#and only getting paid 7.25 an hr

[dollelujah]

we gotta get some UBI going or raise minimum wage or something these webcomics looking like shit out here

[chaotic-neutral-knitter]

tagged by @bizarrelittlemew and @krakenteacups! thank you!!

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no, but someone is named after me (accidentally) (it still counts though) 😌

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Tuesday

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? nope! never will.

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED? high school cross country and tennis. I did run a half marathon a few years ago, but got injured and I haven't run much since.

DO YOU USE SARCASM? yes but I have a compulsive need to explain inside jokes to people who weren't there for it and that also extends to clarifying whether or not I'm being sarcastic in situations where it may be ambiguous, so uh, yes with conditions lol.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? height! I am one of the shortest people in my extended family so I thought I was short my whole life and then I moved out of the midwest and I'm slightly taller than average here and it's WEIRD. every time someone older than me is shorter than me a part of my brain is still like "wait that's illegal"

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR? very pale hazel-y green

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings.

ANY TALENTS? compensating for my terrible short term memory by being VERY good at optimizing/streamlining/self-checking processes. this is very useful for all the pipetting I do. predicting murder mystery plots (solely based on story pacing, not clues) so well it irritates my partner. interpreting between friends with different communication styles.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? wouldn't you like to know, weather boy

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? writing, knitting, getting my partner to watch shows I have already watched, d&d, baking, spinning (sort of).

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? one cat and two step-cats.

HOW TALL ARE YOU? 170 cm / 5'7''

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? biochemistry, writing/English,

DREAM JOB? recently went through a whole personal crisis about defining myself by my career and realized I really just want a job that is emotionally neutral. if my job is tremendously personally important to me, that's very stressful! I just want to go to work, be useful, and then go home to the rest of my life. what I'm actually doing isn't that important. what I like doing is solving problems for other people, and you can do that in a lot of different ways. currently I'm doing that with recombinant protein engineering, but like... when I worked at a soft-serve ice cream shop in high school I was also pretty happy solving the problem of "not having ice cream" by serving people ice cream. the only issue with that job was that they only paid me $7.25/hr.

I'm tagging @emi--rose @neonpigeons @oatmilktruther @triflesandparsnips @veeagainsttheday @chocolatepot and @werewolf-transgenderism (sorry if you've already done it and I missed it!) and anyone else who wants to!

[toinfinitywinning]

What you see & hear- or even if you can. Just a cover.

Open it? There’s no tellin’ the worm. But you bought the ticket. It’s your Day 1.

They’re gonna try to break you.

Yk every Day I wake up. And I’m scared of it. Don’t want to. And not b/c im warm in my bed snuggling w/ my feather duvet and rain, with the weight of a horse on my legs play pretending he’s a 3 lb Show shhnowzaa but b/c I’ve already, already lived it. And having been in a constant State of fight or flight, normal or abnormal, sometimes u can’t tell —I still feel bad. W/e differentiation you had to separate the two both ended up at the North Pole but you’ve at least got Santa.

So this means I’m confused all Day but I still want some of Michael’s Secret Stuff Gatorade (haterade) from “welcome to the space jam—alright.” 🎵. To get me through. A safe energy drink. And your body doesn’t ☊ anymore so the more you talk to yourself the saner. It’s just I’ve never had to fake I’m physically okay to be present so much. Physical sickness affects ur mind Health and if you already struggle w/ that my condolences b/c your leg hurts too.

It’s a nightmare never 1-upping to a dream of being without. Then some days it’s will hear a song or remember a Good time or just Start crying-faucet not included. No acute-reason onset. (We gotta find another word for trigger no joke). I only subconsciously wonder will today be better…Will I get better? And I don’t know why I continue to continue being somewhere inbtw positive and negative. All the sudden my mind is taxed and so are your paychecks and I’ve been up for 15 minutes not even thinking I was thinking b/c Truth is, when something becomes your reality for such a Long time, everything just runs together. You’re afraid to feel anything yet know if you don’t it’s not just your body ready to atrophy. Not Good. And it’s a sneaky lil’ mf.

I can’t Imagine the omnipresent (best word for constant I got) Pain people feel having been with Illness their whole lives. How differently their world is shaped. Pain, prolonged cynicism, Illness prolonged, disability prolonged, w/e u used to think about things is gone unless you’re born one of these ways. Now to be clear I was born this Way but not THIS Way don’t get it twisted. Some days I wonder what it would be like to swap around. W/e it is—This presence does not belong to God— but maybe its mere existence really does b/c we won’t have anyone to thank if things get better? And there’s no joy in the things we’ve hoped for and overcome? And everything always has an End result of some kind…Right? If that’s my endgame I can only look at some things very matter of fact-ly. But. Here we are. Pending. Loading. Accept All Cookies. Your Health for potential healing is At the mercy of literally a button click away from quality or lifesaving or changing Medicine or therapy. CAN YOU AFFORD TO STAY ALIVE? Be fired? Bankrupt-ed? Evicted? No college, no trade School, but you work ur butt off to provide but you’re still paid $7.25/hr as I was as head intramural supervisor at Georgetown College. 15 years ago. Not just that, exist, like eating, clothes to wear, some sort of roof. So you’re choosing between crappy and crappier. Literally no difference. How in the is someone even going to try to stay healthy?!

Thankfully I don’t have to worry as much about the material, which, its Stress alone induces more trauma and Anxiety, but I’d bet how we feel physically isn’t too different. All the sudden again in the subconscious where I am all the time I’m figuring and not truly present you really think existentially like how in not God’s name clearly did I get here? I fixed everything. But Life isn’t played by a claw that has never won anybody a teddy bear. I wouldn’t pin karma to me in itself but it sure makes you think.

None of this is about to make sense but it’s where my mind took me.

