Wall Street protesters: We're in for the long haul

[Jacob]

The facts are what they are.

Things don't get controversial until people start saying what, if anything, should be done about those facts.

What do you think should be done, if anything, about them?

[Razgovory]

The facts are what they are.

Things don't get controversial until people start saying what, if anything, should be done about those facts.

What do you think should be done, if anything, about them?

Yi probably likes the way things are.

[Ed Anger]

The facts are what they are.

Things don't get controversial until people start saying what, if anything, should be done about those facts.

What do you think should be done, if anything, about them?

Nerve Staple the Drones.

[Admiral Yi]

What do you think should be done, if anything, about them?

I think corporate governance rules should be changed so that stock owners can have more influence on compensation.

I think income tax rates at all income levels should be raised to the Clinton era rates.

I think the home mortgage interest deduction should be eliminated.

I think unemployment benefits that extend past 52 weeks should be capped.

[crazy canuck]

I think corporate governance rules should be changed so that stock owners can have more influence on compensation.

I think income tax rates at all income levels should be raised to the Clinton era rates.

I think the home mortgage interest deduction should be eliminated.

I think unemployment benefits that extend past 52 weeks should be capped.

I agree with number 1 but would expand it to allow shareholders to have more influence generally;

Points 2 and 3 bring you more in line with Canada which can only be a good thing.

What would you replace unemployment benefits with after 52 weeks?  Here we replace it with welfare payments - is that what you have in mind?

[Admiral Yi]

What would you replace unemployment benefits with after 52 weeks?  Here we replace it with welfare payments - is that what you have in mind?

I'm not absolutely sure but I don't think we have anything that you could really call welfare any more in this country.

Normal, state-run, unemployment benefits run out after 52 weeks (I think).  People are getting more now because of federal stimulus legislation.  I think the maximum a person can get now is $685 a week.  I think that should be dropped some so as not to disincentivize people.

[Alcibiades]

While I think that dropping the unemployment benefits should be done as well, I don't think that having it maximized at 685$ is disincentivizing people.  The stated unemployment rate is 9%, with real numbers closer to 20%.... I don't think the problem is that people are too lazy to get jobs, but more that there just are not enough jobs out there any more for everybody.

I dont see people like Jacob or Canuck settling for a job at dunkin donuts tomorrow if their high paying jobs disappear tomorrow.  And even then, when mcdonalds offers 50,000 jobs and 1.1 million people apply for those positions....it isn't a lack of will or laziness.

[MadImmortalMan]

I'm not absolutely sure but I don't think we have anything that you could really call welfare any more in this country.

Normal, state-run, unemployment benefits run out after 52 weeks (I think).  People are getting more now because of federal stimulus legislation.  I think the maximum a person can get now is $685 a week.  I think that should be dropped some so as not to disincentivize people.

Uh that's $17/hr. Is that with kids and stuff?


Edit: Oh that's unemployment for people who made significantly more than that when they were employed I guess?

[Tonitrus]

The facts are what they are.

Things don't get controversial until people start saying what, if anything, should be done about those facts.

What do you think should be done, if anything, about them?

Nerve Staple the Drones.

They should be glad that they're not going into the tanks to become one with all the people. 

[Admiral Yi]

Uh that's $17/hr. Is that with kids and stuff?


Edit: Oh that's unemployment for people who made significantly more than that when they were employed I guess?

I take back that number.  I got that one from a 60 Minutes story about unemployed Silicon Valley startup types.  Obviously varies by state, I just looked at the Iowa book and here it's capped at $459; you get about $10-20 extra per dependent.

[garbon]

I dont see people like Jacob or Canuck settling for a job at dunkin donuts tomorrow if their high paying jobs disappear tomorrow.  And even then, when mcdonalds offers 50,000 jobs and 1.1 million people apply for those positions....it isn't a lack of will or laziness.

Are the high paying jobs really disappearing though?

[Admiral Yi]

I dont see people like Jacob or Canuck settling for a job at dunkin donuts tomorrow if their high paying jobs disappear tomorrow.

Why not?

[alfred russel]

I think corporate governance rules should be changed so that stock owners can have more influence on compensation.

I don't understand the point of this. There is an argument that shareholder votes are terrible because practically speaking they are up or down votes, and can not be regularly held. If shareholders reject a compensation package for a CEO of $20 million, what happens next? The board presents a package of $15 million that gets voted up or down? Are you going to have another shareholders meeting over $5 million?

That aside, the reality is that the bulk of shares as actually voted by shareholders in advisory votes do not seem to be so concerned with executive pay. All the evidence indicates that however much you want to empower shareholders: they simply approve the executive pay packages already in place. I don't think that this is a change that would have any practical effect.

I think income tax rates at all income levels should be raised to the Clinton era rates.

This may not be a bad idea, but it would:
a) make the income tax even less progressive than it already is, and
b) for the well off, only raise their rates marginal rates about 4.5%.

I would hardly change the trajectory of the country.

I think the home mortgage interest deduction should be eliminated.

That isn't going to help the housing market.

[Alcibiades]

I dont see people like Jacob or Canuck settling for a job at dunkin donuts tomorrow if their high paying jobs disappear tomorrow.  And even then, when mcdonalds offers 50,000 jobs and 1.1 million people apply for those positions....it isn't a lack of will or laziness.

Are the high paying jobs really disappearing though?

Depends your field really, jobs like engineering are proliferating still, whereas a lot of other fields even out of university still leave a lot to be desired.  Not to mention the rising costs of getting a degree  is increasing year after year by double digit percentages in a lot of institutions.  Pay cuts are still happening across the nation as well, though not in high profile jobs like banking, of course.

[MadImmortalMan]

I'd work at Dunkin if that were the only job at hand. Why not? There no shame in it.