Forum Post: Home Depot supports Republicans against the 99%
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 3, 2011, 9:41 a.m. EST by madeinusa
(393)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Just weeks ago, Mr. Langone, a founder of The Home Depot, was working the phones to assemble a network of donors and bundlers for Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, should Mr. Christie enter the presidential race. But when Mr. Christie bowed out last week, Mr. Langone endorsed Mr. Romney, as Mr. Christie did this week.
He was followed into Mr. Romney’s camp by a number of other well-known Republican donors, many of them from Wall Street, who had been eager to see Mr. Christie run.
“As you know I am supporting Governor Romney in the presidential race, which is perhaps one of the most important presidential elections in our lives,” Mr. Langone wrote. “I’m hosting a lunch for Governor Romney, and I hope I count on your support.”
Yes, it is important to him because Home Depot CEO's benefit by stagnating wages and decreasing laborer benefits. The Home Depot CEO got a $210 million pay out when Home Depot was not even doing well. The Home Depot CEO's make workers work for nothing and keep all of the corporate profit for themselves. Workers wages have stagnated for 30 years while executives have enriched themselves with all of the profit.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240987,00.html http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/03/news/companies/home_depot/index.htmhttp://www.pay-without-performance.com/Preface%20and%20Introduction.pdf http://blogs.hbr.org/ashkenas/2010/06/rethinking-the-assumptions-beh.html
Here is an MIT Economics Professor explaining how workers wages have stagnated for 30 years while executive salaries and corporate profits have ballooned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HTkEBIoxBA
I didn't know they were against each other
Home Depot sells outdated products and other tools that are not the same quality as you get in regular stores because they low ball the supplier/manufacturer so much. Thinghs that do not pass standards or qulaity control makes it to Home Depot stores. You get what you pay for and there is no majic deal. Home Depot sucks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLUpGGmku8g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SMrnx6nkRw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wg1bH6-1YY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgKS4i-u0OM
http://www.reverbnation.com/Killumination
Donate!!!
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=NKRL8TGE95H2Y
Home Depot creates jobs here in the USA
Yes. After they drive the mom and pop hardware stores out of business, the former self-employed owners of those stores come crawling to the home depot looking for a much lower paying job.
if mom and pop stores sold things cheaper they wouldn't be out of business
The thing is, The Home Depots of the world have unfair advantage over the mom and pops. They buy the politicians who them bend the rules to favor them over mom and pops. They just can't compete with that; meaning that their prices will be affected negatively by this unfair playing field.
boohoo.
i'm only concerned about the price.
Of course you are. That is why big business is able to run roughshod over small business 1) agglomeration effect 2) influence they have over laws.
I agree with your point and I always buy local and not from the big warehouse stores, for that very reason. That said they have a right to their business model and we as consumers can choose to shop with them or not.
The thing is, The Home Depots of the world have unfair advantage over the mom and pops. They buy the politicians who them bend the rules to favor them over mom and pops. They just can't compete with that; meaning that their prices will be affected negatively by this unfair playing field.
minimum wage shit jobs don't count. no customer service since the workers don't even know what 90% of the products they sell or their uses
Entry level jobs are the foot in the door and then hard work and sacrifice and you get promoted. Its America and that has not changed.
where? in fantasy land?
I see it all the time.....the best and brightest always rise to the top.
Home Depot does create jobs. Trucking, Distribution Warehousing, sales, etc..... The local lumber yards that closed due to Home Depot also created jobs.
Yes, it is important to him because Home Depot CEO's benefit by stagnating wages and decreasing laborer benefits. The Home Depot CEO got a $210 million pay out when Home Depot was not even doing well. The Home Depot CEO's make workers work for nothing and keep all of the corporate profit for themselves. Workers' wages have stagnated for 30 years while executives have enriched themselves with all of the profit.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240987,00.html http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/03/news/companies/home_depot/index.htmhttp://www.pay-without-performance.com/Preface%20and%20Introduction.pdf http://blogs.hbr.org/ashkenas/2010/06/rethinking-the-assumptions-beh.html
Here is an MIT Economics Professor explaining how workers wages have stagnated for 30 years while executive salaries and corporate profits have ballooned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HTkEBIoxBA
Why do The major sport stars make so much more than the workers who are in the food stands or the ground crews? The free market has placed a greater vaue in one job over another. Is it perfect...no, but better than the alternatives of government controls over salaries
No, this is an age old problem that we used to have stop-gaps built into the system to control. The question in Capitalism and the reason why unions were created in the first place and why government regulations were created in the first place over worker conditions is how to workers see the fruits of their labor when there is no balance of power?
When there are no disincentives built into the system of Capitalism, the few who make the decisions at the top take all of the benefits of the fruits of the workers' labor. We used to have a couple built in disincentives for the few to take all. First, we had a high marginal tax rate. In the 1950's the marginal tax rate was 90%. If you made more than $2 million in today's dollars you were taxed at 90%. What did that do? It was a disincentive to paying out all of the corporate profits to the few executives at the top and then there was more corporate profit pie to pay the workers and give them good benefits.
