Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
CA renter
Participant[quote=harvey][quote=CA renter]
Pri, how about paying enough so that the people who picked your garlic are able to afford a decent place to live, have decent healthcare, and earn enough money to feed their families and pay for their basic living expenses?[/quote]Who needs to be “paying enough?”
Me, you, farmers, wholesalers, grocery stores?
You conveniently left that part out because you have no idea who would just “pay enough” or what would influence their decisions on pricing.
You don’t have a clue about a solution, nor have you even described what problem you are trying to solve (although it’s pretty clear to anyone reading this you want ‘dem Mexicans out of your California.)
Rant about everything because it’s everybody else’s fault![/quote]
Try improving your reading comprehension skills for a change. I see you still haven’t made any attempts to do so.
BTW, I didn’t have time to respond to your asinine assertions on the “counterintelligence” thread, but if you want me to prove to you, once again, how painfully ignorant and uninformed you are about yet another topic, keep going. Your alter ego’s posts are are equally uninformed and ripe for ripping apart, too, which is one of the ways I know it’s you.
Participant[quote=harvey][quote=CA renter]
Pri, how about paying enough so that the people who picked your garlic are able to afford a decent place to live, have decent healthcare, and earn enough money to feed their families and pay for their basic living expenses?[/quote]How about proposing a specific policy instead of just making thinly-veiled xenophobic rants?
Do you want to:
– Raise the minimum wage?
– Kick out dem Mexicans?
– Something else?
What’s the actual game plan for your Bolshevik revolution?[/quote]
LOL! Once again, the boogeyman in your brain has gotten to you. Re-read the post and see if you can grasp what I’m saying without putting YOUR words and thoughts into other people’s posts, as you so often do.
Participant[quote=no_such_reality][quote=harvey]Paying enough for what outcome?
I’m not very concerned about who harvests my garlic. I’m certainly not interested in paying more just to know that it was picked by Real Americans.[/quote]
So you can’t address the point. I get it.[/quote]
Pri, how about paying enough so that the people who picked your garlic are able to afford a decent place to live, have decent healthcare, and earn enough money to feed their families and pay for their basic living expenses?
Many of us are more than willing to pay more for goods and services if we know that the money is going to those who are doing the actual work vs. the middleman/corporations.
It’s time for employers to pay the full freight of their workers’ expenses. As it stands, taxpayers are subsidizing the profits of these employers when they cover the living costs that these workers aren’t able to pay for themselves. If the taxes these employees pay don’t cover the cost of educating their children and providing them with housing and healthcare, then taxpayers are footing the bill.
American workers are getting hit twice — by paying taxes that cover the costs of these other families since their pay can’t cover their costs, and also by having their wages reduced when they are forced to compete with cheap, exploitable labor.
Participant[quote=harvey][quote=CA renter]Bingo. There is no labor shortage. If the supply of labor isn’t keeping up with demand, then the price (wage) needs to be increased. People are willing and able to admit this regarding nearly every other market; but when it comes to labor, people act as though pricing mechanisms aren’t applicable.[/quote]
Who is claiming that there is a labor shortage?
“People” ?
There can be situations where there are simply not enough qualified people in the labor pool. Money can’t fix that, in the short-term at least. And often in the long-term as well.
No matter how much you pay me, I’m not qualified to be a paramedic.
The debate in the tech sector is often that there aren’t enough qualified Americans available. Some people just aren’t cut out to be programmers or whatever. Paying them more won’t change that. Of course training and education may help, but in some fields schooling doesn’t help if the aptitude isn’t there.
“Just raise the price” does not always work in the skilled labor market. It’s not a commodity.[/quote]
Have you been living under a rock all these years? Everyone who’s been advocating for open borders and generous work visas has done so under the guise of there being a labor shortage.
Even in areas that required advanced degrees, there is (generally speaking) no labor shortage, and certainly no shortage of people who are intellectually capable of learning the skills required of these more skilled trades.
