Attention Fast Food workers: you are ALREADY obsolete

***UPDATE – September 5th, 2014:  Since the Fast Food Workers of the nation are once again agitating for an artificially higher wage than what the market dictates, it seems that they need yet another reminder of exactly how essential their “profession” truly is… ***

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They never learn.

(via the Chicago Tribune) – “…A few hundred fast food workers in Chicago on Wednesday voted to join a national one-day strike against their employers on May 15.  Strikes are planned for 150 cities, including New York City.  —  The workers say they want $15 per hour wages and to form a union that would bargain over benefits and wages on their behalf. Fast food workers in Chicago make about $8.25 per hour, the state’s minimum wage…”

Now, many of us have spent some amount of time employed in a Wendy’s, McDonald’s or a Burger King, commonly back when we were in our teens: the hours are flexible, and the level of mental effort required is minimal (at best). Entry level employment in this industry is usually considered to be a stepping stone on to greater things, whether that means a management position within the fast food chain, or a different job altogether.

So with all that in mind, any Fast Food folks who think striking is their Key To Success…may wish to rethink that strategy.

Obama’s Treasury Secretary threatened Rating Agency about U.S. credit downgrade

I wrote about this last year, well after the Department Of Justice initially filed suit against S&P in February. And as you might recall, the DOJ’s lawsuit was chockablock with staggering hypocrisy all on its own (h/t HotAir).

But if that move smelled like political retribution back then, it absolutely reeks of it now.

(via Reuters) – Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner angrily warned the chairman of Standard & Poor’s parent that the rating agency would be held accountable for its 2011 decision to strip the United States of its coveted “triple-A” rating, a new court filing shows.

Harold McGraw, the chairman of McGraw-Hill Financial Inc , made the statement in a declaration filed by S&P on Monday, as it defends against the government’s $5 billion fraud lawsuit over its rating practices prior to the 2008 financial crisis.

McGraw said he returned a call from Geithner on Aug. 8, 2011, three days after S&P cut the U.S. credit rating to “AA-plus,” and that Geithner told him “you are accountable” for an alleged “huge error” in S&P’s work.

All I want for #Christmas is: “An End to Quantitative Easing”

We’ve linked to ReasonTV’s Remy before: he’s original, he’s funny, and he’s right.

And with his latest entry (at the bottom), he has really outdone himself.

But before we get to the video, let’s briefly discuss his subject matter. I’m all too aware that as soon as most folks hear the words “Quantitative Easing”, their eyelids start to flutter. Yeah, I’m with you. But our nation’s fiscal policy is a GIGANTIC part of what allows us to actually enjoy our freedom, and right now it’s a ticking time-bomb.

“There’s no more cuts to make…” is THE Biggest Lie regarding the #GovernmentShutdown:

Remember this?

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Yes, my personal nomination for this year’s Most Ridiculous Statement by a Government Representative Award goes to (not surprisingly, I admit) Nancy Pelosi, with her insistence that “the cupboard is bare” and that there are “…no more cuts to make…” in our Federal expenditures.

No more cuts, Nancy?

None?

Out of an almost $3.5 TRILLION budget?

There’s nothing we could somehow do without, buried in there somewhere?

This inane proclamation gets to the heart of our current Government Shutdown. Pelosi, Obama and the Democrats want need every last shekel to fund their ever-expanding list of overpriced-crap-they-gotta-have-now-now-now. It’s POWER, you see, and it takes money to maintain/expand a State’s power.

Money Is NOT Safe In The Big Banks

How much of your money/savings do you have in the bank: 

• Most of it?
• All of it?

How confident are you that you can GET to your money, at any time? 

…Are you sure?

askmarion

Money Is Not Safe In The Big Banks (Frank-Dodd)

Document mentioned in the video:  FDIC BOE Joint Paper 

Bank of England and FDIC issue paper on the resolution | KPMG

For more information, visit the Public Banking Institute

Technorati Tags: money,banks,Frand-Dodd,economics,preparedness,survival,you be the judge

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Attention Fast Food workers: you may ALREADY be obsolete

Within the past few weeks and across the country, thousands of Fast Food workers have walked off the job. They’re on strike, and insist on being paid more than double our national minimum wage.

Now, many of us have spent some amount of time employed in a Wendy’s, McDonald’s or a Burger King, commonly back when we were just teenagers: the hours are flexible, and the level of mental effort required is minimal. Entry level employment in this industry is usually considered to be a stepping stone on to greater things, whether that means a management position within the fast food chain, or a different job altogether.

How the Government *protects* our Tax money: “Spend it or Lose it!!!”

From the group Bankrupting America comes one of the better satire videos in recent memory. A tremendous send-up of NBC’s ‘The Office‘, they’ve re-imagined it as a “normal” Federal Government agency: the “Department of Every Bureaucratic Transaction”, or D.E.B.T..

After you watch the clip below, make sure you stop over at their website. It covers the everyday waste going on in all areas of our government, and how irresponsible behavior is consistently rewarded. It’s chockablock with other videos, graphics and articles, so take your time looking around.

***NOTE: This video currently has about 10,000 views on YouTube right now. From what I’ve seen, your average cat video can get 30,000. A subject THIS important needs to generate waaay more than that.

Just sayin’…

A Great First Step: Voting Down the bloated, pork-laden Farm Bill

I’m reminded of the old phrase attributed to the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu:

“A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with a Single Step“

Whether most folks are aware of it or not, our nation just took that rather halting and awkward step.

Almost exactly a year ago, I had a fairly lengthy post titled “Food Stamp Fraud & Abuse: Business As Usual“, detailing the rampant waste, excessive pork and flat-out wrongheadedness in the so-called ‘Farm Bill’, and its unnamed-yet-primary component: Food Stamps, now known as SNAP. 

It appears that in the last twelve months, some of our politicians actually listened to their constituents, and (amazingly) managed to vote down this year’s bill.