Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.

[taxwonk]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

the Rock?

Yep. Great lounge.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by taxwonk

Yep. Great lounge.

The coolest sight there is when a ocean going cargo ship passes by. How could anything that huge be built? Just an amazing sight.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by taxwonk

Yep. Great lounge.

It's good to see you wonking again.

[Not Bob]

For those libertarians and "free-market" zealots who talk about the stranglehold of regulation burdening small business, please read this.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/10...referrer=&_r=0

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Not Bob

For those libertarians and "free-market" zealots who talk about the stranglehold of regulation burdening small business, please read this.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/10...referrer=&_r=0

What a heart-warming story about immigrant entrepreneurs!

[Gattigap]

In which I withdraw my earlier tepid comments suggesting Jeb's competence.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

So I'm back to thinking we need to swap Texas for Scotland. We'll all be happier. We'll have lunatics we like instead of lunatics with guns and they'll have oil and Tories.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

So I'm back to thinking we need to swap Texas for Scotland. We'll all be happier. We'll have lunatics we like instead of lunatics with guns and they'll have oil and Tories.

Eh, it's the last month of the legislative session. I'm assuming that this whole invasion thing is a distraction from something actually harmful to the residents of this state.

Thank god these assholes only meet for four months every other year.

[Not Bob]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

What a heart-warming story about immigrant entrepreneurs!

There are just so many outrageous things in this story - let's start with the Department of Labor. It doesn't (because it can't or won't) do any meaningful enforcement, then engages in months of foot-dragging before releasing public data to the Times showing how pitiful its efforts were. But they don't have enough investigators in general, and enough who speak Korean or Cantonese or whatever in particular, to do their job, so it's hard to be too pissed at them.

And how about the Mercedes-driving predators who pay so little (and charge their victims a fee of $100 for the privilege of being underpaid) and impose such long hours and exercise so much control that one can't help but think of the 13th Amendment?

Or those of us who only think "hey, $10 for a pedicure! Awesome!" and who demand that the store replace our Prada sandals when nail varnish is spilled on them?

Or, people like me, who know better about things, but pretend not to realize that someone is getting very screwed when I pay a mere $10 for a service that takes 30 minutes. Sure, I like the way my soles feel after a pedi (not to mention the look of MAC Dark Angel on my toes), but I really need to remember the actual cost of it.

I am so angry about this. And I want to throw this story in the face of every smug bastard who, with a straight face, can talk about how terrible it is that we want to get poor people fired when we propose raising the minimum wage or enacting some legislation or regulation to protect workers.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Not Bob

There are just so many outrageous things in this story - let's start with the Department of Labor. It doesn't (because it can't or won't) do any meaningful enforcement, then engages in months of foot-dragging before releasing public data to the Times showing how pitiful its efforts were. But they don't have enough investigators in general, and enough who speak Korean or Cantonese or whatever in particular, to do their job, so it's hard to be too pissed at them.

And how about the Mercedes-driving predators who pay so little (and charge their victims a fee of $100 for the privilege of being underpaid) and impose such long hours and exercise so much control that one can't help but think of the 13th Amendment?

Or those of us who only think "hey, $10 for a pedicure! Awesome!" and who demand that the store replace our Prada sandals when nail varnish is spilled on them?

Or, people like me, who know better about things, but pretend not to realize that someone is getting very screwed when I pay a mere $10 for a service that takes 30 minutes. Sure, I like the way my soles feel after a pedi (not to mention the look of MAC Dark Angel on my toes), but I really need to remember the actual cost of it.

I am so angry about this. And I want to throw this story in the face of every smug bastard who, with a straight face, can talk about how terrible it is that we want to get poor people fired when we propose raising the minimum wage or enacting some legislation or regulation to protect workers.

You're looking at it wrong. At these labor rates, you could hire your favorite pedicurist full time, have them at your beck and call, and still pay them twice what one of these shops are paying. Invite your clients over for pedicures.

But of course, everyone time one shops at Walmart, you're encouraging this sort of thing, not just went you grab the $10 special from the pedicurist down the alley.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

You're looking at it wrong. At these labor rates, you could hire your favorite pedicurist full time, have them at your beck and call, and still pay them twice what one of these shops are paying. Invite your clients over for pedicures.

But of course, everyone time one shops at Walmart, you're encouraging this sort of thing, not just went you grab the $10 special from the pedicurist down the alley.

Now is when I smile smugly about never having gotten a pedicure and never shopping at Walmart.

(You just keep your mouth shut about how Target and every clothing retailer does the same stuff).

[Not Bob]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

You're looking at it wrong. At these labor rates, you could hire your favorite pedicurist full time, have them at your beck and call, and still pay them twice what one of these shops are paying. Invite your clients over for pedicures.

But of course, everyone time one shops at Walmart, you're encouraging this sort of thing, not just went you grab the $10 special from the pedicurist down the alley.

If you're talking about Walmart's labor policy, I'm pretty sure that regardless of all the ways they game the system, they at least mostly comply with wage and hour laws in the US. Leave aside whether that alone is sufficient for social justice, but ...

If you're talking about the labor practices of Walmart's suppliers overseas, yes. And I encourage it by using my iPhone and wearing Nikes. And everytime I complain I mention how "free" trade isn't really free trade because many countries subsidize the production of goods by either not having or not enforcing labor (or environmental) standards re wages and safety, I get laughed at and told that we can't stop the Invisible Hand ("from smacking labor around" is the unspoken end of the statement.

Whatever. I think I'm writing in Michael Harrington's name on my presidential primary ballot next year.

[taxwonk]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

But of course, everyone time one shops at Walmart, you're encouraging this sort of thing, not just went you grab the $10 special from the pedicurist down the alley.

I know Wal-Mart is a favorite enemy in these stories, and the animus is often directed at least in part at those who shop there. But when you have $20 and you have to make it last four days until your next check arrives, the $10 free-range, antibiotic free organic chicken from Whole Paycheck doesn't really work as a viable option.