HOW
TO SHOP AT THE GAP!
(eHow,
U.S. Census Bureau, Daniel H. Cooper)
(Congressional
Budget Office, The Boston Globe)
(Politco,
Toledo Blade, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
(Center
for American Progress, E. Saez, Frazer Chronicle)
Okay
its back to school time, if you haven’t taken the kids shopping for new
school-year cloths, you’d better get your you-know-what in gear, as they say
(times-a-waste-in.) Being several years past this fall ritual I had to
scramble to find the correct procedure, but eHow came to the rescue for me, and I’ve decided to share their
full proof plan to get the very best items necessary for the upcoming school
year:
1. Keep
a running shopping list to help you remember everything you need to buy at the Gap.
2. Make
a budget or give yourself some spending parameters-some say that the Gap is so enticing.
3. Bring
children to try on their new Gap
cloths to assure a proper fit.
4. Browse
the Gap website to look for
hard-to-find sizes, bargains and new items.
5. Stock
up on classic everyday basics such as khakis, jeans, career shirts, socks,
T-shirts and school cloths.
6. Find
holiday portrait outfits for kids and dressy togs for special occasions…..and
look for cashmere sweaters for men and ladies.
7. Sign-up
online to receive Gap coupons and
notices of upcoming sales, and also get to preview the new seasonal Gap clothing before going to the store.
There
you have it, I never knew shopping for school aged kids could be so easy, and
am kind of miffed that this blueprint
provided by eHow for back to school
shopping wasn’t available when my kids were going to school. Like the
television commercial says “these kids don’t know how easy they’ve got it.”
Of
course I’m not taking about shopping at the Gap clothier; you couldn’t be that lucky…..what I am talking about
is the inequality in paychecks that is prevalent today in the world in general,
and the United States in particular.
Shopping
at the Gap for school aged kids isn’t
a joyfully filled time for many Americans; it’s more a challenge for parents to
kind of meet their kid’s
expectations for the ensemble that they want, and that their friends have. I
can remember this roulette wheel game that my kids used to try…..what a drag!
THERE
IS HOWEVER A MUCH BIGGER DRAG
Inequality
of income in the United States between the haves, and the have-nots has been
increasing studiedly for decades…..could it really be any other way. People in
all levels of societies have been struggling with this fact for years, it’s
like the guy who was born into poverty, he’s usually destined to repeat what
has went on before him.
A
hundred years ago, when a provider brought home a paycheck of $40 a bottle of
beer was a quarter, a loaf of bread was a nickel, and a pound of ground beef
was like fifty cents. Gasoline was six or seven cents a gallon, and doctors
worked out their medical services in trade, like a half of beef, or a hog. In
other words, prices in the economy related to what people were bringing home in
their paychecks.
Those
days are long gone, without exception retail prices today do not reflect what
people are being paid at their jobs. To me this equation, paychecks and retail
prices reflecting the purchase power is a kind of slippery slope, it barks in the face of Capitalism,
business should be able to charge whatever they want for their products or
services.
However
that said…..to charge whatever you want for whatever product that you have, is
kind of like cutting off your nose to spite your face. If a loaf of bread is
$3, and a prospective purchaser only
makes $6 an hour, it takes the worker half an hour to buy that loaf of bread…..not
a very smart business move on the part of the bread maker…..competitive wise.
People
who are making between $15 and $20 an hour are in decent shape…..right,
actually…..wrong, let’s take a median household income of $62,400, a
figure based on both husband and wife working and making $15 each. Mom and Dad
each work 40 hours a week, and bring home a total of $1200 per week before
taxes. The total before taxes is $62,400 per year, after taxes, at 19% it’s
around $50,544…..still a pretty goodly amount of money…..right, actually…..no.
Below chronicles how Pete and Millie would live with their two kids on $50,544
per year.
