swingset

One woman claimed $75.00 a paycheck for her health insurance.

Their basic healthcare for 2013 is $17.40 per 2-week pay period for a single employee. The most expensive is supposed to be $59.30, and that's well below the national average of $79 per pay period. This is an increase from 2012, btw, like everyone else Walmart is raising rates but they appear to be raising less than most. Mine went up this year.

That's all published figures, got them from Huffpo and a CNN article, and my sister who works as a manager in New Mexico pays about $70 every month for her and her daughter last I knew so that jives.

I'd imagine if that woman is paying that much (which is still less than I pay), she's got extraordinary circumstances....or is full of shit.

In any case, I worked 5 or 6 part time jobs similar to Walmart in my youth and never had healthcare offered, at all. I suppose that was good tho, it motivated me to do something better than push shopping carts.

Probably not at the current point, being that there are now more jobs than when he took office. Hiring is still going on, production is still going on. Yes, obamacare was poorly timed in a recession which is causing a slower recovery, but a positive gain is still positive.

Spin those numbers. The jobs that were lost are not the ones that are coming back and the gain is marginal, public sector is down, full time workers are down, professional jobs are down. Manufacturing that's gone is mostly gone forever. Shit's gone downhill, not up, but cheerlead if you feel like it. We're losing vendors and competitors in my business, and it's getting worse not better.

Energy prices are still high, wages are stagnant, taxation is going up across the board, healthcare prices are soaring and the investor class is sitting on their hands...and that's historically a sign that things are going to get worse - they are the engine of growth (hence JFK's tax cuts to spur economic investment in the private sector, which worked btw).

I'll give Walmart credit on their business model... have the gov't subsidize their healthcare.

Walmart's healthcare plan is Medicaid. So, I suppose if I'm going to pay taxes to provide the poor with healthcare, then they should be able to provide me some discounts.

Completely stupid way of looking at it, or just disingenuous. Which is it?

All full time employees have healthcare benefits at Walmart, and some of the part time employees. The rest don't get any benefits, and are qualified for Medicaid because of that. Has nothing to do with Walmart's existing benefits for it's employees, they simply don't offer healthcare to every single employee - as many businesses also mirror. That's not subsidizing anything, unless you want to blame every business that doesn't offer healthcare at all for being even worse...and that's a long fucking list of small businesses.

Walmart has rolled back (pun intended) their healthcare recently to include less part timers, but then Obamacare and rising healthcare costs are affecting most businesses and this is a logical step for a company trying to stay competive. From what I understand, Walmart's existing coverage is quite affordable - certainly much much cheaper than I pay through the Teamsters and it's better insurance.

So how much of the blame for that can we put on the government / president, and how much is just part of the natural ebb and flow of capitalism?

It's not like people never get laid off under a Republican president...

It's not like every single job lost under Bush wasn't directly attributed to him by the left either.

At what point does Obama actually deserve some credit for a climate where investors and business owners are afraid to hire and produce?

Never, I guess.

I'd shop at Walmart just to thumb my nose at the reactionary, anti-establishment turds that need a big bully to blame everything on. Go type an angry screed about unfair workplace environments on your sweatshop-made Ipad, that'll hurt 'em.

Their customers are poor and tacky. Yeah, Dollar General isn't just as bad....but no one shits their pants when they move into town. They also displace local businesses, but Walmart is the devil? CVS kills pharmacies. Autozone kills small auto parts businesses. Starbucks kills coffee houses. Fine, rail against all that....but no all everyone can focus on is Walmart. Raise your pitchfork, and focus on one germ while all the other ones escape your crusade or worse get your business.

Walmart bullies the locals. They also get protested before they build. And, then the local consumers have no choice and are forced to shop there right? Bullshit, they shop there because it's preferable to what they have. You can't displace businesses that people prefer.

Oh, and they ruin people. Rubbish. Most people's lives are bettered by Walmart coming to town. I saw an interesting study that showed that in most small communities a Walmart represented a 25% raise in pay for the working poor and low-income families for how far their money went and access to more products...not to mention more employment opportunities. Not only that, watch when a Walmart opens...what usually follows? Business development. In North Newark, after Walmart moved in a depressed end of town exploded. Small businesses shot up all over the place, even ones that directly compete with Walmart. Restaurants, local shops, you name it. They brought that end of town to life, and it's not just Newark that this happens to. Mt. Vernon saw the same explosion after Walmart built....and it brought jobs galore.

Speaking of that, Walmart is unskilled labor in big box. It's not supposed to be a "living wage", it's part time and first-time employment. It's meant for people with no skill to enter the work force, not make a fucking career. And, boo hoo they work the holidays. So fucking what? You know it going in, and lots of people work the holidays. Don't like it? Quit. If you unionize Walmart, your beloved poor just pay more and they hire less. That'll fix it all.

They sell Chinese shit. The horror. So does Sears and Target. So does Dick's sporting goods, so does every electronics store. Walmart also sells a lot of made in the USA stuff, if you bother to look. Fact is, people don't really care about that....so blame the consumer.

Yea 4-15 to 12-15, when was the free pass? I was down there middle of sept. and riders were talking about free pass day that weekend too.

Veteran's Day weekend was the free pass.

Watch your mirrors and stay in gear not neutral at lights and intersections....... been said before needs said again.

