Gun in hotel room

[boattail]

Chopper riding drug dealer?

Close.....state employee working with law enforcement as a non uniformed

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Dude, I kept it. It's still in my backpack actually

thats like the dippers code. see a can, pack it.

 

[OldBroad44]

I think they make near $12 an hour now so flat they may have been, but still they get double now and a little more.

When economists say wages have been flat for decades they are correcting for inflation. And they are talking averages, not comparing one company at one point to one company or an average now.

From recent articles I've read, many restaurants in urban areas were paying 12/hr plus tips as a starting salary before covid. Then after downsizing or closing they now want to hire, and have had to raise starting to $15.

 

[OldBroad44]

Non competes end at the companies ability or willingness to pay a lawyer to enforce them . They're essentially unenforceable.

Maybe if you have the money for a fancy lawyer yourself. Which you don't if you're working a crap job. The company has serious reason to enforce non-competes if it is a big chain paying less than its competitors. If they fail to enforce a non-compete, they will either lose all their employees or have to give raises to all. Actually, every law or contract ends at the ability or willingness of someone to enforce.

 

[Hawaiian]

After reading this thread, I am going to place a few mouse traps in my luggage and see if I can catch a finger!

 

[Flopsweat]

After reading this thread, I am going to place a few mouse traps in my luggage and see if I can catch a finger!

Tempting but it's probably a good way to get your favorite shirt disappeared and the old no hablo treatment.

Maybe mount a trail camera on a curtain rod.

 

[OldBroad44]

I haven't been able to drag housekeeping into a room since covid. I stayed a week at a Holiday Inn in Wisconsin in May and they never set foot into the room. I asked three times to have the trash emptied and finally had to do it myself. Seems like only the small mom & pop hotels are doing daily cleaning in most places. When I do have to leave a gun in the room it is in a locked case inside my locked suitcase. Now with 554 in OR gun are legally required to be locked up anyway, right? Other states have similar laws as well. I know others have access to my room so to me I need to make sure guns are secured. Until coviid, I spent about two plus months of the year in hotels.

Minimum wages mess with a free market economy. You are seeing an effective minimum wage at the moment of $15+ in most places for nearly any job, fast food included. While driving back from the above noted trip to WI, lost count at the number of "Now Hiring $15, $16, $17 per hour to start" signs in WI, MN, MT, WY, ID, CO that I saw. Businesses are having to compete with free money from .gov and are losing. Welcome to more inflation.

I hadn't heard these jobs are trying to use NC clauses, that show how desperate they are. Pretty unenforceable as noted prior but I'm sure it scares many into staying.

Minimum wages do, indeed, mess with a "free economy." But we haven't had a free economy in this country ever. And I doubt we woukd want one. A free economy on a world scale would mean American labor would be in direct completion with labor where people earn a dollar a day or less. Or slave labor. And labor and capital would be allowed to flow unrestricted across borders. There would be no borders. American businesses have gained such an advantage in the balance of power that they can import labor to keep wages flat at all levels and/or support policies involving little enforcement of immigration laws have done so while increasing CEO and top manager pay by orders of magnitude. When it was projected that STEM PhDs were soon going to cost six figure starting salaries, American business interests got the National Academy to do a study that included figuring out how many foreign STEM PhDs would be needed to keep starting salaries flat, and a special program for importing STEM immigrants was promptly started. And American businesses can ship money and jobs overseas and have been able to have full access to the American consumer market. Actually, no developing country can develop unless it initially protects key industries from free trade with developed countries. The newly independent US NE had multiple tariffs on industrial goods from Europe to promote development of the industrial NE. The South hated that because they had to buy more expensive industrial goods from the NE instead of less expensive goods from Europe. So there was already no free market as of shortly after our nations birth. Given no free market on a world scale, it takes a lot of additional laws to try to restore a semblance of free markets on a national scale. And make life pleasant enough for most people so that they don't rebel and start killing rich people.

