Patterico's Pontifications

8/21/2020

AB 5 Sponsor Makes Tone Deaf Comment About Californians And Evictions

Filed under: General — Dana @ 3:24 pm



[guest post by Dana & JVW]

Treading on JVW’s turf, given the excellent coverage of California politics he provides readers, but I’m jumping in anyway. [Note from JVW: Dana invited me to help finish this post, so I have made some very minor contributions here and there.]

You may recall that back in December, we were reminded of California’s propensity toward passing laws that result in unintended and disastrous consequences for state residents. Specifically, Assembly Bill 5, sponsored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez out of San Diego. In part:

None of this should be surprising to anyone who has the faintest clue as to how the economy works, which of course rules out virtually all legislative Democrats in this state. Assembly Bill 5, shepherded through that body by former labor organizer Lorena Gonzales of San Diego, was controversial from the very beginning. Supporters, namely organized labor and other left-wing groups, insisted that it would prevent workers from being exploited by wealthy tech companies like Uber and Lyft who use independent contractors in order to avoid having to pay benefits such as health and retirement. The companies for their part insisted that it would force them to either limit the hours contractors are allowed to work or else turn them into full employees thus eliminating the ability of workers to schedule their own hours and determine their own flexible workday, which is one of the major benefits of the gig economy.

About AB 5, briefly:

Doctors, real estate agents and hairdressers can keep their independent contractor status. But not truckers, commercial janitors, nail salon workers, physical therapists and — significantly — gig economy workers, who will gain the rights and benefits of employees in California under sweeping workplace legislation passed Wednesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has committed to signing the bill, which cleared the Assembly 56-15 in a challenge both to the longstanding trend toward outsourcing labor and to the business model of companies such as Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, who have threatened a $90 million fight at the ballot box.

Once signed, AB 5 would upend longstanding employment practices that have seeped into the Democratic presidential debate about how workers should be treated, particularly in today’s gig economy.

“With one clear test across our state labor laws, we will raise the standards for millions of workers and ensure they gain access to critical rights and benefits,” said Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, who presented the bill in the Senate on Tuesday night. “We can make California the global leader in protections for gig workers, janitors, construction workers and so many working people who can’t even pay their rent.”

This month, California released a new report revealing that unemployment benefits during pandemic are nearing $60 billion in the Golden State:

Unemployment benefits for out-of-work Californians since this historic pandemic began now total $59.8 billion to support families and communities struggling during this economic crisis. Over the same timeframe, the Employment Development Department (EDD) has processed more than 9.7 million claims for benefits between the regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, extensions, and separate Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Just last week, the EDD paid an average of $792 million a day in unemployment benefits. That amount is a 1,033% increase over the $70 million in average daily benefits paid during a similar week at the height of the Great Recession (week ending July 31, 2010).

In the run-up to this Friday deadline, Assemblywoman Gonzalez had been tweeting about the righteousness of the legislation and the malevolence of the ride share companies, but she first set her twitter account so that the dirty unwashed public was not able to comment, only people whose account she follows. It’s a neat little feature Twitter rolled out so that intellectually lazy journalists and Hollywood nincompoops don’t have to be confronted with their flabby arguments. When challenged on her attempt to stifle dissent, she unsurprisingly went into full victim mode and sent out a typically tone-deaf message:

This lawmaker doesn’t has the slightest clue about how much negative impact AB 5 has had on the working people of Californians, and how it has played a part in Californians losing their jobs, and even lead to them facing eviction. Let’s take a look at a few personal stories about AB 5 has adversely impacted residents of the state:

Actors
David Nassau: I’m an actor and songwriter. I’m also a freelance translator/interpreter in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German. To say AB5 is a recipe for economic collapse is an understatement. Since the suicidal law went into effect , I’ve applied for 160 jobs and got about 10 interviews. Finding a job, let alone holding on to one, is not a trivial feat. My freelance gigs provided me the chance to get practical experience. Now to stay on, I have to fill out a TON of paperwork. That includes a city license, proof that I own a business or LLC, a W-2 form, a business card, a Website or LinkedIn page and Proof of advertising. All that just to keep doing what I love? It’s bad enough that at least 1 million Californians are thrown out of work, but what makes it worse: Nobody will want to hire ANYONE from California because of AB5. If this is not repealed, I may have to move out. I fear living on the streets. Bottom line: This law is a recipe for economic and social collapse. It shall make the homeless crisis even worse. It’ll cause people of all economic strata to leave the state. Business will close up shop. The amount of paperwork makes this law environmentally unfriendly. It’ll cause diseases of all kinds to spread because of a shortage of nurses. Farms will cut production or fold completely. Artists will think twice before performing in the Golden State.

