Poverty

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i also think education and training is the best way. increase gov spending in education/school infrastructure to give the next generation the best chance to succeed.

industry-specific gov-paid or subsidized training/re-training for the current workforce so they can get better paying jobs or not lose their jobs during a recession.

and kill off any sort of corruption in all shapes and forms, so that smart/capable people can succeed, and not just people who are connected.

but seriously, why are you guys from the US talking about poverty?...lol

My initial post may sound too general or too simplistic or even too idealistic. But its what my gov is doing in my country and i think its why i am not poor. If you can fit it into your system, it might work too, with a few adaptation to allow for cultural differences..

[Times Roman]

Interesting point: one of things companies have done is to turn skilled labor INTO unskilled. Take a butcher for example. They have knowledge and a skill set that makes them worth some money. The current trend is to take the 20 things a butcher would do to process an animal and give it to 20 people, each with a very specific, tiny part of the process that they can do quickly, thousands of times a day. The task is so simple they can find another person to do this menial job in an instant and train them quickly.

I have no real point, but I have always found this business practice fascinating.

I am familar with the process. I've done motion studies and time surveys for our manufacturing line, as a 6 month effort to develop a standard cost model we can implement in our ERP system. This example you cite is a natural one that a company employs to improve cost efficiency and ultimately to lower sales price.

But we, as a society, cannnot stand still and expect to continue to pay generous labor rates. We must adapt and exploit our technological advantages. We are still leaders in a variety of high tech industries...

electronics
avionics
software
"green technology"

to name a few. we must invest in tech that enhances the future, not the past. To lament the poor butcher that no longer makes an above average middle class salary is unproductive.

Some observations of mine regarding kids today:

when i was a kid, science was cool. nowadays, rockstars and basketball players are cool. think about this real hard. if you study science in school, you don't have to be a superstar in your field to make a contribution. but if you want to be a rockstar or a basketball player, you better be a superstart, else you will contribute little. Near misses do not pay well in basketball or being a rockstar.

When i was a kid, I had to have all my homework finished right after school before i could do anything else. How many of your kids are held to the same standards?

Some more observations, just off the top of my head
Why so few female engineers? Math majors? We import people from India on the H1B visa to fill engineering jobs in silicon valley (high paying jobs, btw), yet our own people seem uninterested in these high paying jobs. Why?

[sgt2jay]

Well i cant say i see as much poverty as the news lets on.

How many have seen those on welfare with cell phones, designer cloths. Not to say everyone shouldnyt have those things. it just comes down to priorities.

My story i feel is how ya get to the big corporate bonuses the right way. hard work and never settling for good enough.

a quick run down:

i spent 9 years in the military and when i got out i worked as a union laborer for a concrete company. basically slinginf block and mortar. in 4 months worked myay to foreman, but i didnt want to work construction my whole life. so 2 years prior to being vested in the union for the minimum pension i went back to school. Now I am working full-time and going to school full time to get a degree in professional avaition. after graduation I got a job for $7.00 as a flight instuctor trying to build the time needed to be hired with an airline. I was married had 1 kid, 2 cars, a bot and our house and $7.00 didnt cut it. So I instructed from 6am - 6pm Monday - Satureday. worked as a bar tender Tuesday & Thusrday Night and Sunday afternoons. as well as ont night a week at Homedepot, and that didnt cover the bills end result wehn all said and down had to max out 2 credit cards for a total of $35k, and finally a job with the airlines just to be fully trained to be laid off.

now im out a job $90k in school debt and $35k credit card dept and home fully mortgage. well i needed a job so i took the first offer i got working in a warehouse. after a 2 months moved in to an office jobe and 3 months after that running thew company as vp of operations (dont let the title fool ya we are a company of 5) I have been here 6 years and all debt is paid off main reason is priorities. i didnt have a cell phone or cable, i bought my clothe at walmart. i allowed my self $50 a week for gas and fun money needless to sday not much fun those first few years.

I guess my point after all this rambling is that if you settle for the minimum you get the minimum it is that simple. it may be harder for some than others but it can always be done you just have to move forward. if i didnt i would have been one ofhose living in poverty.

and yes to those who have read this after all this work i still have terrible grammer, typing skills and spelling. HA HA HA

[Times Roman]

Well i cant say i see as much poverty as the news lets on.

How many have seen those on welfare with cell phones, designer cloths. Not to say everyone shouldnyt have those things. it just comes down to priorities.

