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The Incoming Biden Presidency

snuffbox

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I completely understand that. I remember how disillusioned I felt during Obama's presidency. It was far better than Bush's (I also remember how absolutely horrible that was) but nowhere near what we were hoping to get after that 2008 campaign. But I have a laundry list of problems in the mental health department. Severe depression, anxiety, all that fuckin shit. So I try do myself the favor of being hopeful even if I have to pretend to be so sometimes.
 

BruiserBrody

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[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
We said that under Clinton. Things got worse.

We said that under Obama. Things got worse.

I'll believe it when I see it, and will gladly eat crow if it happens.
Yeah I just rewatched Oliver Stone's "The Untold History of the US" that covers how progressives have either been buried or bent over world wide since 1900 and the rich always win. And war. Lots of war.

I was about ready to go hang myself in defeatism by the end of the 14 hours or whatever it was.

I watched that in lieu of a holiday movie whilst wrapping presents. It was a weird few nights.
 

909

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  • Direct payments of $1,400 to most Americans, bringing the total relief to $2,000 including December’s $600 payments
  • Increasing the federal, per-week unemployment benefit to $400 and extend it through the end of September
  • Increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour
  • Extending the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums until the end of September
  • $350 billion in state and local government aid
  • $170 billion for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education
  • $50 billion toward Covid-19 testing
  • $20 billion toward a national vaccine program in partnership with states, localities and tribes
  • Make the Child Tax Credit fully refundable for the year and increase the credit to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for a child under age 6)

 

BruiserBrody

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[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
I work for the worst family on earth, so I speak from experience and not defeatism: The 15 dollar an hour thing certainly has a draw back as many companies have a budget, and will make things work within that budget, meaning things like payroll are the first things reduced to fit the profit margins.
This could potentially mean a loss of hours and thus qualifications for insurance, sending more to the government aid to cover employed people's $ shortages. The Waltons certainly love having the government cover their employees asses. (Run in from CRAZY BOSS LADY: "It's not the business' responsibility! People need to take care of themselves!" Thanks Boss.)
WM and other retailers have prepped for this though and wages shot up for the newbies, while us long term clowns got a firm handshake.
 

Baby Shoes

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ow7vixic9fb61.jpg

 

SFH

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I work for the worst family on earth, so I speak from experience and not defeatism: The 15 dollar an hour thing certainly has a draw back as many companies have a budget, and will make things work within that budget, meaning things like payroll are the first things reduced to fit the profit margins.
This could potentially mean a loss of hours and thus qualifications for insurance, sending more to the government aid to cover employed people's $ shortages. The Waltons certainly love having the government cover their employees asses. (Run in from CRAZY BOSS LADY: "It's not the business' responsibility! People need to take care of themselves!" Thanks Boss.)
WM and other retailers have prepped for this though and wages shot up for the newbies, while us long term clowns got a firm handshake.
When I worked in food, management made it very clear if minimum wage went up over starting pay ($0.15 more than minimum wage, 1998) they'd make cuts to fit the profit margin. It's a statement that's echoed in my ears for 20 years, something I think about anytime the minimum wage discussion comes up. Not raise the cost of the product to offset, go straight for the payroll. I'm not saying they're right, I'm just saying there's been business owners with that attitude for a very long time and they aren't changing their minds for us.
 

tekcop

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Cutting payroll is independent of the minimum wage. Walmart's current policy of no more new full time employees has been nationwide for years now. Even though minimum wage in most states hasnt changed in over a decade.
 

Laz

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Re: Kamala and the $2,000

Uhhhh...they're both kinda the same statements. Brody's screencap is missing the word "total" from her later tweet, which means she still supports $2,000 checks.

Fuck, I don't like her and think career Dems are lying shitheads, but at least be honest about the critique.
 

snuffbox

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I can't be the only one here that was in the workforce the last time the federal minimum wage was raised, in 2009. It's not all that long ago. And I assume the majority of posters here are in their late 20s-30s. I'm going over my notes here and it just doesn't appear that the world ended because of that. In fact and lived experience, it was probably a big help in the economic recovery after the abject failure of corporate welfare of the Bush years. And an increase to $15 will probably help the US economy (the one that includes the entire population, not just the rich getting even richer) recover from Trump and covid.

