place for a reason - we all pay a little bit, trusting that if we ever need help, we can get it. Tax breaks for multi-billionaires are not appropriate; instead of benefiting the nation (really, no one takes their tax break savings to increase wages or hire more people out of the goodness of their hearts), it just takes away from people who NEED help.

I really think a majority of the people in these protests are younger people that haven't had real life/world experience. They are people that think the drunk or addicted homeless man should get government handouts to try to get them off the street. They don't understand that in the job market, especially right now, experience means as much if not more than having a college degree, people straight out of college aren't going to get the high end jobs. Banks need to re-organize and re-structure to be a viable entity and the CEO's that are making a ton of cash probably earned their way up or swindled their way up to the top. Place blame where blame lies, the cheats and the swindlers that tanked the banks, mortgage companies, and the stock markets.

Wanting this "share the wealth" thing reeks of the "gimme generation" Kids that grew up with mommy and daddy handing them everything they want and now are in the real world and have no idea how it works.

I've seen a TON of older people involved. One of the handwritten messages I read was from an architect who had earned multiple higher education degrees, built a business, lost it in an economic downturn, built another business, and lost it again when the housing market crashed. He said that he'd never asked to have anything handed to him; on the contrary, he had worked hard his whole life and earned everything he had. But hard work wasn't enough, because he lost it through no fault of his own.

My dad hasn't lost his job, since he's tenured and legally can't get let go unless his employer pretty much goes bankrupt, but he's had to take a significant paycut, and he's lost a substantial amount of health care benefits. This is because the college where he teaches is losing students because so many people can't afford to start or stay in school. My dad went to Princeton, has a Ph.D. in math, wrote a textbook, created the plan that is getting the college's academic accreditation renewed, ran the Honors Program for many years, sponsors the Math Club and Feminists for Life (student organizations), sponsors "alternative" (educational and service-oriented) spring break trips every year, and founded and runs the campus community garden. If that's not hard work, I don't know what is. But instead of getting rewarded, he got a pay cut and lost benefits. We've been lucky, incredibly lucky, but even the lucky ones are feeling the impact of this economic crisis.

I have to add my 2 cents before I call it a night. Now Im not tryin to make anyone mad here but I think they all are abunch of modern day hippies that need to stop whining about this country (America) because we all dont like how things are being done. So they are not the only ones hurting here. I would had made alot bigger deal about it mainly because Im a Tea Party supporter but I wont. I have been watching this going on but Im not going to whine about it and hold abunch of signs, camping out in the streets, repeat everything that the person that gets his/her turn with the bullhorn says like abunch of brainwashed zombies. Get a job or use that time that they spend setting out there to try to find one and dont drink the punch when the leader says "it's time"....

Get a job or use that time that they spend setting out there to try to find one and dont drink the punch when the leader says "it's time"....

Don't you get it? The jobless protestors have looked for jobs. Some of them have been unemployed for months or years. The job market is the problem, not laziness.

I have to add my 2 cents before I call it a night. Now Im not tryin to make anyone mad here but I think they all are abunch of modern day hippies that need to stop whining about this country (America) because we all dont like how things are being done.

So do you propose that we do nothing about our unhappiness with the current system? It's America - we have the right to assembly and protest. That's how it's supposed to work here.

FADE2BLACK_1973 wrote:I have to add my 2 cents before I call it a night. Now Im not tryin to make anyone mad here but I think they all are abunch of modern day hippies that need to stop whining about this country (America) because we all dont like how things are being done. So they are not the only ones hurting here. I would had made alot bigger deal about it mainly because Im a Tea Party supporter but I wont. I have been watching this going on but Im not going to whine about it and hold abunch of signs, camping out in the streets, repeat everything that the person that gets his/her turn with the bullhorn says like abunch of brainwashed zombies. Get a job or use that time that they spend setting out there to try to find one and dont drink the punch when the leader says "it's time"....

i used to wonder how people wound up living in a cardboard box beneath a freeway overpass
i don't wonder about it anymore, as there are so many people living on the edge of disaster now
these are not necessarily lazy or people unable to work for some reason
it no longer takes much to tip someone over that edge
a lost job, an illness............
lifelines are getting scarce
many of them are people just like you and i who have experienced some kind of misfortune
people are frightened
frightened people can become angry.........