Originally Posted By fkurucz ***>>our Governor raised the state income tax another 2% this year - in the middle of a recession to pay for more.<< Illinois is an aberration.*** What I'm saying is that you guys accept never ending tax increases. In other parts of the country we are far less tolerant of that.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <<A one day ticket is approaching $90 at the park and multi day tickets are already eye popping. How much is everyone here willing to pay in order for the ride operator or store clerk to have a good salary, benefits, retirement and hold only one job?>> True, Disney has never had significant discounts on park tickets. But as Roadtrip pointed out, Disney park tickets get progressively cheaper ( per day ) as you stay for multiple days. Unlike DLR, most people don't spend one day in WDW. The typical guest stays for multiple days. Also, Disney throws bargains out there ( use to be ocassionally ) now it seems all the time, free meal plan, free nights in hotels. Most everyone out there knows WDW can be a pricey vacation. Accordingly, most guests plan for and budget for WDW vacations. There are dozens and dozens of websites out there the help visitors budget for Disney vacations. AND, you don't need to spend a fortune to visit WDW. There are ways to cut down on the expenses for a WDW vacation. My point is at WDW, the price isn't always the price. Which is another thing that annoys guests like me, is all these guests getting preferential treatment at Disney restaurants when they are getting the free meal plan. I don't blame them, I blame Disney. Disney should have SOME tables available for people just walking in. You shouldn't have to make resevations at a Disney restaurant just to enjoy a sitdown meal. For example! When I was staying at AKL and the entire time I was there for a week there were NO available spots at either Boma or Jinko ( and I was STAYING at AKL ). You have got to be kidding me that this was going on! I have huge issues with Disney's dinning plan. At most restaurants is there is a cancellation then typically the restaurant will allow you to take that persons table. Not at Disney! At Disney if they get a cancellation, then they just move on to the next resevation or leave the table vacant till the next resevation arrives. I've seen this happen many times. There is no incentive for a CM to be dedicated to the guests. CM primary objective is to fill hours, not get guests seated to have an enjoyable dinning experience. You have to be able to get in the door and be seated to first have an enjoyable dinning experience! And now with the "free" meal plans it's virtually impossible to walk in and be seated at a Disney restaurant.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper FKU...I applaud your stance on not supporting Corporate America but that is going to get tricky. Who built the computer you are using today and how much was the guy paid who built it? Your car? Your television? Who picked your vegetables you are eating and what was that migrant worker paid? You see where I'm going here.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 >>our Governor raised the state income tax another 2% this year - in the middle of a recession to pay for more.<< Illinois is an aberration. maybe today ( I have different words for it that would get this post wiped out)- but remember Illinois politics is where your president comes from and what he knows best -- be prepared. Look at how many Illinois/Chicago politicans he has in power...and now his closest ally just took over mayor of Chicago
Originally Posted By vbdad55 What I'm saying is that you guys accept never ending tax increases. In other parts of the country we are far less tolerant of that. ----- the governor won exactly 3 of 102 counties in the election-- however one was Cook County which put him in by < 3000 votes overall, but in..and with all the corruption and 50+ years of one party rule- this is what happens. The union and political workers get the vote out- apathy reigns most other places. It an happen anywhere
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Have you never purchased a product made in China (or anywhere overseas for that matter) vbdad? If not then I really do admire your stance.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper Ah political stuff. My political stance: Democrats suck Republicans suck Screw em both and get some new blood that actually gives a crap about the people.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Fri 4/22/2011 9:01a Have you never purchased a product made in China (or anywhere overseas for that matter) vbdad? If not then I really do admire your stance -- I iwhs I could say I haven't but I think today that would be damn near impossible. Hell the company I work for sold our PC business to Lenovo. I don't like it- I also don't trust a lot of the products from there so I am careful- especially with food products... but one only has to look at the shelves for toys/ electronics etc-- try and find something NOT made there. I will buy Amrican/German etc if I have a choice, usually one does not
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Ah political stuff. My political stance: Democrats suck Republicans suck Screw em both and get some new blood that actually gives a crap about the people. ---------- you and I are in the same party- neither party gives a rat's behind about you or me- I couldn't agree more
Originally Posted By wahooskipper The way politics works these days, neither party has any reason to search for middle ground because the extremes, by and large, are contolling the dialogue.