So, our own lived experiences show that the right-wing talking points are dumb bullshit. Another thing is the old Henry Ford adage. If more people have more money, you're going to sell more of your product, not less.
 

909

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I can't be the only one here that was in the workforce the last time the federal minimum wage was raised, in 2009. It's not all that long ago. And I assume the majority of posters here are in their late 20s-30s. I'm going over my notes here and it just doesn't appear that the world ended because of that. In fact and lived experience, it was probably a big help in the economic recovery after the abject failure of corporate welfare of the Bush years. And an increase to $15 will probably help the US economy (the one that includes the entire population, not just the rich getting even richer) recover from Trump and covid.

So, our own lived experiences show that the right-wing talking points are dumb bullshit. Another thing is the old Henry Ford adage. If more people have more money, you're going to sell more of your product, not less.

The only thing that happens at Walmart if they increase the minimum wage is that they pay workers more fairly. No matter what the minimum wage is, Walmart will continue to aggressively move towards automation that would wipe most of their workers out. The minimum wage being low is just saving them money on the way there and their workers are justifying their own wage slavery because they don't understand how economics work. The people who run Walmart are trying to take everyone's fucking job and their workers just let them get away with it, and argue against their own damn selves getting paid more because of how scared they are. It's wild.

California has been incrementally increasing their minimum wage for the last few years, and before the pandemic these following things were all true.

California was the state with the least minimum wage workers.
Restaurants are forced to pay minimum wage in addition to tip.
Unemployment continued to go down to as low as 3.9%.

But how could this all happen when the Republicans have fed bullshit talking points for forty years about minimum wage raises killing the economy?

A.) An increase in the minimum wage gives people money to actually buy shit.
B.) People leave that second job they no longer need, or they take less hours at that second job (this isn't something the government should be proud of), because they have more money to do shit.
C.) Because people leave that second job, someone else has to get hired to take their spot...which leads to the unemployment rate going down.
D.) Because of that low unemployment rate, this might shock you, but...people here get paid more than the increased minimum wage. As I said when I posted that California had the least minimum wage workers by percentage in the country. Employers have to offer more competitive wages in order to lure employees.


That guy who says they're going to make cuts, is going to wind up adding 50 cents to their burgers or whatever, but more people will have money to buy them first of all, and secondly while they might panic and fire someone, they'll have to fill that job and/or bring them back because more people will be able to buy their shit. And in addition to that, the fired employee will have an easier time finding work and potentially getting paid more than the minimum wage because of those things I just laid out. I should also note that California was an untested, unprojected experiment that turned out this way. Because sometimes it turns out that the economy gets stimulated when people get fucking money for working their job. Before the pandemic, there was literally zero evidence that these wage hikes were hurting companies. Absolutely none at all. There were a few places that made a big fuss about closing due to wage hikes, but the restaurant business was booming here because people had money to eat and weren't scraping ramen off the shelves even though they work all the time. Crazy I know, but perhaps one day you too won't live in a shithole.

Corporate America has just gotten away with telling all these lies to people and there are so many out there that refuse to question their actions, for what reason I honestly don't even know at this point. They tell people they'll lose jobs under all kinds of scenarios but at no point do they ever try to do good by their workers, and y'all still eat their shit happily with a smile. Their profits skyrocket while they run people into the ground, and I guess we should never try to do anything about that. I should also point out that when Walmart cuts jobs in the name of becoming more automated, their profits are probably going to crater. I quit going there after the last time I couldn't find anyone to help me out. Last year, prior to the situation getting to be a way where they were one of the only places open for months on end, their operating income in the US was far lower than expected. So it ain't just me who don't want to go in there.
 