Think about what was happening in your Life before things changed. Before literally waking up one Morning and knowing that very second things had to change or I was headed toward death a lot faster than I thought until that God moment. I don’t have many of them that are that dramatic but nothing was clearer to me in that moment. And then that Damn bat and conspiracy crap of government population control. If anthrax was sprinkled in Amazon boxes we’d be extinct. But Pretty sure we know how to get rid of people without breaking a beaker or test tube and then turning on a fan just gifting particles. And Unraveling ALL of the many ways of healing I’d finally lived into. I was so close. To every Fk up id invited. And so asking why anymore seems vacant. Echoing. And my ears hurt. ATP I’m More so saying well, I’m not sure that strategy is going to work anymore. Where’s the ღ in Health. It’s lost it. How much are you worth? No, like write down a monetary number on a piece of paper, fold it and slide it across the desk. Insurance companies be like: I see your offer and I’ll raise your offer: have you tried dying yet? B/c you could save a lot of money that way. The money it will take to bury you might even be more deadly.

So The most defeating part is beginning the Day as it ends. When I think about that it’s just like how did I get here? I’m still stubborn about it but maybe regardless of w/e someone accomplishes there’s the reality you’re still living in an imperfect world where you can only control so many things. Even if u gain that control back all those traps R still available. So you can Imagine my surprise when there’s not enough OCD to Go around to control THIS. regardless of what we can have control over, do that, b/c the smaller victories become magnified and walking to the kitchen to take your Meds that may or may not be helping is like an 8-ball w/ only 8 options. Eenie meenie miney. Mo.

I don’t set out to cry or tear up in the videos I share. I’ve always been a cryer. I’ve been told I feel things more intensely so it hits different, does different. The direct quote will remain anonymous but the sentimental pack rat in me wrote it down ASAP. Like, a handwritten letter. You took TIME for me. The quote—It was several years ago and I almost can’t stand it b/c it’s me in whatever kind of Shell is available at the time.

[“people perceive me as an individual who has the kindest of all hearts, but who struggles with the realities of life given that kindness…Like how the tenderhearted feel the pains of the earth more intensely.”]

It’s so true. But if I can’t be real what Good’s that gonna do? For me it further affirms what I already am living. In Edgar’s scary A** pit or with the company of not one canary in the coal mine.

C’ya in the AM. 🫡

[aparticularbandit]

Based on this post, I just want to pop off a little bit on translation. Specifically in reference to Bible translation.

Because like - the reason you see so many Bible translations comes down to whether the translators are word-for-word or whether they're going for translating the idea (which can come with a lot of bias based on what they think the idea is supposed to be, although word choice in a word-for-word can also be biased). And there's a wide spectrum of this, right? So some people will read segments across multiple translations to understand what's being said better.

And like you can run into footnotes that explain things!

I'm gonna pick on a specific instance because I've been in John 12 recently and this helped me a lot (now that I've actually, you know, the math of the thing).

So - in John 12:3, Mary annoints Jesus feet with "a pound of fragrant oil—pure and expensive nard" (HCSB). In John 12:4, Judas asks why she didn't sell it for 300 denarii, and the note says that a denarii is equal to a day's wage for a common laborer. Another states that 300 denarii is about a year's wages.

And like. I'd read the first note and think that's 300 days of work and then the second and if I was paying attention (I have not been, apparently), that's a year's worth of work. And it flies over my head.

But like.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25. Think of that as the base, the lowest we can get legally. (I know there are people who are paid less. I'm still using this as my base.) I don't know how much higher on the totem pole a common laborer would be, but so like - again, that's a base. It could be more! It also could be less. We're estimating here.

Assuming 52 weeks a year. 5 days a week. 8 hours a day. For a full year.

$7.25 × 8 hrs = $58 a day.

$58 × 5 days = $290 a week.

$290 × 52 weeks = $15,080 a year.

(That's before taxes and also 7 days a week over 52 weeks is only 364 days. But you get the point.)

Mary did what now.

Mary annointed Jesus' feet with oil that cost how much.

And this is like me making an estimate, please don't take my estimate as Scripture (when translating I tend to word-to-word for mental health reasons because I don't want to feel like I'm changing Scripture, you know).

But like - that's the difference between word-to-word and footnotes and localization.

And it is really about - what's the point of your translation? If its point is to help your reader have the greatest understanding of what's being written, how do you do that? How do you help your reader understand, to the greatest extent, what is going on here? What's its purpose?

And when translating Scripture, it's really hard to say what the best way of doing that is, particularly if you're wanting to avoid bias in a translation. Word-to-word might be better for that, but it can be rough to understand. As a reader, what are you sacrificing, what are you losing? Etc.

Anyway.

Thoughts.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

Valuate Yourselves Fuckers Responding directly to this. Man I remember seeing an artist spend days sculpting and making just the jewelry for a doll. The whole doll was a fuckhuge masterpiece that I even showed non-doll friends because of the craftsmanship. If I had the money, I'd have bought his fullset the day it went up for pre-order -- I still want that doll. $1700 dollars and worth every goddamn red cent because look at it, and I mean really LOOK.

Hello. Do you see the intricate beadwork on that thing? Done by hand. I watched it go down over the course of a week on my instagram feed- I didn't even KNOW this creator before I stumbled over their work in #bjdsales -- you wanna say this shit isn't worth $400 dollars? Buddy, there's $400 dollars in just the goddamn accessories, let alone the materials cost of the whole doll (which is absurdly large!) And time+materials is just scratching the SURFACE of how much to price your work!  (Seriously if anyone got this and changed their mind and doesn't mind an absurdly long layaway I will make you a modestly richer motherfucker.)

I'm gonna be upfront here -- $400 is   n o t h i n g   for professional work. At min wage -- specifically, $7.25/hr -- that is roughly 55 hours of work. That works for some things! Does not work for sculpting a whole-ass intricate sculpture that fuckening moves! Never mind that this is just valuation for time- not experience, certainly not materials, not the cost of casting and shipping and handling the logistics of getting your work from point A to point B -- because even if you've made some dolls, have you handled selling them to a global market? It is a NIGHTMARE and and guess what? Your payment goes into all that work, too. The only reason dolls are as affordable as they are -- and yeah, affordable, I said it -- is because of the number that are sold. If these were one-offs they'd be significantly more expensive to offset the costs incurred with the labor that goes into making them. 

