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Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

latimes.com

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Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#201

Post by bluGill »

dragonwriter wrote: post #125
csense wrote: post #52

40-50 years ago, a young person fresh out of high school could get a job that allowed them to live the middle class life -- own a house and support a family with only one spouse needing to work. Nowadays even college graduates struggle to achieve "liftoff." Globalization has led to a race-to-the-bottom situation where jobs flow across borders, to the places where desperate poverty allows wages to be as low as possibl…

> There's a lot I don't like about Trump, but I think his tariffs really will make America great again Tariffs won't do that. Trade negotiation aimed at trade deals with strong common (not necessarily identical but converting over time) labor and environmental protections—where the partners with weaker protection in reach sub-area catch up over time to those starting out with stronger protection—so that competition i…

Trump has been talking about intellectual property issues and using the tariffs as leverage in those discussion. That is, exactly what your third paragraph was saying, except that he isn't talking about labor or environmental protections - which you seem to be implying are the only two places where they can work.

I don't agree with Trumps' strategy, but I can see what he is trying. We will see if they work long term.

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#202

Post by gbacon »

astrodust wrote: post #78
pmoriarty wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not counter-intuitive if you look at who makes the laws. The system is one where back-scratching, ass-covering, and kickback-giving is the norm. It's surprising there's any tax on capital at all. A few more rounds of conservatives in power might take care of that. Conservative anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist once said, "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag…

Those are the kinds of people that are astonished at what those running the show are doing these days. Conservative pundits from the 1990s are rabid leftists by the standards of the current regime. Richard Nixon would be branded a communist!

Populism, nationalism, and authoritarianism don’t map neatly onto a one-dimensional left-right axis.

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#203

Post by kolpa »

vturner wrote: post #129

Why doesn't the stock market act as a balancing system to low wages? Lowering wages implies higher efficiency thus resulting in higher profits which ultimately end up in "investors" pockets. Why are these "investors" not the common American "worker" whose wages are low? Why has the market not created such an instrument to supplement the "worker" who has low wages but could ultimately profit from the ever-increasingly…

If you don't have high wages you can't buy stock.

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#204

Post by kolpa »

vturner wrote: post #196
germinalphrase wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you suggesting some kind of "American Dividend" for all citizens?

Yes, why hasn't this arisen naturally? Are the potential profits too low to collect the meager income of many low-wage Americans and then redistribute the gains over time?

housing, food, clothing, and energy must be paid for before the rest of income is invested. 20% annual growth of 0 is 0.

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#205

Post by yardie »

test6554 wrote: post #85
yardie wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, where would it go? The US Treasury sets the bond price and no one is turning it down even with completely shitty returns (like 1-2%!). If capital flees they can go to an even higher tax country in the EU. They can go to a negative return country like Switzerland. They could go to China, but guess what, it's a one way trip! I bet if lawmakers said capital gains tax is bumped to 20% everyone of them would bit…

If it were me, I would consider moving my money to Latin America. Not Mexico of course, due to the recent election, but definitely would research the regions and political climates of our southern neighbors.

You plan to invest in a market you know little about. You should definitely do your research. The five largest markets in Latin America are:

Brazil

Mexico

Argentina

Venezuela

Ecuador

2 have a problem paying their bills on time. If you don't like Mexico I have some unfortunate news for you regarding Ecuador.

So that leaves Venezuela...

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#206

Post by inetknght »

pembrook wrote: post #124
methodover wrote: post #79

The allocation of profits in startups, at least, feels... problematic. I was the #2 engineer hire when I was hired five years ago. Since then, we haven't become super successful -- yet -- but we're at least at breakeven. We have three engineers and we're working on a huge new project that hopefully will really grow the company. I have 1.8% equity. Sometimes when I'm working late or working on the weekend, which is of…

That's not what the Fed chair is talking about. Nobody is concerned about wages in tech. Tech is one of the few industries that has the opposite of a stagnant wage growth problem.

> Nobody is concerned about wages in tech.

Speak for yourself. Wages in tech is highly consolidated into tech owners, tech engineers, and then tech support. Anyone on the periphery is not getting their fair share whatsoever.

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#207

Post by kolpa »

bluGill wrote: post #185
lovich wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've had 5 occasions where the president lost the popular vote but won't the election and 2 of them were in the past 18 years. Do you think most people look at that situation and go "if only I had voted, then things would be different". Between that and a few court rulings that have turned the major elections into an event only the rich and their friends can partake in, I don't see how it's not people bring systemat…

That the popular vote isn't who wins is a feature. It helps prevent the tyranny of the majority. Of course if you are in the majority that lost you hate it, while the minority like it.

Tyranny of minority isn't better than tyranny of the majority.

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#208

Post by bluGill »

s73v3r_ wrote: post #169
slg wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not victim blaming, I am pointing out a way that the "broken system" has failed to educate people about the problem. You also can't just cite the average cost of living as if that it is a standard that has no waste in it. We need to do a better job of framing things like "if you switch to a worse phone plan and save $10 per month to invest, you will probably have something around $30,000 in 30 years while only i…

"We need to do a better job of framing things like "if you switch to a worse phone plan and save $10 per month to invest, you will probably have something around $30,000 in 30 years while only investing $3,600."." Prove that is possible. Find an investment that will do that.

I can only find you that in hindsight - I can figure out the correct investments to have made over the last 30 years, but I can't tell you next years.

For a reasonable return on investment you would be looking at 10k-15k final total depending on your luck.

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#209

Post by gbacon »

kolpa wrote: post #194
gbacon wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Become a shareholder. Save and invest more.

I will as soon as I get some wages for my work, but unfortunately that's unlikely, per the OP article.

You have considerable influence over both your income and your expenses. Update your resume. Ask for references and referrals. Apply for different jobs. Make a budget and stick to it. Pay yourself first. Be patient and give it time.

Re: Federal Reserve chair says decline in workers' share of profits 'very troubling'

#210

Post by kolpa »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #93

How can this be fixed? If businesses increase salaries they will likely not meet their quarterly which means investors will punish them. Too many quarters like this and the C-Team gets replaced. This is a sad, pathetic treadmill we are on. I strongly feel we need to go back to annual reporting.

Businesses don't have to sell stock. They can finance via debt, and many do.

Annual reporting has nothing to do with how people response to the value of a company.

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