Going through my usual scrolling headlines and right clicking "open in new tab" for my browser I found two articles that I went and read and realized how inter-related they were though on separate topics.
First being the American Middle Class Crisis... http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/dail...le-class-crisis-sobering-facts-141947274.html (warning the video may put you to sleep... it almost did me
)
Sherle Schwenninger speaks about how two recessions, a couple of market crashes, and stubbornly high unemployment are all wreaking havoc on America's middle class. Of how we going into a barbell society where we have THE RICH the middle class THE POOR (that's how I picture it)... and how the strength of our economy was based on the strength of the middle working class. With more jobs being lost to technology and where a person flipping burgers is making almost as much as a construction worker... there's something definitely wrong with the picture.
A gentleman I talked to yesterday told me that he is a 45 year construction veteran and he said when he first started out on his first job, hauling bricks for bricklayers at $10.00 an hour when he was 15 years old he's now can only find a job where he can get paid $8.50 an hour... yeah something definitely wrong with this picture.
Then I came across this article about a group of billionaires getting together to seriously discuss giving away 1/2 of their personal fortunes. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110507/ap_on_re_us/us_gates_buffett_pledge
It's an ironic twist to the first article because THE RICH do seem genuinely concerned about how their wealth can benefit others and it seems to me that they're realizing that they're sitting on piles of money (metaphorically speaking of course) that's doing nothing more than putting them in a higher tax bracket and a higher standard of living. It gives me the idea that they are seeing the blight of the ones (again metaphorically speaking) beneath them because of either lower or no incomes and how the government is becoming ineffectual in providing meaningful and long term assistance in getting THE POOR back on their feet, and helping them move into the middle class and being productive members of American society.
Some thoughts I had on that were... well it's a wonderful and inspiring idea that Mr. Buffet has and it's terrific in seeing that 69 other billionaires are seriously contemplating joining the man and have a desire to "make a difference". But of course like wise people should do they want to make sure their efforts aren't wasted. They're discussing on how/what they should do with their money to ensure it's "well spent".
Some talked about pumping more money into the educational system and I think that is a fantastical idea. Yet buying computers for every student and having newer books and other media is only part of it. As mentioned by the first article teachers are still getting paid (by the states) a disproportionate amount of wage for the work they do. But generally (public) school teachers are paid with tax dollars and unless states raise taxes they can only afford so much of their annual budget to teachers salaries.
Am thinking if the monies pledged by the billionaires for education a portion of that could be put into a subsidiary fund, where it raises the average public school teacher's salary without putting additional strain on the state's budget.
Other idea I had was there are neighborhoods all across the country with rows and blocks of homes that are anywhere between 30 to 80 years old. Many are occupied with families that have lived there for years or just can't afford a newer house. Many of these homes are in need of some type of repair or another, leaky roofs, torn screen doors, weak porches, broken windows, old carpeting, whatever! Many of these homes just don't get the attention needed for lack of money by the home-owner to repair. Idea I had was instead of Extreme Home Make-overs more of something aligned with Mild Home Make-overs. Hiring contractors and buying the materials needed to "clean up" these homes and thereby improving the value of the home not financially but aesthetically thereby improving the self-esteem of the home owner who probably for most cases would feel better about their home and themselves because where they're living is a little bit nicer... think George Bailey from It's A Wonderful Life and the house he lived in ... that kind of thing. It's a home and it's livable but little things that could be done would make it that much nicer and so forth.
Another idea using the wealth to create jobs that benefit people in the long term. Improving neighborhoods with parks and playgrounds and so forth. Sure a lot of that usually falls under "state/county/city/town's responsibility" but it's not getting done or it's not getting done fast enough because tax money is being allocated for different (and likely higher priority) budgets. Creating jobs puts money into people's pockets and allows them to spend more thus putting money into the economy.
Money could be used to provide assistance to the elderly and disabled. Again creating jobs where people would be paid to be care-takers, delivering food to the elderly and disabled or picking up medicines or whatever, visiting shut-ins and so forth.