And I'm not wealthy. I'm not rich. I'm not even well-off. I mean, most of us aren't, let's be real, welcome to the 'buying things I can't afford and budgeting to the cent each month because nothing matters anymore' club -- but I'm not saying this from a place of bootstrapped privilege. I can't afford a $400 doll without a layaway, let alone the glorious motherfucker above. Yet despite that, I'm here to say that $400 is hardly outrageous for one of these dolls. Basic pricing structure in most industries -- and it varies, this is an oversimplification, but hear me out- is to price things x3 your investment. Base price is the materials invested, doubled once for your time and effort, and again for what we call overhead, or 'the cost of doing business' -- and those with employees likely go x4 instead to cover their wages. That's not outrageous or excessive, that's literally just sustaining your business to keep creating down the road- and you want to turn to someone trying to make a living outside of the corporate hellscape we call society and say they aren't worth the bare fuckin' minimum? 

Nah. Charge more. Valuate yourselves, fuckers. If you're selling a handcrafted good, you aren't selling the materials. You're selling your knowledge, experience, and craftsmanship, as well as the materials, and the cost of shit like the electricity to run your 3D modeling program or turn on the lights so you can see your worktable. You are worth so much more than minimum wage -- we all are. 

$400 isn't too much for a doll, friend. We just internalize the message that we -- as people -- do not add value to the work we create, and charge accordingly, and why not? When everyone is struggling because no one has been paid enough for literal decades and there's no societal safety net to help anyone out of the fetid wastes of the American Nightmare (hello everyone outside of the US, I deeply envy your access to healthcare) it's easy to feel like asking for more than the bare minimum is selfish. But it's not.

So valuate yourselves, because no one else is gonna do it for you -- and you're worth it.  (And this applies to whatever it is you do, dolls or not.)

~Anonymous

[perfectlymassivetimetravel--blog]

You know the real bummer about working as a server/delivery driver in my current state is not only the minimum wage, but the fact that there isn't really anything I can go about it because all the corporations out here are franchises that are privately own. Like I get the whole spreading the word to people, because that's how they take advantage of there workers, but damn. The min here is 7.25, I get 2.50 plus tips if they decide to tip at all, and they are supposed to make up for tips as well to make sure my pay is 'fair', now my manager get paid 14/hr. And for sure fucking hates his job, but the issue is that we don't make enough money to get out. If you want to start a bank account you have to have at 59-500$ depending on the bank, in top of maintenance fees, that is the the way of them taking your money to give to other people.

............

The average person in this town has two jobs, plus a third side hustle and this down has gone down right fucking backwards. It is a retirement town, it's full of cops and military, it's full of old white people, and I think I see 3/20 wearing a mask. Half of them don't believe in COVID, because they either had "a very mild case" like the flu, probably cause it was the actual flu. Someone tried to tell me there is a difference between cops and pigs, but really there isn't. They are all people who signed up to be used and abused and then armed with weapons to use as they deem fit for any given situation, it like a matter of all things is whether or not they get caught, or how their mood strikes. There are no landlords here because everyone wants a quick buck, the person who supposably helped us we ended up giving the 16 hundred, then said that she was going to tow my car, because of the windshield. Now she going and making appointments with out consulting us, and then has the nerve to say that she's going to buy our food stamps from us, to help pay for the windshield. Taking our source of food, is not helping us, doing backwards appointments is not helping us, you wanna pro Bono fix my car fine, but don't act like what you're doing is a service. We have to pay 800/m in rent every first of the month, if not then it's an eviction notice, we had to pay 200 dollars for background checks, and it took them a month to get us in a already empty apartment. 800 for a two bedroom apartment, that I can't even keep my car in, because... Why?

I listened to someone justify throwing around the R-word, and they can't tell Hispanic/Latino peeps apart, to them everyone is Mexican, but the majority of them are Puerto Rican despite being as close as we are to Mexico not everyone who speaks Spanish is Mexican. They literally have flags on their phones, wallets, key chains, and such that small nugget of pride from where they came from and the vivid amount of disrespect is what makes me want to fight people. Also I have notice a difference in the light-skinned individuals who run with imposter syndrome, and carry themselves with white privilege, which ok, but you're not going to come at me out the side if your neck. You're curls maybe loose, but that doesn't mean your brain fell out of them. Like it really feels like the 18-1900's story you read about the "pretty" individuals who just lost their shit when they started dating white people.

So that's my rant if the week,

[lighthouse-system]

Dunkin trying to email me and asking me to come back so I thought I would just say a few things about them

They refuse breaks, even if you’re disabled. This includes lunch and even just sitting down for a sec. They also only schedule people for 8-12 hour shifts. (My unfortunate ass got a 13 hour shift once or twice)

Dunkin rarely pays their employees higher than minimum wage. The Dunkin I worked at paid nearly $10/hr in PA where minimum wage is $7.25/hr and that was seen as Very Unusual for the franchise.

The amount of sexual harassment i experienced was obscene. Had a manager caress me and all. And no, management did not do anything about it despite the interaction being on camera.

The managers take the baristas’ tips.

Your requests for holidays are rarely recognised.

As a customer

The majority of their syrups are a simple syrup recipe plus dairy to thicken. Just in case you wanna make your own.

If their bags of coffee are too expensive, they just use arabica beans so that substitutes fine.

Their donuts are just frozen microwaved donuts and decorated accordingly. The shelf life of them is about 6 hours, just remember that when they say they get the donuts in by truck at 4 am and you’re ordering a donut at 2 pm.

[justmelagain]

But here's the THING though...it's not JUST the minimum wage itself. See, most people who work for minimum wage DON'T get 40 hrs/wk, DON'T get insurance or benefits of any kind, DON'T get vaction/sick/PTO, & DON'T get paid holidays off. In my small town here, the cheapest apartment you can rent is $600/mo + $40/mo for water + $250 nonrefundable pet fee & $20/mo extra pet rent PER PET. And these places are not places most people want to live. I know, because I've lived at all of the ones at this rate here. Typical rent for anything decent is at least $1200/mo. Then there's electricity, internet, household supplies, groceries, car note/insurance. $7.25/hr @ 40 hrs/wk = $1160 before taxes. DO THE MATH. Rich people are SO FAR OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY. Paying senators minimum wage won't cut it entirely. MAKE THEM LIVE ON THIS MONEY IN THE REAL WORLD FOR 6 MONTHS. Only then would they actually get it.

