Elections...

Well, la de dah. Have you priced a bag of grain since all this started? Way to go Georgy.. The price took a huge rise.. Really makes me mad. Even the oats that have nothing to do with the corn went up. Not only the price of forage way up, now the grain has taken a huge jump. This will impact the price of meat and poultry as well. I about fell over when I saw a $6.99 price tag on 1.5 dozen eggs because of the corn issue..

Whoa, Bluejay, are you saying eggs are $7 a freaking dozen and a half? Are you joking! If eggs get that high, I'm buying chickens... going to get them anyway this next year, I've about had enough... still threatening to get me a milk cow at the price of milk these days!

Ragdoll, when you get time, send me some info on the corn deal... it's rspaint@earthlink.net Funny, I don't buy corn tortillas, but flour... and yep, they're pretty darned cheap!

You know one thing I realized a long time ago... from having USDA's contract all those years, the producers aren't getting the money, and I'm talking the meat, eggs, milk, corn, whatever producers. It's the middle guy that's making the big bucks selling it to the grocery stores, etc. Kinda something wrong with that picture, huh! I know that's why a lot of let's say, corn producers have gotten together, made their own co-op, and sold like that.... I'm checking right now into this organic meat stuff... tons of money to be made in that... just takes a lot to get started, i.e., buy a danged cow! HA!

I know many years ago, we had so much danged corn, that they started selling tons and tons of it overseas. One reason they did that was if you have excess, it drives the price down; if you have more need for it, the price goes back up. I'd personally like to talk to some crop farmers and see how they're faring these days versus back in the '80s...

YES eggs are that much for an 18 pack. All this because of the corn going for fuel and now I understand to Mexico.. Anything that involves grain is shooting for the stars.. I was watching the news last night and they talked about the recent increase in prices and no increase in wages. This has caused people to loose their homes and ever thing else they have. It has an impact on every thing..

Just remember when you get those chickens you will still need to feed them.. The one thing that really bugs me is what does the price (lack) of corn have to do with the oats? And, laying hens are fed other feeds that do not include much corn. That goes for the eaten kind of chicken.. I guess all the meats we eat will sky rocket since they get fed corn for flavor... So, should the price of fish go down? I bet not.. Still need to buy fuel to get to the fishing hole..

I don't know but we put in soybeans and made a huge profit this year so can't complain. In fact are thinking of turning another 40 acres into crop land and haying more of the horses the soybeans would have paid for that much more hay and then some. Don't think that all of the farmers are getting ripped off.... and I would love to know where I can sell eggs for that price wow! my mother in law still gets 1.50 for 1 dozen farm fresh eggs and people complained when she went to that from 1.00 this summer because of the price of eggs at Walmart. Hmmmm maybe I need to move and raise chickens cause that is great money. And don't forget Cedars someone has to milk that cow.....

Yeah, I know about milking the cow, Lynn! I can remember when we were young, since we grew up on Jersey milk, and having it every meal. Wow, I really do miss that good milk! We've got a couple of dairies around here, that I'm fixing to make some calls. I miss that good fresh milk! Course, if Dad was living a lot closer, me and him would milk the cow and have some chickens. But I'm not having any danged rooster!!!!

I think a lot of the reasons why products have skyrocketed is because of the fuel costs. Same with hay, etc. That's not the government's fault, that's flat the fault of the greedy oil and gas companies. Supply and demand. Plus, China's using a ton of fuel now. We complain as consumers; however, what if we owned the oil and gas company?

Selling corn, etc. to Mexico or wherever is okie doke - I mean, we even sell horses to Mexico. If producers, horse and corn farmers alike can do it and make money, then so be it.

Like I said before, no presidential candidate is going to change our lives. It's up to each one of us to do that. But the main thing is, to be ready financially for just about anything. With the new law being in effect of having more ethanol in vehicles, whatcha think's going to happen to the oil industry? This will effect a lot of different industries, good and bad.

Dang eggs are like 1.29 a dozen here. Dang it! We buy an all grain feed here for 50 lbs 7.50. They said the corn prices would go up due to the NEW GAS.. Wooo Hoooo Everywhere we look its corn fields. Why in the world did folks not think that when corn prices went up it would force food and everything else to go up.. Mercy.

