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The Robin Hood Philosophy  

28 members have voted

  1. 1. Is stealing from the rich and giving to the poor right?

    • Yes
      15
    • No
      13
  2. 2. Could it work for today's government?

    • Yes
      10
    • No
      18
  3. 3. Did some of today's government officals reverse the Robin Hood theory?

    • Yes
      18
    • No
      10


31 posts in this topic

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I am not a communist, I don't think that everybody should make the same amount of money. Doctors should obviously make more than janitors, and work should be performance based, meaning you do a better job, you get paid more. But if somebody is working full-time and cant even pay the bills, theres a problem there, a problem that needs to be addressed.

 

Exactly. I am sure the vast majority of Italians agree with you. While there are few thousands people who became filthy rich in the transition between Lire and Euro, by unreasonably increasing prices (and supported bu the government of the day), the vast majority of Italians find themselves with the same income they had in 2000, but with the cost of living doubled. Clearly surviving on a salary/wages has become extremely difficult.

Now we have general election, but talking about redistribution has become a taboo.

the vast majority of Italians find themselves with the same income they had in 2000, but with the cost of living doubled. Clearly surviving on a salary/wages has become extremely difficult.

It's similar in the US. I wouldn't say that cost of living has doubled since 2000, but in the past eight years its increased significantly and wages haven't. Thankfully our congress passed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which is raising the federal minimum wage up from $5.15. (states can decide minimum wages, many have wages higher than federal, some have wages lower. My state, Florida, has a minimum wage of $6.67)

The act raises the federal minimum wage in 3 increments: to $5.85 per hour 60 days after enactment (2007-07-24), to $6.55 per hour 12 months after that (2008-07-24), and finally to $7.25 per hour 12 months after that (2009-07-24).

This is very much needed in the United States, because currently minimum wages are starvation wages.

The graph found here is very interesting. It clearly shows that since the 1960's, minimum wage in 2007 dollars has gone down.

 

I looked up the minimum wage of Italy on Wikipedia, and found that there was none. Is the current system (no minimum wage) working? (If I am misunderstanding something, please correct me)

I looked up the minimum wage of Italy on Wikipedia, and found that there was none. Is the current system (no minimum wage) working? (If I am misunderstanding something, please correct me)

 

That is correct, there isn't any. A no minimum wages system doesn't work, IMO, as some people work for € 500 a month, or even less.

One of our current candidates for premier (Mr Veltroni) says he will introduce one at around € 1000 a month (which is still very little). But even that could be a big step forward if it was done and if it worked, which I doubt, because many people work illegally.

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