Ted S.

  Well, there really isn't a pleasant solution to fixing anything.  Not one anyone is willing to accept anyways. The "system" is crap. The monetary policy is crap. The business environment is crap. The governments economic policy is crap.   Raising minimum wage isn't a solution so much as it's a mandate. We can speculate on its effects all day. Plain and simple when you raise the price for a good or service, the demand decreases unless that good or service is relatively inelastic. Labor is largely elastic. There are more people wanting jobs even at the given price floor than the current demand for labor in most places in this country. Raise the price floor of labor and you further decrease the demand for not just labor at the previous price floor, but there's also the potential of decreasing demand for all labor valued between that previous price floor and the new price floor.   The purchasing power of the remaining employees who still have a job (assuming some get laid off, which is conjecture at this point) may increase some for them, but productivity for those positions will fall because businesses will either stop hiring, slow hiring, or lay people off and consolidate the current division of labor.   The speculation that prices will rise for the goods and services are logical, but usually don't happen immediately, and if they do it may not necessarily attributed to the raise of wages, but possible related supply shortages, lower production, inflation, speculation, etc. Too many other variables exist at most times to just blame minimum wage hikes.   Purchasing power isn't dependent on the value of wages, but rather the value of tender. Easy way to increase purchasing power is for America overall to become competitive in the world market again (and end the fed :tinfoil:). Businesses outsource jobs like manufacturing and IT to other countries for several reasons, but they all boil down to the lack of the ability for America to adapt, innovate and compete in the midst of the growing global economy.

Anyone have a lightweight build close to this yet? I've been slowly attempting to build a sub 4 lb AR-15 (once complete will be an SBR, but I'm kind of digging the idea of keeping it a pistol (should be about 3.7 lbs or so) for a while).   Haven't seen a good lightweight build thread lately, so if you have one, post a pic and weight! I want to see what you've come up with.

Greed is such a negative, overused, and (often)incorrect word. Self-interest is a more accurate term when used correctly in context. It is in a corporation's self-interest to maximize shareholders value. It is greedy to do so at the cost of moral faculties. It is self-interest for CEOs and COOs to fulfill their contract and achieve pre-agreed metrics that are rewarded with bonuses. It is greedy to achieve such results immorally, unethically, or otherwise fraudulently. Greed is more in line with selfishness, and I believe there isn't enough care given to distinguish greed and selfishness from self-interest. For some odd reason, possible a conspiratorial brainwashing scheme or maybe the decline in critical thinking, the terms greed and selfishness have become interchangeable with self-interest, and even synonymous.

DD is a very cool company. Pretty awesome concept even if it's pricey.

  The only period of time the economy in this country was considered Capitalist, or having the greatest degree of freedom in the markets, was the during the nineteenth century with a little lag time before and after, and slavery being a huge exception to that.   Yeah, of course the factory jobs were "horrible and unsafe" compared to today's standards. Occupational science has come a very long way over 200 years. These industries were still relatively new and it was generally accepted at that time that pay was viewed as compensatory  for the inherent dangers of the job. People often knew the dangers of the work they were getting into and acceptance of the job at a set wage was considered by the courts as acceptance of the risks that go with those jobs. Mining was just as, if not more dangerous than most manufacturing jobs, and those working the mines were compensated for assuming the increased risks. Hell, back then if someone didn't like there job, they could just go get another high paying job.   It may be hard for people to understand this from a modern perspective, but life in general was a much more dangerous undertaking back in that time, regardless of occupation. During this period of time employers were limited on the amount of labor they could acquire because the options to potential laborers was vast: land was stupid cheap; especially in the West, the employment market was competitive because many entrepreneurs were substituting skilled labor for mechanization with low skilled inputs, etc. Employers had to find ways to attract labor period. They had to compete for labor.

