quixotic chaotic

Morning Sermon

They are stealing value from workers and can never be satisfied.

Raise the minimum wage. Save your weak opinion.

Raising the Minimum Wage Would Make Our Lives Better

Despite every moment of life being indescribably precious and a wondrous mystery, I will spend it caring about dividends and how many rental properties I have.

Rich people are truly dead inside. 

I can't imagine caring this much about numbers that absolutely will never impact my life. This person is making more in passive income than I've ever made in my life and he's just like "but but I need more :(".

I mean, fuck that guy, but psychologically it's interesting.

Some desperate remnant of his soul knows what he needs. As soon as his debt is cleared, he goes on to live what many would call an utterly charmed life: working no more than 20 hours a week, travelling and spending time with friends (which he, at $150,000 a year and no mortgage, has ample money to do). He has a loving relationship also.

But his brain is so rotten that he cannot understand happiness anymore. He is incapable of conceptualising it other than in money.

A man who has everything except the ability to feel it.

How poetic.

But fuck that guy.

I want to hit this man.

I want to rob this man.

Meow appears beside Rogue, holding a sign: "Heist? Heist."

This man is so so so close to realizing a fundamental truth to how humans operate, but I genuinely don’t think he’s going to get there. Although I’m not sure he realizes it this man views the money he earns as a direct translation of his sense of personal achievement and engagement. 

Which means that when he says he regrets the months he didn’t pick up more hours to earn more money, what he’s describing here is boredom. He’s doing it in the crassest, shallowest, most income-obsessed and unattainable for most of us way possible, yes. But this man is expressing that once he achieved a certain financial goal he relaxed, enjoyed himself, got bored, realized on some level he was understimulated, and then started working more hours to meet whatever stimulated activity threshold he personally needs. 

This is infuriating because this man experienced the counter-argument to that nonsensical talking point that if we meet people’s financial needs with a universal basic income they’ll grow lazy and won't do anything. 

Anyone trying to develop $200,000 in passive annual income is not working three minimum-wage jobs to live paycheck-to-paycheck. This man’s basic financial needs were met. Working more hours to make more money is just his own personal code for ‘I still needed to use my mind to do things’ (using what might be the only metric of personal achievement he might actually have). This man lived the argument for universal basic income and I genuinely don’t think he realizes that. Once his basic income needs were met he still needed to do things to keep himself stimulated and engaged with his own life.

You see a version of this play out with retirees who leave their jobs, go home, and very quickly find themselves in need of new activities or friends or engagements to keep them present and stimulated in their lives. Ensuring someone’s basic financial needs are met doesn’t make them stop doing things, humans don’t work that way.

Reblogging for the psychology lessons

There is, I believe, a line in an Agatha Christie story about a man so desperately unhappy he doesn’t know he’s unhappy. “Ah, a rich man,” responds the nun.

they do this so that they can prove people use the library, figure out what books are popular so they can make sure to get more like it or further entries in a series, and to figure out what times the library is more buisy while ive never killed a person in a library (yet) i do sometimes unshelve additional books to boost the statistics thus resulting in increased funding for the library, however small

A new mode of production arises out of the newly networked masses.

Fanartists:

Thingiverse users:

Royalty free sounds

Flash games

Productivity has always been there

Because shockingly when people enjoy what they do (you make it enjoyable instead of just hammering on them) people WANT to do things!

Fanfiction authors!!

Where is the button to shout this from the rooftop?

The only thing you check for is if someone else already asked for PTO in the same slot. That’s it.

My department fell apart 2 weeks ago when I took my PTO. we were already short handed, someone quit at the start of the week, and there was literally nobody to even call in to cover, so they were fucked. But that’s on corporate for refusing to hire enough people. That’s on corporate for thinking we need no overlap in our shifts, no midday people . That’s not my fault that I needed a specific week off, or even if I just WANTED it off. Businesses know what they need to do, it’s not on me to make things easy for a billion dollar corporation that doesn’t even give a shit about my store.

Word of advice kids: Don’t take workplace advice from someone who uses Scrooge McDuck lighting a cigar with a bank note as their user icon.

Find them here: https://waronwant.org/McStrike-near-me 

#McStrike

It’s McDonald’s, it’s not supposed to be a high paying job

People deserve to make enough to live on. That’s not up for debate. This idea that some jobs aren’t “supposed to” pay enough for people to get their needs met is bullshit. Nobody should be living in poverty.

Yes, but it’s McDonald’s. It’s not meant to be a job to support a family, it’s mainly for support for teens or side jobs.

