Disposable Income Went South in the Mid 1990's

[Hoof Hearted]

Companies stopped caring about their employee's livelihoods and started bean counting.

Back in the day, from 1989 to 1996 I made $19.00 per hour in a warehouse working part-time. I had 2 cars...an old 70's Summer convertible and a little Chevette for the Winter. I lived and rented in a large house.

Life was very good up until the mid 90's. That was the beginning of the race to the bottom. Instead of bringing the Private Sector UP to the standards of the Public Sector, government seemed hell bent on driving the Public Sector DOWN.

It continues to this day. And most women are stuck in low-paying retail jobs. They're miserable but have to work in these minimum wage positions to make ends meet.

Companies have been raping their employees for over 20 years now. It's what got Trump elected. People forget that.

Ask yourself, were you better off 25 years ago? Hell, yes! I bet is your answer.

 

[taxslave]

Companies stopped caring about their employee's livelihoods and started bean counting.

Back in the day, from 1989 to 1996 I made $19.00 per hour in a warehouse working part-time. I had 2 cars...an old 70's Summer convertible and a little Chevette for the Winter. I lived and rented in a large house.

Life was very good up until the mid 90's. That was the beginning of the race to the bottom. Instead of bringing the Private Sector UP to the standards of the Public Sector, government seemed hell bent on driving the Public Sector DOWN.

It continues to this day. And most women are stuck in low-paying retail jobs. They're miserable but have to work in these minimum wage positions to make ends meet.

Companies have been raping their employees for over 20 years now. It's what got Trump elected. People forget that.

Few companies or their owners are getting rich outside of the computer related businesses. It is more that government pay levels are out of sync with the real world. Especially at the municipal level.

 

[Hoof Hearted]

Baloney.

 

[Murphy]

Cites? You might want to change the title of this thread to "Opinion: Disposable Income Went South in the Mid 1990's" or "A Personal Observation: My Disposable Income Went South in the Mid 1990's".

Mine didn't. Others had no problems. You apparently did. But using your own personal situation to substantiate everyone's disposable income going south doesn't work. Not everyone's did. And this last sentence.

Companies have been raping their employees for over 20 years now. It's what got Trump elected. People forget that.

What do you mean?

 

[taxslave]

Baloney.

Check the sunshine list.

 

[Hoof Hearted]

The starting wage of my warehouse position in 1990 was $11.50 per hour.

Today, 27 years later, the starting salary for that same job is $11.50 per hour.

Don't tell me it ain't all screwed up. Exactly where has all of the money gone?? Certainly not to the employees.

 

[Murphy]

Who knows what your company did? It wasn't what happened to most everyone else.

 

[Hoof Hearted]

My Liberal friends tell me..."Yeah! But do you know how much a TV would cost if it weren't for Free Trade??"

To which i reply...

"Yeah. But nobody would give a rat if everyone was making 70k per year."

Then they usually turn red, shut up and have no reply.

You were/are a teacher aren't you Murph?

100k per year...all Summer off...Christmas holidays, March Break, PD days, all of the Stat holidays, plus sick days.

You won the lottery. Any thoughts on this subject coming from you are skewed in my opinion.

 

[Murphy]

The fact that you are angry is of no consequence to me. You are assuming that everyone suffered as you did. What your personal financial situation was in the 1990s has nothing to do with my profession, or your assumption of my job perks.

It sounds like you want to argue. That usually goes with the anger.

Here's something that you can get upset about. You are acting like a child. Lashing out may make you feel good, but you still look like an idiot. Try rephrasing what you want to say and leave your anger at the door.

 

[Angstrom]

The fact that you are angry is of no consequence to me. You are assuming that everyone suffered as you did. What your personal financial situation was in the 1990s has nothing to do with my profession, or your assumption of my job perks.

It sounds like you want to argue. That usually goes with the anger.

Here's something that you can get upset about. You are acting like a child. Lashing out may make you feel good, but you still look like an idiot. Try rephrasing what you want to say and leave your anger at the door.

Only anger i see is the one you are showing

 

[Murphy]

Okay. :lol:

I fed his anger by giving him something to rant about. He wants confrontation. You as well, by the sound of it. I suggest the two of you have it out. Or did you work for the same company that he did? :lol:

 

[darkbeaver]

The starting wage of my warehouse position in 1990 was $11.50 per hour.