The problem is money and job insecurity, especially when more and more employers are demanding very specific skill sets without being willing to train employees themselves. People are afraid to go though all of the work and expense to obtain a niche degree that might have been in high demand when they started, but that might not be in high demand once they graduate, especially if they need a Ph.D.
Once upon a time, companies were willing to invest in their employees — they paid them well, provided secure jobs, and invested in their employees’ education. In return, employees worked hard, were highly productive, and were loyal to these companies, often staying with them even if potentially better opportunities would arise, or when companies needed workers to help absorb some of the losses (money or hours worked) when economically challenging times would occur. IMO, if companies want workers with very specific skills, they should be willing to take someone who is “close enough” and train that person on the company’s dime.
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2015/article/stem-crisis-or-stem-surplus-yes-and-yes.htm
——————–
“This wage data suggest that there is not a shortage of STEM workers broadly, or for commonly discussed computer occupations. (Data on all detailed STEM occupations is available here.) One reason employers might think they can’t find workers is that they may have inflexible requirements for vacant positions. For example, a company might require that workers work for low wages and long hours, or that they have particular certifications or unreasonably specific skills, or vague cultural attributes that favor certain types of people. There might also be an unwillingness to train new workers on-the-job, which was very common in the past.
So when employers complain about not being able to find workers, what they really mean is that they can’t find workers who meet their requirements at the wage they are willing to offer. With the cost of living rapidly rising in areas like San Francisco, where there are many STEM employers, it makes sense that workers would not apply for positions that offer wages they find to be too low.”
http://cepr.net/blogs/cepr-blog/is-there-a-shortage-of-workers-in-stem-fields
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]I’m cynic, there’s very few labor shortages that higher wages won’t resolve.
Trump, like many of the technical consulting houses, can’t hire them, because, IMHO, they don’t want to hire them.[/quote]
Bingo. There is no labor shortage. If the supply of labor isn’t keeping up with demand, then the price (wage) needs to be increased. People are willing and able to admit this regarding nearly every other market; but when it comes to labor, people act as though pricing mechanisms aren’t applicable.
ParticipantThis is why I would always shake my head when homeowners would talk about how much they were worth during the housing bubble. The minute they would all try to realize those gains, the money would disappear.
ParticipantBrian, you are the oddest liberal I’ve ever known. Do you honestly not care about how this type of waste — tossing out perfectly good Corian countertops and buying imported granite mined from the other side of the globe — affects our environment?
Fair trade that takes into account labor and environmental effects is good, but fair trade that only seeks to exploit weaker labor and environmental regulations is not.
We should import things when other countries have a natural advantage (like tea from China, or bananas from South America, etc.), or where their workers produce a genuinely superior product (German/Swiss engineered products, or Japanese cars, for example); but we should always expect these countries to treat their workers and well and to use the least environmentally damaging means to harvest, mine and produce their products.
We need to do everything possible to protect our planet and its inhabitants. Profit is never an excuse to exploit more vulnerable people and their resources.
ParticipantWe’ll have a lot of bad days for solar this year (the electric portion of our bill went up over 100% on our last bill because of it), but those are wonderful days for our reservoirs and snow pack! We are loving these rainy days.
Always look on the bright side of life… 🙂
January 25, 2017 at 4:46 AM in reply to: OT: So what exactly does the term “alternative facts” mean? #805116Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]But one should be connected enough to know that TPP does not include China. It was America’s attempt at leadership in the Pacific to exclude China. I would say that 98% of Trumpadors don’t know and don’t care but still opposed TPP.[/quote]
A lot of people, especially progressives on the left, knew about the countries involved with the TPP. Here are some of the reasons why people opposed the TPP:
Participant[quote=JerseyGrl]a little bit of history:
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing that article, JerseyGrl.
Participant[quote=Ribbles]I don’t need to turn on/off lights or re-order products by voice command, or change the temperature when the thermostat is already programmed exactly the way I want it. I know when I’m out of eggs.