[butchyena]

What's your old mangers details? Let's get them fired.

unfortunately i dont remember anything besides her first name, tho if i went thru the emails im sure i could find it. whats extra upsetting is during my interview she bragged about being “the face of the company” because she was one of those managers they send around the country to fix stores in need of it- so its also highly likely shes not AT the location anymore. (she also bragged about voting for trump, divorcing her husband and being “lucky” he 100% took the kids, and blatantly stated her DISTAIN for the fact the store raised the minimum starting pay from minimum wage (7.25) to 10, since “people are paid what theyre worth”)

its just extra super upsetting because HR and NO POINT in the process apologized to me, only ever apologizing that i “felt” that i was discriminated against and not- you know- outted at work and then fired

[diarrheaworldstarhiphop]

Hey Pratty babe, I wanted to ask a few questions about the amazon wage hike thing (I swear I’m not Bezos or an Amazon PR guy lol). So, I’m many states, the state minimum wage is not much more than the federal minimum ($7.25/hr), whereas some states have a state minimum of $15 already. So, if you live in a state where the minimum is already $15, that sucks, but amazon at least increased the salary by $1. If you lived elsewhere, say Oregon, and your wage went from $11.25 to $15/hr, you’re looking

(2/?) you’re looking at a pay increase of $3.75/hr, or about $7800 more in a year. If your monthly bonus was $650 or more before, then yeah you’re losing money, but that’s assuming you get that bonus every month. I’m only 22 (so inexperienced and stupid), but I’ve been working minimum wage jobs since I was 16. I’m a hard worker, so I could usually advocate for performance-based raises or bonuses, but there’s no one more creative than an employer justifying now giving you a merit-based raise.(3/3) As such, isn’t a guaranteed wage from an increased hourly rate better for the lower-tier workers than the promise of a potential bonus, especially when those bonuses could be slashed or taken away entirely at the drop of a hat? I work for tips, I know it’s a bit stressful not knowing how much you’re gonna make in a month, so I would think at the very least the increased financial security would be a good thing for worker mentality, especially when it means not appeasing a boss to get paid             

Yea, the bonuses are nice, but its not like you can budget ahead for months predicated on working at 110% 7 days a week, for the whole year. The bonuses incentivize productivity above your pay grade, some of them involved being given ONLY if the entire warehouse hit a target, which is like. next to impossible. Unless like, EVERYONE starts peeing in bottles to maximize productivity. lol

And also, of course, the loss of stock equity. which is like, you dont get to have a stake in the growth and profit of the company anymore also.

Anyway, the minimum wage hike  (by paying for it via slashing bonuses) is mostly political. To put ice on bad publicity as well as broadside efforts to unionize both at Amazon and in Whole foods, which it just acquired (forces union supports to find a new rallying cry around besides the fight for 15).

But additionally, it give amazon leverage against competitors to fill on new hires for seasonal work (christmas is coming up!) and retain them as amazon increases automation.

And the political nature of the raise is working. even bernie sanders praised it, which is like , lmao dude. Spoken like a tru guy who has never worked a real job a day in his life

[dubblebubbletea]

"Living Wage" and tips: a midnight dissertation

“Pay servers a living wage; lift the burden from customers. Tipping should be entirely optional, and reserved for above-average service.”

TL;DR "Living wage" is enough to make due for one person. I explain how and why I see this potentially being misused.

This will use stats for living in Georgia (my state). Georgia minimum wage is $5.15/hr; however, all states must follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr. A restaurant can utilize a “tip credit” of up to $5.12/hr, but ultimately is responsible for ensuring that even tipped employees are paid minimum wage if they do not make at least federal minimum wage after tips.

The average living wage in GA is defined as $15.34 per hour for a single, childless adult.

Salaries are not altered based on life circumstances such as age or number of children, so when one says “living wage” the term means “living wage for one single, childless adult.” In GA, “living wage” for one single adult with one single child jumps from $15.34 to $29.63.

It is known to be the responsibility of the individual to find a job that better serves their needs if their life circumstances require higher pay than their employer can offer. In some cases, one can apply for Government assistance, but it's well known that this assistance is difficult to obtain, can take years to procure, and can be taken away just as quickly.

Full-time work in the United States is typically defined as working 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year (which is year-round). There is no legal requirement for Paid Time Off in Georgia. There is also no legal requirement to pay more to account for age, weekends, holidays, or night shifts. By this model, if a Georgian works full time, and takes NO unpaid time off, their average “Living Wage” looks as so:

Annual: $31,940 Monthly: $2,662 Weekly: $614 Hourly: $15.36

“Living Wage” is- as acknowledged by MIT, where it was calculated- intended to be the money one needs to “get by.” It includes the expected price for bare minimum food, housing, and transportation, as well as other factors.

This $15.36 is not pleasant, but it is enough to get by for one single, childless adult, assuming they have perfect attendance to work and do not encounter illness, vehicle breakdown, or any other emergency.

This $15.36 will make ends meet for the server who earns it, but it will not help the server take care of anyone who is not at their table. It does not account for building savings, retirement, or investing. It does not account for health emergencies, accidents, or legal fees (including childcare or alimony). It does not account for mistakes a server might make at work, such as accepting a counterfeit bill (in GA, it is legal to require employees to repay their employer if they accept a counterfeit bill, so long as it does not make their earnings dip below minimum wage).

This “living wage” is no longer livable in the circumstance that the person making it finds themself caring for another person, such as an ill family member or child- outlined very well here by Congresswoman Katie Porter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WLuuCM6Ej0

Serving is considered a lucrative career for a variety of reasons. In most cases, it’s an entry-level job that requires no outside or ongoing education. It can be highly profitable with ease: if a server consistently has 4 tables per hour, and each table leaves only $5 in tips, that server will have made $20/hr. This is already almost $5 more than the “living wage” in GA. A server in populated areas can often find and apply to a restaurant with guest volume that suits them. It’s one of very, very few careers where an entry-level worker with no education can find multiple options all paying above living wage and varying in pace, volume, and expectations.