 

[Flopsweat]

Minimum wages do, indeed, mess with a "free economy." But we haven't had a free economy in this country ever. And I doubt we woukd want one. A free economy on a world scale would mean American labor would be in direct completion with labor where people earn a dollar a day or less. Or slave labor. And labor and capital would be allowed to flow unrestricted across borders. There would be no borders. American businesses have gained such an advantage in the balance of power that they can import labor to keep wages flat at all levels and/or support policies involving little enforcement of immigration laws have done so while increasing CEO and top manager pay by orders of magnitude. When it was projected that STEM PhDs were soon going to cost six figure starting salaries, American business interests got the National Academy to do a study that included figuring out how many foreign STEM PhDs would be needed to keep starting salaries flat, and a special program for importing STEM immigrants was promptly started. And American businesses can ship money and jobs overseas and have been able to have full access to the American consumer market. Actually, no developing country can develop unless it initially protects key industries from free trade with developed countries. The newly independent US NE had multiple tariffs on industrial goods from Europe to promote development of the industrial NE. The South hated that because they had to buy more expensive industrial goods from the NE instead of less expensive goods from Europe. So there was already no free market as of shortly after our nations birth. Given no free market on a world scale, it takes a lot of additional laws to try to restore a semblance of free markets on a national scale. And make life pleasant enough for most people so that they don't rebel and start killing rich people.

This is not a thing that increased minimum wage will fix. This is actually a great example of what the MAGA movement intends to address.

 

[OldBroad44]

Empathy is usually a good thing but I won't support any kind of minimum wage. We have learned the hard way that we cannot leave that kind of authority in the wrong hands. Do you know that a congressman recently publicly stated that companies should be legally prohibited from increasing their prices to compensate for increases in minimum wage? I don't think any of us here want to go down that road.

To be blunt, and with all due respect because I do respect your opinion, If you want to help poor people find another way. A way that uses your money. You have no right to everyone else's money. Put another way, there is not such thing as a right that requires the labor of others.

You're misreading me @Flopsweat . I didn't say I support minimum wage laws. I dont. I was saying it isn't dishonorable to choose to be unemployed rather than taking any job, no matter how lousy it is. And no matter how many liabilities. Such as exposure to deadly diseases or being raped by the boss, always a potential issue for women. And many people who worked at such jobs have been forced to reevaluate them and have decided they aren't willing to work at such jobs at that pay at all. And I consider that an honorable decision.

People are making a big deal out of temporary government programs paying more in unemployment than the jobs paid. But only some employees got that option. People are mostly demanding two or three dollars more per hour to go back to low level jobs even if they got no unemployment. Covid has made the jobs more dangerous. The supposed security of the jobs has proved false. The value of staying home and taking care of your own kids, doing home-based thing s that save money, or working at odd jobs or starting home based businesses has gone up. As is moving to somewhere where there are more real jobs. Many of those low paying jobs survive only because those who take them have really not calculated the cost. A couple with two crap jobs usually doesn't figure in the cost of commuting, or the fact that if one person stayed home they might be able to get rid of one car and its insurance and maintenance. And crap jobs still often require a specialized wardrobe. and can cause enough stress to create health issues .

 

[Flopsweat]

You're misreading me @Flopsweat . I didn't say I support minimum wage laws. I dont. I was saying it isn't dishonorable to choose to be unemployed rather than taking any job, no matter how lousy it is. And no matter how many liabilities. Such as exposure to deadly diseases or being raped by the boss, always a potential issue for women. And many people who worked at such jobs have been forced to reevaluate them and have decided they aren't willing to work at such jobs at that pay at all. And I consider that an honorable decision.

People are making a big deal out of temporary government programs paying more in unemployment than the jobs paid. But only some employees got that option. People are mostly demanding two or three dollars more per hour to go back to low level jobs even if they got no unemployment. Covid has made the jobs more dangerous. The supposed security of the jobs has proved false. The value of staying home and taking care of your own kids, doing home-based thing s that save money, or working at odd jobs or starting home based businesses has gone up. As is moving to somewhere where there are more real jobs. Many of those low paying jobs survive only because those who take them have really not calculated the cost. A couple with two crap jobs usually doesn't figure in the cost of commuting, or the fact that if one person stayed home they might be able to get rid of one car and its insurance and maintenance. And crap jobs still often require a specialized wardrobe. and can cause enough stress to create health issues .

I'm good with most of that. I firmly believe that welfare should pay less than the most basic low wage job and unemployment should not pay more than what you made working. And for gosh sakes can we stop rewarding mothers for kicking fathers out the door? The poverty cycle we created with that nonsense is unforgivable.

