Weave

You assume that compassionate capitalism would prevail without global pressures? I won't. More realistic, IMO, is that the rise of T. Boone Pickens and "Shareholder Rights" is what led us down the path of cutting employees off. We didn't see these kinds of things until Pickens showed the world that stock prices and dividends could go through the roof with heavy cost cutting measures including substituting direct hire employees for contract labor. His battle cry of shareholder rights and shareholder value is still corporate-speak today. And his methods are still in common usage. You want to explore the movement to outsourced labor, do some research on Mr. Pickens' tactics. He forced boards to cut costs under the threat of hostile takeover, and in the process led a movement towards short term share value over long term performance. Actually, that's not quite right. We've seen plenty of pre-1980's examples of the worlds capitalists take advantage of those that work for them. Thinking Robber Barons and the lead up to the union movement. Employers taking advantage of their employees as much as they can legally is as old as capitalism itself. Really, the only period of relief from it was during the union era, now that I think about it. IMO we're entering the second era of the Robber Baron.

I really hate the word "lie" here. This sort of word choice is why we cannot have good conversations on social media. Lie implies a level of intended misrepresentation that I seriously doubt PA intends. There is no reason to assume the worst. Instead of lie, a less confrontational and less accusatory word is better used here.

Don't know how accurate these numbers are, but if they are, it justifies the strong response.

The dirty little secret that’s never been touched is, outsourcing to domestic contract agencies and service providers have done just as much to undermine the American worker as outsourcing manufacturing to low wage countries. It used to be that a gig in the auto industry, defense industry, and aerospace was an enviable gig for a white collar worker and on the floor technical people, but around 1990 all of those industries went to a model that let go direct hire employees and replaced them with employees from contract agencies and contracted technical service companies. Wages and benefits in those situations are a fraction of what they were for direct hire employees. And it’s quite widespread. And its never been discussed at any meaningful level.

Well, there is no entertainment value in that.

I don't know anyone who has a problem with Bezos being wealthy. What people do have a problem with is Bezos overseeing a company that has schemed to use non-employees in ways that are almost predatory and exploitive in nature, operated a company that has avoided income taxes, and use predatory and exploitive tactics with their suppliers. It's not the wealth. It's all the people you are stepping on to acquire it. By contrast, I've never perceived hate for Elon Musk. His companies don't have the exploitive reputation that Amazon has.

Very aware of all this. The strongest reaction I have to it is a yawn.

It’s most likely the sheer mediocrity of the move.

Corporations can borrow against their assets at minimal interest rates. Other than a very select few, people don’t have that option. I have no issue with peoples tax money being used to buoy actual people.

That sounds nice but it really depends on everyone else’s common sense as well.

Well, this just scared the ***** out of me.

I've also read that the first documented cases were in US military barracks, suggesting that it started in the US. There isn't enough information to pin it down to any particular area.

If you see it, quote it. I don’t see it.

And this went unmoderated? It's hard to defend the moderation as unbiased when this happen. *shakes head*

And the woo comes out into the day light.

Wake me when it's over.

I know Live Nation has paused all active tours. This is going to trash the Summer concert schedule.

I think that is an early Corona virus symptom. #notenoughteststofindout

That's just like, your agenda, man.

I know there are alot of people that don't have the resources that I have. I made it work. It cost me my mental health in the process.

Agreed. But sometimes a hand is needed. You're doing some serious judging here. There is no reason to look down on someone when they need a hand. A consequence of my situation is, my retirement savings are hosed. I may be able to dig myself out of a hole now, but I won't have the flexibility to deal with setbacks when I am older. I'll probably need outside help if things go south at some point during my post working years. So, I may be in the same shoes as the people you are looking down your nose at now.

Why in heaven's name would we try to reinvent the wheel when the world has already given us the Traveling Wilbury's, Crosby Stlls Nash and Young, and Cream?

Your overall point is very narrow minded. It lacks the perspective of other experiences. Here's an example. Not a fictional one. It's my example. 3 college degrees. 25 years in the automotive industry. Single income household. Not middle management. I'm an engineer. In 2010 during the worst of the Great Recession my employer closed our facility. I've got 25 yrs experience and 3 degrees. I should be fine, right? I mean, if you work hard you'll find the opportunities, I suppose. I spent 5 years passing form lousy job to lousy job borrowing money from my 401K to make ends meet. After staying home to raise a family for 15 years, my wife went to work as well, part time at first, full time more recently. Most of that time she was making minimum wage. After 5 years of dwindling savings I finally found a job that paid what the automotive industry paid me half way through my career. Over the next 4 years I worked my way back to being paid what I was paid when I left the automotive industry. Life's good. You work hard and good things happen, right? First week of January my current employer announced that they are shutting our doors in September. I've got a choice. Relocate to a much higher cost of living area of the country or stay home and potentially go through what I went through in 2010-2016. According to Hank, I need to pull my bootstraps up and move to CT. Here's the kick. If this friggin Corona virus thing doesn't postpone it, in 2 weeks my father is going in for testing to determine if he has colon cancer. So, in 2 weeks I may have to make the ugly choice whether to risk the local job market and help care for my father, or move to CT. If you haven't noticed, the economy is crashing right about now, making my employment prospects dicey. And I'm 52. If you haven't been on a job search at that age, discrimination is real. So, in less than 10 years a guy who has 3 degrees, a 30 yr history of work experience, and marketable skills may very well need to rely on part time hours to supplement a work situation gone south for the second time in 10 years. I'm not sure what life choice I made, or what I needed to work harder on to prevent being in a situation where I might need to depend on the goodwill of an employer to get out of a bag I didn't make. Sometimes ***** just happens. For the guy/gal who chose to work on the production floor out of school, their options are even less than mine in the same situation.

You don’t say?

We are definitely a society that is only concerned with ourselves. We can’t even get the masses to stay home and avoid public gatherings to slow this thing.