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Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:40 am
by DigitalGypsy66
My employer - not giving raises again this year - is giving us gift cards to use with most local businesses. That's kind of a neat way to get money back into the local community, and not to Amazon, Wally World, or my savings account (like I've done with most of my stimmy funds).

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:43 am
by Morkle
Funny enough - I have someone who's family that's a nurse who actually went to work in Lancaster because they were offering so much money to go there. She signed a 2 or 3 year contract, I can't remember. She has full intentions of coming back, but she felt that time was worth the money.

One of her main reasonings for that area, is that it's just undesirable to live, and they have to pay more to get over the fact that places in cities are hiring as well.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:44 am
by Morkle
My employer - not giving raises again this year - is giving us gift cards to use with most local businesses. That's kind of a neat way to get money back into the local community, and not to Amazon, Wally World, or my savings account (like I've done with most of my stimmy funds).
I guess I would be grateful for the company providing, but if it's reported as income, let me spend the money as I see fit.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:48 am
by NAN
My employer - not giving raises again this year - is giving us gift cards to use with most local businesses. That's kind of a neat way to get money back into the local community, and not to Amazon, Wally World, or my savings account (like I've done with most of my stimmy funds).
For teacher appreciation week, we did the same. We got the teachers gift cards to local businesses that we know they like to go to instead of buying Amazon or Target or anything like that.

I think that is a good idea.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:48 am
by shafnutz05
That has been the general thought about the staffing crisis in our industry. That once the stimulus checks/unemployment benefits finally dry up, it will force people to reenter the workforce. It has been brutal lately.
I don't understand this (the sentiment, not you in particular, shaf).

Stimulus checks are gone. They were a paltry sum to begin with. I'm impressed if people are living on those amounts that were given to them over the course of the last year. Maybe the continual breeder funds have kicked in but you have to think that's a net zero when you consider the cost of having a kid.
Unemployment is also a very small sum. The $600 CARES Act plus up is long gone. Regular unemployment pays a fraction of what your prior wages were.
Do you really want people in your workforce that are okay with having the bare minimum quality of life just so they can avoid work?

Either a lot of people are incredibly frugal and milking the last bit of stimulus savings they were able to amass, or there is something else at play. I can only think of two things; lots of people are still not paying rent which won't bump earnings but will help the cash flow, or people are pushing a narrative because they don't like other people getting handouts. This despite everyone getting the stimulus, and unemployment being insurance.
:thumb:

I agree, and I think our leadership team is wishfully thinking on this.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:49 am
by tifosi77
If you want some light entertainment, seek out the John Cox ads for the Gov Newsom recall effort. As if they didn't face an uphill battle in the recall as it was, the ads seem tailor made to say "Do not regard me as a serious person who should run the 5th largest economy in the world". He has an actual bear in the ad with him.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:49 am
by Gaucho
I've seen that and it's a shame the bear didn't maim him.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 12:51 pm
by Freddy Rumsen
nm

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 12:52 pm
by Freddy Rumsen
Source of the post Out of three stimuli I received somewhere around $15k total.
Do you believe this to be "the norm"?
No, I was just providing a number to go by (and I've been corrected that it was actually closer to $18k).

Besides I don't know anyone who would consider that enough to live off of for very long.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 3:55 pm
by CBear3
Source of the post Out of three stimuli I received somewhere around $15k total.
Do you believe this to be "the norm"?
No, I was just providing a number to go by (and I've been corrected that it was actually closer to $18k).

Besides I don't know anyone who would consider that enough to live off of for very long.
Right. Sure that's a big chunk of money, but its not what a family of 6 can live off of for very long.
Which is really all I was getting at too (thanks for the thoughts @NAN). Even if the pandemic didn't hurt your bottom line its not an incredibly large sum of money for most people, and if the pandemic did hurt your bottom line chances are the money just allowed you not to worry as much.

I tend to think that while some of the worker shortage is because of stimulus and unemployment aid, there's a different workforce shift at play.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 4:02 pm
by dodint
My wife didn't regain the workforce after taking the stimmy and unemployment funds. But she's in school again, about to graduate, and has been offered two positions in her field. So in a way she is kind of that unicorn who did take the pandemic to improve her station. That said, the only reason it worked that way is that I earn enough to keep us covered in the meantime. And we don't have a mortgage.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 5:28 pm
by CBear3
My wife didn't regain the workforce after taking the stimmy and unemployment funds. But she's in school again, about to graduate, and has been offered two positions in her field. So in a way she is kind of that unicorn who did take the pandemic to improve her station. That said, the only reason it worked that way is that I earn enough to keep us covered in the meantime. And we don't have a mortgage.
But you do have a crippling and costly addiction

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:01 pm
by Shyster
For those of you in Allegheny County, you can access the Allegheny County Bar Association's judicial ratings for the upcoming election at https://www.judicialvote2021.org/. Note that the candidates representing some of the longstanding local political families (e.g., Wagner, Costa, Flaherty) are rated either "Not Recommended At This Time" or Unqualified." I would imagine some of those folks are going to end up on the bench just due to name recognition.