Once they started getting rid of the high marginal tax rate, more and more of the corporate profit pie started getting paid out to the few at the top and less and less to the workers. The marginal tax was 90% in the 1950's, 70% on the 1970's, 49% in the 1980's, 39% in the 1990's, and a meager 36% in the 2000's. As the marginal tax rate dropped, worker salaries stagnated and executive salaries ballooned. Since 1980, workers have seen no increase in wages even though they have the highest productivity in history.
Workers have worked harder than ever and because their wages did not increase with their harder work, corporate profits reached an all time high. Executive pay ballooned up 275% since 1980. Why didn't Americans realize what was happening? Because their wages were replaced with easy credit. Instead of increasing wages, workers were given easy credit to buy furniture, cars, homes, clothing, etc. So, workers felt richer even though their wages did not increase and workers were swimming in the highest levels of debt ever in our nation's history.
The problem is that the middle class spending is the engine of our economy and without wages or easy credit, the engine starts to sputter. This is where we are now -- no wage increases, highest worker productivity in history, and no easy credit.
Over the last 30 years, all of the nation's wealth has been transferred into the hands of the few. Top top 10% now controls 70% of the entire nation's wealth and the bottom 50% now controls less than 2% of the entire nation's wealth. And look at what has happened over the last 30 years to the CEO to worker pay ratio's:
THE RATIO OF AVERAGE CEO COMPENSATION AND WORKER PAY IN THE US 1965-2005: 2005 - 262:1 (Av. CEO-$10,982,000/Av. Worker- $41,861) 2004 - 238:1 2003 - 181:1 2002 - 143:1 2000 - 300:1 1989 - 71:1 1978 - 35:1 1965 - 24:1
The reason why major sports stars and executives make so much is the loss of the high marginal tax rate and the loss of unions bargaining so that the rest of the workers can get a fair share for the fruits of their labor, not because we "value" them so much -- it is a loss of balance of power.
CC the Yankee pitcher just got a very lucrative 5 year deal not because of a union but because of his value. Today's workers value has declined due to globalization of the workforce and productivity gains through automation. CEO's value has risen due to the complexity of managing global multinationals. Labor needs to remain a free market and workers must realize they are competing every day against workers around the globe. CEO's know this as their tenure is relatively short.
Every major university has studied why there has been an explosion in CEO pay and have found that there is no rational reason for the explosion, which has only happened here in the US. No other major industrialized nation has seen the explosion in CEO pay. Look at the charts:
http://www.businessinsider.com/15-charts-about-wealth-and-inequality-in-america-2010-4#the-income-gap-is-not-growing-in-other-countries-like-france-13
Look at the chart showing the correlation of the loss of the high marginal tax and ballooning executive salaries:
http://www.businessinsider.com/15-charts-about-wealth-and-inequality-in-america-2010-4#the-gap-between-the-top-1-and-everyone-else-hasnt-been-this-bad-since-the-roaring-twenties-1
Look at how CEO salaries are not tied to performance or results:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/business/lets-stop-rewarding-failed-ceos-common-sense.html?_r=1&ref=executivepay http://www.ecgtn.org/events/oxford2005/documents/bebchuk_grinstein.pdf
http://www.alternet.org/economy/49631/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240987,00.html
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/03/news/companies/home_depot/index.htm
http://www.pay-without-performance.com/Preface%20and%20Introduction.pdfhttp://blogs.hbr.org/ashkenas/2010/06/rethinking-the-assumptions-beh.html
http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/bebchuk/pdfs/BCS-Wages-of-Failure-Nov09.pdf
The executives pay themselves this because there is an imbalance of power, not because they earned it or are worth it.
ok buddy look at the House of Representatives. If republicans aren't part of the 99% the would have to be part of the 1%. So since republicans control 242 out of 435 seat, you are saying that 55% of Americans are part of the 1%. Mathmaticly and on just your movements stance that doesn't add up
its a slogan. you just show how dumbed down the US is because of republicans and simpletons at Fox
it's a shity slogan then! "99%" says you are in the majority when by your argument, your don't even represent 50% of America.
[Removed]
Republicans are not part of the 99% when they stick up and work on campaigns for corps and the Koch Brothers. Neither are democrats like Andrew Cuomo and Clintons (Nafta)
Given that the percentage of individuals who are Republican in this nation is over 1% it must be that they are in the 99%.
Subtraction - I guess it isn't for everyone.
they vote against their needs from the brainwashing lies at Fixed News....stupidity
[Removed]
John Corzine is just as bad. Did you not read "Neither are democrats like Andrew Cuomo and Clintons (Nafta)"
But your header was "Home Depot supports Republicans against the 99%." MikeyD makes a very good point.