My story i feel is how ya get to the big corporate bonuses the right way. hard work and never settling for good enough.

a quick run down:

i spent 9 years in the military and when i got out i worked as a union laborer for a concrete company. basically slinginf block and mortar. in 4 months worked myay to foreman, but i didnt want to work construction my whole life. so 2 years prior to being vested in the union for the minimum pension i went back to school. Now I am working full-time and going to school full time to get a degree in professional avaition. after graduation I got a job for $7.00 as a flight instuctor trying to build the time needed to be hired with an airline. I was married had 1 kid, 2 cars, a bot and our house and $7.00 didnt cut it. So I instructed from 6am - 6pm Monday - Satureday. worked as a bar tender Tuesday & Thusrday Night and Sunday afternoons. as well as ont night a week at Homedepot, and that didnt cover the bills end result wehn all said and down had to max out 2 credit cards for a total of $35k, and finally a job with the airlines just to be fully trained to be laid off.

now im out a job $90k in school debt and $35k credit card dept and home fully mortgage. well i needed a job so i took the first offer i got working in a warehouse. after a 2 months moved in to an office jobe and 3 months after that running thew company as vp of operations (dont let the title fool ya we are a company of 5) I have been here 6 years and all debt is paid off main reason is priorities. i didnt have a cell phone or cable, i bought my clothe at walmart. i allowed my self $50 a week for gas and fun money needless to sday not much fun those first few years.

I guess my point after all this rambling is that if you settle for the minimum you get the minimum it is that simple. it may be harder for some than others but it can always be done you just have to move forward. if i didnt i would have been one ofhose living in poverty.

and yes to those who have read this after all this work i still have terrible grammer, typing skills and spelling. HA HA HA

You are the poster child for exactly what am referring to.

I ran a similar course, won't go into the detail now, but suffice to say it was rough emotionally, financially, and on my marriage. But i came out the other side and landing $100k jobs is no big deal now for me.

My gripe is people that put nothing into the system keep trying to get something out of it.

[lovbyts]

Maybe i am believing everything i see on the news. But i dont see any poverty in the US. Most likely the poorer folks in the US are still making more than a year's salary of a real poor guy in a poor country. How much is social welfare money a month for someone not working?

Idk. Send your teachers to sch instead. Haha.

You need to come here to see it. It's not broadcasted. My wife is from the Philippines. I'm sure you know there is extreme poverty there and I have seen it 1st hand. She didn't believe there was any here until she got here and she saw the homeless people, people begging on the streets and the fact not everyone is living in a mansion made of marble like she imagines more or less. We have plenty of internal problems and people starving but instead of fixing things from the inside we would rather try to fix the the rest of the world or at least make a show of it.

[AZGOLDSMEMBER86]

like always the rich get richer and the poor get poorer

this is true

think if we donated our out dated technology to poverty rich countries , energy sources ,agriculture , and money with help to start .. that would help emensly i think..

[grumpee]

The problem these days with poverty is the ones in poverty are lazy and don't want to do what it takes to get out of that situation. With today government giving away welfare, food stamps, umemployment ,etc its no wonder why the rates are as high as it is. Welfare should be for the elderly and handicapped who can't work , not any one who walks in the door.

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You need to come here to see it. It's not broadcasted. My wife is from the Philippines. I'm sure you know there is extreme poverty there and I have seen it 1st hand. She didn't believe there was any here until she got here and she saw the homeless people, people begging on the streets and the fact not everyone is living in a mansion made of marble like she imagines more or less. We have plenty of internal problems and people starving but instead of fixing things from the inside we would rather try to fix the the rest of the world or at least make a show of it.

i guess she would be a better judge than me, since she has seen both sides of the coin.

so do you or does she think that a better education for the next generation will help with decreasing the number of people living in poverty?

i also mentioned rooting out corruption and re-training for the current workforce, but TR thought it was a campaign slogan...lol

[lovbyts]

No she doesnt think education is the answer although it does help. At least government throwing money at education isnt because it never goes to the right part of education and typically BS programs that dont exist to help anyone.
It's amazing how many people in the Philippines have college degrees in Engineering, agriculture or medical field but the jobs just arent there and most become dirt farmers.

Like many have said the #1 reason for poverty in the US is it's what the government wants. They want socialism and the masses to be dependent on the government. They make it easy and comfortable to be poor for the most part.

TR thinks that because it's what is preached every 4 years or less. We hear it all the time but no one does it and the corruption grows bigger. It's not far off from most 3rd world countries where you know your dictators or politicians are directly steeling the taxs, revenue and most all the money from each town for personal use since none or little of the projects ever get done let alone started. Really it's the same here just on a larger and more hidden level.