UO

twobluelines

BuckeyeMommy4 said:

twobluelines said:

BuckeyeMommy4 said:

I'm not going to try to do a quote tree because it won't work. @ccip82 & @SunflowersBride I agree with both of you. For them to go on strike is pointless. They agreed to the wages, even of they are too small, when they got the job. If they aren't being paid minimum wage, it should be corrected. I'm sure those workers (who are making $0 while on strike) can be easily replaced. Nobody can live on minimum wage, but to demand $15 an hour is a bit ridiculous. There are a lot of college educated people not starting out at that. Also, once minimum wage is increased, so is the price of everything else. Then we're right back where we started.

I don't know about this last part.  When you read that an average Walmart costs the US government something like $900,000 per year in providing social programs for their staff like medicaid and food stamps and yet during this time the 6 people who own WalMart have the combined wealth of 40% of Americans it seems to me that there's lots of money to go around. 

Yup, and combine that with the obscene tax breaks that the government gives to Walmart, and then they turn around and call people utilizing the benefits a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings just trying to live off the government dole.  It's pretty laughable.

I don't know what the answer is. The current plan isn't working. I still think that once minimum wage is raised a dollar or two, companies aren't going to want it to change the way they operate and their CEOs aren't going to want to take the pay cut, so they're just going to raise their prices again. It's just a never ending cycle.

But why are we blaming those making minimum wage for wanting a raise and not those making millions a year?  Start with a higher taxation rate on businesses and those with obscene incomes.  Stop allowing jurisdictions to compete against each other offering tax incentives to move jobs from one state to another because the net job growth for your country is ZERO.  Stop allowing loop holes like the one for starbucks in the UK where they actually sell all of their coffee making supplies to individual stores so that each cup of coffee results in a net loss in the country so that even though starbucks sells BILLIONS of dollars in coffee every year they pay nothing in tax.  Instead the shell company that is in a low taxation country pays a minimal amount of profit and the tax payers of the UK support the low wage staff. 

SunflowersBride

litzo27 said:

My UO is that in the US too many people go to college, and specifically incur debt to go to college. Oh and I think at least the last year of high-school should be optional and kid should be able to opt out of it and enroll in technical/vocational 1-2 year schools instead.

This is definitely true, but the problem is that study after study concludes that even going into debt to pay for college is worth it, because you will make a lot more money over a lifetime than those who do not go.  I think it's definitely silly that jobs that could easily be done with no degree now require a degree, and I also do not believe everyone should go to college.  The fact that everyone goes to college is what is inflating the cost of tuition, because it's now seen as essential.  But you end up with a lot of people who shouldn't have gone in the first place, and possibly get suckered into for-profit schools that cost a lot but have a low graduation rate, and then they don't graduate but still have a ton of debt and can't find a job.  Vicious cycle.

Dishylo

MY UO - I don't like how tipping 15% at restaurants has become pretty much mandatory.

I used to be a waitress and tips would vary depending on the service I provided.  If I was having a crappy day, I knew my tips wouldn't be that great. 

If I get crappy service, why am I going to give the server a 15% tip?!  We were in Whistler last year with a group of friends, ate a bit and drank loads.  Our server was barely around, we were always flagging her over, she was clearly having a bad day and was rude most of the time.  We left her 10%.  As we were walking away, we saw her counting the money on the table.  She then had the balls to come over and tell us we didn't tip her enough.  Needless to say the manager was called over, we were apologized to and given a gift card to come back.  I'm pretty sure she got fired!!!

sugarland726

izenb1dm said:

Here's a new one:

It's spelled MAMA, not momma. You wouldn't say poppa instead of papa, would you?

YES. Also it's Grandma, not Gramma. Yes, I'm looking at you MIL.

mrsjenni

KaitiMac said:

I hate pink and just because I'm having a girl doesn't mean I want to dress her in tutus, wild hot pink bows and ballet shit. Stop only selling frilly pink girl gear, all the stores! 

