POLITICS SCHMALITICS

[Motor City Sonics]

On 7/29/2024 at 8:43 PM, Tigeraholic1 said:

100% in fact:

 

I have a friend (I know, hard to believe since I'm such a loser).   Anyway, he married one of these "We'll I'm A Christian and blah blah blah" people.   My philosophy is that if you truly are a Christian, your actions would show it and you wouldn't have to constantly proclaim it.   She's racist as hell, too.  She hates MIddle Eastern people (but lives in Dearborn Heights), Mexicans and Black people (and gays of course).  I don't know her stance on Jewish people, but I've got a pretty good idea.      I don't know why he is with her because he's not like that (and he really isn't still).   I don't know why she'd want to be with a heathen like him, either.   

She doesn't like me because I don't care for religion.  Any religions.   They've got a huge Jesus painting in their hallway.  He looks like Brad Pitt.    So, one night when he's having folks over I comment  "Wow, that is interesting and someone says - 'why?'........(and I know she can hear this which is why I said it)  "I am pretty sure Jesus looked more like Osama Bin Laden than Brad Pitt".      I'm now banned from that house.    Every time I see him at someone else's place or around he laughs about that.   I guess he's wanted to say something like that for years.   

 

(btw, even their teenage kids think she's awful, which gives me some hope for the future). 

Edited August 10 by Motor City Sonics

[Motor City Sonics]

On 7/27/2024 at 3:46 PM, gehringer_2 said:

what rock has he been under that he's never seen Musk?  Not to mention all his favorite Democratic demons have children -- Kennedy, Johnson, Clinton(x2), Obama, Biden.

Kamala has kids too.  Step kids, but even her husband's ex says she treats them like their own.       Do they really think this is gonna stick with those Center voters?   A lot of single women out there.   As we know, women and young voters decide this thing.           

 Margaret Atwood looking a lot like Mike Judge with predicting the future, eh? 

 

[Tiger337]

It is funny that Harris and Trump both are promising to end taxes on tips.  I also love that Trump is upset that she "copied his idea".  😀   It's not going to be passed anyway and both of them know it.  

[oblong]

I wouldn’t be surprised if that judge and court gets some heat over this.  I saw the story when it aired and was half paying attention.  I thought she was a defendant.  The handcuffs thing is problematic for me.  That’s physical restraint.  The judge doesn’t know this girls situation.  Maybe she is on meds.  She didn’t commit any crime.  

[chasfh]

8 hours ago, oblong said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if that judge and court gets some heat over this.  I saw the story when it aired and was half paying attention.  I thought she was a defendant.  The handcuffs thing is problematic for me.  That’s physical restraint.  The judge doesn’t know this girls situation.  Maybe she is on meds.  She didn’t commit any crime.  

Why did this judge feel “compelled” to “teach her a lesson” about how to behave in court? Does he expect that she’s going to be a defendant at some point? There’s no way he does this to a 16-year-old white girl. Who says black people can’t be racist against other black people?

[oblong]

4 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Why did this judge feel “compelled” to “teach her a lesson” about how to behave in court? Does he expect that she’s going to be a defendant at some point? There’s no way he does this to a 16-year-old white girl. Who says black people can’t be racist against other black people?

he offered to be a "mentor".  Why does he assume she needs a mentor.  Does he assume she's a crack baby child with no father or other role models in her life?

That's what Dubya called "the soft bigotry of low expectations".

 

[CMRivdogs]

I wish the judge would have done that to a certain old man who allegedly fell asleep in court many times in NYC

[oblong]

[smr-nj]

4 hours ago, oblong said:

This is totally infuriating. During my short stint at teaching special needs kids  - (kids from a lot of different  school districts in northern New Jersey), we had some who were bussed to us from shelters,-  and we KNEW these kids went through hell at night, often not able to sleep, nor, at times fed supper the night before or breakfast that morning.

YOU LET THEM put their head down. You bring them something to eat. You give them a modicum of peace & quiet.

**** this jerk for not even entertaining the thought that her life , even if only that day, might be horrific…. And that she was sleeping because she couldn’t keep her eyes open for even another minute.

Put the cuffs on this monster. Damn him

 

[chasfh]

A wrongful death lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is serving as a reminder to consumers of the importance of reading the fine print when signing up for a streaming service or smartphone app.

The lawsuit was filed by the family of a New York woman who died after eating at a restaurant in Disney Springs, an outdoor dining, shopping and entertainment complex in Florida owned by Disney.

Disney is arguing that the lawsuit should be dropped because the plaintiff, the woman’s husband, once signed up for a trial subscription of the Disney+ streaming service. That service, they argue, includes a subscriber agreement in which the customer agrees to settle any lawsuits against Disney out of court through arbitration.

Such agreements, which customers quickly consent to by clicking “I agree” when downloading an app or a streaming service, are so stacked against the consumer that it’s often difficult to offer good legal advice, said John Davisson, director of litigation at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. 