Edited.. Besides Bush doent care, this is his year to pay off his depts, By that I mean, he made promises to get support. Now that he is on the way out, he has to fullfill those promises, the will also travel more this last year.. See the world on our dime.

That price on eggs was at Safeway.. It's only a matter of time.. And, prices of everything are different depending on the area and economy in that area.. It also varies in product such as the price of gas. I think we are lower here then many places accross the country and we do not pump our own.. That is against the law in Oregon. Also, we do not have a sales tax. YEA.... Our min wage just went up to $7.90 and hour as well. Try to live on that..

The housing market here is dead. The price of a home here is getting pretty darn close to what it cost to buy in CA.. They build so many new homes here (yes on all the wonderful farm land) that they had to auction a bunch of them off just to get rid of them. Oregon is a very desirable place to live with all the mountains, desert and sea that we have many people coming here to live. This too has driven what is going on here..

I was born and raised here and love it. I do not like the clutter of housing developments that have taken over the green country side though.. They build these homes so close you can stand on your porch and spit on your neighbors house.. I live 12 miles from the nearest town and think the city slickers will not come out this far..

Something has got to give some where.. We are heading to a time when there will be many more homeless and people suffering because they cannot make it financially.. Our government does have everything to do with it. Strange we have all this money for stuff that is not needed.. Bush has put this country in a frenzy and it will be a long time before we get back to just getting by again..

I think the biggest problem in respect to $$$ in this country is the fact that so much manufacturing has been moved to other countries. As you all know, I work at WM. I have have yet to find any merchandise that was produced in this country...except maybe some candy. A large portion is made in Mexico. The tax laws here are written in such a way that products coming in from other countries aren't taxed at the same rate (if at all) that American products are. It's cheaper to move your factories to another country, and ship it here.

The thing I don't understand.....Why have we become dependent on middle-eastern oil????? Why aren't we drilling in the USA????? We have plenty of our own!!!!!

Part pf the problem with companies buying from overseas is the danged unions here in the U.S. Now, I'll try not to get started on that, but being in it first hand, and knowing and seeing some of the stuff these unions pull.... well, truthfully, it should be against the law!

People need to start living within their means, period. Look at regular television, every single ad is something to induce someone to buy it; cars, food, body and hair products, etc. What it's telling us is, you can't succeed if you don't have a $40,000 vehicle, with gorgeous long silky, shiny hair, with a body to die for, that you go and eat out every night, and have at least ten carats on your fingers and around your neck....Nobody forces people to live outside their means, that's their choice.

The housing market is supply and demand, sometimes up, sometimes down. Doesn't have anything to do with the government, just how things go. We, as Americans, constantly complain about how much the government is in our "business"; however, when it comes to hand-outs, we're the first to stand in line and demand our share - blows the mind.

Many moons ago, when Rick started with the company he's at now, he started out at $6 an hour - I kid you not. I can remember starting my business off, and only charging 50 cents a page. Now, things were just as expensive then compared to wages as they are now... we made it, lots of beans and rice (HA!) and made some stupid decisions along the way, but we're back on track.

I don't see unions making any impact at all in this area. There are none around here...and very few down around Vegas. You'd be suprised at how many kids make up the work force at WM. They pay them only pennies over the minimum wage, and work all employees like dogs. The lady I work with has been with WM for 15yrs. She makes just under $12.00 an hour. I'd expect WM to value her and her job experience a lot more than that!!!!!! Her husband had a stroke 2yrs ago. He's 100% disabled. He lives in a recliner. She does 100% of his care. She's forced to work nights because she needs the night-shift differential. She knows he hasn't many more years to live, and is terrified about what she will do without his $800.00 an month disability check. She has a shack of a house that she was able to get on a land contract. She drives a car that is more than 20yrs old. Contrary to what the public is led to believe, WM does not provide ins to "associates". You pay a high price for it. When you don't make much to start with, that's a huge chunk out of your pay!!! Many "asociates" are getting food stamps and living in low income housing. That includes people without kids. Anyone who even mentions the word, union, is instanty fired. There is no-one to speak up for the little guy.

