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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

#341

Post by yen223 »

tristor wrote: post #321
alan-hn wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that mean everyone wants to be a waiter and nobody wants to be a CEO?

> Does that mean everyone wants to be a waiter and nobody wants to be a CEO? Unironically, yes. Most people don't have enough exposure to actually understand what the job of a CEO is. I have had that exposure, and I don't ever want to be the CEO of any sizeable company. Once you become CEO, work/life balance utterly ceases to exist, because you are the person imbued as the corporation, meaning you are literally alway…

I have yet to see a CEO choose to go back down the food chain, even though that is something they have the power to do.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#342

Post by brvsft »

2024throwaway wrote: post #142
brvsft wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Sounds a lot like an abuser saying “as long as there are no visible bruises, they’re fine”. Except way worse because you’re fine with bruises apparently. Death is where you draw the line. Disgusting.

Hahaha.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#343

Post by sleepybrett »

basil-rash wrote: post #165
nullindividual wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Target store closings (in Seattle) were not due to violence/theft but rather a cost cutting measure; Target lied. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/19/target-store-closures-theft-...

That article proves nothing of the sort. Shutting down stores that have too much theft is a cost cutting measure, and keeping stores open that have more theft but far more sales doesn’t invalidate it.

I live two blocks from that store (the ballard one which was shut down). It was the worst targeted store i've ever seen. It was about 1/3 'groceries' while sitting within a block of two larger and cheaper grocery stores. All the stock that people would actually be interested in, home goods and the like (because the neighborhood lacks a store for that), were extremely thin on the shelves. Either because they didn't stock items are they were always sold out because they were meeting a neighborhood demand.

Was there theft at that store.. I don't doubt it but never saw it in all the times i was in there searching, often without success, for some home item that would suit my place.

It was just a bad target variant store that was plopped into the middle of a neighborhood that ended up being specialized in the wrong thing, if any target mucky muck had ever walked the neighborhood before putting the store in it could have been very successful (because we could really use a store where I can buy various home goods without jumping in my car and driving 10-15m).

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#344

Post by ghaff »

tristor wrote: post #321
alan-hn wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that mean everyone wants to be a waiter and nobody wants to be a CEO?

> Does that mean everyone wants to be a waiter and nobody wants to be a CEO? Unironically, yes. Most people don't have enough exposure to actually understand what the job of a CEO is. I have had that exposure, and I don't ever want to be the CEO of any sizeable company. Once you become CEO, work/life balance utterly ceases to exist, because you are the person imbued as the corporation, meaning you are literally alway…

Senior exec positions (at large companies) pay really well for the most part--but I couldn't imagine doing that sort of thing for more than a few years with the mindset that I'm doing my time in purgatory so that I can retire early and have a sane life. (Some CEOs seem to have a better ability to carve off some me-time but it's still a job a lot of people wouldn't want for the long term.)

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#345

Post by ghaff »

yen223 wrote: post #341
tristor wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Does that mean everyone wants to be a waiter and nobody wants to be a CEO? Unironically, yes. Most people don't have enough exposure to actually understand what the job of a CEO is. I have had that exposure, and I don't ever want to be the CEO of any sizeable company. Once you become CEO, work/life balance utterly ceases to exist, because you are the person imbued as the corporation, meaning you are literally alway…

I have yet to see a CEO choose to go back down the food chain, even though that is something they have the power to do.

CEOs of large companies generally don't go back down the food chain because they don't need to. They retire/semi-retire (e.g. get a board seat or some other advisor type of position) instead.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#346

Post by autoexec »

castlecrasher2 wrote: post #259
Jensson wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Wage theft utterly eclipses every other form of larceny in the United States at least If you define being late with payments as theft, then I'd bet that rent theft is way larger than wage theft. I don't see why you would say that it is theft when you are late with payments to a worker but not theft when you are late with payments to a company. If being late with payments isn't theft, then "wage theft" isn't theft,…

Agreed, and not sure why you're being downvoted for this.

Maybe because if you redefine things that aren't theft as theft you can make any number of things more prevalent than wage theft, or maybe because it confused paying someone late with paying someone never, or maybe because it equated people who are unable to pay due to not having enough money for their basic needs with corporations who most often have plenty of money and assets but still refuse to pay their employees, or for any number of other reasons that it was a terrible argument.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#347

Post by CaptainFever »

vundercind wrote: post #312
Philorandroid wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hard to interpret "We basically put a big flashing sign right out front saying whose interests are the top priority" as anything but distaste, just as it's hard to parse "the name “capitalism” states whose interests are favored in our system" as anything but a favorable verisimilitude. Whose capital? Construction contractors? Service industry bosses? How exactly are they favored? Clearly wage theft is a well-und…

> How is any of this unique to a capitalist system and prevented in, say, command economies? Social-capitalist economies (the “social democracies” and adjacent) tend to do better job at this particular thing. Unions are pretty damn effective at cutting down on employers failing to follow through on their obligations, for one thing, and other states do a better job of supporting and incubating those organizations, bes…

(Not GP) I think this is fair enough of an answer, I agree with you.

Though, when complaining about capitalism to try to improve it, it is probably best to mention social-capitalism as what you are advocating for.

Due to the recent political climate (e.g. the Russian invasion) communists are also complaining about capitalism on online forums as a way to advocate for it, which I believe is why GP thought you were talking about command economies. I thought so, too.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#348

Post by tremon »

mjburgess wrote: post #244
phpisthebest wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well now we will get in a Hobbes vs Locke, I am more Lockean I disagree, and history has shown that free markets absent government control doe not instantly become monopolized, and infact through out most of history monopolize form when the government regulates the most Look at todays market as an example, the most competition is present in markets where the government has the least influence, where markets like ener…

I know of no example in all of human history of a free market without a state, at least one of more than a short period -- so my position is very weak here, if you can show only one, i'd have to at least modify it. Yet, I bet you cannot. Neutrally, using the term "anarchical market", i'd say that these markets are empheral. Everyone them has to act against rules which are not in their self-interest, it's highly uncle…

[an] example in all of human history of a free market without a state

The Hanseatic League. This was basically its own trade association across North Europe, based on maritime trade. It had considerable market/economic power, but no legislative power; most participants were city-states so they were self-reliant to a degree, but none of them had jurisdiction or power over the entire group.

Re: Billions stolen in wage theft from US workers

#349

Post by FpUser »

Jensson wrote: post #203
FpUser wrote: post #135

When it is actual theft why the owners/authors of said theft are not charged criminally? Why laws are asymmetric? When Hertz complains about car theft while there is none the renters are getting charged.

Refusing to pay your bills is treated the same for private persons, you just don't call that rent theft. Calling being late with a payment theft doesn't make it theft. I am very happy that I don't get treated like a criminal just because I forgot to pay a bill, I don't see why companies should be treated differently.

I am all for fairness. Then explain why people are being criminally charged for car theft when there is none. It was malicious reporting with the purpose of settling later. Meanwhile no one at Hertz is currently facing criminal penalties for initiating the false arrests with law enforcement.

>"I don't see why companies should be treated differently."

In this case I'd love people to get away with fraud / theft / etc. After all big companies commit it left and right and gets away with it.

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