“The consumer is presented with this contract and really doesn’t have an opportunity to negotiate the terms,”Davisson said. “It’s yes or no.”

 

[chasfh]

Some of you might remember me as the guy who started the thread "An Insidious Trend" on the MTS board, about tipping starting to run amok with the introduction of tip jars at restaurant takeouts. That was 15 years ago. When first I posted that, I was hammered by a few MTSers for being a grouch about tipping. Since then, I think most of us can agree that tipping culture has gone more or less nuts, especially with the swiveling iPad and the peering eyes watching what you're going to do.

I hadn't thought through the Trump/Harris proposal regarding no taxes on tips, but Axios has, and what they say in their latest article about it seems to make sense: retail establishments and their employees humping you for tips is going to become more brazen and aggressive than it is even now.

Tipping percentage has already exploded since it became so common. Some oldsters among us might remember 10% being the standard; I'm not so old, and I remember 15%. Nowadays, if you tip 15%, you're considered a ****ing asshole. You have to do 20%, minimum, and preferably more. A friend of mine judges me for giving less than 20%—he frequently goes 30% or more, which I have never understood. He thinks he's a hero. Who knows, maybe he is.

But I seem to recall one of the reasons we are supposed to tip tipped workers in the first place is that they are paid far less than a living wage by their employers, and we the customers are supposed to make up the difference. There are all kinds of things wrong with that idea on its face, but setting that aside, now that Illinois is mandating that tipped workers be paid the same minimum wage of $15 as everyone else, I am playing with the idea of not tipping at all, which would make me an absolute pariah everywhere, including here, I guess.

By the way: did you know that here in Illinois, employers may pay tipped workers as low as $9 an hour in wages, but must make up the difference to $15 if they are under-tipped? Or, more exactly, the way the law phrases it, "employers may take up to 40% credit for tips out of the employee’s wages." What this means is, if a tipped employee is paid $9/hour but gets no tips, the employer must make them whole to $15/hour. However, if the same employee is paid $9/hour and gets $6/hour in tips, the employer doesn't have to make them whole at all, but the employee gets the exact same hourly pay. In other words, for the first $6/hour, the customer is tipping not the employee, but the employer. Nice, huh? And I'll bet it works the same way in your state, too. And this doesn't even contemplate those pooled tipping jars which are certainly being skimmed or even outright stolen by certain employers.

What do you think of tipping culture now?

Anyhow, here's the Axios article in its entirety. Enjoy.

 

What a "no taxes on tips" policy could mean for U.S. tipping culture

• Emily Peck

If you think tipping culture is already out of hand, think about what would happen if workers no longer had to pay taxes on tips — something both Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump are now proposing.

Why it matters: Typically, ideas like these are tough to turn into reality, but next year when the Trump tax cuts expire, Congress will likely pass some kind of new tax bill.

• That creates an opportunity to put new policies in place, says Brendan Duke of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

The big picture: A no-tax-on-tips policy would incentivize workers to push harder for more tips.

• And their employers would be into it, happy to shift the burden of wages onto customers.
• Businesses, then, would have every reason to figure out more ways to push customers to tip.

Where it stands: You can't buy something to eat or drink in these times without getting asked for a gratuity, often by an iPad screen.

• "As pervasive as things seem now, I have to imagine that it will only get even more pervasive should this pass," says Ernie Tedeschi, of the Yale Budget Lab, who recently wrote an analysis of the policy.

The intrigue: Where things start to get wild is outside the restaurant industry, as Americans try to figure out ways to classify more of their income as tips. Think bankers' bonuses or sales commissions — or even pay for a Substack writer or freelance podcaster.

• The U.S. tax code already has different rules for different kinds of income — capital gains, for example, are taxed at a lower rate than payroll income.
• When those kinds of divides happen, you create enormous incentives for people to game the system, says Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.
• Those kinds of shenanigans typically happen with higher earners — think of the carried interest tax loophole, for example.

For the record: An official from the Harris campaign said the policy would include "strict requirements to prevent hedge fund managers and lawyers from structuring their compensation in ways to try to take advantage of the policy."

• Trump's campaign hasn't offered much in the way of detail.

The bottom line: Knowing that tipped income isn't taxed, people might decide to give a little less money.

• "I'm a pretty religious 20% tipper," says Tedeschi, who until recently was chief economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. "But, quite frankly if my dentist started asking me for tips, I would be like, 'hell no'."

Eliminating taxes on tips would not likely have a huge impact on tipped workers. A lot of these workers don't make enough money to owe federal income tax, though estimates vary.

By the numbers: More than a third of tipped workers, including those working in restaurants, barbers and bartenders — didn't pay income tax in 2022, per an analysis of tax data from the Current Population Survey from Ernie Tedeschi, at the Yale Budget Lab.

• He didn't account for tax credits, which can give some of these folks a negative tax rate — or lower their tax liability.
• A separate analysis from advocacy group One Fair Wage, looked at different government survey data that included self-reported income, narrowed in on restaurant workers and found that two-thirds don't pay income tax.