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 This isn't a politcal issue, guys ... it's a quality of life/what type of nation do we want to live in issue. I truly think that folks who try and make it partisan are a LARGE part of the problem because it is abundantly clear that BOTH parties are destroying the American Dream (if it even exists at all anymore) while ranting about the absurd. Democracy is supposed to be what we are about as a people. How we live. Based on fairness and equality and the rights of people. That isn't close to the reality we have now. Capitalism, at least in its bastardized form we currently have, doesn't promote democracy and fair play. It does the exact opposite. I get the whole 'its complicated yada, yada, yada' deal. Of course it is. we've had decades of Congress and the Prez working for Wall Street. Corruption isn't just something we accept. It's been legalized in many ways. Did you catch the profits that GE and JP Morgan Chase just reported, among others? Too many folks on Main Street ignorantly believe that corporations should be able to make as much as they can by any means (they'll throw in the word 'legal' here, but we all know that companies that size can break laws with impunity) ... they have a disconnect that makes them believe (ignorance since education is no longer valued here?) that what's good for Wall Street is good for them. That's the same mentality that you hear when people say if Disney paid a living wage than folks would be paying $200 a day to enter its parks. Funny, but there was a time when Disney paid more (relative to the average, paid more full time workers -- because outsourcing and massive part timer workforces weren't in vogue yet, and -- get this -- still made very healthy profits). Oh, Disney's parks were better back then in so many basic ways too. The problem is that enough is never enough for Wall Street. After the collapse and massive bailouts, it amazes me that anyone could defend the status quo. Yet, there are more defenders of da man now than there were in the waning years/months of W. Are people dumber? Do they not care about others? Do they just assume that if things are going well for them that it may be bad out there, but it's not 'that bad'? Has the rise in American religious fundamentalism had something to do with this (people think they may struggle now, but will be fine in 'the next life'?) I really don't know. But I see a future where I may well live on the other side of the world (or at least Pond) because I refuse to exist while the top 1-2% live it up on the backs of everyone else.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>FKU...I applaud your stance on not supporting Corporate America but that is going to get tricky. Who built the computer you are using today and how much was the guy paid who built it? Your car? Your television? Who picked your vegetables you are eating and what was that migrant worker paid?<< My philosophy these days is repair instead of replace. Yeah, "the man" is still getting some of my money (for the parts) but a lot is now local (the repair labor). I recently bought a refilled toner cartridge (take that HP!). My PC is 3 years old and runs just fine, no need to replace it anytime soon. Eventually I will have to replace my PC and my car, but I won't be doing that as frequently like the mindless consumer I used to be. The PTB wants the people to consume? Then they had better start paying better wages, as the days of using the house as an ATM are long gone.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 This isn't a politcal issue, guys ... it's a quality of life/what type of nation do we want to live in issue. -- SPirit it's political for the fact the way our country is structured - the parties have the people voting on the decisions that affect every one of the items that controls how we live
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeUQLMEwUz4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...QLMEwUz4</a> I just got back from a visit to Detroit -- here is where corporate greed - management incompetence - and political corruption leads to. I was never more shocked in my life that this exists in the US-- mile after mile... democracy as it is being practiced today failed Detroit, what city is next in line ? in the mid 50's Detroit was the best educated, wealthiest per capita city in the world. Now 25% of kids in HS graduate and while GM got bailed out- what about the people who used to live here. It's a sin
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I really don't know. But I see a future where I may well live on the other side of the world (or at least Pond) because I refuse to exist while the top 1-2% live it up on the backs of everyone else. ------------------- you're not alone Spirit - I have put my name in the hopper for a long term assignment if one comes up - Germany being my preference...but will consider Australia/NZ
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Perhaps the greater problem is that many people in our society are not the least bit concerned about the longevity of our republic and are far more concerned about what they can get out of it during their lifetime.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I just got back from a visit to Detroit -- here is where corporate greed - management incompetence - and political corruption leads to. I was never more shocked in my life that this exists in the US-- mile after mile...<< I agree, this is the future that awaits us unless we take our country back from the billionaires. The sad thing is that I don't believe it will happen, which is why we are in the process of getting EU Passports (Germany) for our kids (my wife is German).
Originally Posted By GalDisney Re: disney pay for CMs. My sister is a front line CM at wdw. she is FT. She earns about 10.50 ph.. She has health and dental benefits...she pays 6.50 per week out of her paycheck for full coverage health care, and not the kind that has a deductible, either..That is pretty damn good cost for insurance, i doubth there is any other company in FL that has such low cost health insurance. and dental is 1.30 per week from her paycheck and she does contribute to the 401 k plan. She isnt rich, but in this economy where there arent any full time jobs and so many people out of work, especially in FL she is darn happy. She earns enough to pay for her own apt and pay for the necessities.. true, she cant save much , doesnt have much extra for fun(but she does get into the parks for free so that is her entertainment). There is also overtime available and she takes advantage of that..and she is a student and her working hours enable her to go to school..so id say Disney is doing ok by her.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> Oh, I don't even know if I should respond as I've been trying to coax old man Pierce out of semi-retirement by telling him we're keeping most of the political rhetoric out ... but when an ignorant person told me today that things aren't that bad because McDonald's was hiring 50,000 workers today, I feel my blood boil. << Nothing political about that. That's just a stupid person talking. Stupid people cover the entire political structure. They are not confined to one party or the other.