No, it’s not. 

There is no such thing as a job “for teens” (and even if there was, they deserve a fair wage for their labor, too.) Nobody should get paid so little that they need “side jobs.” 

If your business model relies on paying people a wage that keeps them trapped in poverty, your business should not continue to exist. McDonald’s can afford to pay their workers a better wage, they’re choosing not to. 

Funny story- I am a manager at a Mc Donald’s. Do you know? We have a set limit of minors- teenagers- we can employ. It’s barely over a dozen. Most locations open at 6am… guess what, on week days minors cannot work before they are out of school, or before 730am if they are out of school (GED and the like) also 730am on weekends. Minors cannot work after 10pm on weekdays, and after Midnight on weekends. My location closes at 11pm Sunday to Thursday, and 1am on Friday and Saturday. Because of labor laws here, they may not have more than 20 hours a week, and cannot work more than 5 hours in a single day.

So no. This is absolutely not a job just for teens. We have a giant compactor that crushes and crushes our trash. If you’re not 18 you’re not allowed to operate it. Anything sharp? Are you 18? Can’t touch it. Being a manger? Are you out of high school and at least 18? Forget it.

And honestly, I wouldn’t make any of the kids at my job deal with our customers when they’re going feral. Do you know how bat shit y’all are?? I had a woman start crying because we ran out of the Mc Rib and caused a scene in my drive-thru for 10 minutes. I’ve had old men cussing me out because Corp decided to bump a senior coffee from .99 to 1.09. Though if you sit inside, which they all do for well over two hours every morning… refills are free.

We have a lady here who we call “Princess Diamond” because she’s so fucking entitled she gave us a bad review on the McVoice because we served a homeless man and he sat to close to her… which was across the entire goddamn lobby. Would you really want a teen trying to deal with this woman??

I sure as shit don’t. I don’t allow her to deal with most of my Crew, actually. I’m as nice as freaking sugar in your tea to her face but if she gets rude I start slamming her order down on the tray. And as my Crew knows, the sweeter my voice gets the more trouble your in. She doesn’t stay long on days were I start getting aggressive with her food.

Side tracked- but no. We have so many things that need to be done all day long that we can’t legally let a minor do. A sister location was just fined over $5,000.00 because of labor violations pertaining to minors.

Just pay us so we can live. Please. A lot of these teens are trying to move out and get into apartments. But if an apartment costs 800.00 in rent and that’s usually one of the two checks a month an adult gets. Maybe. That’s a struggle even for myself, and it’s just my roommate, our dumb cat, and me. No children. He has a worse paying job.

We just want to be able to live.

This goes for any minimum wage job. 

The minimum wage, when it was set in 1938 as the United States was coming out of the Depression, was intended to be the minimum you needed to be able to pay your bills and raise a family on a single income. Not this bullshit we have today. It’s as low as it is because it hasn’t kept up with inflation.

Like, not only is working in fast food one of the hardest fucking jobs because it’s hot, it’s dangerous, and it’s full of the worst customers, but it’s also disrespected constantly, and people don’t think you deserve to be able to pay your bills. 

Fuck that. 

Pay workers enough to live on with a single full time job. 

Any business that can’t? Shouldn’t exist. 

If you don’t support raising minimum wage to a living wage, MAKE YOUR OWN FUCKING MCMUFFIN AT 6AM YOU CANCEROUS CHUDLUMP

I’ve worked in fast food for over a year and there is essentially no pros. Many of my coworkers are 30+; many have college educations. Some of them are family to me. These aren’t bad people or stupid people or people who for whatever reason don’t deserve to afford to live after spending all day serving your lazy ass.

“Money can’t buy happiness!”

Me:

Hospitals are struggling for nurses right now because people are leaving the profession entirely or leaving for temporary travel contract positions that pay well. They have been treated poorly, underpaid for the work they do, and inadequately protected this year, and they’re done.

My brother in law said they’re advertising for a position in his normal unit, offering twice his salary. But they won’t offer him extra to stay after risking his life working in the COVID unit for months, so he’s out. It’s absolutely insulting, and so many industries are going to have a major reckoning coming up.

My father retired early because they refused to hire just one person to help with the work load. They had to hire 5 people to replace him.

This is a common occurrence amongst his retired coffee group.

One lady was a head nurse that ran two floor at her hospital. They wanted her to take on more work. She agreed to do so oy if they gave her a small raise and hired an assistant for her. They refused so she retired early. They had to replace her with 20 people.