I’m not the paranoid type (I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that I’m on at least one “dissident” list, due to online anti-government rants, and I’m okay with that), but taking “we only listen to phrases following a specific key word” at face value – coming from companies who are literally desperate to learn as much as they can about you and who have continually lied to consumers about information gathering, storage, and dissemination – seems foolhardy to me. And that’s only considering the manufacturer, not hacking. No thanks.[/quote]
Exactly right.
January 10, 2017 at 8:03 AM in reply to: Finally got some high end flooring for the investment condo #804821Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]CAr, yes I know, whirlpool, GE (Haier), and Electrolux are the big 3 appliance companies + Samsung, LG, etc….
I don’t think speed queen even makes their own. I think they just use parts from other manufacturers for a commercial look. I have looked at repairmen fix machines at the laundromat in the condo complex where I have rental. It’s pretty much the same stuff with some different parts.
Electronics go bad more than mechanical because of water/heat. But trust me, motor, drums, etc… are the same.[/quote]
Speed Queen makes their own washers and dryers. They’ve been doing it for decades, and use higher quality materials because they specialize in commercial units (for laundromats and communal laundry rooms). The repair people will tell you that these are the highest-quality machines out there, and they weigh a lot more than their competitors’ machines because they are made of metal, not plastic. They also have mechanical knobs, as opposed to electronic control boards, making them much more durable.
I just wish they would make dishwashers and other appliances, too.
Participant[quote=moneymaker]Here’s another thought. I have a home security system with monitored smoke detector and of course a panic button. Should i register (or is it even possible to) the door lock code with the fire department as they also do the ambulance calls if I were to push the medical or fire panic button. Mainly I’m thinking the scenario would be that we are out of town and a fire starts with the pets inside, every minute would be crucial. Kinda like the Farmers insurance commercial when the dog grabs the pizza off the stove and inadvertently turns on the stove top which then sets fire to the pizza box. Evidently a true story http://creativity-online.com/work/farmers-insurance-we-know-from-experience-agent-film/46977 except it was cake not pizza.[/quote]
MM, the fire department will get into your house if there’s an emergency; they won’t need a code. They might break a window or door, but if there’s an actual fire or other emergency, you won’t care. One of the best things you can do is let your neighbors know if you have a habit of leaving pets in the house when you’re gone because emergency responders will ask neighbors, who tend to come out to gawk when they see all the lights and hear all the noise, if they know whether or not there are people or pets in the house. You might also want to let some trusted neighbors know where you, your family, and your pets tend to sleep, etc. Sometimes, they can give emergency personnel important information about handicapped residents, elderly people, children, etc., and they can help firefighters/police know where to find them.
You can buy something like this for your pets, too, but since these things can easily become outdated or inaccurate, they aren’t as useful as giving information to your neighbors (pick trustworthy “Gladys Kravitz” types who are usually home and who are always paying attention to what’s going on in the neighborhood — but make sure they aren’t the gossipy types who will let others know when you’re out of town, because they might tell the wrong people):
Here’s Gladys Kravitz, in case you’re too young to remember this. 🙂
Participant[quote=spdrun]An always-on omni-directional microphone in your home — can anyone say “creepy?” I know I can.
Yeah, yeah, sure, it only responds to the keyword and forgets everything else. Riiiight.
Unless you’re disabled and can’t walk, I don’t see the attraction.[/quote]
No, you are not alone at all. I’m always amazed by how willing people are to put spy devices in their homes and cars, and on their bodies. If it’s not connected to the internet, I can see some use for it, but the fact that all of this information can be tracked by others is beyond creepy.
They now have refrigerators that can tell you what’s in your fridge. It knows what you eat/drink, how much you eat/drink, and what quantities you have in your fridge. They’ve been working on it since the late 90s.
A refrigerator that “thinks” – intelligent refrigerator will simplify homes
And I just love how they are pushing these things so that we can “connect, engage and interact with products, brands and each other…” [from Fortune link, above]. Other than forcing consumerism down our throats, what use do we have for that?
-
AuthorPosts