Time at current employer?

[RadicalModerate]

A long time ago people dreamed of the future where robots and automation would be able to do half our jobs. It seemed great because we only had to work 20 hours a week. Well the automation is happening except we work the same hours and now produce twice as much.

I seem to recall that Karl Marx and Frederich Engles shared the same dream.
Just this side of the threshold of the Industrial Revolution (back in the mid-1800s).
It had something to do with "Mankind being freed from drudgery by technological advancements" and therefore being given the opportunity to be really human.

I don't see things trending that direction.

I wonder why that is.

[MadMonk]

I wonder why that is.

The realization that there is no such thing a a truly free lunch?

[RadicalModerate]

The realization that there is no such thing a a truly free lunch?

Maybe that's the reason . . .

On the other hand, could it be that modern technology is an electrically powered version of The Body Snatchers?
(not the kinder, gentler, Body Snatchers. the evil, grasping, heart and soul sucking, Body Snatchers.
the ones turning us into iPod People. Nah . . . it can't be that . . . or can it? [insert Theremin arpeggio. =)

[Servicetech571]

Do you know why the Spanish work 20 hours per week? Answer, because they can.

Because 1/2 of them aren't living off the government...
Okla. Sen: U.S. disability system being "gamed" - CBS News

[kelroy55]

Because 1/2 of them aren't living off the government...
Okla. Sen: U.S. disability system being "gamed" - CBS News

I agree the disability system is a cluster*&#% and needs overhauled. The problem is that will take money and people to do and nobody wants to pony up for either one. I don't have an easy answer but I would like to see some kind of LEO that investigates people on disability. There are some who really needs it and it's being ruined by those who don't. Make a Sheriff Joe style of camp for those who get caught abusing the system and send them there for 6 months and deny disability benefits forever for that person..

[RadicalModerate]

I agree the disability system is a cluster*&#% and needs overhauled. The problem is that will take money and people to do and nobody wants to pony up for either one. I don't have an easy answer but I would like to see some kind of LEO that investigates people on disability. There are some who really needs it and it's being ruined by those who don't. Make a Sheriff Joe style of camp for those who get caught abusing the system and send them there for 6 months and deny disability benefits forever for that person..

Sorry, amigo, that sounds "cruel and unusual" . . . and is unlikely to fly.
Nor even snorkel up from the depths of "political reality".

[Servicetech571]

I agree the disability system is a cluster*&#% and needs overhauled. The problem is that will take money and people to do and nobody wants to pony up for either one. I don't have an easy answer but I would like to see some kind of LEO that investigates people on disability. There are some who really needs it and it's being ruined by those who don't. Make a Sheriff Joe style of camp for those who get caught abusing the system and send them there for 6 months and deny disability benefits forever for that person..

Wouldn't have to be expensive to bust the fraudsters:
Here?s One Simple Way to End Social Security Disability Fraud

[Just the facts]

Wouldn't have to be expensive to bust the fraudsters:
Here?s One Simple Way to End Social Security Disability Fraud

Sounds to me like the problem will solve itself in mid-2015. At that point we can just send a letter to all the people who needed the money letting them know their thieving neighbors stole it, and then send a list of all the late-nite TV advertising attorneys who helped them. Binder and Binder might need to hire more security.

What makes these revelations so egregious is that some of the latest projections show that the Social Security Disability Trust Fund is expected to be depleted within 18 months. When the money runs dry, what then?

Meanwhile, down at the scooter store....

[RadicalModerate]

. . . (thanks for 'the fade' . . . amigo . . . c/o Triumph the Insult Dog Comedy Weatherman--in Hawaii =)

^ Close . . . Yet, "No Pizza" . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffCEr327W44
(who actually did "Let The Dogs Out"?)

(i have a feeling that everyone from Crispus Attucks to Frederick Douglas to Bill Cosby, Famous Amos and a host of Others, including, but not limited to Alan Keyes and Thomas Sowell, plus Eddie Murphy, Flip Wilson and Dave Chappelle not to mention Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, and Eldridge Cleaver would probably agree. Yet, I've been wrong before. Like, did I forget Malcolm X and Redd Foxx? =)

(For the Doubters: It ain't about race. It's about mainstream culture. =)

("give 'them' bread and circuses? pshaw! eat yer 'bread and circuses' . . .
let's invent cable tv and the internet and let them eat that!)

Apparently many youngsters get paid for drivel like that.
Especially in the form of Video Games.

I suppose, in the end, it's all good.
I know the Pork Tenderloin ala Jacques and Julia with Port and Prunes (over leftover rice) will be. =)

[Servicetech571]

Sounds to me like the problem will solve itself in mid-2015. At that point we can just send a letter to all the people who needed the money letting them know their thieving neighbors stole it, and then send a list of all the late-nite TV advertising attorneys who helped them. Binder and Binder might need to hire more security.





Meanwhile, down at the scooter store....

It won't "go broke", we'll just borrow more money from China to cover the fraudsters.

[Just the facts]

It won't "go broke", we'll just borrow more money from China to cover the fraudsters.

So then what is the big deal? I mean, it isn't like we are ever going to pay off the national debt anyhow, so really, every dollar we don't borrow is a missed opportunity lost forever. Borrowing from China would only be a bad idea if you think we intend to ever pay them back. This just in - we don't have enough money to pay back what we already owe so China gives us a bailout every year; we just don't call it a bailout so we can make fun of Spain and Greece and feel better about ourselves.