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909

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Cutting payroll is independent of the minimum wage. Walmart's current policy of no more new full time employees has been nationwide for years now. Even though minimum wage in most states hasnt changed in over a decade.
Their payroll cutting is also a direct result of their employees allowing them to do it, and because their employees are wage slaves who the government has simply neglected to empower with forced wage hikes at any point in the last goddamn who knows how many years. I see why the government can't do it though as the people who work in a lot of these jobs are so ignorant about economics that they sabotage their own self interest and vote for the people who get rich by not paying their employees more. Wild shit. Only in America.


I've also never worked in a job for less than or equal to what the minimum wage is now, by the way. Not as a kid, not as an adult, not ever. When I got my first job I was pretty floored to hear that. I'm not trying to same I'm better than anyone, what I'm saying is that I'm fortunate to have grown up in a state like this one and have stayed here. That's what happens when a state does things that actually work economically. This state has consistently been ahead of the federal government minimum wage wise, and has consistently been strong economically in some part due to that. It's a good thing to have a job market strong enough that it's hard to get away with paying someone minimum wage. You have to have the courage to try new things at some point. This country has a lot of problems but it doesn't have to be this way and there are even states in this country that aren't this way, that have success, and maybe it's time for the whole country to try that shit.
 
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SFH

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I can't be the only one here that was in the workforce the last time the federal minimum wage was raised, in 2009. It's not all that long ago. And I assume the majority of posters here are in their late 20s-30s. I'm going over my notes here and it just doesn't appear that the world ended because of that. In fact and lived experience, it was probably a big help in the economic recovery after the abject failure of corporate welfare of the Bush years. And an increase to $15 will probably help the US economy (the one that includes the entire population, not just the rich getting even richer) recover from Trump and covid.

So, our own lived experiences show that the right-wing talking points are dumb bullshit. Another thing is the old Henry Ford adage. If more people have more money, you're going to sell more of your product, not less.
In '09 I was in my 5th year of full time employment away from food with five years of merit raises on top of a multi-dollar raise received upon promotion in '07 so I had no hands on experience with MW and MW workers (or being a MW worker) seeing the benefits.

While there were broad strokes economics related topics in my degree programs, I've only ever taken two proper "economics" courses in my life and both are those were part of the basic degree skills every Freshman-Sophomore has to take. So I'm definitely out of my element trying to competently engage on the matter.
 

tekcop

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Their payroll cutting is also a direct result of their employees allowing them to do it, and because their employees are wage slaves who the government has simply neglected to empower with forced wage hikes at any point in the last goddamn who knows how many years. I see why the government can't do it though as the people who work in a lot of these jobs are so ignorant about economics that they sabotage their own self interest and vote for the people who get rich by not paying their employees more. Wild shit. Only in America.
You'll never get me to disagree that American workers don't need to push for better conditions. I can only look on with jealously at the lack of respect the average French worker has for their employer.

But Wal-Mart is incredibly powerful and support for them in the government is bipartisan. In my hometown, Wal-Mart is the #1 employer since all the factories are dying. It's well known that even the slightest whiff of union talks in a store will cause them to close the whole thing down as they'd rather lose revenue in a small city for decades than ever have to bend on worker's rights and start a trend. What do you do?
 

cobainwasmurdered

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@909 i remember we talked about in chat what kind of playliists the biden presidency would provide us with in comparison to Obama and others. Sadly no Sinatra but Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and THE BOSS seem like actual Joe picks. I laughed at the New Radicals appearance.
 

snuffbox

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I'm sure the half dozen people still watching Fox are all shitting their depends over this CARAVAN
 

cobainwasmurdered

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On his first day in office alone, Mr. Biden intends a flurry of executive orders that will be partly substantive and partly symbolic. They include rescinding the travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries, rejoining the Paris climate change accord, extending pandemic-related limits on evictions and student loan payments, issuing a mask mandate for federal property and interstate travel and ordering agencies to figure out how to reunite children separated from families after crossing the border, according to a memo circulated on Saturday by Ron Klain, his incoming White House chief of staff, and obtained by The New York Times.

As well as the immigration stuff that's causing the gop to bring back the CARAVAN PANIC
 

snuffbox

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Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too is a really good record.

And thoughts and prayers for the pipeline.
 

Laz

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...Joe...I'm starting to kinda like you, Joe
 
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