Comments by "nexus1g" (@nexus1g) on "David Pakman Show" channel.

  1. samiam, the middle class isn't disappearing, we're just using outdated definitions for what the middle class is. The majority of consumers out there are a wider range than just the middle quintile.
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  2. samiam, let's look at a case study: Coca-Cola. I'll round up to the nearest million. The members of its board made a total of $15 million last year. Coca-Cola employs 146,200 people. If the board members completely gave up their salary, that would amount to an extra $100 per employee... per year.
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  3. samiam, the concern with the disappearing middle class is because those are classically the majority of money flowing from consumption. It has nothing to do with them starting businesses. Middle class is easy to be outside of. A household that makes more than $140,000 a year is above middle class. A couple who both have decent careers can easily be making more than $140,000 a year. That's why the middle class is shrinking by the current definition of the middle quintile.
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  4. samiam, then where's the money for higher wages supposed to come from?
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  5. samiam, sticking with the same example, last year Coca Cola's operating costs were $18 billion. It has a revenue of roughly $12 billion a quarter. That's $48 billion in revenue a year. That's a net profit of 30 billion a year. They average about 17% in taxes. That's $5.16 billion to governments and leaves $25 billion a year. That $25 billion a year goes into banks which can then loan out additional money. It is also saved and used to cover rainy day costs in an uncertain market. It's also used to expand the business. They also pay dividends to shareholders to keep them happy, which keeps stock prices up, which makes everyone money; including employees who take up the opportunity of stock options as part of their compensation. Dividends for Coca-Cola, for instance, are typically about $1.50 a share. An employee may choose to invest up to 15% of their income at Coca-Cola, and Coca-Cola will match up to 3%. That's $3,700 a year in stock for an employee making $13 an hour (which is a typical starting wage for unskilled labor first coming into the company). Coca-Cola's stock is currently going for $43 a share. That's 113 shares in the first year, which adds about $169 to an employee's annual pay in the second year. For the next 5 years the employee continues to make more: $339 (226), $508 (339 shares), $678 (452 shares), $847 (565 shares). If an employee reinvests the dividend into the company, that compounds the dividends. First year 113 shares $169, second year 230 shares ($345), third year 351 shares ($526), fourth year 476 shares ($714), fifth year 605 shares ($907). By the fifth year, the employee also has over $26,000 in stocks. This is assuming no splits which would double (or maybe even quadruple) the number of shares the employee has, no stock gain, and the employee gets no raises. The last time Coca-Cola split its shares was in 2012. If an employee worked for 5 years and the stock split 2-for-1 like in 2012, the employee would be making an additional $1,800 a year from dividends (which he could keep even if he left the company) and have over $52,000 in stock. That's in addition to the $77,000 he's made in salary over that same time. By the time the person's ready to retire, he's making almost $20,000 off of stock and has over half a million in stock. He would also have. He could also have another million in a 401(k). If he withdrew his funds from the 401(k), he could put it into more stock and make $40,000 a year in his retirement.
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  6. samiam, the point is that there is a reason that companies want to have money in the bank, that money in the bank is helping others, and the concerns that a company has to consider when determining how much to save. I'm also pointing out that employees of large corporations receive comprehensive benefits including stock options. The point of going into that in detail was to show the significance of what stock options can accomplish for an employee. Other things include significantly discounted health insurance, discounted life insurance, discounts at health clubs, tuition reimbursement, undergrad scholarship fund for dependents. Coca-Cola will also match two dollars for every one dollar an employee donates to a charitable organization up to $20,000, and offers up to 3% matching on 401(k) contributions (which is above the industry average of 2.7%).
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  7. Tam, I explained how insignificant CEO salaries are using Coca-Cola as an example. Stock options are practically free. And, yeah, I would want a golden parachute too because it's a hell of a lot harder getting a job as an executive than it is getting a job loading pallets in a warehouse.
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  8. samiam, I picked Coca-Cola randomly. Echo Solutions is a horrible company, true. If they don't offer a competitive compensation package, why anyone would work for them is beyond me. Working for someone like that is just a matter of poor research or just a temporary position while looking for a better. Companies like that usually have a very high attrition and struggle. Given Echo's stock performance and outlook, that sounds like exactly what they're doing.
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  9. samiam, and those companies have high attrition and flounder as employees merely use them as a stepping stone.
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  10. I don't know about some companies, but we have a Comcast call center in the area. They pay something like $13 an hour to start and offer entirely free services to employees.