Once again, a “living wage” is enough to make ends meet, it is not enough to get ahead. An entry-level worker may choose a serving job where they make, on average, $41,600/yr($20/hr.) While they use $31,940($15.36/hr) to make ends meet, they use the other $9,660($4.64/hr) to save towards education (average yearly tuition in GA is $10,308).

While many servers will eventually move on to other occupations they consider more fulfilling, others will choose to serve as their primary job because of the high rate of pay and flexibility of the job. Serving jobs are also needed for some people to elevate their income (for example, a teacher who starts out on a $35,000/yr salary may choose to serve during the summer break).

By “abolishing tipping” and expecting restaurants to pay employees a “living wage” (as established by MIT) in Georgia, one makes room for restaurants to pay significantly less than a server would make otherwise. It is a difference great enough to prevent access to education for those of lower class who would not be capable of pursuing education while still making ends meet.

Furthermore, in Georgia, a business that pays employees at least minimum wage is permitted to forbid tipping whatsoever. A business is also allowed to forbid its employees from procuring outside employment, and it is allowed to prohibit employees from working overtime. All 3 of these actions can be terminable offenses, because Georgia is an At-Will state.

Tipping is currently the only money a customer can give an employee that 100% belongs to that employee. Auto-grat, service charges, and other fees legally belong to the restaurant, and can be granted or withheld as the owner sees fit (so long as the server is being paid the hourly wage they agreed upon).

When one says “pay servers a living wage, make tipping optional,” their intention is that a server will bring home a living wage, plus tips if they work hard and do a good job. The actuality is that it empowers even more businesses that are already shady to benefit from the PR of “paying a living wage, PLUS benefits*!” while monopolizing a server’s time and forbidding them from making more money unless granted permission by the employer. *Companies with a certain number of employees are required by law to offer healthcare benefits to full-time employees after a certain period; and yet, many restaurants will mislead customers and employees alike into believing that they offer benefits because they are a good company, and not because they are legally obligated to do so under the Affordable Care Act

This is often the case in fast-food restaurants, grocery stores, and other entry-level jobs. I have worked at (and quit) one grocery store and one full-service restaurant, both which paid a set amount hourly, did not allow tips, and forbid outside employment (moonlighting). While these jobs did pay above minimum wage, neither fulfilled my monetary needs and both prevented me from being capable of making more money than they provided- and they were legally entitled to do so.

In my case, I was able to leave both of these places to pursue waitressing, where I made an average of $30/hr. In an environment where employers pay a “living wage” and tips are optional, it potentially becomes much more difficult for someone without an education to make that very necessary transition.

To wrap this all up, I’d like to say that I believe all reasonable people who care about others want federal minimum wage to match (if not exceed) living wage.

However, it deeply concerns me when I read comments like “restaurants should pay servers a living wage, so customers don’t feel obligated to tip.” I feel even more concerned when I read statements like “abolish tip culture” or “tipping should only be for above-average service.”

I think it is extremely important that everyone who wants to abolish tip culture understands what a “living wage” is, who it is for, how it is applied in the workplace, and how far that living wage can actually stretch.

“Living wage” is, as defined, only enough to live off of. It’s not enough to thrive- to pursue education, travel, save, or retire.

And we United States servers know exactly how much effort, time, care, and attention is expected of us in order to earn our pay. The expectations of guests and bosses alike and not likely to lower if our pay does. We know the work we put in to earn thriving money, not just surviving money.

(Additionally, I leave this question, in response to the statement: “If people know servers make living wage, they will still tip.” Do you tip your cashiers? Do you tip your grocers, your baggers, your fast-food workers, or your restaurant’s cooks? Or do you reserve tipping for positions that polite society expects you to tip? If all restaurants began to advertise that they pay a “living wage,” in 10 years, how much would you be tipping your servers for fulfilling the basics of their job on a busy day when they can’t give you above-average service?

Whenever I read, “Servers in other countries are paid hourly,” I want to ask, how much do they make? Is it enough to live off of? Is it enough to thrive off of? What is expected of them, in comparison with servers here in the U.S.?)

*

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/21/15-minimum-wage-wont-cover-living-costs-for-many-americans.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/17/income-a-single-person-needs-to-get-by-in-every-us-state.html

https://livingwage.mit.edu/resources/Living-Wage-Users-Guide-Technical-Documentation-2021-12-28.pdf

https://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/georgia/

https://sos.ga.gov/index.php/corporations/what_georgia_employers_need_to_know

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-flsa-tipped-employees

https://www.legalconsumer.com/wage-and-hour-law/topic.php?TopicID=5&ST=GA

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28793677

[ohhoneato]

So I applied for a position at another location of the dog daycare I was working at at the beginning of the year, just to spite my boss.

Look at the starting wage of $9 an hour got me thinking. People can't live off less than $15/hr.

My girlfriend and I lived in Colorado while minimum wage was going from about $11.50 to $12 and let me tell you, we struggled.

We now live in Texas, where the minimum wage is $7.25. I've had a minimum wage job before and I made $200 BIWEEKLY. It very rarely went above $300 and that was when I worked overtime because I wasn't told my correct hours (I worked at Subway, don't work at Subway, I've never had a nice customer and I've never met a single person who had good experiences there). I was lucky enough to be living with my parents still at the time. NO ONE CAN LIVE OFF OF THAT.

It is literally impossible to live off of that. My girlfriend is making way more than she made in Colorado, $12/hr for those who forgot, at $19/hr we still cannot afford to live on our own. We live in a poverty stricken area with shootings every few days and we still can't afford to live here without help from someone else with a similar paycheck (our roommate makes $15/hr).

THAT'S BONKERS Y'ALL.

The government is trying to off us all by making it impossible to live off the wage they set as a requirement. And most states refuse to make it higher, but even those who make it higher still won't go high enough!

