Wedding Woes
mrsconn23
member
It's been just over 200 days...
in Wedding Woes
Doesn't it feel like it's been a year or more?
Anyhoo...Yay for progress? I wonder if they found anything?
And because it's felt like for-ev-er, I also am antsy for Mueller and Co. to move faster...I know it takes time and it's only been 3ish months? And yes, they should leave no stone un-turned but, I'm praying we're not nuked before anything can be done.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/politics/paul-manafort-search-fbi-russian-interference/index.html
Anyhoo...Yay for progress? I wonder if they found anything?
And because it's felt like for-ev-er, I also am antsy for Mueller and Co. to move faster...I know it takes time and it's only been 3ish months? And yes, they should leave no stone un-turned but, I'm praying we're not nuked before anything can be done.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/politics/paul-manafort-search-fbi-russian-interference/index.html
Re: It's been just over 200 days...
I have to say, the one benefit to a Trump presidency is that it has been such a shit show he hasn't been able to sign legislation that would destroy my moms life - so at least there's that. A competent Republican by now would probably have overturned the ACA and started in on SSDI.
That's a good, but scary point. I've thought the same thing. Popular opinion for Trump is just so low that it seems like a lot of Republicans are trying to distance themselves from him. The ACA not being completely repealed (with no replacement!) was a big sign of that.
I was watching a South Park re-run last night that ran during the POTUS election season. It was even more alarming to watch now than it was at the time! Mr. Garrison ran for President as a lark. But then gained a lot of popularity and was the front runner against Clinton. He starts bluntly saying in all his speeches things like, "Don't vote for me. I ran as a joke. I have no idea what I'm doing. Please stop this nightmare and let me go. Vote for Hillary. She has experience and can actually lead this country. I can't."
But the more he protests, the more popular he becomes. His supporters are saying, "He's so honest! Telling it like it is." "It's great! He's not like a politician at all." He even starts denigrating his supporters with, "What is WRONG with all of you!?! Don't vote for me!"
Maybe if we can survive the next 1 3/4 years, the elections for Congress will shift the balance to Democratic and his insanity can at least be kept in check until the next POTUS election.
Not quite Trump related, but I found this article really interesting. It's talking about that we're in this weird place right now where there are a lot of unemployed people looking for the right job and not having any luck. But there are also a lot of job openings. With CEOs/managers complaining they can't find qualified workers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/08/there-are-7-million-unemployed-and-6-2-million-job-openings-whats-the-problem/
I generally call b.s. when I hear businesses complain they can't find qualified workers. Unless something is very specialized, they aren't adding the second part of that sentence. They can't find qualified workers...for the crap "can't even make ends meet" wages they want to pay. Or they are excessively picky for what they want.
I recently had dinner with another real estate investor in NOLA. Our meeting turned into, "Hey, you might be perfect to hire for my company. I need a lot of help." He told me about the revolving door he'd had trying to find a good assistant and what tasks he wanted that person to do. How he was so frustrated. Quite frankly, it was a job with a lot of responsibility and someone who would need to have a large variety of skills. With the exception of a few things he'd need to train anyone on, I could not have been a more perfect candidate. Except he could only afford to pay mid-$30Ks. He even admitted he knew it was more a $60K job (his number, not mine), but just couldn't afford that yet. I would have left my job for low $50s. I think he could have found someone close for mid $40s, but mid $30s is crazy. Whelp. Yeah. He couldn't afford the kind of employee he wanted. Which is fair enough and understandable. But then don't complain you can't find qualified people
. And I think a lot of business people fall in that category.
I'm also thinking about the job offer you'd recently been negotiating, @kimmiinthemitten, and are about to turn down because it's not enough.
Or, they're complaining just to complain. I was recently reading an article in my local paper with a business owner in the IT industry. The whole article was him talking about how hard it is to find IT people in NOLA. Especially of African American descent. Seemed a poor idea to me to be blatant about your preferential race to hire but, whatever. I still immediately forwarded the article to my H. A long time unemployed, but very high level and experienced IT guy. H went to the guy's website to look at job openings. There was not even one in the IT field! Ummm...okay. H sent his resume anyway with an open cover letter. But never heard anything back.
And I can attest to that. I used to get 4-5% raises, even 6% once or twice. Now 3% is a dream. And I should consider myself lucky, apparently! DH is in the same boat. He got a stellar review this year and a 3% raise.
It's going to catch up to the stock market and home prices. We are primed for another 2007-2008, sooner than later. :-/
In regards to Trump getting nothing done, I think he/this administration is getting more done than the average person realizes, and that scares me. What also scares me is the thought of Pence being president if Trump is somehow impeached. Pence actually knows how to work the system, and he's someone Republicans get can behind.
Back to the article though, what we're seeing in Michigan is a lack of skilled trades workers, which directly ties back to the under funding of public education which led to the cut of vocational programs. Automotive is clearly our world, and we can't get an application for a mechanic, let alone hire one. My company started two programs to fill this gap 1: we pay for your associates in exchange for a 2 year work commitment 2: training low risk prisoners.
I also think college degrees are overrated, are now required for jobs that don't need them, and drive down salaries. Now don't get me wrong, I needed college because I needed that time and space away from home to grow up and focus on myself instead of my family, but by no means do you need a degree to do my job, but it's a requirement. Thankfully, my job pays enough to make the investment worth it. But there are other positions in my company that require a degree, don't pay as well and are perfectly fine for people with HS diplomas.