You can also see statewide judicial ratings for the Supreme, Superior, and Commonwealth Court races at http://pavotesmart.com/. If you're a Republican, I can highly recommend Judge Kevin Brobson for the PA Supreme Court. I've argued several cases in front of Judge Brobson and attended several CLE programs where he was a presenter, and he's always impressed me with his attention to detail and good questions. (That he's also ruled for my clients doesn't hurt either). I thought years ago, "I hope this guy runs for the Supreme Court one day," and he now is.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 9:04 pm
by Freddy Rumsen
PEORIA (HOI) — Fire investigators say an early morning blaze at Women’s Care Center in Peoria was intentionally set and is being considered an arson fire.

The Peoria Fire Department responded to the fire at 7319 N. University at around 2:40 a.m. Monday, according to a press release.

When crews arrived on scene, they found heavy fire coming from the windows in front of the building.

Crews then advanced their lines and extinguished the blaze. The scene was under control by 3 a.m., according to the release.

The fire was mostly contained to the one large room, according to the release.

The PFD is estimating damages at $250,000.
https://hoiabc.com/2021/05/03/fire-offi ... nally-set/

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 6:16 am
by Freddy Rumsen
It's hard to contemplate how much Labour was murdered.


Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 10:05 am
by faftorial
The guy is climbing up the sign to jack up the prices as we speak:

BREAKING: Ransomware attack leads to shutdown of key pipeline system, U.S. official says. The system carries 45% of fuel consumed on East Coast.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 11:11 am
by Morkle
This should be mega breaking news, honestly.

While Donald Trump was still president, the Department of Justice obtained the phone records of Washington Post journalists from their time covering Russia’s 2016 election interference, the newspaper revealed on Friday.

“We are deeply troubled by this use of government power to seek access to the communications of journalists,” Cameron Barr, thePost’s acting executive director, said in a statement. “The Department of Justice should immediately make clear its reasons for this intrusion into the activities of reporters doing their jobs, an activity protected under the First Amendment.”

In letters to threePost reporters, the Justice Department said they were “hereby notified that pursuant to legal process the United States Department of Justice received toll records associated with the following telephone numbers for the period from April 15, 2017 to July 31, 2017.”

The letters then listed the reporters’ work, home, and cell phone numbers.

Throughout his time in office, Mr Trump obsessively defended himself from accusations that he had colluded with Russia to secure his 2016 election victory. In the process, he attempted to discredit much of the mainstream news media as “fake news.”

It is not yet clear whether the monitoring of the Post was part of that effort.

According to the newspaper, the request for the reporters’ phone records – and an unsuccessful request for their email records – occurred in 2020, when William Barr was still attorney general. The Post said Mr Barr had not yet responded to their request for comment.
Barr trying to wiretap and get email records from reporters for the Russia investigation.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 11:24 am
by Freddy Rumsen
Must have learned that from Obama and Bush.
The Department of Justice secretly obtained phone records for reporters and editors who work for the Associated Press news agency, including records for the home phones and cell phones of individual journalists, according to the AP, in what the agency characterized as "serious interference with AP's constitutional rights to gather and report the news."

The records, covering all of April and May 2012, were seized by the DoJ earlier this year and covered more than 20 separate phone lines. The records listed outgoing calls for both the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, as well as the general phone lines for AP bureaus in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and a main number used by AP reporters in the House of Representatives.
https://www.wired.com/2013/05/doj-got-r ... e-records/

Here's Bush's war on the press.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues ... the-press/

Probably could find examples from Clinton and HW and Reagan. Obviously Nixon.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 11:43 am
by dodint
Anyone else see the swiftness of that reply coming?

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 11:44 am
by faftorial
Yes

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 11:46 am
by Freddy Rumsen
I mean the government abusing their power against private citizens is a tradition going back to Shays Rebellion.

It's almost like giving authority and power to the Executive branch is a bad idea.

Maybe we should take it away from the GOP and DNC since they've proven themselves incapable of using it properly.

Just a thought. Though the idea that "my set of politicians won't do that" is obviously an intriguing idea...

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 12:31 pm
by willeyeam
Lol

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 1:12 pm
by shmenguin
No real way to tell if this Trump guy was a good or bad president. The more you think about it, the more he seems just like Obama.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 1:14 pm
by PFiDC
Shays rebellion. Classic Freddy.

Politics And Current Events

Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 1:15 pm
by Freddy Rumsen
Trump was worse than Obama in almost every way, outside drone strikes.