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Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

theguardian.com

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Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#281

Post by Jensson »

ToucanLoucan wrote: post #268
Jensson wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is the same situation, entity A didn't pay entity B the money they agreed to pay.

Even looking past the time aspect which you slipped in (rent late, wages unpaid are definitionally different: unpaid is not, by necessity, late, and late is not necessarily "never going to arrive") wages are the payment of labor performed and rent is the payment of use of private property. Rent-seeking is derided behavior (by economists!) for this exact reason: A landlord does not (in the vast, vast, vast majority of…

> rent late, wages unpaid

Those two are the same, a person who is late would typically never pay if they didn't get threatening mail to "remind" them.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#282

Post by avgcorrection »

Aurornis wrote: post #232
avgcorrection wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> not only would they fire you but they'd call up all their industry buddies and you'd basically be on every other restaurants no-hire list. So like a much-dreaded union for employers except it’s underhanded and illegal.

The idea of industry-wide "no-hire lists" is a bogeyman that bad employers use to control young employees who don't yet know any better. At worst, you won't get a positive recommendation from an employer like this if somebody calls and asks. The idea that employers are busy maintaining "no-hire lists" and collecting names from all of their industry peers doesn't hold up, at least not outside of maybe weird small-town…

Ah shame, shame, stupid low-experience employees just falling for some savvy bad-employer tricks.

But it’s not like the small-town social bubble of West Coast software development is a stranger to collusion. What was that thing again? Apple and some other giant tech companies colluding on wages? Well, it was on HN a few times at least. I don’t remember the details.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#283

Post by danaris »

wahnfrieden wrote: post #254
danaris wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm afraid I don't know offhand who Hindenburg is, nor even what country he was running in, but: In the US, due to the winner-take-all, first-past-the-post voting system, if Hindenburg was running against a candidate in the general election who was even one step worse than he was, then yes, I would have voted for him. Even if his platform included kicking puppies and stealing candy from babies. (Because, remember, in…

Hindenburg was voted as the ideologically safe choice in the opposite direction of hitler but he then in turn granted takeover powers to Hitler anyway some interesting period of history to learn more about/analyze

Ah, gotcha. If I ever learned that level of detail about Hitler's rise to power, I'm afraid I've since forgotten it.

Well, in the case where the choices are Hindenburg (who, at that point in time, may or may not choose to give power to Hitler), or Hitler...Hindenburg is objectively the correct choice.

It's also a great demonstration that the time to be trying to get yourself better options is before it gets to that point.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#284

Post by vundercind »

mjburgess wrote: post #276
vundercind wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, to bystanders without context for this area of study, the parent is basically the orthodox take on the role of the state in modern economies and “free markets”: in short, you can’t have one (certainly not a highly-productive one that makes life not-suck) that lasts for any length of time without a state, and the “shape” it takes and whom it serves and to what degree is meaningfully determined by same state.

There is an irony that capitalism is claimed by the anarcho-libertarian lot. As capitalism is the most collectivised system in human history (consider, only, the scale of Microsoft) -- and also the most anti-capitalist system (ie., it forces capitalists to compete and hence dramatically diminishes their power relative to other systems). Perhaps one day we might see capitalism as an "iterated socialism" (ie., socialis…

Yeah, last I checked the “story” of capitalism and strong market economies is generally regarded as essentially having the emergence of the proto-nation-state (as in e.g. Spain under the “Catholic Monarchs”) as a prerequisite, as far as being something that can exist on an all-encompassing scale rather than in the margins, in tiny states navigating the “waters” between larger polities with other economic systems.

Stability and guarantees from a strong central state really grease the wheels of commerce.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#286

Post by wahnfrieden »

amrocha wrote: post #216
cscurmudgeon wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do realize that people who steal formula use it to cut drugs? https://city-attorney.columbus.gov/pdf/press/babyformulaband... There are a lot of organizations that give out formula for free but not at scale required for nefarious uses.

Look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you honestly believe drug dealers are stealing formula to cut drugs with rather than mom's just need to feed their babies

a lot of stolen inventory is resold for money but it's then in turn sold to moms on street markets (or sometimes back to unscrupulous store owners at a discount off wholesale to resell, sometimes via a proxy reseller). so you may be unhappy with who profits in various ways but it's evidently going to moms one way or the other

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#287

Post by cscurmudgeon »

pierat wrote: post #245
cscurmudgeon wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is a list of places with free baby formula and stuff in the Bay Area most without means testing: https://www.211bayarea.org/sanfrancisco/food/food-programs/f... https://www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/san_francisco_and_s... Just recently there was a baby formula shortage. And we were not prosecuting gangs stealing formula. Shameless and laughable. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/form...…

The Bay Area is not the USA, techbro.

I can't provide data for 1000s of cities in the US, genius. Feel free to do so. You provide data for zero other parts of the US.

Non tech folks also live in the US (you would know if you live in the US).

Also look up why we are discussing the Bay Area.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#288

Post by darth_avocado »

tootie wrote: post #226
darth_avocado wrote: post #43

People thinking wage theft only affects lower wage workers, let me tell you how tech companies commit wage theft: 1. Having annual components to wages (RSUs, bonuses), making you work all year and firing you just before they have to pay you. 2. Having no overtime for salaried employees 3. Having employees work extra responsibilities that are not part of the job description by promising promotions and then not giving…

That's not theft. It's not even really unethical. It's well-understood that the value of RSUs is not guaranteed. Nor is bonus pay. For one, this kind of comp only typically applies to people earning a base salary way above the median and that anyone accepting comp in terms of company or personal performance is willingly signing on to accept the risk.

It is theft; it is definitely highly unethical; RSUs are guaranteed pay; doesn’t matter if salary is above median; willingly signing a contract because companies have better bargaining power doesn’t make it right.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#289

Post by ToucanLoucan »

Jensson wrote: post #281
ToucanLoucan wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even looking past the time aspect which you slipped in (rent late, wages unpaid are definitionally different: unpaid is not, by necessity, late, and late is not necessarily "never going to arrive") wages are the payment of labor performed and rent is the payment of use of private property. Rent-seeking is derided behavior (by economists!) for this exact reason: A landlord does not (in the vast, vast, vast majority of…

> rent late, wages unpaid Those two are the same, a person who is late would typically never pay if they didn't get threatening mail to "remind" them.

Citation: Dude trust me

Hot, hot, hot fucking garbage. When I was in college and broke, and struggled to make rent, I was KEENLY FUCKING AWARE I owed it. It was a fact that was on my mind 24 hours a day, including inducing stress nightmares about losing my place to live.

Just absolute, 100%, shit from a bull's ass. Bullshit, you might say. I dunno where in the world you got this notion, but as someone who spent a youth in the poverty grinder, allow me to dispel you of it. Fuck no. Rent NEVER left my mind, even when it WAS paid. Making my rent payment every month was what kept me going to work when sick, what kept me at work when my boss treated me like shit, etc. etc. etc. This notion that people "forget" rent is some of the most ludicrous bullshit I've ever heard in my fucking life.

I don't mean to personally attack, I don't know you, but I cannot fathom how you got this idea in your head if you've ever rented a place before that you had to personally pay for.

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