  When the market was free, it got people away from manual agricultural jobs that didn't innovate much. People shifted from hard agricultural jobs to manufacturing during the free market period because the jobs paid so well, and they didn't have to work themselves to death in the crop fields. Now the safety issues associated with the new industry are a whole 'nother discussion, but no one can deny the economies of scale that were created during the free market days. Many workers went from low paying agricultural jobs to low skilled manufacturing jobs that paid almost as well as highly skilled artisans in Europe. Products were made considerably more affordable, and thanks to that free market innovation and mechanization, one person could produce the labor of dozens without any extra effort.

  Minimum wage is a price floor that limits the demand for labor; it doesn't increase employment nor does it increase any growth, especially since it only affects about 5% of the working population. Also, most people associate the raising of minimum wage with higher prices of goods and services, which doesn't really happen; again, minimum wage is a price floor that limits the demand for labor. Businesses would simply either discontinue hiring and condense the division of labor.   The business cycle has upswings and downturns naturally; given no influence from government. There are plenty of other factors that have a much greater affect on economic growth than wages, and, as stated above, increasing the mandated price floor for 5% of the population can't possibly account for growth to the magnitude of investments, tax cuts, innovation, new markets, increased production as a result of previous investment, etc....   Generally speaking, when you look at a business cycle that is experiencing growth from year to year, there is naturally an increase in inflation(naturally based on "our" monetary system). Deflation is often occurs during market corrections (recessions). Inflation is also influenced by monetary policy, but that is besides my point.   When the economy is experiencing growth, inflation will occur naturally up until or just after the market correction (withholding artificial effects of monetary policy), and most increases in minimum wage happen to occur either during economic upswings to create the correlation that an increase in minimum wage increases the GDP, or otherwise nets positive economic growth. Just a correlation, and a weak one at that. I should put a chart together sometime, but that's a lot of data to digest.

  Of course they do; growing GDP and inflation go hand in hand. But minimum wage jobs account for a very small portion of the work force, so the following increase in GDP wouldn't necessarily be accounted for by a rise in the minimum wage...correlation is not causation.

  Bad thing is, there's a 50% chance this comment isn't a joke.

  Yeah, the SLR one. I really need to go to the range one weekend. I have the next couple weekends off, so text me if you have any ideas.

Doesn't look like I'll have a problem being there so far, just have to deal with 5 o' clock traffic.

It can go both ways; the intention of my post was for perspective. Back then money was backed by something physical, now it's backed by magical promises and pretty nothings. Precious metals are a terrible investment in general based on their volatility. In the long term they are a great store of value, especially when fiat tender goes bunk. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

Get rid of the government and most corporations would not exist as they do today. They wouldn't have a government to lobby, for protection, or for welfare and subsidies for themselves and their employees. They also wouldn't have a government to grant them special production and property rights. They couldn't hire people on wages lower than the minimum for those people to support themselves/families. No protection, no labor, no production, no corporation. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

Free market principle of the day , yo! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

About 100 years ago or so, it took the average person two or three days to earn enough to buy an ounce of silver. With $15/hour, at least at this moment, someone is earning enough to buy an ounce every hour. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

Same here. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

Seems like it's taking a while for people to realize the dangers of smart meters and smart grids. Oh well, reminds me of when I used to tell people the government was recording all their electronic data and they called me crazy and paranoid.

If I recall correctly, McVeigh was a subject in the MK Ultra experiments. If government is good at something, it's destroying people's lives. No telling how many other high profile killings are directly linked with government activity.

Fancy. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

Haha, I almost posted that yesterday but I didn't want to be an asshole. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

That's why marriage should be the single most important decision a person makes in their life. But these days people have a consumer mentality even with marriage; "If I don't like this one or if it doesn't work out, I can just get a new one later." Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

Or a big sign "Now offering Bacon!" Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

I've yet to meet an atheists/agnostic that's more of a nihilist than I. Honestly, I believe every moral person, regardless of whether they are religious or atheist, has the same motivation; self-interest. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Christian and used to be agnostic, but I know of plenty of people that live their life according to non aggression and non coercion, not because of God but because they understand how they would want to be treated by others and strive to live by that axiom. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

Morality is a learned behavior. Doesn't necessarily have to come from religion, but it sure does help. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk