BK>>  Every other industrialized country has national health care,
 BK>>  which is their big advantage. The transplants do not have that
 BK>>  burden because they were not here 30 years ago. They are
 BK>>  probably counting on the US haveing national health care before
 BK>>  it becomes a problem for them.

 BK>>  One way or another the employer pays for health care. Either
 BK>>  they pay for insurance, or they increas employee's pay so the
 BK>>  employees can pay for it. The only alternatives are govt health
 BK>>  care or none.

 BA> There's that one note samba again.

 There's that out of tune denial again. If you have another
 alternative, tell us. Otherwise, my point stands.

 ...

 BA>>> Kawasaki has a no layoff policy, too.  Or at least they
 BA>>> did.  During a plant shutdown at their Lincoln NE plant
 BA>>> they had some of their otherwise idle work force assisting
 BA>>> the city.

 BK>>  Google the automakers job bank. They did the same thing. I say
 BK>>  did, the job bank was shut down.

 BA> I don't do Internet.

 You poor depraved soul.

 ...

 BK>>  And auto workers, earning a middle class income, are not
 BK>>  overpaid, the rest of the working class, those earning less than  a
 BK>> middle class income, are underpaid.

 BK>>>>  Why do you object to autoworkers earning a middle class wage?

 BA>>> Because $40/hour plus benefits is too much to pay for what
 BA>>> is basically unskilled labor.  Skilled craftsmen make less
 BA>>> than that in most places.

 BK>>  When you get your numbers right you may realize how wrong you
 BK>>  got it. Auto workers earn less than $40/hr plus benefits.

 BA> They also are paid twice as much or more than skilled
 BA> craftsmen - including the mechanics who have to track down
 BA> and fix the mistakes they make.

 How do you figure that? The $32.83 I quoted was for tool and die
 makers.

 Assemblers make less. OTOH, what difference does that make? The
 law of supply and demand does not recognize skill levels. By
 your reasoning, about 75% of the workers in this country should
 be in the lower economic class. Something wrong with that.

 Some 35+ years ago I was talking to my boss, I was a
 supervisor with the local cable TV company. We were discussing
 the negotiations for garbage collectors in Toledo. The average
 wage for a garbage collector was $18K/yr.

 He said his wife told him, "That's more than you make."

 He said, "Yeah, but I wouldn't take that job at any salary."

 Fact is, a cab driver should probably be paid as much as an
 engineer, esp in a big city where it's dangerous.

 Long ago I said I didn't care if the production workers made as
 much money as I did, (they don't), cause I would not want their
 jobs, even at the same pay.

 My job is a hell of a lot more interesting, and even fun, than
 theirs is, so they deserve more for putting up with the boredom.
 And the smell and dirt and etc etc.



BOB KLAHN bob.klahn{at}sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn

... That's the key to effective roleplaying... carefully planned ignorance.
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