My labor, as it's hard for me to do most work and I put my all into whatever job I get, is worth far more than $7.25. It's worth more than $15/hr. We are worth more than this, but besides that, we deserve the right to live safely and comfortably. And by not raising the minimum wage the government is preventing that from happening.

There's nothing to stop jobs from only paying their employees the minimum and literally nothing more. Then that'll be taxed and the employee will barely even get paid at all!

Taxation of the poor is thievery and minimum wage is thievery, just pay us what we're actually worth and stop fucking around U.S. government!

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE TAX BRACKETS!

You make anything above $17/hr, you have to pay taxes instead of get returns when tax season comes around. And it puts you even further into poverty because now you have to save a bunch of that money, just to pay the government so they don't arrest you for not being able to pay your taxes. We didn't even realize because no one told us this. My girlfriend had to pay taxes this year. We are still in poverty, those taxes are supposed to help us too! Instead they hurt us even more, making it impossible to get out.

This goes back to the "tax the rich only" argument that's been going around the internet, but if taxes are supposed to help the people who need help, why the fuck are they making it so they can't get help?! Taxes are a huge thing in the way for those trying to get OUT of poverty and until we fix the bracket, they will only hurt anyone not super rich, including middle class. Everyone I know who is middle class is just barely middle class. My ex-friend's parents, who's dad is an engineer, one of the highest paying jobs on the market for those not in the 1%, is still lower middle class!

I'm tired of writing about this now, so I'm gonna just post it, but y'all get the idea. We're being screwed over by everyone.

[therealmarxistcamp]

Journal Entry

Unknown time, unknown date:

He says he's busy writing some kind of book, but he should just be writing for fun. As a therapeutic activity, a way to pass the time. I'm starting to look at things, "life" in general, or any isolated individual moment of time as part of a process.

It's amazing / incredible all the fun you can have with a couple pens and paper.

But what does that mean? "A process" What exactly does a process involve?

*Note to self that I or no one else will probably ever read: Add cricket bit to the curse story I'm working on.*

Apprehension. Comprehension. Reaction? A series of moments. . . .

I think of these individuals that confront me on a daily basis, under Capitalism, I could care less about them, whether they go to prison, live or die, it doesn't make a difference to me. I'm only concerned with my own existence and survival. Under Capitalism, their lives are so incidental. So transient. They come and go. They are all so concerned / busy getting theirs, that they don't have time to pay attention to others. Why even bother?

At least I always have pen and paper. Yes, ma’am, I think I have enough paper and ink to last me a lifetime. Or do I? How long is a lifetime?

Let's just say that I don't view the modes of existence "offered" to me by the capitalist system as desirable, as having anything to offer me but the uncertain promise of a monetary reward. And the idea of making a career out of this, writing, is absolutely ludicrous.

I don't, however, let this seeming apparent lack of ability to capitalize my actions define my efforts as a failure, because I don't look at success and failure on a typical materialist capitalist basis. The sciences can only deal with the individual on a purely materialist basis, his rough nutritional / biological needs are accounted for, yet this simple characterization of the individual reduces him to the status of no more than a draught animal; it robs him of his truly human character, but what of Man's intellectual and philosophical needs?

For better or for worse, I still have my "freedom."

"Oh, you got a ticket for speeding... 073mph in a 055mph zone back in may of 2001, that's unfortunate, but you can never run for president or hold any position of prominence, too bad. Looks like you got the short end of the stick."

--I think regardless of the fact that there is already a large volume of literature in existence, there is a demand for things that are written in the moment, if only to capture a fleeting essence of time and space (this is a privilege that was not afforded to our ancestors, to record such seemingly fleeting useless thoughts completely uncensored for all posterity to read)--I recommend we all make blogs. Form alternative socio-economic structures. As the means of production have been altered, it would be foolish to go about things as would be done in an industrial society, because the industrial era is over.

We are now living in the digital Era, experiencing a new technological revolution first hand, perhaps one even more fast moving and far reaching than the industrial revolution, and we must adapt and secure our means of subsistence on a digital medium rather than in an actual in-person medium. Those who stubbornly cling to the old ways of doing things will soon find themselves frustrated and, increasingly, consumers and producers will move to a digital marketplace. But, for a change of pace, Let us instead imagine, for once, a digital marketplace (but for the arts!) owned by society as a whole via the state,--with it’s own means of production-- in which the artist receives the whole of his labor rather than the Capitalist (!), paid for by democratic consent of the people. Such a website would be free for all to use, regardless of class or location. . . .

I suppose true freedom in a positive sense (the anarchists hold us Marxists to have such great positive definitions of freedom) is being able to use and dispose of my time and energies however I choose. In this moment, a portrait of Hegel screams out "I want. I want." Yes, even Hegel's great philosophic treatises are susceptible to criticism on the basis that they are the product of capitalist exploitation:

      "In a letter to Schelling, in which Hegel promises to send him a copy of the book, Hegel asks indulgence for the unsatisfactory character of the last parts of the work, and says, as if by way of explanation, that the 'composition of the book was concluded at midnight before the battle of Jena.' . . . The real explanation was much more commonplace. Hegel had made an unfortunate arrangement with his publisher. . . . Hegel, being much in need of the money, appealed in despair to his friend . . . and asked his good offices to urge the publisher to forward the money” (The Phenomenology of Mind, Dover Publications, translation by J. B. Baillie).

I wonder what his (Hegel's) soft spot was. What bare sensation had his life been reduced to? As the clock strikes 4:43am, the answer to that question becomes evident. He needs, if anything, his daily meal. How will he, today, secure his means of subsistence? On the contrary, I seek to create a piece of literature that exists completely independent of the Capitalist process. This is indeed a revolutionary undertaking. And I'm in no rush to sell my freedom to the capitalist for $7.25 / hr. (Minimum wage in Virginia).—Virginia, hardest place in The world to publish a book.

So, as the Capitalist world awakens, I go to sleep (not really), to further ponder these questions of consciousness. 

