Oh, while we're at it, lets not forget these business community sweeteners:
1. Employment at will. This concept is totally alien in most of the developed world. 2. No paid sick time (OK California and a few other states have made progress). 3. No limits on the maximum duration of the workweek. The EU's working time directive is a good start. 4. No paid vacation or family leave. The US is quite alone here as well. 5. Non-compete contracts where there is no severance pay guaranteed if you are laid off. 6. Binding arbitration which denies your right to trial without a jury.
Unless other countries adopt these business-friendly labor laws, a lot of jobs will remain here. Frankly, that has a snowball's chance in hell of happening.
You or your employer can part ways at any time for any reason. The rest of employment-at-will tilts the playing field to the employer. IMHO, the employment-at-will laws are in need of serious reform to restore a level playing field in the US.
Regarding salary history, AB168 (Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton) may make it illegal for employers to ask for salary history by 2018. Governor Brown vetoed a similar bill, AB1017 in 2015. AB1676 was signed into law in 2016 which partially addresses salary history when gender comes up.
I didn't say there should be no regulation or enforcement of labor laws for small businesses, and existing California labor law, I beleive is not to onerous given there are even more employee-friendly laws in most other advanced democracies.
Larger corps screw the workers in more indirect methods which present less liability to them. Fissured workplaces (contingent/temporary workers with no benefits), using H-1B body shops, buying off legislators for favorable laws, and using the courts to overturn what voters have willed to name a few.
California does give a damn about its working population. The asymmetrical negotiating advantage of employers needs to be balanced with statutes protecting the worker class from large multinational corporations. Sorry, the free market doesn't work well when the balance of power is so heavily tilted towards these large players. I do agree that small businesses should be subject to less regulation than the large multinationals though.
FIRE - Financially independent, retired early. It works, and will continue to work provided you have access to cost effective health care which does not disqualify you for pre-existing conditions.
That depends on which country you live in. Here in the US, quitting your job most likely means that you are ineligible for unemployment benefits. Now, if you can successfully argue that training your replacement is a form of constructive dismissal, then you may be able to receive benefits. In my opinion, both severance and unemployment benefits are so short term, they aren't worth worrying about. What really matters is having MONEY IN THE BANK. A nice cash cushion allows you to be choosy in accepting a new job, and you are negotiating from a position of strength. Employers prey on the faults of human nature, If more people had cash cushions, employers would not be able to get away with what they do today.
Let's see... If I was a terrorist, I'd have a pool of 100 or so smartphones ready to be cloned from a virgin image. When one needs to use a phone for a mission, I'd pull one randomly from the pool, install the image, and a never-used, new SIM card, and give it to the operative. When they are done with a mission, I'd wipe the phone, and return it to the pool.
If solicitors call you on the phone, DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. Tell that if you need a product or service, YOU will track it down yourself...
Part of the problem here is that most people acts as enable for telemarketers and advertisers. We should teach young people in elementary through high school to ignore telemarketers and advertisers, and track down the product or service you need yourself. If more people did this, they'd get better products and services, plus it would help solve the problem with robocalls the government is trying to solve. Folks, if it is telemarketed or advertised, then the product or service is probably inferior to what you can find with a little effort on your own. Also, very few products or services marketed in this manner are indispensable.
The car in test mode probably has a reduced level of performance. The way to combat this is to test performance against the performance specs on a random sample of 1-2 year old vehicles at the smog test station using a dynamometer.
For blatant environmental disregard such as this, the corporation should not offer protection to the officers and directors. The corporate veil should be pierced, and the state should go after the officers and directors both criminally and civilly. The corporate protection from liability should just be there to protect against legal action arising from unforeseen circumstances in the evolution of a company. In this case, the emissions rules were purposefully disregarded and, there should be a heavy price to pay for that.
I agree with your comments. The opulent minority needs to be controlled worldwide, they have too much power. In the US, it's almost like we need a new constitution to address this issue. There should be a mechanism in the constitution that starts limiting the protection of bill of rights for rich and privileged can do as they gain assets and become well-connected. I call this the "Reverse Animal Farm" constitution. This way there will be a burden associated with being too rich and powerful, and it will incent those that are to behave accordingly.
I know this sounds like we are not treating everyone equally, but I think it is the only way to get out of the current status quo.
The Star Chamber was established to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against socially and politically prominent people so powerful that ordinary courts would likely hesitate to convict them of their crimes.
The constitution would need to be modified, however.
Small claims court is an excellent way of extracting a "Pound of Flesh" without giving a lawyer one damn cent. If more people started doing this, Microsoft would have a real problem on their hands, and would be forced get electronic signatures to a EULA and include Binding Arbitration in that EULA.
A switch needs to be added to laptops and tablets to electrically turn off the microphone and camera by removing power to them. We can't trust software to do this, so it shouldn't be in a menu as a soft function.
