Bush lifts wage rules for Katrina

Running the math, $20 an hour is almost $42000 a year, if you get no overtime at all. That is well above any poverty line. It seems to me that if it is costing one more to go to work than to stay home, perhaps some living expenses need to be cut. We all have to live within our means. We are not entitled to live at the same level that others live at. Standard of living is not a guarantee in life.[QB]</font>[/QUOTE]You're figuring on a 12 month year. The average I've had is about 8 months of work a year due to lack of work and bad weather over 15 years.

$25,000 yearly is a more reasonable amount to be expected. Construction is up and down. I've seen a time or two when I had to take a 6 dollar hr job to get gas money to go back to work.

When we start talking expenses, on top of just taxes there are living expenses to be paid at home and on the road. Fuel is a biggie. If you work five minutes from home it isn't but when you drive a truck across the state, that can add up to 200 bucks or more, if you stay in the motel and eat tv dinners and free doughnuts and watch the weather all the time you aren't at work you can save some money. Go out to the resturant, for dinner and buy food from the coffee wagon for lunch figure on spending 100 a week. Wear and tear on my tools and truck can be up to 20 week (buy any good drill bits or saw blades lately(?), mileage figure at about 15 cents a mile. 200 miles is 30 dollars a week. That's just the things you plan on going wrong. Lose a transmission or get you're tools boosted plan on a couple thousand to replace them. Buy health insurance that's another expense that can up the expense each week another 30 or so dollars.


That's $350/400 a week in expenses without partying and spending money extravagantly on top of taxes $150. 500 or more dollars can disappear from your weekly pay rather easily. 300 a week take home pay and $300 unemployment adds up to $15,600 yearly take home for one person per year. That's an average year based on my numbers. Some are better, some are worse.

Or become the employer. Then handle all the paper work expected of you from the state or federal government. They track every penny of you're payroll and keep you current on wage raises on prevailing wage jobs.

Not this person. Watch what happens to people on a fixed income when the minimum wage is raised. Their income stays the same and prices go up making their money worth less they feel the pinch first, the rest of us that have a chance of increasing our income at least we can try to work longer hrs for the same money put the spouse to work charge the kids rent take a second job etc.

I beleive that is due to inflation and inflation is caused mostly by the way the multinational bankers can create wealth by printing paper money not backed by any real wealth and loaning practically nothing out and getting returns of 110% on nothing more than what it costs to print and ship cash or program numbers into an account.

I'll gladley go through my limited understanding of factional reserve banking if you feel it's warranted.

That's correct Pastor Larry but when employers are left to set the wages they have proven throughout history to pay "just enough to keep you from quiting" and if the employer is big and powerful and has political connections, rather than paying a living wage in return for trying to organize you could be locked out or shot.

With all the cheap labor being imported and the work being outsourced I reckon we can all figure on our wages going down and profits of the big powerful and well connected employers to go up. Until they figure out no one is making enough money to buy their products.

 

Lifting the federal prevailing wage could do away with alot of paperwork designed to track payroll moneys and who they are going too. So, if the paperwork is not required, they could hire some illegals but more than that the potential for large scale corruption would be there as well.

 

This is true and I see your point but, we were talking about the rebuilding of New Orleans and the lifting of the federal wage. That puts it in the context of construction work of which I am somewhat familar.

 

I take it you've never filled out the umpteen forms mandated by the state or feds that employers have to file everyday on each employee's man hours and payroll the employee has to read and sign it. Yet coruption does exist,but with a legal recourse that the person getting ripped off can pursue. It's slow sure, but it works.

This is at least an attempt to keep track of taxpayers money and keep honest contractors honest. Without them, hey...fagitabotit! Tom doesn't need 30 dollars an hour as much as I need a new truck so I'll give him 10 bucks pocket 20 and there ain't no legal recourse he can take to get it back. Hey Tom...how do like my new Dodge Ram ain't she shiney?