These proposals would only help a very small slice of workers. Tedeschi estimates that last year roughly 4 million workers were in tipped occupations — 2.5% of all employment.

• On top of that, the Harris campaign tells Axios that, if elected, she'd work to craft a proposal that has an income limit — cutting the number of potential beneficiaries even more.

Edited August 17 by chasfh

[oblong]

I like the general principle I have seen lately where if I am expected to tip before I get my food and/or if I am ordering and paying standing up…. Little to no tip.  

[oblong]

And I generally go with a “rough” 20% plus a Buck.  So for example our Thai food tonight was $61. By “rough 20%” I  mentally go “20% of 60 is 12, add a buck so it’s $13” and I write the bill out for $74 plus the cents.  

[chasfh]

14 hours ago, oblong said:

I like the general principle I have seen lately where if I am expected to tip before I get my food and/or if I am ordering and paying standing up…. Little to no tip.  

I’m with you in principle, although if you have to tip before they make the food and they believe you’ve under-tipped them … 🙄

[chasfh]

14 hours ago, oblong said:

And I generally go with a “rough” 20% plus a Buck.  So for example our Thai food tonight was $61. By “rough 20%” I  mentally go “20% of 60 is 12, add a buck so it’s $13” and I write the bill out for $74 plus the cents.  

I do generally go 20%-ish on $61 checks as well, although on very large checks at really nice places, like $200+, I tip a lot closer to 15% on the pre-tax amount. There’s a not-insubstantial difference between $30 and $45-plus.

[chasfh]

Here’s what I don’t know: how closely do waiters/servers scrutinize customer tips and then discuss them with colleagues after the fact? How big a topic is this? I imagine “very closely” and “very big” are likely answers, but I don’t know, maybe not. Anybody here with personal experience in that?

[Hongbit]

 

[Tiger337]

14 hours ago, oblong said:

I like the general principle I have seen lately where if I am expected to tip before I get my food and/or if I am ordering and paying standing up…. Little to no tip.  

I am never sure about the tip jars.  I usually give them something if they are pleasant.  I do not know what is expected though.  Are they like waiters and waitresses who are paid low wages and are expected to make money on tips?  For me, that is main reason to give tips.  Thus, I always give them 20% plus to servers regardless of the quality of service.  Frankly, it's often easier to order standing up rather than waiting for a waiter to to take my order and then waiting again at the end of my meal to get a bill. I appreciate the work that they do, but they aren't really performing a necessary service for me and I only pay them because they need the money.   I don't eat out that much and when I do it's often because I'm in a hurry after a long day of work and I don't feel like preparing a meal.  I'd rather tip the cook and dish washer.  

[chasfh]

5 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Thus, I always give them 20% plus to servers regardless of the quality of service.

You and practically everyone else, a key reason general level of service quality has cratered in the past decade or so. If they get the same tip regardless, if you're trained to expect it as your due just for being there, what's the incentive to be nice to the customer, or even cordial?

My buddy I referred to earlier gives tips approaching 30% regardless of the situation, whether it's someone serving him multiple rounds at a decent restaurant, or someone who merely opened the beer can for him at a ballpark grab-and-go. I mentioned to him once I found that interesting, in practically those exact words. He basically tip-shamed me in reply. That was the end of that conversation for good and ever. Do what you want, Dan, I'm still leaving a single dollar bill for the beer guy at Wrigley and that's it.

6 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

they aren't really performing a necessary service for me and I only pay them because they need the money.

All I will say here is that other countries have figured out how to have restaurant servers make a decent living without shaming customers into tipping them, instead baking their income into appropriate menu prices and paying them standard wages, and they all seem to like that just fine. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Tiger337]

14 minutes ago, chasfh said:

You and practically everyone else, a key reason general level of service quality has cratered in the past decade or so. If they get the same tip regardless, if you're trained to expect it as your due just for being there, what's the incentive to be nice to the customer, or even cordial?

My buddy I referred to earlier gives tips approaching 30% regardless of the situation, whether it's someone serving him multiple rounds at a decent restaurant, or someone who merely opened the beer can for him at a ballpark grab-and-go. I mentioned to him once I found that interesting, in practically those exact words. He basically tip-shamed me in reply. That was the end of that conversation for good and ever. Do what you want, Dan, I'm still leaving a single dollar bill for the beer guy at Wrigley and that's it.

All I will say here is that other countries have figured out how to have restaurant servers make a decent living without shaming customers into tipping them, instead baking their income into appropriate menu prices and paying them standard wages, and they all seem to like that just fine. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think our tipping culture is weird.  

[chasfh]

3 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I think our tipping culture is weird.  

It's essentially bribe culture-lite.

[oblong]

 

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, oblong said:

 

Good. I hope she wins and each taxpayer in the state of Michigan has to give her a dime.

[Deleterious]

 

[chasfh]

I don't know how you feel about it, but I find it beyond incredible that one of the most lucrative industries in America is also humping people for donations. This came in my email today.