Source: Ashleymarx.blogspot.com

P.S. this post has since been edited several times, see Ashleymarx.blogspot.com for the full post.

[hangmanblog450]

So I found out recently that someone whom i thought of as being too mature to act like a mad teenager actually isn't, and i guess that gives me closure in a way; to know they're still the plucky teenager they used to be, and that they're still hooked on schmaltsy stuff...or whatever (Still got that rap song for a ringtone?) "No i moved on to the KKK." Oh, and what's w/ the cigarette brands that only some people have called "with", and "time". (that's like, psychological obstruction. Was it that one night-time comedian who suggested this? Do you just think anything you want has to do lindt, with anything you want??) Ha Ha Ha... They even left a used condom behind my car a couple months back (Oh, and wedding cookies taste better w/ bluebarrys?) Clear communication is so nice. (As was the teen spirit i could smell from her dress as she sat in the jeep.) Kind of like how hot dogs are just bad for you. Never, never...eat them from a public establishment. Just get em' from the store. Don't go to the hot dog rallies. Stay out of 'em. They're just a false distraction from the misery & despiar of evreyday life. I actually see a vender w/ a sign that say's "World's Best Hot Dogs" sometimes and i can't eat them. Some people just don't care what might happen; but i can see a risk there so...I've worked in 3 factories total; including being a 3rd shift stocker at a grocery store for a year, and overall some jobs are more tedious than others; some are hectic, physically involved, etc. and i've grown to appreciate the experience my staffing agency has provided me; yet I find a kind of dead-ass deja-vu (Or that walled-in feeling.) plagues the start up process for almost all my employment attempts. Even if it's a grocery store that has cobwebs of kindness that you go through don't get them in cooked form.

Humour aside; I sleep, I dream. I make up things i would never say. I say them very quietly. I doubt. I fear. I despiar. Stupid me. Almost all jobs in my area pay an average rate of $7.25/hr. I myself have only attended a community college for two years; however I can perform service-driven jobs efficiently for the most part. I feel like the economy here is flawed in a way; most places are rather stingy w/ hours and if you're applying to a competitive company you can only provide your info and then white-nose afterward for luck for so long before it starts to seem hopeless. There are supposed to be lots of programs for obtaining certifications/degrees; and helpful sources for info, and it's true there are; however i find most hospitals/banks/etc. value seniority more than anything as far as favoritism goes, and i believe this is the case in most factories, even.

My first factory job was akin to an adult day care, if that makes sense. Some employees would experience angry feelings and negative emotions, but the environment always felt safe as long as the boss was around. The one i had after that was also in a cramped environment; albeit to a slightly lesser extent; it almost felt like working in a gymnasium or something. The HR lady who i had at Blue Ridge Metals (who was amazing btw), tried to explain what new workers were going to be in for by telling them it would be like a bad marriage; where you have to "fake" it. (-shock-i only made it one day.)

From what i understand, this foundation operates in an extremely complicated manner; the front page lists easily over 23 major banks alone, and im just trying provide some context for anyone who ashley reads this.

Strange how you can get used to being upset. A somewhat strained realization coming 20 years late. Guess I'll leave it at that...or maybe we won't, right? You don't just refer a professer's name to a comedian; or thorough to hawthorne, etc. etc. etc. And; don't bail...right yet; you would never shoot a horse in the face w/ a mossburg. Some of the steaks im gettin' here lately taste like horse meat. Idk...maybe it's all the premium pine gettin' cut down. Maybe it's just the smell of faint bullshit my nostrals sense evrey time get a job in the precedent as well as past-tense; but it gets old. I actually tried to get a job just so I could buysum' a++/python/selkie books. And the guy in the leather jackit who smokes B&Ms & drives a duelie just vetoed (hope this post doesn't go viral) the idea of me gettin' paid so...yeah. That's life; i guess...

[escalonservices]

1099: A record that an entity or person that is not your employer paid you money. Freelancers and independent contractors often get a 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC from their clients to reflect payment.

ACA: More often referred to as Obamacare. Signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010, it includes policies intended to extend health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans through initiatives such as expanding Medicaid eligibility and launching a healthcare marketplace.

ACH: Automated Clearing House, a network that coordinates electronic payments and automated money transfers. ACH is a method for moving money among banks without using cash, a wire transfer, physical check or credit card network.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.

Applicant tracking system: Software that enables electronic handling of hiring needs.

At-will employment: An at-will employee can be fired at any time and for any reason, with a few illegal exceptions. The employer doesn’t need good cause to terminate your job. Federal exceptions are firing an employee for obeying the law, or if oral or written policies imply a certain termination policy or job security.

Background check: Also referred to as pre-employment screening; may comprise screening services like a drug screening, skills assessment and behavioral assessment tools. A background check also verifies factual information about prospective hires, such as their identity, education and work credentials. It may also include a criminal history check, credit history check or driving record check.

Benefits: Benefits are a form of compensation paid by employers to employees over and above the amount of pay specified as a base salary or hourly rate of pay. Benefits are a portion of a total compensation package for employees.

COBRA: Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 mandates employers with 20 or more employees that offer health care benefits must offer a continuing coverage option to those who lose their benefits due to a reduction in hours, termination, etc. COBRA compliance violations can cause significant penalties.

Compensation: The monetary benefit given to an employee or worker providing services to an organization. Compensation includes components like salary and benefits.

Deductions: A payroll deduction plan is when an employer withholds money from an employee’s paycheck and may be voluntary or involuntary. An example of an involuntary payroll deduction plan is employers’ requirement by law to withhold money for Social Security and Medicare. An example of a voluntary payroll deduction plan is when employees opt in for certain purposes, such as saving toward their retirement plan.

Department of Labor (DOL): A federal agency established in 1913, responsible for enforcing federal labor standards and occupational safety.

Direct Deposit: An electronic funds transfer that deposits an employee’s wages directly into their bank account.

Employee (vs. independent contractor): An employee is a person employed for wages or salary. An independent contractor is someone who operates under a business name or under their own name and may have their own employees, a separate business checking account, may advertise their services, provide invoices for work completed, have more than one client, their own tools, establish their own hours and keep their own business records. The IRS defines a person as an independent contractor “if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.” Independent contractors must pay their own Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC): The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination.