Liberal or Conservative doesn't matter when an industries bottom line is at stake. When this happens, the trade associations mobilize, and lobby the state legislature to trash the proposed bill. Money talks, and sensible legislation walks!
Instead of right to repair, the current warranty offerings (90 days) are more like the right to throw away when it breaks and purchase a new product.
I can understand that some products due to their intricacy may be designed to not be serviceable by anyone but the manufacturer, but if that is the case, then a longer warranty period is justified to make up for the fact that it is unserviceable. I think the EU has the right idea with trading standards bureaus and statutory minimum warranty periods. (I will probably get arrows from my fellow America Citizens on this)
If I had the power to change things, this is what I would do:
1. Arbitration takes away our 7th amendment rights to access the courts for low to middle income persons. Arbitration should be optional, not mandatory, and only used when both parties agree. Encourage the use of small claims court system over arbitration.
2. Lawyers should not be able to take court cases on contingency. They should be required to take payment up-front. This will reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits filed in the court system.
3. We need to strengthen consumer protection agencies in this country. The Consumer Protection Financial Bureau is a good start, but we have a lot of toothless agencies which should either be reformed or replaced by agencies having the power to sanction businesses.
Are these the only profitable business models all we have left in this country? It certainly seems so. This is a despicable business. Such businesses should not be allowed to exist.
Once elected, congresspersons and senators can do what they please until the next election with no fear of recall. This means citizens have to vote them out in the next election cycle. Voters have short memories unless the transgression was particularly egregious.
There are two things missing at the federal level which would help ore representative government be more responsive to the peoples wishes:
1. Recall of congresspersons and senators with a 66% super majority. 2. Initiative and Referendum.
The businesses and people which hire day labour probably can't afford to challenge the app creator legally. What they could do is hire unscrupulous hacker groups to DDOS the app's servers, making the app very hard to use. This is the more likely scenario IMHO.
Semi-retired EE here. Where you reside in the US also has a lot to do with it. If you are in San Diego, CA, good luck finding a job if you are over 40. If you are in the bay area it is easier.
This apparent glut of EE's would go away very quickly if the US went to war with China or Russia as the talent pool would be split. Actually, this is a likely scenario, and instantly it would be a crisis for the US as we have outsourced much of our manufacturing base.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh, while we're at it, lets not forget these business community sweeteners:
1. Employment at will. This concept is totally alien in most of the developed world.
2. No paid sick time (OK California and a few other states have made progress).
3. No limits on the maximum duration of the workweek. The EU's working time directive is a good start.
4. No paid vacation or family leave. The US is quite alone here as well.
5. Non-compete contracts where there is no severance pay guaranteed if you are laid off.
6. Binding arbitration which denies your right to trial without a jury.
Unless other countries adopt these business-friendly labor laws, a lot of jobs will remain here. Frankly, that has a snowball's chance in hell of happening.
You or your employer can part ways at any time for any reason. The rest of employment-at-will tilts the playing field to the employer. IMHO, the employment-at-will laws are in need of serious reform to restore a level playing field in the US.
Regarding salary history, AB168 (Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton) may make it illegal for employers to ask for salary history by 2018. Governor Brown vetoed a similar bill, AB1017 in 2015. AB1676 was signed into law in 2016 which partially addresses salary history when gender comes up.
I didn't say there should be no regulation or enforcement of labor laws for small businesses, and existing California labor law, I beleive is not to onerous given there are even more employee-friendly laws in most other advanced democracies.
Larger corps screw the workers in more indirect methods which present less liability to them. Fissured workplaces (contingent/temporary workers with no benefits), using H-1B body shops, buying off legislators for favorable laws, and using the courts to overturn what voters have willed to name a few.
California does give a damn about its working population. The asymmetrical negotiating advantage of employers needs to be balanced with statutes protecting the worker class from large multinational corporations. Sorry, the free market doesn't work well when the balance of power is so heavily tilted towards these large players. I do agree that small businesses should be subject to less regulation than the large multinationals though.
FIRE - Financially independent, retired early. It works, and will continue to work provided you have access to cost effective health care which does not disqualify you for pre-existing conditions.
That depends on which country you live in. Here in the US, quitting your job most likely means that you are ineligible for unemployment benefits. Now, if you can successfully argue that training your replacement is a form of constructive dismissal, then you may be able to receive benefits. In my opinion, both severance and unemployment benefits are so short term, they aren't worth worrying about. What really matters is having MONEY IN THE BANK. A nice cash cushion allows you to be choosy in accepting a new job, and you are negotiating from a position of strength. Employers prey on the faults of human nature, If more people had cash cushions, employers would not be able to get away with what they do today.