In 1977, I made $7.35 an hour, with full medical, dental, and vision. My husband made more. I make $9:00 an hour, with no benefits. That's with the night shift differential. We are not allowed a penny of over-time pay. If I work after 7:00am, I am required to take that time on my lunch break the next night....Or clock in late. (not allowed to clock out early) That means I have less time to do my work.

As companys go - WM has to be one of the worst in the world. I'm currently looking for a new job and interviewed with them on Thursday - the ONLY reason I am even considering it is due to the starting possition and using them as a step toward where I want to be in 3 years.
As far as companies go - Starbucks is one of the very BEST companies to work for...benefits start after 3 months of 20hr work weeks as opposed to WM where you don't get them until after a year PT and even then they are CRUD...Starbucks starts you out around 7.50 - and you can move up and you can get tip money...they are super progressive and wonderful to work for...

I have it down to those two - difference is at WM I start out as management and Starbucks I start out as a Barista. Big difference...but we'll see how the end-take-home-dollar adds up...

Boy, I'd sure like to work at YOUR WM!!!!!!!! PT associates here have to put in 2yrs before they can get/buy ins....One year for full-time. I've never heard of WM allowing anyone to start out with any type of "position". Here, everyone MUST start out as stockers or softlines processers...Then you have to follow the chain of command. Stocker, dept manager or support manager, or customer service manager. To go any higher you have to go to one of their schools (always hundreds of miles from your home) to be an asst manager (every store has a dozen of those) and from there you can go to manager school. As far as being an asst manager, co-manager, or manager....You'll never get a store in your home town. They can transfer you anywhere at the drop of a hat. The other people, like those in personel, have to have at least been a support manager or a customer service manager. WM doesn't like to hire anyone who has any formal education in business. They don't want them to know any other way but theirs. Many store managers don't even have a high school diploma!!!!!!!!

Yup - like I said - not one of your better companies!!!!!!!!!

Starbucks is AMAZING and I absolutely love their business plan...it is truely wonderful! PLUS their benefits are super cheap and really really good!
I just like stepping into a manager possition instead of just regular...give it 1-2yrs and move up from there with a different company.

Ragdoll, got news for ya... up around Vegas, there's more union than you can possibly imagine, just not at Wal-Mart. They've unionized danged near every single casino and hotel.... I know, I typed the cases.

Sure would be nice to have some representation here!!!!! I worked at a 125 room hotel for over 5yrs. I did my job, and the job or 2 or 3 others. There were times when I was in charge of the whole sha-bang. I made $5:50 an hour. Despite absolutely stellar evaluations, I never got a raise. No-one did.

I congratulate myself for at least being smart enough to know I have a crappy job. And that's what it is. A J-O-B. I want nothing more from that place than my paycheck. I wouldn't consider being any kind of management there. They couldn't pay me enough to talk to people the way they are trained to.

This is the only J-O-B I've ever had....I've always been supervisory/management.

At least it's paying for the stuff I want. I don't intend to be there much longer.

I know you guys are hating Wal Mart because they don't offer benefits earlier to part time employees, but I'm seeing the other side. I don't see how they offer them to part time employees at all. We only offer it to our full time employees. We have decent coverage, but it is a high deductible and do you know what it costs our co mpany???? A single plan is like 375/month and it goes all the way up to $1200/month to cover a family. From a business view point, if I were forced by government to insure my part time people, I'd be better off just closing my doors. Then, there would be 100 people who are paid well that would have to find other jobs. Our office folks make anywhere from $10-15/hr. Our nurses/nurses aides who actually are the ones making the money for us make from $12/hr (nurse aides) to $33/hr (RNs). If big government forces employers to take on more and more cost per employee, more jobs will move out of this country.

I know its tough - and I don't think it should be forced - BUT...some companies are just better than others and usually larger companies can afford to do more...
Starbucks is a great company to work for...they really are...yeah, it is a coffee shop but the benefits are great...as it is still a relatively young company we'll see how sustainable it is but for now it looks really good!