Essential job functions: This term refers to the fundamental duties of a position: the things a person holding the job absolutely must be able to do. Essential job functions are used to determine the rights of an employee with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Exempt (and non-exempt) employees: An “exempt employee” refers to a category of employees defined in the Fair Labor Standards Act and applies to employees who don’t receive overtime pay or qualify for minimum wage. When an employee is exempt, it essentially means that they are exempt from receiving overtime pay. Nonexempt employees are those who are entitled to earn the federal minimum wage and qualify for overtime pay.

Exit interview: A survey conducted with an individual who is separating from an organization.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): A U.S. law meant to protect workers against certain unfair pay practices with regulations pertaining to minimum wages, overtime pay requirements, limitations on child labor and interstate commerce employment.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): A U.S. labor law enacted in 1993 requiring covered employers to offer employees job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons.

FICA: The Federal Insurance Contributions Act is a federal law that requires employers to withhold three different types of employment taxes from employees’ paychecks. These comprise Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes.

Full-time (and part-time): Generally, part-time employees work fewer hours than full-time employees. Part-time positions may comprise inconsistent hours, fewer responsibilities and limited benefits. However, the Affordable Care Act deems part-time workers as employees who work fewer than 30 hours per week. There is no universal amount of time specified for part-time employment.

FUTA: An acronym for the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, it is one of the taxes employers have to pay as part of payroll taxes. At the time of publication, the tax is 6% on an employee’s first $7,000; any wages above $7,000 are not taxed.

Garnishment: A payroll garnishment happens when a court issues an order requiring an employer to withhold a certain amount from an employee’s paycheck and send it directly to the organization or person owed money, until the debt is fully paid.

Gross pay: This is the amount of money owed to an employee before withholding taxes and other deductions.

Hourly: If an employee receives hourly wages rather than salary, their pay is dependent on how many hours they have worked during that pay period.

Imputed income: The value of non-monetary compensation given to employees in the form of fringe benefits. This income is added to an employee’s gross wages so employment taxes can be withheld.

Income tax: A type of tax governments impose on income generated by businesses and individuals within their jurisdiction. Business income taxes apply to corporations, partnerships, small businesses, and people who are self-employed. Personal income tax is a type of income tax that is levied on an individual’s wages, salaries, and other types of income.

Minimum wage: The federal minimum wage provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws.

Net pay: An employee’s earnings after all deductions are taken out.

Non-compete agreement: A written legal contract between an employer and employee that establishes terms and conditions about the employee’s ability to work in the same industry and with competitors upon termination of employment.

Nonexempt: Workers who are entitled to earn the federal minimum wage and qualify for overtime pay.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): The federal agency responsible for enforcing workplace safety rules. HR teams often oversee OSHA compliance.

Overtime: Employees who work more than 40 hours a week are entitled to a higher rate of pay for the additional work. This is termed overtime pay. Federal overtime laws require employers to pay certain employees who work more than 40 hours in a week at least time and a half for the extra time.

Pay period: A recurring length of time over which employee time is recorded and paid.

Payroll: Payroll is the function of a business paying its employees. Payroll processing involves calculating total wage earnings, withholding deductions, filing payroll taxes and delivering payment

Performance review: A formal assessment in which a manager evaluates an employee’s work performance, identifies strengths and weaknesses, offers feedback and sets goals for future performance.

Quarterly federal taxes: If the IRS classifies you as self-employed, you are required to file an annual federal income tax return and pay estimated quarterly taxes on Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals. Estimated quarterly taxes are a prepayment of Social Security, Medicare and federal income taxes that self-employed individuals must pay because these workers do not have an employer to withhold taxes from a payroll check. The requirement to pay taxes quarterly ensures that you don’t let your tax obligation get away from you and end up unable to pay your taxes when you file your annual return.

Reimbursements: Money paid back to an employee who made an out-of-pocket expense to achieve company goals.

Taxable Income: The portion of your total income that can be taxed. Generally, it includes some or all items of income and is reduced by expenses and other deductions.

W2: IRS Form W-2 is the annual “wage and tax statement” that reports your taxable income earned from an employer to you and to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The form also includes taxes withheld from your pay, as well as Social Security and Medicare payments made on your behalf by both you and your employer.

W4: Employees complete the IRS Form W-4 so employers know how much money to withhold from their paycheck for federal taxes.

Withholding: Payroll tax withholding transpires when employers withhold a portion of an employee’s gross wages for taxes. Payroll withholding is mandatory when you have employees; the amount withheld is based on the employee’s income.

Workers’ compensation: A form of insurance offered to employees when they experience an on-the-job injury. It is mandatory for almost all employers in the U.S.

Originally published at https://blog.escalon.services

[midnightsmirror]

This seems to be what employers don't understand, people don't want to work for starvation wages and no benefits. Our money already doesn't stretch far due to inflation and wages have been stagnant my whole adult life. I'm educated, have multiple licenses with the state, and work hard to move up and get no where due to nepotism winning over hard work. I've been told I'm the best, but will be passed over due to a friend applying for a promotion instead. Fine. I'll leave and try again. I'm not working hard to be taken advantage of, I'm not afraid of leaving. That being said, sure there are a ton of jobs available. I'm not going to take a $7.25/hr job when I'm this skilled. It's not people don't want to work. It's people don't want to work a job where you're treated less than by the public, not paid fairly, and not getting benefits. No one should have to work three jobs to live. There was a time a single 40 hour job could sustain a family of four or more and able to afford middle class lifestyle- house ownership, car, gas, utilities, new appliances as needed, healthcare, food, clothes, a yearly family vacation. Not only can a 40 hour job no longer give you a middle class lifestyle, it can barely (if at all) cover the bare essentials- food and shelter. So, yeah, get out of here with your, "no one wants to work shit". You insisted we go to college and get educated as it was the only way to succeed, not realizing that means we're too smart to accept certain indentured servitude. Kick rocks.