Environmental Engineers
Cynthia Gabaldon: Environmental inspectors, building inspectors, draftsman, technicians. If you get a chance please let these elected know there are many more people really affected. I know of many building, environmental and other types of inspectors. We move from building to building…working for multiple companies at the same time. There are also many who are retired but work a day here or there. Lastly, what about those who do this just occasionally…for extra money. All building inspectors were told to either join a company before 1.1.20 or they wouldn’t have a job. When we work for one company that means we can’t work full time. We are not allowed the flexibility to fill in our time so we can have a full week. Please reach out concerning all workers affected by this terrible legislation.

Family Caregivers
Elizabeth M. Adger: AB5 is why I had to pack up my very ill husband with stage 4 cancer and autistic son and leave the state. There is no way I can take care of our family and work a “traditional” type job I have always worked for myself and paid my taxes. I was terrified of becoming homeless.

Forensic Nurses
Anonymous: There are many forensic RNs who work on a 1099 basis for private nursing companies and hospitals providing sexual assault forensic medical evidentiary examinations. All of this work is at risk due to AB5. Patients who have been sexually assaulted will suffer long wait times and may receive substandard forensic medical exams if provided by untrained medical personnel in an emergency department. It is not feasible for many hospitals to have a forensic nurse on duty 24/7 so they contract with us to come in when needed. We are paid per exam, and receive a 1099. The forensic nurses are free to sign up for work around their other jobs or family commitments. We also have patients who were assaulted in skilled nursing and adult care group homes. We have worked very hard to increase the number of forensic nurses in California. I also do consulting and training on best practices for forensic nursing. Vicarious trauma among forensic nurses is a huge issue in this work.”

Nurse Practitioners
Taqialdeen Zamil: This is frustrating. I lost my side job today, because of AB5.
I work as a nurse practitioner and the nature of our work in the private sector and small clinics makes it impossible to be an employee. You get paid a percentage of the revenue you generate and you pay for your malpractice insurance, benefits, and other expenses.
This law is killing our opportunity of making a living in California.

Cartoonists
Kira Davis: I’m an editor and was set to hire a new cartoonist for our national blog. She got a letter from the parent company at the beginning of December welcoming her to the team. 12/31 she got a letter from our NY-based parent company that she can no longer be hired as she is in California, and AB5 makes doing business with contractors here too dangerous. Bye bye job. Some people have theories and legal opinions about this bill. Some of us have real life experiences. Guess who’s is worth more?

And on and on it goes.

It’s as if Gonzalez has no understanding of the unintended consequences that have devastated any number of Californians. Even as we endure lockdowns, quarantines, and the closure of businesses. Does she not understand that Californians are being evicted, in part, because of the effects of her bill? Which is easier to believe: that Lorena Gonzalez is so completely ignorant of market economics that she is unable to draw a line between cause and effect, or that she knows what she has done, but her fealty to union bosses make hundreds of thousands of California workers merely collateral damage?

A threat by both Uber and Lyft to cease operations in California at midnight yesterday was averted when, as often happens in these matters, the courts intervened and gave everyone a few more months to figure it all out. Next up is a court hearing scheduled for October 13, then comes election day in which Californians will consider a ballot initiative sponsored by the ride share companies that would void AB 5 from existence. Should that fail, the companies will have a short window of time to negotiate with the legislature and governor before the court renders its decision. Or, this all goes to the Supreme Court and we get to see how Chief Justice Roberts feels about it on that given day.

Innovative and disruptive businesses should think twice about setting up shop in one-party California in this day and age.

– Dana & JVW

104 Responses to “AB 5 Sponsor Makes Tone Deaf Comment About Californians And Evictions”

  1. Hello, and all that.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  2. What Bolivar de Griz feels about AOC is how I feel about Lorena Gonzalez (did “Fletcher” wise up?)

    urbanleftbehind (2435f7)

  3. Outstanding post! Well done. There is so much here for me to digest.

    felipe (023cc9)

  4. . Some people have theories and legal opinions about this bill. Some of us have real life experiences. Guess who’s is worth more?