DD didn't wear a single pink outfit until she started picking clothes out herself.  There's a ton of non-pink clothing out there for girls!  No worries mama.  Oh, and she didn't wear those stupid effing ugly bows bigger than her head either.  Or tutu's :::shudders:::

BuckeyeMommy4

@twobluelines (again, because the quote tree won't work)

I agree with all of that. I'm just saying, I don't think raising the minimum wage is going to do anything unless all of those other problems are fixed first.

Anyways...I have nowhere else to go with this. My brain usually doesn't have to work harder than an argument with a three year old or trying to figure out a way to keep an eye on two babies crawling in opposite directions during the day!

kwinkle1980

I find prenatal doctor's visits to be a huge hassle this time around. I have to get child care for my toddler and go sit for an hour for them to spend 3 minutes listening to the heartbeat. With my first, it was all so exciting, and this time it just irritates me. I even asked my OB if I could skip a few.

ccip82

 

twobluelines said:

BuckeyeMommy4 said:

twobluelines said:

BuckeyeMommy4 said:

I'm not going to try to do a quote tree because it won't work. @ccip82 & @SunflowersBride I agree with both of you. For them to go on strike is pointless. They agreed to the wages, even of they are too small, when they got the job. If they aren't being paid minimum wage, it should be corrected. I'm sure those workers (who are making $0 while on strike) can be easily replaced. Nobody can live on minimum wage, but to demand $15 an hour is a bit ridiculous. There are a lot of college educated people not starting out at that. Also, once minimum wage is increased, so is the price of everything else. Then we're right back where we started.

I don't know about this last part.  When you read that an average Walmart costs the US government something like $900,000 per year in providing social programs for their staff like medicaid and food stamps and yet during this time the 6 people who own WalMart have the combined wealth of 40% of Americans it seems to me that there's lots of money to go around. 

Yup, and combine that with the obscene tax breaks that the government gives to Walmart, and then they turn around and call people utilizing the benefits a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings just trying to live off the government dole.  It's pretty laughable.

I don't know what the answer is. The current plan isn't working. I still think that once minimum wage is raised a dollar or two, companies aren't going to want it to change the way they operate and their CEOs aren't going to want to take the pay cut, so they're just going to raise their prices again. It's just a never ending cycle.

But why are we blaming those making minimum wage for wanting a raise and not those making millions a year?  Start with a higher taxation rate on businesses and those with obscene incomes.  Stop allowing jurisdictions to compete against each other offering tax incentives to move jobs from one state to another because the net job growth for your country is ZERO.  Stop allowing loop holes like the one for starbucks in the UK where they actually sell all of their coffee making supplies to individual stores so that each cup of coffee results in a net loss in the country so that even though starbucks sells BILLIONS of dollars in coffee every year they pay nothing in tax.  Instead the shell company that is in a low taxation country pays a minimal amount of profit and the tax payers of the UK support the low wage staff. 

I have followed the Starbucks tax story in the UK and the company very quickly decided to rectify the issue. (Once this story made the headlines of course   )

Without turning this into a huge tax debate, I do not necessarily think that simply raising taxes on businesses will help anything. The problem lies in the tax loop holes. They need to shored up first and an uncomplicated straight across the board tax code needs to be created and implemented.

 I never mentioned that I am blaming the faster food workers for wanting to make more money. I am sure everyone one wants to make more money at their job. I am in the opinion that nearly doubling their hourly wage seemed a bit much for the type of work that fast food workers do.

Also, I hate how this debate turns into hating/bashing on the wealthy argument.

SunflowersBride

Dishylo said:

MY UO - I don't like how tipping 15% at restaurants has become pretty much mandatory.

I used to be a waitress and tips would vary depending on the service I provided.  If I was having a crappy day, I knew my tips wouldn't be that great. 