 

[OldBroad44]

This is not a thing that increased minimum wage will fix. This is actually a great example of what the MAGA movement intends to address.

Yes. I agree. I've been relieved the Biden administration has accepted Trumps trade and China policy in full. Unfortunately Biden administration has screwed the pooch on immigration. (I always say "Biden administration" because I have no idea who is running the country. Its certainly not Biden.)

I think American wages are too low at the bottom and middle. But I don't think minimum wage laws are the way to fix the low wage problem. I think that problem is indicative of various other things that need fixing. And would go away with real borders and immigration and trade laws that considered all the people, not just certain powerful businesses.

 

[Flopsweat]

Yes. I agree. I've been relieved the Biden administration has accepted Trumps trade and China policy in full. Unfortunately Biden administration has screwed the pooch on immigration. (I always say "Biden administration" because I have no idea who is running the country. Its certainly not Biden.)

I think American wages are too low at the bottom and middle. But I don't think minimum wage laws are the way to fix the low wage problem. I think that problem is indicative of various other things that need fixing. And would go away with real borders and immigration and trade laws that considered all the people, not just certain powerful businesses.

Trump had it handled with the booming economy. Unemployment at an all time low (lowest since we kept records) for women and several minority groups, highest average wages for Blacks and so many other great metrics. Things were coming together. We will never be a perfect nation because that's not the nature of human beings, but we were headed in the right direction. Then in came the next administration and they just lifted the hood and started yanking wires. They undid so many things that were so obviously working. And for what? Spite?

 

[OldBroad44]

I'm good with most of that. I firmly believe that welfare should pay less than the most basic low wage job and unemployment should not pay more than what you made working. And for gosh sakes can we stop rewarding mothers for kicking fathers out the door? The poverty cycle we created with that nonsense is unforgivable.

RIGHT! I agree with all that.

A guy I know found the right lady, and she got pregnant. In his 30s, he was elated, and they both wanted to get married and have a family. It was just a bit earlier than they planned. They couldn't get married without losing insurance coverage for the baby. His seasonal job didn't provide insurance and hers didn't provide insurance if she was married. And this was in Corvallis. So for the first year they were unmarried.

Fortunately his job fired him when he tried to take some leave when the baby was born. And he applied for a new job with me as a reference. He got the much better job with full bennies, meaning he and lady could get married.

 

[Flopsweat]

RIGHT! I agree with all that.

A guy I know found the right lady, and she got pregnant. In his 30s, he was elated, and they both wanted to get married and have a family. It was just a bit earlier than they planned. They couldn't get married without losing insurance coverage for the baby. His seasonal job didn't provide insurance and hers didn't provide insurance if she was married. And this was in Corvallis. So for the first year they were unmarried.

Fortunately his job fired him when he tried to take some leave when the baby was born. And he applied for a new job with me as a reference. He got the much better job with full bennies, meaning he and lady could get married.

I've read that in the United States if you:
1) Complete High School
2) Get and keep a job - any job
3) Do not have children out of wedlock
you have a 95% chance of reaching a middle class income level.

This figure applies to the entire population, not just one or two specific demographics.

It's simple (not easy) until you get government programs and peer pressure involved.

 

[wired]

Maybe if you have the money for a fancy lawyer yourself. Which you don't if you're working a crap job. The company has serious reason to enforce non-competes if it is a big chain paying less than its competitors. If they fail to enforce a non-compete, they will either lose all their employees or have to give raises to all. Actually, every law or contract ends at the ability or willingness of someone to enforce.

Its not worth the effort or expense to enforce non competes unless its an executive position or involves truly valuable intellectual property. Base level workers? Yeah, no. .

 

[OldBroad44]

Trump had it handled with the booming economy. Unemployment at an all time low (lowest since we kept records) for women and several minority groups, highest average wages for Blacks and so many other great metrics. Things were coming together. We will never be a perfect nation because that's not the nature of human beings, but we were headed in the right direction. Then in came the next administration and they just lifted the hood and started yanking wires. They undid so many things that were so obviously working. And for what? Spite?

