The top one hundred earners were paid enough money last year to end poverty on this planet.......four times over!

[skydog]

.

Edited May 15, 2013 by sinansencer

[joeblast]

It's not all bad news. We're coming off the worst recession since 1929. Things may be looking up. Things cycle, even greed goes out of fashion.

may be, key operative - if we pulled an iceland in 2008 instead of papering over all the problems and codifying things into law ex post facto a la dodd frank, I would be agreeing with you - but everything I'm looking at tells me we're every bit as precariously perched from a financial standpoint as 08, but worse, since 08 was but a building block in it.

[lino]

Yes its true the top one hundred earners made over 160 billion pounds last year which is enough according to Oxfam to rid the world of poverty four times over.

 

"the Dao of heaven is to take from those who have far too much and give to those who do not have enough

Man's way is different;

he takes from those who do not have enough and gives to those who already have far too much."

Li Erh Xian Shi

 

Should a Daoist be rich?

Is there really any hope for the human race?

They add absolutely no value to a society. Read "War is a Racket" by General Smedley Butler.

[Marblehead]

Scanned an article where it is said that many corporations are doing away with over-time pay but are not doing away with over-time work.

 

Society needs a make-over.

[lino]

Scanned an article where it is said that many corporations are doing away with over-time pay but are not doing away with over-time work.

 

Society needs a make-over.

Please post it.

 

They do this through the Fair Labor Standards Act. It isn't just society, it is also government.

[lino]

A widening gap between rich and poor seems to be the downfall of many great civilizations. Over the past 50 years the gap between rich and poor in the US has widened astronomically. Poor and middle class salaries aren't keeping up with inflation, and the top 10% salaries are surpassing inflation. Essentially, there is not much of a middle class left in the US. Most people are either rich or poor. Its obvious why this would cause an empire to crumble. Its hard for people to be productive when they don't even have their basic needs met, let alone a proper education. I'm not an economist or sociologist so I have no idea exactly why this happens, but I know the root cause, like most problems, is greed.

The rich drive nations into wars which eventually make civilizations crumble. They usually transfer the money and move to another nation.

[Marblehead]

Please post it.

 

They do this through the Fair Labor Standards Act. It isn't just society, it is also government.

Can't find it. It was just this morning. It may have been pulled for having some faulty info. Too bad I didn't read the entire article so that I could talk about it. (I will try to do better the next time.)

[lino]

Can't find it. It was just this morning. It may have been pulled for having some faulty info. Too bad I didn't read the entire article so that I could talk about it. (I will try to do better the next time.)

Thank you

[Marblehead]

The article may have been referring to this:

 

Managers and Supervisors

 

Managers and supervisors do not qualify for overtime if the work they do is managerial or supervisory. Even if they perform other kinds of tasks that are not managerial or supervisory, they do not get overtime pay if these tasks are performed only on an irregular or exceptional basis.

 

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/overtime.php

 

 

But then it might have been alluding to this:

 

http://news.yahoo.com/gop-seeks-alternative-overtime-pay-074228556.html

Edited May 25, 2013 by Marblehead

[Aaron]

There is absolutely no hope for the human race. At some point in the future we will all die, just like the dinosaurs and so many other critters before us. The best we can hope for is that we don't kill ourselves quicker rather than later.

 

If you want to be rich, feel free, but keep in mind that you literally can't take it with you. If you want to be spiritual, that's fine too, but keep in mind that there is absolutely no proof doing so is going to help you achieve immortality after death, although one could be certain to a degree that your suffering will be over. If you want to become a moral pillar of the community, lead your own cult, or become a guru, well that's fine and dandy too, but keep in mind that people aren't as easy to control as you might think, and that in most circumstances you're not controlling them, so much as they're letting you tell them what to do. Unless you want to lock them in a room, then that's a game changer and will almost certainly allow you some control over their life, although with that control will come a great deal of animosity. In other words don't leave the door unlocked or turn your back on them while sharp objects are lying around.

 

This has been my public service announcement. This post is in no way meant to disrespect or insult anyone that wants to be a guru, moral pillar, or cult leader, rather it is meant to point out some of the issues they might run into if they choose to become one. Also if you do decide to become a moral pillar, make sure that they can't trace your prostitutes back to you, and pay off any kids you might molest ahead of time, otherwise they might end up spilling the beans and that might tarnish your reputation. Remember being a moral pillar isn't about actually being a moral person, you just need to appear to be a moral person.

 

Aaron

Edited May 25, 2013 by Aaron

[dogson]

Our relationship to wealth, abundance, and giving is karma, too.

 

I would encourage everyone to check out Gregg Brayden's "The Divine Matrix" lecture series on youtube and at least skim through Michael Talbot's "The Holographic Universe."