If I get crappy service, why am I going to give the server a 15% tip?!  We were in Whistler last year with a group of friends, ate a bit and drank loads.  Our server was barely around, we were always flagging her over, she was clearly having a bad day and was rude most of the time.  We left her 10%.  As we were walking away, we saw her counting the money on the table.  She then had the balls to come over and tell us we didn't tip her enough.  Needless to say the manager was called over, we were apologized to and given a gift card to come back.  I'm pretty sure she got fired!!!

I always tip well regardless, because servers make like, $2 an hour and rely on their tips to live. So if I were her, I would have been pissed off as well.  But I think restaurants should do away with tipping and just pay their workers more money because of situations like you described.

KEfam5

litzo27 said:

My UO is that in the US too many people go to college, and specifically incur debt to go to college. Oh and I think at least the last year of high-school should be optional and kid should be able to opt out of it and enroll in technical/vocational 1-2 year schools instead.

I totally agree.

mrsjenni

BMReid said:

I might get it from some STMs for this one, but it really grinds my gears when people refer to children over a year old in months. 20 months? Just say a year and 8 months, for Pete's sake!

Agreed.  Guess what? After 12 months... they're fucking ONE.  Then they're TWO.

On a similar note, I hate when people say "my baby is 14 weeks old"  WHAT?  He's fucking 3 months.  No one cares how many weeks they are.

BuckeyeMommy4

mrsjenni said:

KaitiMac said:

I hate pink and just because I'm having a girl doesn't mean I want to dress her in tutus, wild hot pink bows and ballet shit. Stop only selling frilly pink girl gear, all the stores! 

DD didn't wear a single pink outfit until she started picking clothes out herself.  There's a ton of non-pink clothing out there for girls!  No worries mama.  Oh, and she didn't wear those stupid effing ugly bows bigger than her head either.  Or tutu's :::shudders:::

Oh no! When I post a picture AWing DD3 at her first birthday party on Sunday, please don't flame me! She is most certainly wearing tutu and a bow(not bigger than her head).

PreDempsey

Can I pick a few brains on carseats while we've touched on the subject?

I wouldn't ever buy a second hand carseat but what about the base? Are those just as likely to be damaged and unsafe if I have no way of verifying that they weren't in an accident?

Winnieella

My UO is I hate people that are Know it alls. Whether they are children or adults, they bug me. You don't know everything, you don't have the same experiences as everyone so stop trying to act like you do. 

BuckeyeMommy4

PreDempsey said:

Can I pick a few brains on carseats while we've touched on the subject?

I wouldn't ever buy a second hand carseat but what about the base? Are those just as likely to be damaged and unsafe if I have no way of verifying that they weren't in an accident?

They say so, but I would still buy one to use as an extra.

PreDempsey

BuckeyeMommy4 said:

Can I pick a few brains on carseats while we've touched on the subject?

I wouldn't ever buy a second hand carseat but what about the base? Are those just as likely to be damaged and unsafe if I have no way of verifying that they weren't in an accident?

They say so, but I would still buy one to use as an extra.

We definitely need and will get two but if there is a safe way to get one second hand I'm all about it.

Deblondie1

mrsjenni said:

KaitiMac said:

I hate pink and just because I'm having a girl doesn't mean I want to dress her in tutus, wild hot pink bows and ballet shit. Stop only selling frilly pink girl gear, all the stores! 

DD didn't wear a single pink outfit until she started picking clothes out herself.  There's a ton of non-pink clothing out there for girls!  No worries mama.  Oh, and she didn't wear those stupid effing ugly bows bigger than her head either.  Or tutu's :::shudders:::

Some of my favorite pictures are of E in a tutu and giant bow LOL I am totally THAT tacky mom and I own it! But I'm lucky because she is a girly girl already so *phew*

mrsjenni

BuckeyeMommy4 said:

KaitiMac said:

I hate pink and just because I'm having a girl doesn't mean I want to dress her in tutus, wild hot pink bows and ballet shit. Stop only selling frilly pink girl gear, all the stores! 