Also at play, the gap between the lowest paid and highest paid position in a company is the largest it's ever been. Once upon a time, it was a badge of honor to be so successful that you could pay a living wage, now that badge is only judged by how much is in your bank account. So while people at the bottom argue over what jobs deserve $15/hour, they're ignoring the fact that the people paying them make anywhere from $115-$1,115/hour. Keep on shopping at Walmart, Americans, while complaining that you aren't paid enough.
I know my FIL complains that they can't hire good qualified workers in the home HVAC industry where he works. It's in the middle of an extremely wealthy town where DH grew up. That same HS got rid of its technical classes and touts the number of students who go to 4 year colleges (schooling is among the reasons their town is taxed the way it is). The people IN the town don't value the trades and yet when they have no heat on Christmas Eve, they sure as hell value the people who need to fix their boilers. In FIL's company, he talks about how they have actively begun to increase wages offered. For that area and industry, the issue is that they can't find the qualified help.
However you're not going to get qualified help in the area if no one in the area tells their children that working in that industry is a valuable skill and the education of those fields doesn't get funding. My father went to a technical HS and unfortunately it no longer exists.
Oh my goodness, yes! Tradespeople can make amazing incomes. Much more than a lot of the typical "office/need a college degree" kind of jobs. And good ones are hard to find. I have an awesome "go to" plumber and electrician for when I need that kind of work. Which is fairly often. As far as I'm concerned, they're made of gold. My plumber with no college degree, makes $50/hour and is always busy. He isn't even licensed, but he's good and has a lot of experience. He also has a hook up with a licensed plumber, for when that is needed.
For one of our rehabs, we needed a licensed plumber to sign off on the work. He was also the one who had to go to the Sewerage and Water Board and request their inspection. So our plumber did all the work. And then his licensed plumber friend came. Spent less than two hours doing everything, including going to SWB to submit the permit. He was paid $500 for all of that! And that's on the cheap side.
It's an issue in Canada as well, because my parents {mid-50s} are starting to look at retirement and there's not enough up-and-comers to replace all the jobs needed.
So many people want 9-5 office jobs, and yes much of the job market is switching to that area but we'll always need trades. Machines can't be built on their own
Skynet
I'm fortunate that majority of my friend's group are in trades - vehicles, construction, etc - and I hear that many of the high schools are starting to push for trades.
But sometimes still a hard balance
I remember before my brother was born, my grandmother was terrified that the KKK would burn crosses on our lawn. I thought she was being hyperbolic. Today, I'm not so sure.
Now Trump has his own "real news" (as opposed to "fake news") channel on social media that's "anchored" by a family member (Lara Trump).
We are on the brink or nuclear war - no better way to raise those record-low, abysmal approval ratings than to start a war.
He's stripping environmental protections and funding.
Neo-Nazis and racists are holding bold, hood-less rallies in public.
And he STILL HAS SUPPORTERS Y'ALL. Like die hard MAGA supporters grinning from ear to ear because they know they can be "hoods off" and he won't condemn it.
People are like "this isn't America". Wake up - yes it is. It IS America, unfortunately, and it's going to take a hell of a lot of work to fix it.
Never have I ever thought there'd be a day when people in droves found a moral equivalence for Nazis. It's making me fucking sick.
I was just reading an article that had Gallup poll's latest Trump approval rating. More like disapproval rating. 61% disapprove of Trump (+/- 3%). It's the highest disapproval rating for a POTUS in Gallup's history. Also interesting, this polling started last Friday, so roughly half of it was before Trump's lackluster response to Charlottesville.
For decades, "Nixon at the height of Watergate" was the Gallup benchmark for a President's unpopularity (in comparison). GW Bush danced with it, but never overrode. I wonder if Trump will become the new "you know you're awful when" benchmark.
I think some of them have come around but what totally boggles my mind (and kind of scares me) is the ones who haven't. Like, what are you (general) still supporting? I really want to know. So since you voted him, what exactly has he done where you're like "man am I glad I voted for Trump!" I am so, so curious.
https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror
Their clear intent is to incite violence with their words and rallies so any violence perpetuated by them is "justified."
I found it interesting that this super heavily armed dude went into this expecting to "kill people if (he) has to"....and then he feels victimized because he got maced.
It is so much bullshit that the right (and I use this term on purpose because their extremism has bled into the mainstream) has been framing this as some kind of peaceful demonstration of free speech that turned violent because counter-protesters. Free speech doesn't cover incitement or hate speech - which is exactly what this rally was about. "But it was to protest taking down Confederate statutes!" No. It wasn't. But keep telling yourself that when the group is carrying Nazi flags and literally chanting "Jews will not replace us". Since when was the Civil War about Jews?
There's an interesting article about how misinformation is already being spread by the right about the events this weekend. Like BLM protesters were throwing bricks at the car that ran into Heather Heyer, so what's a driver to do? Obviously run into a crowd of people! He had no choice! All someone has to do is watch the video. There is ZERO evidence/damage to the car to support this theory. And people are gobbling that shit up like it's Gospel. It absolutely terrifies me how easily people allow themselves to be victims of misinformation.
However, there is an interesting debate on the FB page for one of my old poli sci professors. It seems SCOTUS is only clear that hate speech is not allowed on campuses, and thus far is for public rallies. I wonder if the overwhelming evidence that it was their intent could reshape the law.
It's a slippery slope, and one that should be navigated carefully, but is also a compelling debate.