Rongone wrote:

tennyson wrote:

Just Fred wrote:

But I would still maintain that decisions made by business and financial executives have a more dramatic effect on the economy. Especially when they are unchecked, unchallenged, and not regulated.

I would agree, rongone.  Maybe time to re-evaluate the successes and short-falls of the 35 years of "Reaganonmics" we've been traveling down since the early 80's.
 

 
I am going to be a bit of a contrarian here in the sense that rather than placing the blame on the businesses and financial institution, the blame really belongs with any regulations and policies that were put in place to do whatever damage you believe they have done. ALL businesses basically are trying their utmost to maximize profits and beat their competition while returning value to their shareholders. 

 
Thank you Gordon Gecko for your "greed is good" analysis. Unfortunately, the stimulus for business executives to enrich themselves or their 'shareholders' (that would be themselves and the large financial institutions that include them in their fund offering) does not necessarily translate into more jobs, better wages & salaries for their employees, or benefit the general public's purchasing power. The problem with regulations is that they are more often reactive rather than proactive and are not effective in preventing or avoiding potential problems.

The reality is businesses do not exist to create jobs, they exist to make a profit. The jobs wind up as a by product of that. In terms of benefiting the general public's purchasing power, that is a two-edged sword. People bemoan companies like Walmart but at the same time want the inexpensive goods that companies like Walmart supply. We have already seen that the "made in the USA" is not what sells, unless it is made competitively to what can be made elsewhere.  

 

Just Fred wrote:

People bemoan companies like Walmart but at the same time want the inexpensive goods that companies like Walmart supply.

Or maybe that's because that's all they can afford.  It's a race to the bottom.
 

Do you really believe that IF we would go back to the "way it was" that the rest of the world would stand still and that everyone would be willing to buy American ?  I think that boat has sailed. Try to convince me otherwise. 

There ARE real problems with executive compensations but even if that were all fixed, it will NOT fix the lost good paying blue collar jobs. We are now in a global economy that we have to compete in. Those old, good paying manufacturing jobs are not coming back in the same form (but they are coming back in different forms requiring updated skills). The modern factories need fewer and fewer employees to create the same goods. BTW, that is becoming a global problem and not just a US problem. 

What do you all think will or can replace those high paying old jobs for the majority of what is considered the middle class blue collar workers that will hold up over time ?  

I might add that this is now NOT just a problem for the middle class, but more and more well educated workers are finding competition from foreign countries that are now understanding (I might say their people are understanding)  that education of their people can also allow them to compete at the higher end as well for non-manufacturing high end jobs usually in the technical fields. 

Some changes in minimum wage are past due, but again that is mainly to help the people on the lower end. 

I would be curious to hear what you think might work. 

I really have not heard much from anyone on the campaign trail that has what I would consider a good idea in relationship to this big problem.