DD didn't wear a single pink outfit until she started picking clothes out herself.  There's a ton of non-pink clothing out there for girls!  No worries mama.  Oh, and she didn't wear those stupid effing ugly bows bigger than her head either.  Or tutu's :::shudders:::

Oh no! When I post a picture AWing DD3 at her first birthday party on Sunday, please don't flame me! She is most certainly wearing tutu and a bow(not bigger than her head).

DD picked out a Sofia the First tutu to wear to her 3rd birthday party in May and I had SUCH a hard time buying it for her.  I did though.

As for bows, I'm talking mostly about this: 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/123732489/large-turquoise-flower-headband-newborn?ref=sr_gallery_30&ga_search_query=large+baby+bows&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=large+baby+bows

Adorable baby, but her mom should go to prison for putting that bow on her.

sugarland726

PreDempsey said:

Can I pick a few brains on carseats while we've touched on the subject?

I wouldn't ever buy a second hand carseat but what about the base? Are those just as likely to be damaged and unsafe if I have no way of verifying that they weren't in an accident?

This is the logic I use. The base uses the LATCH or seatbelt to be secured to the car. The carseat clicks in to the base. If the base has been in an accident, then that plastic could be compromised, which would make the securing to the car compromised.

HappyDoc

My UO - I hate that the more money I make, the higher percentage of taxes I have to pay. Please explain to me, what is the incentive of educating yourself, taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, putting my personal life (getting married, having children) on hold for 10 years of college, if in the end I feel like I am being punished for doing so? Also, who made the stupid rule that you can't deduct student loan interest when you make over X amount of money each year? (And for anyone who wants to respond that I am lucky that I make X amount of money, please don't, that is BS, it had nothing to do with luck, I work hard for every single dollar that I make).

mrsjenni

PreDempsey said:

Can I pick a few brains on carseats while we've touched on the subject?

I wouldn't ever buy a second hand carseat but what about the base? Are those just as likely to be damaged and unsafe if I have no way of verifying that they weren't in an accident?

Yes.  Buy a new base as well.

LatteLady5

PreDempsey said:

Can I pick a few brains on carseats while we've touched on the subject?

I wouldn't ever buy a second hand carseat but what about the base? Are those just as likely to be damaged and unsafe if I have no way of verifying that they weren't in an accident?

If they're in a car accident they have to be replaced just like the seat so I would say unless you're getting it from a friend or family member and you KNOW it hasn't been in an accident, it's not safe.

Deblondie1

@mrsjenni This is DD last Halloween. Also I love to AW my kid! Is my love for all things giant and pink my UO? Lol

BuckeyeMommy4

@mrsjenni Haha! This is one of my favorite photos of DD2

ccip82

@Deblondie1

Omg, E is adorable!

Deblondie1

ccip82 said:

@Deblondie1

Omg, E is adorable!

Thanks

KristaBelieve

Dishylo said:

MY UO - I don't like how tipping 15% at restaurants has become pretty much mandatory.

I used to be a waitress and tips would vary depending on the service I provided.  If I was having a crappy day, I knew my tips wouldn't be that great. 

If I get crappy service, why am I going to give the server a 15% tip?!

In LA, 20% is customary. I was a server too and I can't even count how many times I would get $5 on a $100 bill. I completely agree tips are earned based on service and some tables would give me well beyond the 20%. It does bug me when people go to a restaurant and order $100+ worth of food and drinks only to say they can't afford a tip. Yes, I received that unsolicited comment a few times. People should expect a tip to be part of their eating out budget and augment that tip amount based on service. Most servers tip out 3-4 other people based on their sales so the tip left impacts other workers as well. Now, confronting a table like what happened in your experience is appalling!

mrsjenni

@deblondie1 and @BuckeyeMommy4 - I'm calling the cops!

LatteLady5

Deblondie1 said:

mrsjenni said:

KaitiMac said:

I hate pink and just because I'm having a girl doesn't mean I want to dress her in tutus, wild hot pink bows and ballet shit. Stop only selling frilly pink girl gear, all the stores! 