Hehe - at all of my jobs I've onyl had health covg at ONE of them...everything else has been on my own...such fun - not impossible - just harder...

Denibun...You're mistaken. WM DOES offer the same benefits to pt employees, at the same cost as ft. The difference is that it takes 2yrs to qualify, rather than one. WM is the largest multi-national retail corporation in the world, and no-doubt, the largest retail employer. Their profits are astronomical. Their employee turn-over is also astronomical!!! The average person lasts only a couple of weeks. It's not a pleasant working atmosphere. WM does not pay over-time. If you have to work a half hour (or more) past your clock-out time, you are required to clock in late the next night. That leaves you less time to do your job. They also have a weird "attendence policy". If you miss 3 days/nights of work in a 6 month period, you're "coached", and often fired. There is no such thing as an excused absence.

Yes...I know how much nurses and medics make. I was an LPN/EMT for more years than I care to count. Those jobs are pretty rare around here. The population of our town is less than 7,000....Less than 13,000 in the whole county.

A pretty good number of WM employees get food stamps and Medicaid.

I understand that WM takes 2 years to offer PT employees benefits, but what I'm saying is that I don't even see how they offer benefits to PT employees at all. As far as I know, there is no law that requires them to offer insurance to PT employees so if they're doing it, they are going above and beyond the requirement. For us, we can justify spending the astronomical cost of health insurance on our FT employees. They earn us enough to pay for it and still make a small profit. If I had to offer benefits to part-timers, it would not pay for itself and I would be losing money. Health insurance is a big, big problem in this country. I mean, it's ridiculous that I pay $1200/month for my health coverage and when Sarah tore her ACL last year, we were still out over $5000 out of our own pocket. What the heck??!!! I wish I knew the answer. I don't think it's universal health care, but I'm not sure. I guess if I had an answer, i'd be running for President.

Good point, Denibun - very good points and I totally agree.

Funny thing I learned. Had been working as a secretary when I got out of college for years, then started my own business. You know, when I went to buy my desk, computer, etc., I liked to have died. I went to my last boss, and apologized. He said what for. I told him, you know, I took everything for granted here, how nice our desks were, how much things cost. He started laughing. Asked what was I apologizing for... I told him there were some days when I didn't give my 100%, and I was apologizing for that.

Even as a business owner, when I had all the govt. contracts, just supplying equipment and supplies to subs was astronomical. No way I could've made it, had I had to match social security or do healthcare, just flat no way.

Back to politics... saw a bit of the evening news last night, where Hillary and Obama were bickering back and forth... I told Rick, good Lord, next you'll see them is on the playground yapping at the teacher, saying she did this, no, he did this. I absolutely hate it when politicians start that mess, no matter who they are.

Dang, they were really at it! I must say, I think Mrs Clinton, came out on top on that one. Who won, S . Carolina, anyone know..???

Truth of the matter is, they are all politicians. In this day and age, noone that is a politician has spent so much as a minute in the "real world." They have no idea how the average Joe here in America lives from day to day. How can they have our best interests at heart when they don't know what that is. I'd like to see Hilary and Barack live a week at my house. THey could do all the feeding, cleaning stalls, hauling water buckets, laundry, dishes, sporting events, cooking, etc. They wouldn't make it through the week. Can you see Hilary cleaning a dirty stall?

Very true, Denibun. You'd think if you were living in Arkansas, you'd see that kind of stuff... HA! And I'm sure much more...

I know all the people I had to deal with in D.C. - it blows the mind that they don't have a realization of what the real world is... kinda funky, ya know.

Ya...I'd like to see any of them step into my shoes for a week!!!!! I do all the housework....horse chores....cooking....laundry...shopping....and work a night-shift job. I'd love to see Clinton unload a WM truck!!!!!

Did you guys know that Obama's wife is a CEO for WM??? What a hoot!!!

Ragdoll wrote:

I'd love to see Clinton unload a WM truck!!!!!

Don't hold your breath. I'd venture to say that woman hasn't done a day of physical work in her entire life. I bet none of them have.