    Theories, of course.

    To stop it, you’ve got to show what’s wrong with the theory. Empirical evidence doesn’t count.

    Sammy Finkelman (db2a13)

  5. I had time to think since JVW first posted about it. AB5 is not about protecting the workers. It’s about controlling their ability to work and, of course, the State and the unions getting a taste in the form of employment taxes and fees.

    nk (1d9030)

  6. And dues.

    nk (1d9030)

  7. Counting on Ephialtes of Trachis [justice roberts] to make the right move is doubtful.
    Sell, move and have a happy life.

    mg (8cbc69)

  8. Joe Biden Endorses California Law Doing Harm To Freelancers, Which Democrats Hope To Impose Nationwide

    With the passage of California’s controversial Assembly Bill 5 in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and Golden State legislators enacted the first state law in the U.S. to regulate freelance workers as full-time employees, with the result being lost income and fewer job opportunities for California-based freelancers and independent contractors. In a late night tweet on May 26, former Vice President Joe Biden stated his support for Assembly Bill 5 and his opposition to the proposed ballot measure backed by Uber and Lyft that would partially repeal it.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickgleason/2020/07/07/joe-biden-endorses-california-law-doing-harm-to-freelancers-which-democrats-hope-to-impose-nationwide

    Hard to believe it took Biden picking Harris to cancel enthusiasm among his lesser of two evils voters. What took so long? His AB5 enthusiasm should have knocked him out of the running long ago for the “GOP is abandoning me but I am very conservative so I must vote for Joe contingent.”

    BuDuh (35939c)

  9. It’s about what nk said. And all those that work in a guild or union know all about it. They don’t want the competition so join or die.

    Socialism is fun. Funemployment is back.

    NJRob (8c0a51)

  10. What are the hallmarks of America’s major cities?

    sleazy police chiefs, sleazy DAs, sleazy-cray cray mayors, sleazy governors – and last but definitely not least – sleazy media.

    Amazing and disgusting, but hey… evey body gotta makeah da living.

    h/t fernandinande

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  11. As an outsider (Texas), reading about California is always amazing to me… like something that no script writer could dream up since it would seem implausible. Looked at Lorena Gonzalez’s web site and she presents herself as the real deal. Perfect progressive for Cali, big on womens’ rights, workers’ rights, wife, mother of 5, community volunteer, etc., etc., etc.

    I never understand why voters don’t look below the surface a bit.

    Like the old saying, “you get the government you vote for”… I don’t quite understand why Californians vote these insane, power mad, narcissists into office in the first place.

    Yet many of them are going to try it again and vote Trojan Horse Biden in so they can have Hillary, Bill, Barack and other sociopathic maniacs rule their lives.

    What is this about, why would you do that?

    I think the Uber, Lyft thing is anti-American and horrible. Not only will it significantly harm the 200,000 or so drivers in Cali, but probably at least double that will be the people who rely on these driving services both directly and indirectly.

    Why do you Californians tolerate this?

    Why do you put these loons in office in the first place?

    Its like an upside/down universe from my perspective.

    Eyefull (fd0e2c)

  12. This is a trick question, but in a nice way:
    Why did Willie Sutton rob banks?

    nk (1d9030)

  13. @12

    Maybe Geraldo will do a reveal on California one day and it will end like his special on Al Capone’s Secret Vault.

    Eyefull (fd0e2c)

  14. Prop 22 won’t void AB5 from existence. It will only exempt Uber and Lyft. However, it could set a precedent or be the start of a death by a thousand cuts. I suggest everyone who opposes AB5 should support it.

    On Sept 1, if Newsom signs on, they will amend it for freelance writers so we aren’t limited to 35 articles per year. It will still affect a lot of other people. And nationwide, the PRO act looks to take AB5 national. Biden used to be the last Dem holdout not supporting them, but “coincidentally” right before he obtained the nomination he came out in favor.

    LYT (b89070)

  15. “Tone deaf” = contrary to leftist cant?

    Gary Hoffman (2a3a16)

  16. Not dancing to their tune, Gary.

    nk (1d9030)

  17. On paper it sounds right, but you tax what you dont want and you subsidize what you want more of.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  18. Present company excepted.

    nk (1d9030)

  19. Kira Davis: I’m an editor and was set to hire a new cartoonist for our national blog. […] Some people have theories and legal opinions about this bill. Some of us have real life experiences. Guess who’s is worth more?