DD didn't wear a single pink outfit until she started picking clothes out herself.  There's a ton of non-pink clothing out there for girls!  No worries mama.  Oh, and she didn't wear those stupid effing ugly bows bigger than her head either.  Or tutu's :::shudders:::

Some of my favorite pictures are of E in a tutu and giant bow LOL I am totally THAT tacky mom and I own it! But I'm lucky because she is a girly girl already so *phew*

I love girly clothes! DD pretty much only wears dresses and skirts, if it's chilly we do warm leggings or tights under. She's tall and thin so her pants fall off or are high waters haha I have been sewing skirts for her all week, floral, pink etc. haha

buckeyebride22

I like big bows and I cannot lie....  This little girl will be rocking as much girly as I can manage before DH turns her into his little athlete like I know will happen.

SunflowersBride

HappyDoc said:

My UO - I hate that the more money I make, the higher percentage of taxes I have to pay. Please explain to me, what is the incentive of educating yourself, taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, putting my personal life (getting married, having children) on hold for 10 years of college, if in the end I feel like I am being punished for doing so? Also, who made the stupid rule that you can't deduct student loan interest when you make over X amount of money each year? (And for anyone who wants to respond that I am lucky that I make X amount of money, please don't, that is BS, it had nothing to do with luck, I work hard for every single dollar that I make).

DH and I unexpectedly owed several thousand dollars in taxes last year.  We make too much money to deduct his student loans, and I was not able to deduct an IRA contribution because we made too much money (my company does not offer a 401k).  We also do not own a house or have kids yet, so we got completely and utterly screwed.  It's ridiculous that there are limits on those deductions.  And It makes me doubly mad to see my SIL and BIL who receive several thousand dollars in refunds every year, own a house because someone gave them a hefty amount of money to put down, and continue to make really poor financial decisions. If I'm paying this much in taxes, I at least want single payer healthcare and paid maternity leave!

BuckeyeMommy4

Ok, here's my own UO....I hate HDBD. I love seeing everyone else's pictures, but I hate pics of myself so I don't participate.

And a FFFC...This is my fourth baby and I have never taken a picture of myself while pregnant.

shortstuff15

SunflowersBride said:

Dishylo said:

MY UO - I don't like how tipping 15% at restaurants has become pretty much mandatory.

I used to be a waitress and tips would vary depending on the service I provided.  If I was having a crappy day, I knew my tips wouldn't be that great. 

If I get crappy service, why am I going to give the server a 15% tip?!  We were in Whistler last year with a group of friends, ate a bit and drank loads.  Our server was barely around, we were always flagging her over, she was clearly having a bad day and was rude most of the time.  We left her 10%.  As we were walking away, we saw her counting the money on the table.  She then had the balls to come over and tell us we didn't tip her enough.  Needless to say the manager was called over, we were apologized to and given a gift card to come back.  I'm pretty sure she got fired!!!

I always tip well regardless, because servers make like, $2 an hour and rely on their tips to live. So if I were her, I would have been pissed off as well.  But I think restaurants should do away with tipping and just pay their workers more money because of situations like you described.

I think @dishylo is in Canada which makes this entirely different.  Here waitresses are required to make minimum wage - which is, I think, at least $9 in each province.  So tipping here is still very much tied into service.  We tip 10% as a start and then raise or lower based off of service.  Really good service gets an increase and really crappy service gets less.  Until I was on here I never knew that servers in the States made only $2 an hour, so whenever I would go to the States, I would still tip the same.  I'm sure I left a trail of annoyed servers, who actually did really good, behind me because I was a lousy tipper.  Oh well.  Next time I'm in the States I'll do different. 

Just last week we actually didn't tip at all, but it was more of an accident then anything.  The credit machine confused me as to when I was supposed to enter the tip and so I ended up moving past the screen that required the tip, and we didn't have any cash on hand to leave.  That said, even though we would have left at least a couple bucks, our server really wasn't good at all.  She brought my husband the wrong drink, didn't bring some of the things we asked for and never once came to make sure everything was ok.  And we were pretty much her only table.  So even though we wanted to leave a couple bucks we really didn't feel all that bad that we hadn't left anything.