And stay the fuck out of clusters of motorcycles. Space is your friend on a bike, always.

I don't blame the union. I blame the owner(s). They mismanaged that company into oblivion. Sucks that everyone lost their job' date=' but I guess that happens when you try to squeeze blood from a cupcake. Nobody wants their disgusting treats, or they'd be raking in the dollars.

Same for GM and Chrysler. Mismanaged and poor ownership. Union cost is irrelevant. If you can't afford the union, fire everyone and hire scabs. There's no way anybody would tell me how I was going to run my business. I'd shut that bitch down in a NY minute.[/quote']

You can blame the unions too, that nearly billion dollar pension was the massive creditor in their bankruptcy....far and away the largest drain on the company (and that only represented a portion of their workforce). The union was an unshakable anchor on their bottom line, handicapped them from ever climbing out of financial trouble even if they had great management (which they did not). Several times investors tried to right the ship, but they don't have the market or the latitude to do it with all that dead weight.

Now, it seems they do. The whole thing was a failure, but the free market is a beautiful thing...if Twinkies are what people want, someone will buy the rights and make them profitable again....this time maybe without a bunch of ticks that refuse to let up slurping on a dying dog.

Apparently they also don't cheat and shake hands after the game, even if they lose.

hehe.

So yeah. Opinions?

Don't speed?

You were over the limit, you got popped, pay up. That's the deal we make when we take to the road.

FWIW, "I'm sorry, I had no idea I wasn't paying enough attention", coupled with some "yes sirs/no sirs" is much better than debate road side...if your intentions are to avoid a ticket.

I like it.

I was down with a big group of bikes Sunday, it was a nice day out and can't beat the free pass! I think we had 12 bikes, it was a good time.

What are we gonna do about the serial numbers on our bullets?

I scrub my bullets with acid, then drill out the top and put some mercury in and spray the outside with teflon. Do that, and they can shoot through a tank.

Saw that in the movies, gotta be true.

You bitch.....and come get those damn tires before I burn them. I will trade you my tires towards an AR or parts.....just sayin.

I forgot all about 'em....been slammed with all this election nonsense at work. I'll try to get with ya soon.

What AR stuff do you need? I have some stuff laying around.

Sorry to hear. Sometimes there's mental illness that's very well hidden and no one's privy too, sometimes not even the victim.

I am pretty ambidextrous in that regard, and if I were pulling that hard i would be needing a new dick as well. Nah I pitched growing up, coached baseball, and also lifted quite a bit. So old injury plus new injury "riding offroad with Swingset" and that pretty much did me in. Doc says I am 100% fixed now, so I am looking forward to getting active again. I miss riding and shooting so much.

Sweet, let's go hit some trails soon. You'll be fine.

:rip:

Anyone know anything about the beetle? I've heard VW repairs can be pricey

Smart Car, Beetle....are these choices being made by the cuteness of said vehicle? I'm surprised a Miata hasn't entered the conversation - at least it's a solid driver underneath the gay facade.

The Beetle was an unreliable turd, and the parts are insanely expensive.

Obama can't do much without congress, at least for 2 years. The panic buying is misplaced, as usual. Congressmen answer to their constituents, and it takes a lot to get a sweeping gun ban through.

Pushing it by EO or other backdoor means will be real trouble for Barack, that's not happening either.

In any case, I've already got guns and no one will ever come door to door for them....but tyranny can come from a lot of places other than the government, ask blacks in the segregation south, or Korean shopkeepers during the LA riots....not to mention that some meth head breaking in to rape my wife while I watch is what I would consider tyranny of the first order.

We have guns for more than just shooting at government troops (which is not gonna happen in our lifetimes). The real threat is just the slow erosion of our basic right to self defense.

I see Magz is here. Like a retarded moth to a flame.

What possible advantage does it have over a larger fuel-efficient little sedan? Giving up space, comfort and handling, and you get what? 40mpg in trade? Whoopee.

I'd buy a low-mileage Civic, Fiesta, Mazda3, etc for the same money. They all get the same mileage, and aren't microsized little shitboxes that can hold more than a bag of groceries.

Just like Fight Club a good road is not something you share on a public forum.

Too many riders will mess it up. It will get too much attention, the police will start patrolling it more.

Good riders, once they have proven themselves, can be brought into the fold once they have been deemed worthy.

I am going to get flamed by the squids & the squids that think they are beyond a squidly existence that will say they need to ride roads like this to gain experience. I say bullshit.

Loose lips kill great roads.

Nonsense.

Everyone knows about 555 and it's not ruined, there's no heightened police presence.

None of these roads are secrets, they're state routes for chrissakes.

Any dick with internet access can find every twisty road in this state, and there are numerous guides to roads that spell them all out anyway.

Who the hell cares what ethnicity makes up a sports team????

I certainly don't, as long as they're 80% white, a couple blacks, and asian and at least one butch looking woman.

Clutch in and coast.

I didn't realize you could!

Google it, lots of ways to revert to classic stuff in Win8.

I have no issue with same sex families raising a child.

Me neither, unless the child comes out like Magley.

I have been testing Windows 8 for a couple months on a spare box. Things I like, things I don't, but it's not bad at all. I ditched the home menu for a classic start menu, and that goes a long way towards making it a better OS.

I haven't had any crashes, instability or driver issues....so on that score it's been very good.