    It looks like they should also hire a new editor that knows the difference between “who’s” and “whose”…

    Dave (1bb933)

  20. Re “one party California”

    It isn’t the people’s job to serve the party, it’s the party’s job to serve the people. If you quit serving the needs of the people, the party goes away. California would be a good place to start IDK, the “Sense and Stability” party, (which the Rs. used to be before they got out in the weeds) but to do it a significant portion of the state Rs. would probably need to secede from the national party to give it enough of a core group.

    Nic (896fdf)

  21. Why do you Californians tolerate this?

    They don’t. Californians leave the state. They get replaced by non-Californians.

    beer ‘n pretzels (581ed0)

  22. Dave, why did you cut out the third person portion of the quote that sounds like someone other than Kira Davis made the error?

    BuDuh (7d6aba)

  23. It looks like they should also hire a new editor that knows the difference between “who’s” and “whose”…

    RACIST! A racist construct steeped in your white privilege.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  24. Rather more than usual, we really don’t need to be messing about with people trying to make a buck right now.

    If we have to have a silly fight about this, I hope the courts can hold it off until there’s a light at the end of the plague.

    john (cd2753)

  25. Eliminating jobs is the point of the exercise, getting rid of reliable electricity, putting at the mercy of armex gangs.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  26. You dont understand yet, this is the intended goal, and both dead tree media as well as social media will try to cover it up.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  27. Bolivar – you’re missing the big picture. They’re in in with the aliens. They’re building landing strips for gay martians.

    john (cd2753)

  28. 26… there are literally no ideas or policies that are too crazy for a Cali leftwinger to push. It’s almost a death wish of some sort.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  29. Verdad que si, it is so coronello, they dont care that you lose your job as long as they can keep you on the doll.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  30. John lived to regret his decision… https://youtu.be/a2h_6q9B0Go

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  31. They are taking no chances

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-green-party-montana-senate-ballot

    This is the same ballot scheme that left obama with only token opposition in his first senate race.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  32. 30… entonces, narciso… por su puesto…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  33. And you understand i meant relief, although in california, who knows.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  34. Dave, why did you cut out the third person portion of the quote that sounds like someone other than Kira Davis made the error?

    No idea what you’re talking about.

    I obviously omitted the middle part – which refers to the cartoonist – for brevity. The entire passage (like the ones above it) is attributed to the person whose name appears before it, in this case Kira Davis.

    Dave (1bb933)

  35. To stop it, you’ve got to show what’s wrong with the theory. Empirical evidence doesn’t count.

    As Thomas Sowell (and others) have tried to explain, the real minimum wage is always zero.

    That’s what’s wrong with the theory.

    Dave (1bb933)

  36. Only slaves work for zero.

    nk (1d9030)

  37. As Garry Cooper pointed out.

    nk (1d9030)

  38. In “The Fountainhead”.

    nk (1d9030)

  39. I was going to write “Not even slaves” but there are too many examples in history of simultaneously starving and working prisoners to death.

    nk (1d9030)

  40. No more pro bono…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  41. No more pro bono…

    That’s as nonsensical as “the real minimum wage is always zero”. You can make gifts if it is within your means to make them, and they can be your time and skill.

    nk (1d9030)

  42. Re your doll as originally spelled in #30 and phrased in #34, Bolivar

    urbanleftbehind (bc3674)

  43. That’s the problem with “libertarianism” — whether Sowell’s or Rand’s. Pretty phrases with no depth. No foundation, no beginning, no end. Like throwing a plank in a river and calling it a bridge.

    nk (1d9030)

  44. Were not talking about that, you people are farking obtuse, thats why you got the major from them and gov creosote.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  45. That’s the problem with “libertarianism” — whether Sowell’s or Rand’s. Pretty phrases with no depth.

    Sowell’s point is so profound that approximately half the country isn’t bright enough to understand it.

    Like any other commodity, if you artificially increase the cost of labor, demand will decrease, and more people will earn nothing.

    Dave (1bb933)

  46. Like any other commodity

    Please to explain that labor is a commodity.

    nk (1d9030)

  47. @46 Of course if you devalue the cost of labor too much you get mass exodus (India, Mexico), starvation (various 3rd world countries), or the Guillotine (18th C France, early 20th C Russia, labor revolts of late 19 C early 20th Century US – yes, I know, not literally the Guillotine, but a similar sentiment of breaking heads.).