Today, 27 years later, the starting salary for that same job is $11.50 per hour.

Don't tell me it ain't all screwed up. Exactly where has all of the money gone?? Certainly not to the employees.

Offshore accounts.

 

[Hoof Hearted]

Murph,

I'm not angry at all in this moment.

I'm drinking a root beer and having a turkey sandwich. You're the one getting all touchy because i simply stated all of your job perks.

 

[Murphy]

My job perks, real or imagined, have nothing to do with your company or what happened to you financially in the 1990s.

You wrote this,

It continues to this day. And most women are stuck in low-paying retail jobs. They're miserable but have to work in these minimum wage positions to make ends meet.

Companies have been raping their employees for over 20 years now. It's what got Trump elected. People forget that.

I asked for something to back up your assertion.

Then, you edited your original post, and you added this. Good, but...

Ask yourself, were you better off 25 years ago? Hell, yes! I bet is your answer.

In the first part of your post you talked about being worse off. The edited addition says to ask myself if I was better off 25 years ago. I wasn't. Something has ticked you off, or you would not have posted and edited what you did about my response. This is confrontational.

You were/are a teacher aren't you Murph?

100k per year...all Summer off...Christmas holidays, March Break, PD days, all of the Stat holidays, plus sick days.

You won the lottery. Any thoughts on this subject coming from you are skewed in my opinion.

In this, you assumed my salary, time off and suggested that because I taught, I somehow "won the lottery". You concluded by saying that any thoughts I have are skewed. That sounds like an angry reaction to my post.

Make your point, but don't assume that others were better off.

 

[Angstrom]

Disposable income being gone is a fact.

If you made you’re money before the mid 1990, then you would have succeeded in insulating yourself from the phenomenon. Anyone who started working after 1998, would not have been insulated and would have likely suffered the consequences of the lost of disposable income. Its a fact. Its not even up for argument.

After 2000 the economy switched to a duel income economy. Prices were all adjusted according to a two income family earning.

 

[Murphy]

If it is a fact then I would like to see proof. Understand that just because you said it doesn't mean it's true. Perhaps you have heard the expression, Never assume. It makes an ASS of U and ME.

Three or four cites from reputable sources would be nice.

With those cites, it would be nice to see how they relate to HH's particular situation in the 1990s, and an explanation of 'raping workers' and Trump's election.

 

[Angstrom]

If it is a fact then I would like to see proof. Understand that just because you said it doesn't mean it's true. Perhaps you have heard the expression, Never assume. It makes an ASS of U and ME.

Three or four cites from reputable sources would be nice.

With those cites, it would be nice to see how they relate to HH's particular situation in the 1990s, and an explanation of 'raping workers' and Trump's election.

You need a income of 104 000$ A year to sustain a healthy family in my community.

Its well known that incomes have hardly grown, but cost of living has risen steadily in the same time period.

Do you live in a bubble?

 

[Murphy]

That's your community. The only things I do not have to verify are my own financial situation and that wages and prices have risen overall.

Again, to go back to the original post, tie your statements together.

Angstrom, wrt your observation of $104,000 being necessary where you live, I would point out that not everyone needs that level to live well. Much depends on where you live, no. of dependents, hobbies, etc.

 

[Angstrom]

That's your community. The only things I do not have to verify are my own financial situation and that wages and prices have risen overall.

Again, to go back to the original post, tie your statements together.

Angstrom, wrt your observation of $104,000 being necessary where you live, I would point out that not everyone needs that level to live well. Much depends on where you live, no. of dependents, hobbies, etc.

The same houses in 1998 in this community were selling for 125000$
Today 325000$.

Have people’s revenue tripled in the last 20 year?

 

[Murphy]

Some, but not most. The housing market has been over inflated for a while, according to what I've read. That is one example.

I will give you another. Gas prices have kept pace with wages. 1972. When I started driving, gas was the equivalent of .08/litre. Now it's 1.03/litre. That is an increase of 1300%. When gas was .08/litre, I was earning $.90/hr. Minimum wage. Minimum wage is now $11.25 close to 1300%. But in January, the minimum wage will be $14/hr. Close to 1700%.

Hamburger has gone from .49/lb in 1972 to 2.50/lb. A 500% increase. That's better than gas.

We would have to examine incomes at a given point in time and all the expenses you would have had then. We would have to repeat the exercise for right now. It would be case by case.