Let’s
deduct what an economist would call usually
and necessary deductions; I’ve listed them with what I call a median
rule of thumb:
a. House
payment or mortgage, $800 a month, $9,600
b. Taxes,
$3000 per year
c. Insurances
property, liability, household, $1200
d. Upkeep,
$200
e. Phone,
cable, household expenses, (based on two adults and two children,) $15,600
f. Medical
supplemental insurance, $2400
g. Entertainment,
$1200
h. Vacation,
$1000
i. Unexpected emergencies, $500
j. Auto expense and payments,
$3600
Added up…..the amount necessary to live in a
condition that I would call somewhat bare-boned
will cost $38,300. That’ll leave you approximately $12,000 to play with.
Of course my figures have left out all kinds of things…..but I’ll leave those
items for you to factor in, and illness, accidents, and unforeseen emergencies
can completely wipe out a family of four and their $12,000 surplus of cash.
EFFECTS
OF LOW WAGES
The
effects on people who make between $10 and $15 an hour are varied and
unsustainable in a democratic society. People in the U.S. are living on a
practice of consumption through debt, Pete and Millie. When I was going up in
the 1950’s and early 60’s I remember my folks going into debt for only one
thing, their house.
Today
people have a house mortgage, possibly another property mortgage on a vacation
property, a car payment, maybe two, and the daily, weekly and monthly payments
that I outlined. At the end of the months, in many of these modern households…..there’s
too much month at the end of the
month, people do the old juggling act, the rob from Peter to pay Paul action.
Of
course there’s Paul’s Pantry, and St. Vincent DePaul that can help people out
with household items and food…..but have you ever went to these places…..the
people there are what some would call the dregs of society. These people still
hold the belief in the great American dream; however few will ever experience
the grandeur of the dream as it has been written.
The
problem with the widening gap of inequality at the pay window is that the elite
control the pay window receipts. It’s the elitist’s game, and the working class
has little power to change what has been going on for years and years. Labor
around the world has been losing…..and will continue to lose for the following
reasons:
1. Elitist’s
control all the purse strings
of what their labor force will receive.
2. Labor
continues their adolescent belief that management will treat them with dignity and
respect.
3. Labor
continues to believe that management appreciates the effort that their
employees exhibit.
4. Labor
beliefs that management cares about employee’s work-place safety.
5. That
management will offer benefits through their benevolent attitude towards their
employees.
The
overall effects of low wages on millions of employees in the United States is
partly the result of outsourcing that has taken place over the past thirty or
so years. American employees simply cannot compete with the labor wages in
China, Korea or Bangladesh.
Did
you ever wonder why Republicans and conservative seek to disperse the power of
workers unions; did you ever wonder why these people, (Republicans and
conservatives) have actually fought to completely eliminate unions, and union
organizers?
The
answer is simple, direct, and these people don’t even make an effort to hide
their intentions anymore, they want to completely eliminate the unions
throughout the United States. Republican Governors throughout the country are
twisting their message, and the reasons for the implementation of right to work shops, and not deducting union dues from paychecks. If
people don’t raise up and examine the issues, as a working class we are in
trouble.
IT’S
A WAR OUT THERE
There
is a war out there, it’s being waged by industry, big business and the smaller
Ma and Pa outfits across the nation. Right now these people and organizations
are kicking the crap out of the rank and file worker in the United States.
I
remember some people talking about how fortunate
they felt to have their jobs; the statement and the idea have always
been distasteful to me. I’ve always did the best that I could at whatever job I
had, if I didn’t feel that way, it was time for me to go in search of another
situation.
Until
everybody, or a vast majority comes to understand that workers…..the labor
force of the country and the world are offering a service for a paycheck, that
service…..their labor, their effort, and their attitude to do the best that
they can from 7:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. five days a week.
Do not expect anything from
an employer, without exception they are in the situation
for their own gain…..as it should be. Conversely every employee needs to make
the same approach as the employer, in
the game for your own gain. There however are several benefits
that labor needs to forget about, health care should not be a benefit provided
by the employer, it’s too costly, and should be a government program. Paid
vacations should also not be a benefit, again way to costly, other than these two
benefits, everything else is fair game, and negotiable.
Do
not accept a sub-standard wage, and don’t look for help from the government,
look to your co-workers for whatever support you think that you need…..and strap in baby, you’re in for a
long, and rocky ride and effort.
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