[ctchandler]

JTF,
I know your comment wasn't personal, but just to let you know, scooters are not easy to come by, I am disabled and have received nothing extra from Medicare because I was older than 65 and already on Medicare. I also have a need for a scooter. After finding out how difficult it was to qualify for one (they have no interest in your mobility outside of the home, just if you fall or can't walk inside the home) I went to Veazey's on Wilshire and bought one for $875 of my money.That's why Hoveround is in bankruptcy, Medicare cracked down on them. I know that my late wife was on Medicare disability and was subject to examination, but she died before they had to follow up. Even if they had, it would have been obvious that she was still disabled. Dr. No (Coburn) is correct though, they could do a lot and save a lot of money if the laws were applied equally around the country. Sorry, I'm a little off topic but your remark caught my eye.
C. T.

Meanwhile, down at the scooter store....

[MadMonk]

I say we keep borrowing from China until we make them go broke.

Then we could have a global reset where all debt is forgiven and we start this crazy Monopoly game all over again.

[Just the facts]

I say we keep borrowing from China until we make them go broke.

Then we could have a global reset where all debt is forgiven and we start this crazy Monopoly game all over again.

The only problem with that plan is that we (and most of the world) have debt-based currency. If we forgive all the debts there will be no money to start over with.

[ljbab728]

UMMMM, what was this thread about again?

[Prunepicker]

JTF,
... I went to Veazey's on Wilshire and bought one for $875 of my money.
C. T.

Were you using a scooter on Saturday? I know you were on oxygen.

[ctchandler]

PP,
Only if I am walking a lot, like when we visited the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. I have to stop and rest (sit down if possible) after about fifty feet. I currently put it in the trunk, a real pain, but am looking at the class III hitch carrier with a drive on ramp.
C. T.

Were you using a scooter on Saturday? I know you were on oxygen.

Sorry Ljbab, I should have pm'd this to PP. Back to subject!

[OKCisOK4me]

Three days.

I just started a new job after previously being employed with the same company for almost 12 years.

[Bellaboo]

The last 30 years in IT.

Currently almost 5 years
1 year off
23 years
2 years
2 years
5 years
5 years

[zookeeper]

The last time I worked for someone besides myself I had 5 weeks of vacation - of which I was lucky to take 2 weeks of it. For those with lots of vacation time how much of it do you actually get to use? Like I said, I got to use 2 of my 5 weeks and a lot of people I work with now never get to use their full allotment.

This is an excellent point. It's not only about how much vacation you actually have to use, it's how much you actually do use - and the unwritten, but very clear, rule in many a workplace that you better not use all that time. After all, who does that? Slacker.

Really, great point and it needs to be talked about more often.

Off topic, but not really...It's also another symptom of the balance between labor and capital and how far it has tipped in favor of capital. There was a time when (now almost quaint in the private sector) collective bargaining agreements were settled by labor on one side of the table and capital on the other - all that was set in stone, on paper, and by golly - you not only had vacation time, you actually got it.

[Easy180]

This is an excellent point. It's not only about how much vacation you actually have to use, it's how much you actually do use - and the unwritten, but very clear, rule in many a workplace that you better not use all that time. After all, who does that? Slacker.

Really, great point and it needs to be talked about more often.

Off topic, but not really...It's also another symptom of the balance between labor and capital and how far it has tipped in favor of capital. There was a time when (now almost quaint in the private sector) collective bargaining agreements were settled by labor on one side of the table and capital on the other - all that was set in stone, on paper, and by golly - you not only had vacation time, you actually got it.

Yup. There is a stigma attached to actually using the benefits you work your damn ass off for...Gotta love it

[JohnnyW]

I have the vacation time and use it very liberally. In fact I used nearly all of it last year because it is earned and meant to be used. I couldn't care what culture a company was trying to maintain. Other people can try to keep up that appearance but I pride myself in my work and that should be what my merits are based upon.

[Jeepnokc]

I have the vacation time and use it very liberally. In fact I used nearly all of it last year because it is earned and meant to be used. I couldn't care what culture a company was trying to maintain. Other people can try to keep up that appearance but I pride myself in my work and that should be what my merits are based upon.

Great post. As an employer, I require my staff to take a vacation each year. Employees come back refreshed and with much better frame of minds. A well adjusted and happy employee is more productive than one that is burned out and feels they can't take any time off.

[Easy180]

Great post. As an employer, I require my staff to take a vacation each year. Employees come back refreshed and with much better frame of minds. A well adjusted and happy employee is more productive than one that is burned out and feels they can't take any time off.

Never had an employer give me any flak over vacation...Now taking a sick day here and there was like WWIII with one of my long term managers...My or my kids illnesses just never seemed to land on a "good" day lol

[RadicalModerate]

Never had an employer give me any flak over vacation...Now taking a sick day here and there was like WWIII with one of my long term managers...My or my kids illnesses just never seemed to land on a "good" day lol

If Unions still existed in this Modern Technological Age, would a negotiating point be the cost of making a phone call to a Vacationer and would it be factored into a Job Description/Labor Contract? For example: Taking a business related call, while "on vacation" means the Company/Employer has to pay you an extra [X] dollars per minute as a Vacation Violation Bonus. If you receive more than three calls, in addition to the Bonus, you get an extra day of Vacation.

If Managers have already been transformed into CyberSerfs . . .
this would seem to be the "natural" progression of things for the rest of us . . .
(wouldn't it?)