Politcal Ramblings
Disclaimer (at the start this time):
Anything Aslan says is neither supported nor endorsed nor otherwise paid attention to by this site, it's affiliates, it's past affiliates, nor it's future affiliates. Aslan's use of language or fart noises or any other type of ridiculousness should be ignored. If you have a heart condition, you may not want to read this. If you're pregnant, nursing, or expecting to be pregnant or nurse in the not too distant future...you might be a ****....but if not, you may also not want to read the following. If you're experiencing any discomfort...or even a slightly runny nose...stop reading and consult your weed guy.
All that aside...below is a continutation of a discussion that was somewhere else hijacking something regarding towels. This'll be in 3 parts...first what I said (to provide backstory), then a response (to provide backstory to the next post), then my last post....then I'm sure we'll have pages upon pages of interesting and family friendly banter in between talking about how bad we stink at bowling. Enjoy.
Posted by Aslan:
To intentionally get off on a tangent....since this is a political year...it's like when conservatives talk about how more regulations or health insurance or an increased wage...how those things will all lead to layoffs because companies can't afford those things. That would be TRUE....if we assume that said companies have no ability to lower profit expectations to accommodate for these increased costs. And that's what they want you to think....but it's simply not true.
Example:
You have a bowling center, we'll call it the Iceman Center of Bowling Gifted Excellence for lack of a better name.
You make $3000/day in gross profit.
Your labor costs are $800/day.
Your utilities/business costs are $350/day.
Your cost of goods/materials are $700/day.
So, you NET $1150/day. That's $418,600/year net profit.
The OWNER has decided that based on his annual investment of $673,400, his expectations are to make 60% ($404,040) annually on this establishment.
Now lets say a minimum wage goes up significantly and a $100/month/person healthcare tax is added. That brings the annual costs up say $219.40/day in increased wages and $32.88/day in new healthcare costs. The center still makes money, but not 60%. It instead makes $324,678 annually on an annual investment of $767,322. So, instead of making 60%, the center makes nearly 42%.
Now, in the OLD DAYS...you could generally make about 2.5% in a savings account, about 8% in real estate, and about 8-15% in the stock market. So a business owner would see the profit number fall < 8% and decide there are better investments than a bowling alley. But in our CURRENT society....banks pay 0.5%...real estate is a coin flip...and the stock market is currently just struggling to break even on the year.
So...I ask the question every Republican hates (or simply can't comprehend)....what is "ENOUGH". Enough profit, enough money....what is "enough"? If you own a bowling alley and it's making you $50,000/year...in an economy where most other investments are offering no better than a break even scenario...isn't it a viable investment? Sure...it was a BETTER investment making $418,600 versus $324,678...but its still making you money.
And this is an EXTREME example because we're talking about a truly small business when we're talking bowling alleys. Most of the time when this discussion comes up...it's multi-million or billion dollar companies that are talking the difference between making 15.6% versus 14.8% or something along those lines.
The pressure we see in California is a little different than most areas...but probably compareable to New York City. It isn't that the centers aren't profitable...it's that the value of the land those centers sit on is extremely high. So if you're an owner wanting to make $200,000 annually and it's looking more like $147,000 annually....and along comes a real estate investor offering you 4 million dollars for the facility....you sell. That's what happened to TWO centers in Orange County since 2012. Both privately owned, both making money, but both in areas where the land was just too expensive. And as the proprietors get older and older...eventually they just want to cash out.
But I wanted to make this point simply because it's a common misconception when we hear about places closing or laying people off....that they are doing so to make money...as if NOT doing that will cause them to lose money. That's rarely the case...especially the bigger the company. In the vast majority of these situations it's about what the owner WANTS to make in profit versus what they can reasonably make in profit.
And this ties even into the immigration debate in the country. You hear companies say, "those workers do jobs Americans won't do". That's actually not really true...and is a way of circumventing simple capitalistic, economic principles of supply and demand. For example, I would hate to have a job cleaning hotel rooms. I'd hate it...with a passion. But if Hilton came to me and said, "we really need maids...what would it take to get you to join our team and clean hotel rooms for a living....my price would be rather high. Probably $60/hour minimum with benefits. But see....not everyone is going to give that high a number. You can probably find a legal American who would LOVE to clean hotel rooms for $17/hour. But the hotels claim that's "too high". Is it? Is it not what the market dictates? And in a society where cheap, illegal labor is eliminated....hotels simply would pay $17/hour and charge more and make less profit. But that's not what they "want" to do. It's easier to hire illegal aliens and pay them virtually nothing. Do you honestly think the Marriot would lose money if they doubled their wages? Probably not. They make billions of dollars a year. But see...that's the rub. They don't want to make "millions"...they want to make "billions"....and higher wages would limit that.