 

The media supresses our power through one trick, and one trick alone: cultivating this "us vs. them" mentality. Corrupt governments, greedy corporations, whatever - as long as the problem is "out there" somewhere, we start thinking we're powerless. It's the simplest magic trick in the book, MISDIRECTION. As long as we're looking for something to blame, or something that's wrong "out there" we are totally ignoring the inner qualities that we're all here to work with.

 

Tony Robbins is a hack, but he makes a really good point: the entire foundation of our lives is based on our "MUSTS" versus our "SHOULDS." Whatever is a MUST for us, we get. We earn what we MUST earn. We do what we believe we MUST do. And we all have plenty of "SHOULD" stuff, but that's nebulous.

 

If you study billionaires and their psychology, invariably they have a psychological need to achieve and be recognized. That's an inner quality. Say what you want about conspiracy theories, and all this crap - at the root level, they are hugely wealthy because of an inner quality.

 

And all of us are on this forum because of an inner quality which is calling us to recognize something.

I would urge everyone to scale back this focus on what's wrong out there and just look inside at what we feel we should actually be doing, and make it a MUST.

 

When we activate that, that is true wealth, and everyone who comes in contact with us is given riches by our presence alone.

Imagine a world of people doing that.

[Marblehead]

What an optimistic post! Thanks.

[zanshin]

The article may have been referring to this:

 

Managers and Supervisors

 

Managers and supervisors do not qualify for overtime if the work they do is managerial or supervisory. Even if they perform other kinds of tasks that are not managerial or supervisory, they do not get overtime pay if these tasks are performed only on an irregular or exceptional basis.

 

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/overtime.php

 

 

But then it might have been alluding to this:

 

http://news.yahoo.com/gop-seeks-alternative-overtime-pay-074228556.html

Salaried people do not get overtime either.

[Marblehead]

Salaried people do not get overtime either.

True. I played that game for a while. It got tired very quickly.

[Aaron]

Salaried people do not get overtime either.

 

 

No one should take these comments regarding pay as the guiding line when it comes to the law. Each state is different. Some states require employers to pay overtime to managers and supervisors, while others don't. Some states require you to pay a salaried employee overtime for anything over 40 hours, since the salary is based on 40 hours. Again, if you're having an issue with your employer, check your local laws.

 

Aaron

[joeblast]

I was chuckling last night while discussing karma with the wife about the way she posed a question, it made me ask, why is it that people usually think negatively regarding the subject of karma? When something good manifests, they simply enjoy it and dont consider that the good thing is also a manifestation of karma, they only say jeez, karma has come and bitten my rear when something bad happens

[gendao]

But then it might have been alluding to this:

 

http://news.yahoo.com/gop-seeks-alternative-overtime-pay-074228556.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — It seems like a simple proposition: give employees who work more than 40 hours a week the option of taking paid time off instead of overtime pay.

 

The choice already exists in the public sector. Federal and state workers can save earned time off and use it weeks or even months later to attend a parent-teacher conference, care for an elderly parent or deal with home repairs.

 

Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation that would extend that option to the private sector. They say that would bring more flexibility to the workplace and help workers better balance family and career.

 

The push is part of a broader Republican agenda undertaken by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to expand the party's political appeal to working families. The House is expected to vote on the measure this week, but the Democratic-controlled Senate isn't likely to take it up.

 

"For some people, time is more valuable than the cash that would be accrued in overtime," said Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., the bill's chief sponsor. "Why should public-sector employees be given a benefit and the private sector be left out?"

 

The GOP plan is an effort to change the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which requires covered employees to receive time-and-a-half pay for every hour over 40 within a work week. The proposal would allow workers to bank up to 160 hours, or four weeks, of comp time per year that could be used to take time off for any reason.

 

The bill would let an employee decide to cash out comp time at any time, and forbids employers from coercing workers to take comp time instead of cash.

 

Democrats say the bill provides no guarantee that workers would be able to take the time off when they want. The bill gives employers discretion over whether to grant a specific request to use comp time.

Not sure how this might affect the overall global competitiveness of our companies (our entire government is basically an epic business FAIL), but as an employee...I would LOVEEEE having this choice!

 

It does hinge upon whether workers WOULD actually have full control over that option...which the article states it does - but then notes how Democrats claim it doesn't.. So, which is it??

Salaried people do not get overtime either.

Well, some do. They are just not required to get paid it - since all of these Federal labor laws only apply to hourly employees, not salaried. However, free market forces generally pressure companies who don't pay salaried employees for OT to offer higher base salaries upfront in order to attract and attain them.

Edited May 26, 2013 by vortex

[joeblast]

Edited May 29, 2013 by joeblast