Let's see... If I was a terrorist, I'd have a pool of 100 or so smartphones ready to be cloned from a virgin image. When one needs to use a phone for a mission, I'd pull one randomly from the pool, install the image, and a never-used, new SIM card, and give it to the operative. When they are done with a mission, I'd wipe the phone, and return it to the pool.
If solicitors call you on the phone, DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. Tell that if you need a product or service, YOU will track it down yourself...
Part of the problem here is that most people acts as enable for telemarketers and advertisers. We should teach young people in elementary through high school to ignore telemarketers and advertisers, and track down the product or service you need yourself. If more people did this, they'd get better products and services, plus it would help solve the problem with robocalls the government is trying to solve. Folks, if it is telemarketed or advertised, then the product or service is probably inferior to what you can find with a little effort on your own. Also, very few products or services marketed in this manner are indispensable.
The car in test mode probably has a reduced level of performance. The way to combat this is to test performance against the performance specs on a random sample of 1-2 year old vehicles at the smog test station using a dynamometer.
For blatant environmental disregard such as this, the corporation should not offer protection to the officers and directors. The corporate veil should be pierced, and the state should go after the officers and directors both criminally and civilly. The corporate protection from liability should just be there to protect against legal action arising from unforeseen circumstances in the evolution of a company. In this case, the emissions rules were purposefully disregarded and, there should be a heavy price to pay for that.
I agree with your comments. The opulent minority needs to be controlled worldwide, they have too much power. In the US, it's almost like we need a new constitution to address this issue. There should be a mechanism in the constitution that starts limiting the protection of bill of rights for rich and privileged can do as they gain assets and become well-connected. I call this the "Reverse Animal Farm" constitution. This way there will be a burden associated with being too rich and powerful, and it will incent those that are to behave accordingly.
I know this sounds like we are not treating everyone equally, but I think it is the only way to get out of the current status quo.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Chamber
The Star Chamber was established to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against socially and politically prominent people so powerful that ordinary courts would likely hesitate to convict them of their crimes.
The constitution would need to be modified, however.
Small claims court is an excellent way of extracting a "Pound of Flesh" without giving a lawyer one damn cent. If more people started doing this, Microsoft would have a real problem on their hands, and would be forced get electronic signatures to a EULA and include Binding Arbitration in that EULA.
A switch needs to be added to laptops and tablets to electrically turn off the microphone and camera by removing power to them. We can't trust software to do this, so it shouldn't be in a menu as a soft function.
Liberal or Conservative doesn't matter when an industries bottom line is at stake. When this happens, the trade associations mobilize, and lobby the state legislature to trash the proposed bill. Money talks, and sensible legislation walks!
Some states don't have initiative and referendum for issues like this. Texas, I'm talking to you!
I guess there will be a lot of $99.99 devices offered in CA then!
Instead of right to repair, the current warranty offerings (90 days) are more like the right to throw away when it breaks and purchase a new product.
I can understand that some products due to their intricacy may be designed to not be serviceable by anyone but the manufacturer, but if that is the case, then a longer warranty period is justified to make up for the fact that it is unserviceable. I think the EU has the right idea with trading standards bureaus and statutory minimum warranty periods. (I will probably get arrows from my fellow America Citizens on this)
If I had the power to change things, this is what I would do:
1. Arbitration takes away our 7th amendment rights to access the courts for low to middle income persons. Arbitration should be optional, not mandatory, and only used when both parties agree. Encourage the use of small claims court system over arbitration.
2. Lawyers should not be able to take court cases on contingency. They should be required to take payment up-front. This will reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits filed in the court system.
3. We need to strengthen consumer protection agencies in this country. The Consumer Protection Financial Bureau is a good start, but we have a lot of toothless agencies which should either be reformed or replaced by agencies having the power to sanction businesses.
Are these the only profitable business models all we have left in this country? It certainly seems so. This is a despicable business. Such businesses should not be allowed to exist.
Once elected, congresspersons and senators can do what they please until the next election with no fear of recall. This means citizens have to vote them out in the next election cycle. Voters have short memories unless the transgression was particularly egregious.
There are two things missing at the federal level which would help ore representative government be more responsive to the peoples wishes:
1. Recall of congresspersons and senators with a 66% super majority.
2. Initiative and Referendum.
The businesses and people which hire day labour probably can't afford to challenge the app creator legally. What they could do is hire unscrupulous hacker groups to DDOS the app's servers, making the app very hard to use. This is the more likely scenario IMHO.
Semi-retired EE here. Where you reside in the US also has a lot to do with it. If you are in San Diego, CA, good luck finding a job if you are over 40. If you are in the bay area it is easier.
This apparent glut of EE's would go away very quickly if the US went to war with China or Russia as the talent pool would be split. Actually, this is a likely scenario, and instantly it would be a crisis for the US as we have outsourced much of our manufacturing base.
Peppering content with ads also destroys the quality of the content by adding redundancy.