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  11. I don't think $13 an hour and free services (TV, phone & internet) is treating anyone horribly.
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  12. Sam, checked it out on glass door and it has a 3.4 out of 5 stars. 66% would recommend them. 80% approve of the CEO.
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  13. samiam, I'm just telling you what employees themselves, en masse, are saying. I think that carries more weight than an article or two about a few disgruntled emiployees.
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  14. samiam, you just keep claiming the same thing over and over, expecting me to do the proving for you, which I even did as ludicrous as it is, and what I found out there was the opposite of what you claim. Then when I show you that what you said isn't what employee reviews are showing, you just keep saying it's wrong, continuing to expect me to prove your argument for you.
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  15. I disagree. Bob Costas did align his beliefs with the quote, so he might as well have said that himself. It's illogical that there wouldn't be a murder-suicide if there were no gun. It is logical to have the ability to defend oneself against aggression. The logic follows that if you ban guns, 99% of guns are held by the bad guys and 1% of the guns are held by the good guys (law enforcement - just over 700k in America states the FBI) who aren't omnipresent, are understaffed and overburdened.
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  16. Well that's a completely ridiculous basis on which to have a problem with someone. "My irrational faith is better than your irrational faith."
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  17. Unfortunately the Bible specifically still states that mankind is 6,000 years old. Sure, you can say the "7 days" are not literal days, but the Bible gives clear ages of individuals up to historic times. It's still wrong unfortunately.
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  18. That's funny. My mom's about that same age, about 5'1", and I'm very happy that she carries her Makarov 9mm. I rest easier knowing she's able to defend herself.
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  19. "...[the media] have to report fair and not give personal opinions..." Right. Because Fox and CNN don't have any bias at all, right?
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  20. NAP re. physical violence = each person perceiving slights on their own grounds and determining justice for them. If someone feels that something is not justified, including the level to which an act of justice is taken, they may then use force to adjust the situation. It balances itself. It doesn't need any further definition.
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  21. So you're saying the Bible is lying when it's stating the ages of individuals in the Bible?
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  22. I said *mankind* -- not the Heavens and the Earth. Please read more carefully in the future.
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  23. At what point did I said that anyone should get special treatment?
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  24. Pastor Phelps, what does your Jesus scanner say about his sin count? IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAND!
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  25. That Palestinians rejected UN Resolution 181 where the Jews accepted it. Then the Palestinians attacked the Jews. The Jews in turn slaughtered the Palestinians. Now we have today's stage set. It's been a constant war since the rejection of Resolution 181 by the Palestinians where the Palestinians have gained territory on the West Bank and Gaza and settled as an uneasy cease fire was intermittently present.
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  26. Just like women have a glass ceiling in the work place, the same is sadly true for races. If you're black or of Spanish descent, you're going to have to work twice as hard to get half as much.
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  27. If the government stands on your neck, which would not be what a classical liberal be for, then, of course, you will be under the thumb of monopolies. If the government doesn't stand on your neck, hostile takeover takes on a whole new meaning. It's a true people's power when the government isn't the one regulating, but the people regulate.
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  28. NAP re. taxes = pay taxes to contribute to the infrastructure of society or go live in the woods, because if you don't pay what is determined justly your part for society, you have no right to benefit from those things for which others choose to pay. You have your freedom to choose.
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  29. The Jews' history of nepotism is what has classically made them a target. It's what happened in post-WWI Europe and it happened in Post-WWII Palestine (now Israel/Gaza/West Bank). I strongly disagree with the bigotry and antisemitism, but it's important to have a complete view of history and not a biased one.
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  30. Just going to say that all of these examples of "socialism worked" no longer exist. Inca Empire only lasted for 134 years, so it didn't even have time to collapse in on itself as the others had. Capitalism is a descriptor of the absence of an economic system up to and including the industrialized capitalism that we have today. A lone man owns for himself alone what production he may defend. Most fundamentally, this is land which produces crops. This man owns this land and owes his work that he does on it to no one else. If another man comes in later to increase production of this land the original man had carefully prepared, defended and cultivated, expecting equal say in what is done with that land is the theft of the work of the man who began the enterprise. Capitalism is also the fundamental truth of the universe, while socialism is the opposite of this truth: If you don't work, you starve and die and feed as carrion other things around you. Coming together in a society helps alleviate some of those hardships of those who truly need help and promotes specializations that give us the wonderful things we have today, but that doesn't mean it's anyone's responsibility to allow the nation to be mired by those who refuse to pull their own weight.
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