Probably some of my ideas are naive or not well thought out but that's all they are... just ideas. Maybe it sounds greedy when I say put money into people's pockets but it's realistic considering that the strain of unemployment and so forth are putting on the state and federal governments... well.... :idunno:
First being the American Middle Class Crisis... http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/dail...le-class-crisis-sobering-facts-141947274.html (warning the video may put you to sleep... it almost did me
) Sherle Schwenninger speaks about how two recessions, a couple of market crashes, and stubbornly high unemployment are all wreaking havoc on America's middle class. Of how we going into a barbell society where we have THE RICH the middle class THE POOR (that's how I picture it)... and how the strength of our economy was based on the strength of the middle working class. With more jobs being lost to technology and where a person flipping burgers is making almost as much as a construction worker... there's something definitely wrong with the picture.
A gentleman I talked to yesterday told me that he is a 45 year construction veteran and he said when he first started out on his first job, hauling bricks for bricklayers at $10.00 an hour when he was 15 years old he's now can only find a job where he can get paid $8.50 an hour... yeah something definitely wrong with this picture.
Then I came across this article about a group of billionaires getting together to seriously discuss giving away 1/2 of their personal fortunes. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110507/ap_on_re_us/us_gates_buffett_pledge
It's an ironic twist to the first article because THE RICH do seem genuinely concerned about how their wealth can benefit others and it seems to me that they're realizing that they're sitting on piles of money (metaphorically speaking of course) that's doing nothing more than putting them in a higher tax bracket and a higher standard of living. It gives me the idea that they are seeing the blight of the ones (again metaphorically speaking) beneath them because of either lower or no incomes and how the government is becoming ineffectual in providing meaningful and long term assistance in getting THE POOR back on their feet, and helping them move into the middle class and being productive members of American society.
Some thoughts I had on that were... well it's a wonderful and inspiring idea that Mr. Buffet has and it's terrific in seeing that 69 other billionaires are seriously contemplating joining the man and have a desire to "make a difference". But of course like wise people should do they want to make sure their efforts aren't wasted. They're discussing on how/what they should do with their money to ensure it's "well spent".
Some talked about pumping more money into the educational system and I think that is a fantastical idea. Yet buying computers for every student and having newer books and other media is only part of it. As mentioned by the first article teachers are still getting paid (by the states) a disproportionate amount of wage for the work they do. But generally (public) school teachers are paid with tax dollars and unless states raise taxes they can only afford so much of their annual budget to teachers salaries.
Am thinking if the monies pledged by the billionaires for education a portion of that could be put into a subsidiary fund, where it raises the average public school teacher's salary without putting additional strain on the state's budget.
Other idea I had was there are neighborhoods all across the country with rows and blocks of homes that are anywhere between 30 to 80 years old. Many are occupied with families that have lived there for years or just can't afford a newer house. Many of these homes are in need of some type of repair or another, leaky roofs, torn screen doors, weak porches, broken windows, old carpeting, whatever! Many of these homes just don't get the attention needed for lack of money by the home-owner to repair. Idea I had was instead of Extreme Home Make-overs more of something aligned with Mild Home Make-overs. Hiring contractors and buying the materials needed to "clean up" these homes and thereby improving the value of the home not financially but aesthetically thereby improving the self-esteem of the home owner who probably for most cases would feel better about their home and themselves because where they're living is a little bit nicer... think George Bailey from It's A Wonderful Life and the house he lived in ... that kind of thing. It's a home and it's livable but little things that could be done would make it that much nicer and so forth.
Another idea using the wealth to create jobs that benefit people in the long term. Improving neighborhoods with parks and playgrounds and so forth. Sure a lot of that usually falls under "state/county/city/town's responsibility" but it's not getting done or it's not getting done fast enough because tax money is being allocated for different (and likely higher priority) budgets. Creating jobs puts money into people's pockets and allows them to spend more thus putting money into the economy.
Money could be used to provide assistance to the elderly and disabled. Again creating jobs where people would be paid to be care-takers, delivering food to the elderly and disabled or picking up medicines or whatever, visiting shut-ins and so forth.
Probably some of my ideas are naive or not well thought out but that's all they are... just ideas. Maybe it sounds greedy when I say put money into people's pockets but it's realistic considering that the strain of unemployment and so forth are putting on the state and federal governments... well.... :idunno:
