Gifted Mechanic wanted

[Superman]

billsagnon, your e-mail button does not work. I'm sure Wayne would prefer that I do my liberal ranting elsewhere, so you'll have to e-mail me for that. Johnnyo200 provided the short answer to your question. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. that's fact, regardless of your politics. The middle class, which shoulders the bulk of the tax burden, is shrinking. In this country, "the people" control government (suggesting that there can be a peaceful solution) except that they are WAY WAY out-gunned financially by industrial interests when it comes to public policy decisions (legislatures and congress). Okay, one more....I read Sunday that representatives of working people spent more on political television ads than any other group except one. Ready? Pharmaceutical companies spent more than twice that amount.

Okay, no more. Not here at Wayne's sandbox.

[JeremyD]

I live on Carolina Ave NE

USED to have a 1990 C2 Targa Baltic Blue until I got rear ended at the corner of 83rd Ave and 4th Street about a month and 1/2 ago.

Now I am looking for a cab - prefer an 87 to 89 just cause they seem to be the only Porsche holding theri value.

Small world!

[Porsche911NYC]

"The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. that's fact, regardless of your politics. The middle class, which shoulders the bulk of the tax burden, is shrinking."

That statement is way off base. The top 5% of taxpayers in the United States account for more than 55% of the total tax revenue (those with an AGI of at least $120,000 annually, meaning a married couple each earning $60,000). The bottom 50% (those earning less than $26,000 annually) shoulder ONLY 4% of the tax burden.

Even more telling is a study verifying that the rich are NOT getting richer at the expense of the poor. Entitled "Moving Up? Earnings Mobility in California," it tracked the wages of more than 180,000 Californians from 1988 to 2000. It found that those in the bottom quintile more than doubled their earnings (+100%) during that period. At the other extreme, the top quintile realized only a 7% increase for the same period. Other studies done for different time periods and geographic regions confirm this.

Oh, and as for my qualifications, I'm the President & CEO of a Wall Street investment firm and a Professor of Economics at a major university.

Some food for thought, and something I drill into my students:
You are paid what you're worth.

Oh, and if anybody is offended by that, good, you should be. America is still the land of opportunity (you don't see people emigrating to any other country, do you?).

[hbrand]

Just some thoughts after I read all those posts:

If a person is mechanical inclined - it can do 80% of the day to day work in a car repair and service shop.
The complicated and engine work is done by an engineer - ME
Below just to get some of you thinking about live.
Lets assume you commute 1.5 hours a day = about 350 hours a year. That costs you in loss wages (at $ 25.0 p.h in big areas) and travel (15k miles a year and yes I know even people in florida who have to do that) $ 12.000.- dollaries per year.
Of course, if your time is free and the employer is paying for the car and gas - you still loose about 1 month of your life stuck in traffic or so (some people seem to like that) - per year. I rather do something else with this time.
Above just as an example!!

Time to go to work here: about 10 minutes by car one way.
You (employee) can come when you want, but not later than 9am.
You can leave at 4 pm or work more hours.
You also can take off work on short notice to go fishing.
No time pressure to finnish a job - guarantee that no job gets rushed.
Paid vacation and sick time is about 4 working weeks a year - and once a month we have beer - dinner together with the family.
If employee pruduces more than 20 customer paid hours per week - bonus starts. How about that.
Employee can buy car parts at wholesale and use shop on week ends- not the norm.
Short lunch time is paid. You can receive privat phone calls.
Company pays for uniform.

Employee is not a number - more a friend and human being.
So are 99.9% of our 400 customers.

We do not need car washers here - if it rains - the cars stays clean - so do our lungs.
And I certainly do not need a tech who only can work on a porsche and does not have any ideal about an AMC Hornet.

A nice house costs $ 400.- pm or $ 80k to buy. water, garbage, electricity about $ 120.- per month
We hardly need heat, and during the day - shop has a/c.
Lunch is $ 4.80.- dinner $ 10+, good used cars from $ 1500.-
Beach is 3 miles away, on the river we have 15 miles walk ways.
Time for our families - we live where other people come for vacation.

Be not to hard on me. Just my personal thoughts.

And yes - the year is 2002.

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by Porsche911NYC
"The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. that's fact, regardless of your politics. The middle class, which shoulders the bulk of the tax burden, is shrinking."

That statement is way off base. The top 5% of taxpayers in the United States account for more than 55% of the total tax revenue (those with an AGI of at least $120,000 annually, meaning a married couple each earning $60,000). The bottom 50% (those earning less than $26,000 annually) shoulder ONLY 4% of the tax burden.

Even more telling is a study verifying that the rich are NOT getting richer at the expense of the poor. Entitled "Moving Up? Earnings Mobility in California," it tracked the wages of more than 180,000 Cailifornians from 1988 to 2000. It found that those in the bottom quintile more than doubled their earnings (+100%) during that period. At the other extreme, the top quintile realized only a 7% increase for the same period. Other studies done for different time periods and geographic regions confirm this.

Oh, and as for my qualifications, I'm the President & CEO of a Wall Street investment firm and a Professor of Economics at a major university.

Some food for thought, and something I drill into my students:
You are paid what you're worth.

Oh, and if anybody is offended by that, good, you should be. America is still the land of opportunity (you don't see people emigrating to any other country, do you?).

I agree...plus "the economy" is not a zero sum game. Liberals tend to portray it as if it's a poker game and all players have a set sum of money...then the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. In real life, it doesn't work that way...I'm sure Porsche911NYC could explain this better than I...

[nostatic]

OK, let's talk California (since I was born here). If the lower income people doubled their salary (over what time period?), 2X (not much) still= not much. During the same period what happened to housing costs? For high income, 1.07X (a lot) still= a lot. Sure, the income might not be growing as fast as other costs, but they started with plenty.

Bottom line? Being poor sucks.

Of course CA is a messed up example. I paid how much for this frickin' house? Ahh, the price of a short commute...

[Mike the mechanic]

Originally posted by juan ruiz
Funny do I know a LOT of Mechanics making over six figures and then some..............

Wow, that is crazy! here, we make an average of $30,000 Canadian anually, which is about $20k US!! I need to move away from here...fast!

[SeaDweller]

CA gets a bad rap......I moved from southern CA (Palos Verdes), where granted, the houses are expensive, to Florida, where the houses are cheaper, but not as cheap as they used to be!

There's also some things that folks just don't realize. Property taxes in CA are straightforward; a percentage (1.04% ?) of your property value. In Florida (as least in my area), they're highly discriminatory. You can have a $200K house on the water and pay $12K/year in taxes, yet you can have a $1M home in another area, and pay $3K/year in taxes. They punish the folks that they assume have the money.

Also, my power/gas bill in CA never exceeded $70/month combined. In the summer, my power/gas bill can easily exceed $300/month!!! Finally, homeowners insurance is assinine in Florida, at least 5 times what I was paying in CA. Auto insurance ain't cheap either.......

To put all this in perspective, my house in FL (when I move here 3 years ago) was $200K less than my house in CA, yet my monthly outlay was the same!!!

The bummer about CA is that I'm a boater, and boating in CA costs a fortune!!!

[tight as a bull's ass]

when I was 16 (about 13 years ago) , I had a part time job at a gas station raking leaves and cleaning up the place with a mop...

my salary: 10 bucks/hr

$12/hr for a gifted car mechanic is a joke.

besides, how can you really live on $12/hr?

[PORSHIN]

Harold'
If i were single, no kids, and younger, I would be calling you. I'm a certified master technician and have worked on all kinds of cars. I think your philosophy is great! Someone will like your offer because it presents a healthier and happier lifestyle than most people can ever realize. My family has gotten used to a much higher income though so I will have to continue to live with the pressure, stress, and winter! Hang in there, you and I know the right guy will come along!
Rob

[speeder]

I think that Harold is alright, too. After reading his post about the cost of living in his town, his offer makes a lot more sense. I am sorry for making light of it, no disrespect intended, I just thought that he was unrealistic at first. Also like your philosophy as an employer, Harold, that is how you wind up w/ loyal workers. Cost of living makes all of the difference in the world; it truly is all relative.

[john70t]

BTW-Way off tech topic, but then again interesting.

Hbrand seems like he has a fair offer for a youth wanting to learn about the trade, or a "flexible" person in terms of the salary department, but then again there are also a lot of factors to take into consideration.
1. Is he going to be responsible for making sure the lower wage mech knows what he/she's doing with a room full of classic cars? 2. The cost of living might be substantially lower, but will it stay that way (read: NORCAL housing $ in the last 5 years)? That might not be a bad thing for someone settled.
3. Why post on an international BBS?

[Porsche911NYC]

"Cost of living makes all of the difference in the world"

No, it's the quality of life that makes all the difference in the world. A cheap cost of living generally equates with a low quality of life (note the "bingo crowds" as they invade the one-armed bandits in Las Vegas and the all-you-can-eat buffets). NYC has a high cost of living and, appropriately, a high quality of life.

[atlporsche]

911NYC....

disagree. you can be poor/have a low quality of life to some people, and be the happiest guy/gal in the world. You're quality of life depends on your standards.

what's a loaf of bread cost in NYC??? Probably more than it does down by me.

I cook, it makes life WAAAAY less expensive than your normal "going to the buffet" crowd. If you can work on your car, or even set a VCR, you can cook. We're not poor, but we're not rich either. We were a 1 income household while my wife went to school, she got a job, I lost mine that same week....back to 1 income. Our quality of life never suffered. We're two incomes now, and we have lots more stuff, but I don't feel my life's any better because of it. Some of the most miserable people in the world are rich...because money makes you bored...just look at Ms Ryder...did she need to shoplift? NO. she was bored.

If I was STILL unemployed...I'd jump at harold's chance. I'm sure HE'd be happy to have a degreed mechanical engineer/gear head/ex race car guy working for him. Sure, it doesn't pay engineering wage, but dude, it's on the friggin beach/I can work on my car in the shop/and have lots of free time...I couldn't get tired of that.

Sure, it'd take an extra year or two to finish my cars...but who cares...

So I beg to differ with your opinion on low quality of life = low income.

Big cities are holes anyway...not just NYC, LA, Atlanta, Detroit...the only one I like is Chicago (but only in May, June and July)

steve
who's wife's quality of life is suffering becasue of the atlanta traffic. I've only got a 15 minute commute...

[JeremyD]

I disagree too. I probably would be middle class in California - In Florida I live on the water, have two boats - looking to replace my toy P-car with an 87-89 cab or 993 cab (any leads?)...

I get plenty of calls from recruiters (not many in the past year) that want to lure me somewhere else. When I ask them what it would replace my standard of living in another area they quit talking.

Again, it's all relative... and all on what you think is important. I'm lucky in that I have lived all over the country. Every place has something to offer and detractions.

[PORSHIN]

Steve,
You are right. I lived in NYC for 8 months. If someone told me they would double my income to live there, I would turn it down. There is no way i could be happy there. For many, many reasons.
On the other hand, some people love it.
Rob

[82SC]

hey seadweller!!!

I am a PV native too...my parents still live at Paseo del Mar next to the old PV high school...

where were you???

PV is great...expensive, isolated, but it was a great place to grow up...and I always love that view of the ocean when you get past malaga cove...

don't you miss it??!!

Florida is not shabby either...but the humidity gets to me

MJ

BTW I made 10/hour as a bank teller in high school...as a tutor I make anywhere from 30-100/hour...no joke...I know that being a talented mechanic takes alot more skill then handing out money all day

Callas Rennsport here charges 70-80 an hour...obviously the mech does not get the full amount, but I am sure it ain't 12

I think 12/hour is what you might pay an entry level mechanic...like a guy straight out of high school...can you imagine raising a family on 12/hour? geez...

[atlporsche]

Know where I'd live again??? It's gonna sound crazy....

Indianapolis. Car guy paradise. Pretty nice weather, I lived just up the road from IRP, and 5 miles from the track. Stuff wasn't the cheapest, and wasn't the most expensive...

There were always car shows going on, it was easy to get around the city (the beltway was only 50 miles around, not 1xx like atlanta) traffic was okay, people drove sanely...it was a really nice place to live. You had your rich areas, your poorer areas, but everything just seemed to flow...

sjd

[Porsche911NYC]

"what's a loaf of bread cost in NYC??? Probably more than it does down by me."

The price of bread is pretty consistent throughout the country; the futures markets ensure that.

It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly "reasonable" people fall for the left-wing media's "woe-is-me" nonsense with absolutely no facts to support their claims.

[JavaBrewer]

1. People are not paid what they're worth...they are paid what the market will bear. FLA market is different than SoCal market.

2. The lower income folks are falling further behind. Quoting earnings vs. taxes vs. cost of living means squat when you talk percentages. You need to use real dollar figures. A few % points is not going to affect food or shelter for the upper echelon earners but could have drastic effects on the minimum wage earning segment.

3. Housing plays a big part in determining the local market. Once they fall out of sync bad things happen. San Diego has seen 25%/yr equity gains over the last few years. Even September 11th and a negative economy has not stopped it. Yet pay scales have not increased to match. Typically this spells doom for the realty market however San Diego (for now) is unique in that there are a lot of people who will sacrafice the toys and easy commutes for the assets like year round sunshine and strong local (Defense/Tech orientated) economy.

My brother-in-law lives in Salt Lake City. Great community, snow and water skiing, mountains. I live in San Diego. We bought our homes 2 years ago for the same figure - his much bigger, views, big lot, yada yada. Lets compare current values, minus upgrades he and I have installed, his home is valued at extactly what he paid for it...actually maybe a hair less. My neighbors are selling their house in January for 40% more than they paid for it 2 years ago. Local indicators predict that short of another major (big one) terrorist act the economy here is going to continue to go up. Not many people are moving outa here but many thousands a year are moving in.