[Removed]
Cuomo and Clintons are dems. I have stated in plenty of posts and threads the term "corporate dems" and on hundreds of occassions. However, republican party is the party of the rich. Tax breaks and corporate welfare and outsourcing while sticking all the taxes on us. And your name calling is not productive. Stay at your faux grassroots Koch Brother tea party event
"However, republican party is the party of the rich." Really now? I think you best start looking at the Dems closer my friend. How about John Kerry whose net worth is around $186.6 million? Or Nancy Pelosi worth $35.2 million. Or Obama worth $10.5 million. The list goes on so it seems you're being very partisan in your statement.
[Removed]
you need mental help dude. individuals like you will turn America against OWS. Grow up.
[Removed]
This is good to know. I will be BOYCOTTING Home Depot.
I am surprised you would have any use for something at Home Depot.
That would require a home.
I was repossessed. They came and tore up the all the timber in my home, and took it back and refurbished all that fine cherry and oak, and gave it to Mitt for his new vacation home in the Grand Tetons. Now I'm not only persona non grata, but Mitt won't help me either. Mitt has been bought out.
Needless to say, I have nothing more I need from HD. Now I just buy tents and Occupy Wall St.
IGNORE
As usual, you can expect the typical OWSer to act like a small child: I demand a lollipop farm!! In TIOUAISE case:: (holding hands to ears,Screaming) I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!
I don't waste any time with PAID TROLLS.
I, Just like you TIOUAISE, am an UNPAID volunteer.
Where you & I differ is I represent the 53% that actually pay the taxes that pay for the welfare upon which you live.
Dear theReal99, please note that the wire transfer has been approved so that you may continue to debate Tiouaise . Enjoy the $, see you at the country club this weekend.
I love how the paid posters here project onto others what is really going on.
Sorry kids, I have to get back to my real job now.
I don't argue with PAID TROLLS, so... good day
P.S. You need to FIND A REAL JOB.
Dear theReal99, please note that the wire transfer has been approved so that you may continue to debate Tiouaise . Enjoy the $, see you at the country club this weekend.
I am taking time (& money) from my "real job" to defend the USA from the not even half baked convoluted mixtures of fact, fantasy & Marxist dogma that will allegedly lead us into the “Workers’ Paradise” spewed at OWS.
All Republicans are against the 99%? If Republicans are only 1% of the country then why do they control Congress right now?
I was going to ask - since when are all Republicans in the 1% and "against" the 99%? I just can't keep up - some posters here insist that this isn't a left/right, Repub/Dem issue, then there are posts like these.
Just like disagreement means you are a paid troll, one of the 1%, wanting to BE in the 1%, brainwashed, ignorant, have not experienced enlightenment, etc...
Why can't some of us bringing up issues to be addressed or suggesting points of focus (or where we feel this movement might go wrong in winning over the REST of the 99%) be taken seriously?
Because of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Entropy is alwaysi ncreasing. The nihilists and the anarchists trying to keep the movement vague and nebulous have a much easier job than the organizers who have to fight against entropy. Anybody who wants the movement to be more focused and organized is fighting against nature.
I like Home Depot. It is no worse than unions supporting democrats 99% of the time. It is called balance.
Home Depot sucks with all their Chinese shit. You keep wasting your money while I save. I save because I do not have to replace cheap shit from Home Depot Lowes or WalMart
You must be Amish. Do you make your own screws, nails, tools? Do you have a saw mill? If you, my hat is off to you and your self reliance. I also envy you for your skills.
No I only buy American made tools that last.Sometimes you have to spend extra money to save money. I can help you save money if you are open to my suggestions regarding tools and other products. Buy qulaity to last and therefore you save money. Why would you want to replace things you spent your hard earned money on? Buying cheap Chinese shit is a money pit.
I agree with you on tools. Other things you really don't have much choice other than to buy a foreign made product. I am also,like you, a firm believer in buying quality items that will last. I learned long ago 9 times out of 10 you get what you pay for. That 1 time out of 10 you get a good deal (it does happen) but usually if you buy cheap then cheap is what you get.
agreed
But I thought American Corporations were bad. I keep reading that here. I just spent a ton of money on a big room addition. I asked the contractor to not buy anything made in the USA so that I wouldn't be helping the big US Corps. Now I am confused..
Nobody said ALL corps are bad. Corps that outsource and intentionally hurt the country are. You have to do your homework on the product, company and location before you make a purchase. Not all tool makers are corps either. Look at Klein tools. This is not a total black and white issue.
But why do we dislike them for outsourcing? It seems like it would be good for the world to have US companies providing jobs to people in poor countries. Why is that bad?
USA first. why should we give to other countries when we have people starving and dying here?
OH, I get it now. We are the 99% within the US and we dislike the rich 1% of the US.....But we are fine with being the 1% of the WORLD and we are fine with not caring about the 99% of the WORLD.....Are those your thoughts too when you say "USA first"?
I prefer Bosch power tools, never had an issue. I prefer Craftsman hand tools. Power equipment powered by Honda.
all or the majority of power tools are now made in china including Bosch. Some craftsman hand tools are too. Honda is making over 50% of their cars in China according to an article I read in the economist