    Nic (896fdf)

  48. “Sowell’s point is so profound that approximately half the country isn’t bright enough to understand it.

    Sowell’s point is simplistic. If the minimum wage was removed tomorrow, there would not be a free market in labor.

    First, low wage employers are subsidized by the existence of welfare. So, let’s get rid of all the welfare programs. No more foodstamps, tax breaks, medicare.

    We still don’t have a free market in labor, because there’s an information asymmetry between employers and employees. Amazon, for example, knows exactly how much economic value an average warehouse worker provides. The warehouse workers do not.

    Davethulhu (38c6a7)

  49. Sowell’s point is nonsensical, and it works only if you accept that 1) labor is a commodity and 2) that a subsistence wage is an “artificial increase” in the price of labor.

    Wheat is a commodity. You buy it, you eat it, you poop out what your body has not absorbed. Coal is a commodity. You buy it, you burn it, you throw out the ashes.

    Labor is work. Force x distance combined in a myriad of ways. It is performed by a very complex machine called a worker.

    A simplified example is the bus the worker takes to work. The bus is not a commodity and the costs to fuel it and maintain it in operating condition are not an “artificial increase” in the price of the labor it performs for you. Likewise, the worker is not a commodity, and the bare minimum he requires for food, medicine, clothing and shelter is not an “artificial increase” in the cost of the work he performs.

    I have read Sowell. Not a lot, because I could not stand a lot, but he does this a lot: Throws out a lot of false analogies and unsupported assumptions that do not bear close analysis to support his conclusions.

    nk (1d9030)

  50. 37.Only slaves work for zero.

    Zero slaved for Lester but worked for Brooks.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  51. A threat by both Uber and Lift to cease operations in California at midnight yesterday…

    Gee, folks will just have to call a cab.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  52. AB 5 is a classic case of “We’re from the government, and we’re here to help you.”

    The people making laws in California have studied too much philosophy and not enough economics.

    norcal (a5428a)

  53. The people making laws in California have studied too much philosophy and not enough economics see money and they want some of it.

    nk (1d9030)

  54. @52 They aren’t leaving, they are throwing a fit. Some huge percentage of their businesses are in CA. Their business models are stupid, though. They have yet to turn profits and it seems to be predicated on the futurecast idea that we will soon have driverless cars, so they don’t have to pay anyone, just maintain their fleets.

    Nic (896fdf)

  55. The government should not involve itself in the marketplace like this. Let employers and employees negotiate their own arrangements.

    norcal (a5428a)

  56. “The government should not involve itself in the marketplace like this. Let employers and employees negotiate their own arrangements.”

    The wage marketplace isn’t free, even without gov’t involvement.

    Davethulhu (38c6a7)

  57. Sowell’s point is nonsensical, and it works only if you accept that 1) labor is a commodity and 2) that a subsistence wage is an “artificial increase” in the price of labor.

    But both those things are patently obvious…

    Labor can be, and is, bought and sold according to the laws of supply and demand. No, the market is not perfect, but if you raise the asking price of something sold on a market, less of it is purchased. And if you lower the price of something sold on a market, more of it is purchased.

    Many, many comrades have convinced themselves and their fellow comrades that they were geniuses, and had figured out some sure-fire way to circumvent this reality, and have subsequently been unceremoniously exposed as fools – often with enormous collateral damage to the proletariat’s quality of life.

    This initiative seems particularly misguided. Minimum wage laws eliminate jobs, but they at least make things better for the tiny minority of workers whose wages go up and don’t get a pink slip.

    This law sounds a lot worse, because it proscribes an entire class of businesses in which millions of people make their living. The whole reason for the independent contractor business model is that government has already made more traditional arrangements (i.e. hiring as employees) too burdensome and costly.

    Dave (1bb933)

  58. @58 Amen, Dave. I especially like your last sentence.

    norcal (a5428a)

  59. So, if you click through the article on the bill, there is a list of what professions are affected, and what aren’t.

    The last two on the “victims” list are:

    Strippers
    Rabbis

    I found that a very amusing juxtaposition, given that the respective business models don’t seem much alike.

    But that got me to wondering.