Now, the smaller the company, the smaller the profit margins, the harder wage increases are on the company. Like, small farmers. If they only make a 5-10% profit....they could see that evaporated hiring legal, American workers. But hey, right now a banana costs 50 cents. Maybe with legal workers, a banana costs $1. That's capitalism....that's how economics works. Illegal workers shortcut the system and allow companies to circumvent the laws of supply and demand.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
Part 2: Response by FTLoB:
What is enough money or enough profit?? Funny how you Cali liberals love to give away other peoples money. If you have extra money at the end of the month why don't you give it away? As long as you pay your bills and have money for recreation that should be enough right?
Bored? LOL
My point with the "tangent" conversation was that I'm sick of hearing about how Obamacare and regulations and the EPA and FDA and all these things are causing job losses because "owners can't afford...X, Y, Z". That's NOT ACCURATE. It's a very tricky way to scare people into opposing things. The TRUE statement would be, "...owners would see less profit due to X, Y, or Z..." See, they SOUND similar. But they are very very different.
One of the more blatent "lies that isn't technically a lie"...is the "Death Tax". You do realize there is no such thing right? Actually, prior to the Newt Gingrich congress...that term didn't even exist. What the republican Congress did was call the "Estate Tax" the "Death Tax". Why would they do that? Well, because most people don't have "estates" and thus don't care about a tax on estates. But EVERYONE dies. So if some mental midget hears there is a tax on death....they figure someday they'll die and their family will have to pay a huge tax. That's unfortuanately how our devisive government works now. They "trick" people and scare people into voting against their best interests.
And I am NOT a Cali liberal. I would most accurately describe my political beliefs as a "left-leaning populist independent". I actually vote straight ticket Republican in all state California elections because the Democratic super majority in this state makes living here almost unbearable. If you want to see what unchecked liberalism results in...move to California. And Democrats are no better than Republicans. One of the worst governors in the US...Jerry Brown....has used the proposition system to get so much nonsense passed...by "tricking" people...that it makes me sick.
Case in point: "The Safe Kids and Neighborhoods Proposition" that the Governor put forth last year. One would read the title and think, "Hmmm....I like safe kids and safe neighborhoods...maybe I should vote yes". But see, here's what the proposition does...it lets out non-violent offenders from prisons...because the prisons are over-crowded and building another one is almost impossible due to the prison unions. So...what was the result of this "safer kids and neighborhhods" proposition? Well, crime rates in almost every city/area of California are up double-digit %s. It turns out, when you let people out of prison....most of them tend to go back to doing what they did before they left for prison. Who'd a thunk it?
So, ftlob....who apparently is not a Cali liberal...but we don't know for sure where he/she is from....the question is the same. How much is "enough"? And you do realize the "Well, that's MINE!" argument tends to lose effectiveness unless it's toddlers arguing over a toy. Remember one of the first lessons we learn in kindergarten? How to share? See, Republicans tend to "forget" that lesson...and get locked into this, "well....that's mine...and it doesn't matter if I have 30 million of those....I want 30 million + 1!" If we saw a toddler carrying 5 Barbie dolls...and her little sister was crying because she doesn't have any....we would try to convince the toddler to maybe share one of the Barbies. Yet...then we all grow up...and suddenly "sharing" = "socialism". And don't get me started on the over-used (and inaccurately used) term: "Socialism". What most refer to as "socialist"....is not. Of matter of fact...most things deemed "socialist" are actually more in line with "communism" than "socialism"....at least in the purest sense.
And before you use the "I worked harder than everyone else so I DESERVE more" argument...remember...the difference between you sitting on a couch watching cable and going to a nearby bowling alley to bowl a few games....and you dying of hunger in some African desert....is you where you were born. Just by being BORN...in the United States...you have an advantage. And if you were given an advantage...it's not as "fair" to say it was all about your vision and courage and work ethic concerning your eventual success. And the same can be said about people born into good situations versus bad situations. A kid born to a single mom in the inner city...is at a disadvantage compared to Paris Hilton. Paris does nothing...except look pretty and make an occasional stag film...and she has more money and wealth than all the people on this site put together. Yet...in some inner city...there's a bright young kid that...in a different situation...might grow up to be something. I'm not saying people can't change their lot in life...they certainly can and should. But if you're running in a race...and somebody makes you carry a person on your shoulders and kicks you in the knee before yelling "Go!"...you probably are going to lose the race.
Again...not a "Cali liberal"...I'm far to right of Democrats on many issues including gun control, race relations, foreign policy, defense, crime and punishment, and immigration. But I have no party anymore. I'm a "moderate" and my two best choices in 2016 are a libertarian Rand Paul or a socialist Bernie Sanders. Talk about the best of two evils....that's like having to vote between Stalin or Charles De Gaulle...you end up voting De Gaulle because...well, at least he's not Stalin. More accurately...it's like the WWII alliance with Stalin to battle Hitler. Stalin was horrible....but a great deal less horrible than Stalin...who was also horrible. Politics tends to be choosing between two idiots and trying to figure out which one will do the least harm rather than the most good.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
Yeah. Kinda.Originally Posted by RobLV1
Life is boring when you're bowling badly and not getting laid. It's like having cable...but nothing to watch. Yesterday night I fell asleep watching MacGyver reruns. I can't remember the last time I watched MacGyver. That dude is always getting captured.