Mostly agreed. However, most of the Trump policies that Biden administration reversed with great fanfare had little significance. Cancelling new shale production on federal lands for example. Very little of the shale oil production is on federal lands. And only new drilling is affected. We have all the shakes oil production and potential we need from private lands.. With little fanfare Biden administration has retained Trump's recognition of China as an enemy and liability as a trade partner and all Trump trade policies and treaties. Has even doubled down by hiring Katherine Thai as Trade Representative. She is Taiwanese, hates China, and is expert at suing trade partners who are breaking their end of trade deals. Which China always does. Trump screwed up by not watching and suing China when it violated all the terms of his trade deal with china. As usual.

Unfortunately Biden Administration has not recognized the need for an intact border and control over immigration. Its negotiating a deal to make a defense deal with UK, Australia, and US to supply nuclear powered sub technology to Australia was a good move I thought. Doubling down on recognizing China as an enemy against whom we will want effective allies. And while Trump chose the date for getting out of Afghanistan its hard to imagine Trump doing as bad a job of it, or deserting Americans and allies or leaving so much us military equipment as presents for the Taliban.

So I think we were going in the right direction and still mostly are because Biden administration is actually continuing almost all of the really critical Trump policies while not saying anything about it or giving Trump any credit. The exception is immigration.

 

[Flopsweat]

Mostly agreed. However, most of the Trump policies that Biden administration reversed with great fanfare had little significance. Cancelling new shale production on federal lands for example. Very little of the shale oil production is on federal lands. And only new drilling is affected. We have all the shakes oil production and potential we need from private lands.. With little fanfare Biden administration has retained Trump's recognition of China as an enemy and liability as a trade partner and all Trump trade policies and treaties. Has even doubled down by hiring Katherine Thai as Trade Representative. She is Taiwanese, hates China, and is expert at suing trade partners who are breaking their end of trade deals. Which China always does. Trump screwed up by not watching and suing China when it violated all the terms of his trade deal with china. As usual.

Unfortunately Biden Administration has not recognized the need for an intact border and control over immigration. Its negotiating a deal to make a defense deal with UK, Australia, and US to supply nuclear powered sub technology to Australia was a good move I thought. Doubling down on recognizing China as an enemy against whom we will want effective allies. And while Trump chose the date for getting out of Afghanistan its hard to imagine Trump doing as bad a job of it, or deserting Americans and allies or leaving so much us military equipment as presents for the Taliban.

So I think we were going in the right direction and still mostly are because Biden administration is actually continuing almost all of the really critical Trump policies while not saying anything about it or giving Trump any credit. The exception is immigration.

That border stunt, cancelling our pipeline and approving Russia's, and the mandatory vaccinations are together a huge blow to our economy.

 

[CLT65]

Whatever you do, don't stay in a hotel run by this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Holmes#Illinois_and_the_"Murder_Castle"
He had trap doors in rooms, that led to vats of acid where you'd be boiled down for bones to sell to medical supply companies. Fortunately they hanged him well over a century ago.

If I ever found that some hotel employee had gone through my personal belongings, I would be talking to management, and if they defended it, a lawyer. That's absolutely not allowed. It would be the same as a landlord searching a tenant's home without permission, seriously not allowed.

I rarely stay in hotels more than one night (traveling by car with the family). A couple times per year I'll travel for work and stay multiple nights. There was one time I was a little nervous, when I traveled by car for work and stayed several days. The only reason I was concerned was because I had found a good price on some gunpowder, and had an 8-lb jug of Unique in one suitcase. I figured anything I had would be safer in the room than in the trunk of my car, but was concerned that my suitcases might be snooped, so I set it precisely a certain way, with a piece of clothing laying on it a certain way, and snapped a photo with my phone. I'd compare it each night with that photo, and it was never touched.

 

[wired]

That border stunt, cancelling our pipeline and approving Russia's, and the mandatory vaccinations are together a huge blow to our economy.

We never had any say in that Russian pipeline deal. Germany never was going to buy gas from the US off viciously expensive tanker ships vs from Russia through a pipeline when the Germans are getting real close to shuttering their nuke plants for good. Trade embargos or no the Germans NEED the gas and told us to stand aside and mind our own damned business .We are not going to sanction Germany.

 

[Kruel J]

Eh…..back on topic?