You are NOT replaceable!!! They tell you this to make you complacent to their exploration of you.

My sister, a nurse who has risked her life this past year, just got offered a fifty cent raise. FIFTY. CENTS.

Yeah, she’s looking for a new job.

Source

even if the fraud was like 5% it wouldn’t compare to rich people cheating the system by trillions lmao

Also, SNAP “fraud” is like exchanging some of your stamps for cash to buy necessities you can’t buy with stamps, like soap or deodorant or tampons

TBH even if one hundred percent of people on food stamps were committing food stamp fraud I’d still be in favor of keeping the program around

Hey I wanna talk about this.

I work at a drug addiction counseling center. A ton of my clients have, at one time or another, sold their food stamps. This is basically exactly what the GOP is afraid of, right? Drug addicts selling their food stamps.

I have learned, now, to ask them WHY they sold their food stamps. Here is an incomplete list of the answers:

- I need tampons, and you can’t buy them with foodstamps

- See above RE: toilet paper

- I was living in a hotel with no kitchen then. I had to buy pre-prepared food

- The homeless shelter won’t let me keep food in my locker or room, so I have to buy pre-prepared food (Yes, really)

- I had to make rent

- My sister had to make rent

- My son had to make rent

- I needed co-pays to get my medication or I’ll die

- I needed co-pays to get my medication or I’ll loose control of my mental health

But the absolute most common form of food stamp fraud I see? Giving away food stamps to other family members who get no food stamps or insufficient food stamps to feed their families. I see that every month. People glassy eyed and hungry because they gave away their food to their adult kids, their grand kids, cousins, siblings etc.

So, is food stamp fraud rampant? In some places, yes. And I’m not about to chastise people for it.

reblogging because it’s still true and important

I think an extremely important part of mental health awareness and intervention is acknowledging that no, help isn’t actually always available. Or the “help” that is, isn’t actually helpful.

When I was 22 I hit a wall. I called the suicide hotline from my car so my roommates wouldn’t hear me crying. I explained that I could barely shower, feed, or dress myself. I needed immediate intervention.

They asked me if they could send an ambulance for me. They wanted to hospitalize me. I explained that I was a week away from finals. And graduation. If I were hospitalized, I couldn’t graduate. The inpatient program also didn’t allow phones or visitors, and I knew how disastrous it would be for me to lose contact with my family support system.

I didn’t need to be hospitalized. I needed daily solutions. Simple ones, even. I needed a few precooked meals in my fridge so I could use my menial energy to keep my body going. I needed a doctor to contact my school and ask if I could have some extensions on my class assignments. I neededna few excused absences so I could catch up on my lost sleep.

They told me there was an intensive program that allowed residents to live in an inpatient care facility and get daily help with tasks like eating, therapy, medication, and showering, while still leaving for work and school, but it cost $30,000. I told them half the reason I was calling them was because of my financial pressures and fear.

In about 10 minutes of back-and-forth, it became clear that they had no true solution for me. I could go into the hospital and an inpatient program which would interrupt my entire life, and which I knew did not create very good results and had traumatized some of my own friends, or, well, I couldn’t even go into debt for the other program. They didn’t accept any new patients without half of the cost upfront. So it wasn’t even an option.

No therapist or psychiatrists or social workers could fit me in for 3-8 weeks.

So I said thank you and hung up, emotionally spent. I felt utterly empty.

Sitting in my car I realized I had a choice, to live or to stop. Nobody was going to save me. Nobody was going to help.

So I went inside, and I cried myself to sleep, and when I woke up I still hadn’t made a choice. So then I did. I chose to live no matter how terrible, just in case things turned around down the road.

It was unspeakably difficult. I didn’t shower. I barely ate. I either slept too much or not enough.

But I did survive, and a year later I got with a therapist who started to make things a little lighter for me.

I still struggle now, but things are usually much better, and I’m glad I’m still here.

I just think it’s important to acknowledge that for many people, especially in rural areas, and for people without money, which is most people, that the “help is always available” line feels hollow. Because often times it isn’t, actually.

But that doesn’t mean there will never be.

Overall, we need to build an entirely new system for mental health support in this world.

But for now, ask yourself or your friend in crisis what might make things a little more bearable until help actually is available.

A meal? Emailing a professor? Clean laundry? What might make things a little lighter?

I know that on the very brink, things like this may seem totally pointlessnor trivial. But if you can’t stop yourself or someone from falling, sometimes the only way to save someone is with a softer landing.

We live in a society not an economy