Besides...we have a whole thread...for non-bowling talk....and we never use it!! Granted...this'll probably get locked...if not immediately on principle.....later when someone calls someone a "poo poo head" or something. Hey...if Donald Trump can say the things he says...and is a leading candidate for President...then I think folks should cut ole Aslan some slack, right?
Also, to answer the question...it usually doesn't apply. I'm a unique case in that I make far more money than I should...but have far more bills than I should...so I break even or thereabouts every month. When I DO have a little extra at the end of the month...that's usually when my car decides to conk out and eats up any extra money to get it fixed.
Correct. That's why under an Aslanian Administration....we would eliminate illegal immigration, the minimum wage, and labor unions. And it's a far, far simpler and more humane plan that what "The Donald" proposes.
1) Set entering wage for a full-time employee at $35,000/year (about $12/hr).
2) Institute National Health Care (also called single-payer) as much of the rest of the World already has so businesses aren't responsible for paying for healthcare costs for their workers (like most of our international competition doesn't).
3) Increase enforcement and penalties for any person or company that hires/employs illegal aliens. First offense is 5% of the companies gross earnings in the last fiscal year. Penalty for a second offense is 10% of the companies gross earnings that year. A third offense is 15% of the companies gross earnings in the last fiscal year, possible criminal charges of up to 15 years in prison, and the temporary loss of your liscences to operate in the United States.
4) The highest ranking CEO, COO, board member, founder, owner, or executive has a salary "capped" at 95x the wage of the lowest paid worker (minimum of $35,000). This is also done in some EU countries and has been successful.
Why? And what good will it do?
Well,
1) Chrysler makes cars. They pay people to build cars. Chrysler spends roughly $6000 per automobile to pay for health insurance coverage for it's workers. Countries with nationalized healthcare or no healthcare...they do are not burdened with that uncompetitive cost. Our companies should focus on innovation and quality and profitability...NOT providing healthcare. The government already does it just fine with Medicare....no sense to why I can't have the government handle it until I'm 55.
2) Unions drive up costs. Should a maintenance worker in a factory with no education, just a high school diploma make $75,000/year? Probably not. But can I FAULT the worker for wanting $75,000/year when the CEO makes more than that on the 1st day of that year? No, I can't.
A minimum wage is counter-productive and not in line with capitalist principles. So we eliminate it. However, to avoid exploitation, we'll just set it at $35,000 across the board. But to keep that $12/hour from becoming a defacto minimum wage...we link it to CEO pay. So if Iceman opens his Gifted Bowling Institute and pays his workers $35,000....he cannot make more than 95x $35,000 (3.325 million)/year total compensation. And that's NOT A CAP...because lets say Iceman wants to make 10 million dollars....well, then he has to raise the lowest wage paid at his institute to $105,263.15/year.
That takes care of the minimum wage and healthcare and CEO pay. That just leaves immigration. Easy fix.
1) Secure borders.
2) Tie legal immigration rate to the unemployment rate. The less unemployed we have, the more immigrants we let in.
3) If you're illegal....you should go home now. If you don't, your employer could face extremely high penalties for continuing to pay you. And if folks can't illegally work....they will deport themselves.
Problems solved.
No? Well, what if the company doesn't KNOW the person is illegal?? Isn't 5% gross earnings a high penalty to pay for a mistake or some worker deceiving you?
Yes. It's a very, very high price that will almost certainly result in industries devoting a massive effort to ensure no illegal aliens slip through the cracks...which is exactly what businesses SHOULD be doing...and aren't...and are profiting by it.
See how easy these tough problems are to solve....when you're looking at it from a non-devisive, non-political point of view? Under the scenario above...EVERY American wins. The rich stay rich....the poor get richer...the middle class gets strengthened...health care gets taken care of....unemployment is addressed...and immigration takes care of itself. Sure, there are probably 700 pages of text to make the above proposals actually work...but that's why we have so many lawyers....so they can take my great ideas and write them down in a useable way.
Also, for solving these problems, "you're welcome."
Aslan
2016 Independent Presidential Candidate
Write him in on election day!!
P.S. At least 35% of my motivation to be President is to live in a house with it's own bowling alley.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
Look at the bright side... at your age the bowling will improve, and you will undoubtedly start getting laid sometime in the future. When you get to my age, not so much on either account! LOL
If you have any sense at all, you would remove the idea that having a lawyer write 700 pages of mostly loopholes and grey area to complete your document, they are the same people that comprise most of our current political leaders (AKA the ruling class) They write the rules for us , but have another set of rules for themselves. They will insert language that needs interpretation, they will add poorly defined exceptions, they will do there best to make sure your document is anything but clear organized and simple to follow, after all how would that provide clients that need litigation and interpretation by the lawyer. In short lawyers are why things don't work, they're just good at convincing people that they are the solution, when actually they created the problem !
I hope thats true. Well, the first part anyway. But I completely agree.
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