SunflowersBride

@dhviel thanks for clarifying!  I didn't realize this was different in Canada (although I should have!)

pennstated912

Firefly9 said:

KaitiMac said:

ccip82 said:

My UO...

I recently read a news article where fast food workers are going on strike for a raise and they want $15 an hour-which equates to $31,000 a year. As a former teacher, my starting off salary was not that much more than that and I find it effing ridiculous.

Especially when majority of the time my order is somehow fucked up anyway...

Before, I sound like a heartless bitch, yes the minimum raise should be raised, but honestly there are many professions that are grossly underpaid...

Seriously. I've got a Master's degree and I don't even make $31K a year. I'm cool with raising the minimum wage a bit, but $15 an hour is outrageous. 

Same.  A fast food worker shouldn't make as much as a more professional job.  A reasonable living wage, yes.  But really, I don't make a ton more than that.  I probably get better benefits than a fast food worker would, but I think $15/hr is a little much for that particular job.


I may be a little biased for this so take this with a grain of salt. I graduated with a bachelor's in 2009. I couldn't find a job in my field so I worked retail for $8/hr for 4 years. (By the time I left I was at $10/hr but I also was the highest paid person in my position)

I believe I was GROSSLY underpaid for the amount of work I did. Retail and food service is hard work. They are doing the jobs that no one else wants to do and it takes a lot to make a customer's life easy with little to zero respect in return. I realize that there are customers that are appreciative but they are the minority.

I now have a full-time desk job and make as much as the retail/food service employees are requesting. So I see both sides. I honestly believe that my retail job was more difficult though, as it put a lot of strain on my body with long and unforgiving hours.

Do I think it should be $15/hr, probably not. Do I believe they deserve a fair shake at $12/hr, yes.

purplepenguin2011

HappyDoc said:

My UO - I hate that the more money I make, the higher percentage of taxes I have to pay. Please explain to me, what is the incentive of educating yourself, taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, putting my personal life (getting married, having children) on hold for 10 years of college, if in the end I feel like I am being punished for doing so? Also, who made the stupid rule that you can't deduct student loan interest when you make over X amount of money each year? (And for anyone who wants to respond that I am lucky that I make X amount of money, please don't, that is BS, it had nothing to do with luck, I work hard for every single dollar that I make).

You also don't get any tax cuts for having children if you make over X amount.  Not that that's why i have children but you definitely don't get anything back lol.

jhjocelyn

My UO is that though I work in child development, I hate exersaucers and prefer actual walkers. I just don't think an excersaucer lets them figure out that those feet are what moves them from place to place.

litzo27

ccip82 said:

Also, I hate how this debate turns into hating/bashing on the wealthy argument.

@ccip82 Agree 100%. I also really dislike the statement like "all executives are ridiculously overpaid". Yes, there have been a few bad apples who were straight up skammers (*Skilling*cough*Kozlowski*cough) who give a bad name to all executives. But those aside, these guys/ladies have ridiculously difficult jobs. If you talk to any executive recruiter they will tell you how unbelievable hard it is to get people who are qualified to be CEOs/CFOs/COOs. So yes, in the liquid labor market they have to be compensated to go where they are wanted.

p.s. and no I'm not an executive. And would never want to be one.

twobluelines

ccip82 said:

 

Also, I hate how this debate turns into hating/bashing on the wealthy argument.

I hope you didn't perceive my comments that way... I don't see it as that... but I do often hear a lot of bashing against the other extreme where people who are in abject poverty, despite working 40 or 70 hours a week a multiple jobs are unable to make ends meet.  This is what the minimum wage in the US does.  In Ontario our minimum wage is over $10 an hour i believe.  I do think that people who work full time should be able to afford to pay their bills, feed their children and heat their homes.

litzo27

@Deblondie1 - Sooooo cute! Love it.