    In my misspent youth, I did interact with the stripper “business model” from time to time. I imagine there are different setups in different places, but from what I recall, the girls collect gratuities from their customers, and pay the club some kind of cut for the ability to work there, security, etc. Part or all of that may be covered by convincing their clients to buy them overpriced glasses of water or bottles of champagne. So I guess AB5 would require the clubs to instead hire them as employees.

    But what is the rabbi “business model” and why does AB5 have anything to do with it? While I’ve never given it a lot of thought, I would have guessed that rabbis support themselves like protestant ministers, from the contributions of the people whose spiritual needs they cater to (the Catholic Church, being centralized, probably works differently, but Judaism isn’t organized that way AFAIK).

    I guess there are also rabbis who work in the food industry, presumably full-time, overseeing the preparation of kosher food. Maybe they’re the ones affected?

    *puzzled*

    Dave (1bb933)

  60. Speaking of sex workers, the price of Trump’s “business arrangement” with Stormy Daniels just went up $45,000.

    Court orders Donald Trump to pay legal fees in Stormy Daniels suit

    Dave (1bb933)

  61. @61 He’s going to have Mexico pay for it.

    norcal (a5428a)

  62. @62 If that works out as well as it did last time, Plan B could be pardoning Bannon and having him set up a GoFundMe called “We Pay the ‘Ho”…

    Dave (1bb933)

  63. Labor can be, and is, bought and sold according to the laws of supply and demand.

    Does it come in the convenient pocket size and the economical 2-pound refill size? Is it mined or extracted from seawater? No wonder you think Sowell is a genius.

    Let me ask you in another way, one you might have learned from real science. What does the First Law of Thermodynamics say?

    nk (1d9030)

  64. @19

    Kira Davis: I’m an editor and was set to hire a new cartoonist for our national blog. […] Some people have theories and legal opinions about this bill. Some of us have real life experiences. Guess who’s is worth more?

    It looks like they should also hire a new editor that knows the difference between “who’s” and “whose”…
    Dave

    Not to go all grammar Nazi on you, Dave, but “who’s” is a contraction for “who is.” “Whose” is a possessive pronoun. Thus, when Kira Davis writes “Guess who’s worth more?” she is asking “who”–referring to people that have theories and legal opinions, and people that have real life experiences–“is” worth more. Had she used the possessive pronoun “whose,” it would have referred to their respective theories and opinions, and life experiences, but that was not her intent. She is asking about the people affected, not their theories, opinions or experiences. Thus, her construction of the question is grammatically correct. Your interpretation of her construction, however, is not.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  65. There, their, they’re. All three of you have it wrong, and Kira the most, Gawain’s Ghost.

    Kira: Some people have theories and legal opinions about this bill. Some of us have real life experiences. Guess who’s is worth more?

    There are two different objects in two different sentences: 1) Theories and legal opinions about this bill, and 2) real life experiences. So Kira is demanding: “Guess whose *theories and legal opinions about this bill” and whose *real life experiences* is worth more?” It makes no sense. There is no parallelism. It’s lazy and sloppy. Furthermore, it’s not a question, it’s a command, and it takes an exclamation point, not a question mark. It should be: “Guess which is worth more!” I suppose you could get away with a period.

    Yeah, so-called editors like Kira are the reason it has become more and more difficult to find a decently-written book since the mid-1980s. I read somewhere that something like 80% of them are women, too, and my personal opinion is that 80% of the whole bunch, male and female, are sexually non-normal.

    nk (1d9030)

  66. Shes like montagus fave marcy walker, who embarassed herself (unpossible) efore the mueller report.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  67. Unlike, meanwhile miss treeple is teaming up with sam from whose the boss, bottom basement skinemax.

    Bolivar di griz (7404b5)

  68. Thus, her construction of the question is grammatically correct. Your interpretation of her construction, however, is not.

    Sorry, GG, but you’re mistaken for two reasons. Look more closely:

    Some people have theories and legal opinions about this bill. Some of us have real life experiences. Guess who’s is worth more?

    First, she wrote “Guess who’s is worth more?”. Expanding the contraction as you suggest makes it “Guess who is is worth more?” which (due to the repetition of ‘is’) is not grammatical, even in isolation.

    Second, she is comparing the value of “theories and legal opinions” possessed by of one group of people to the “real life experiences” possessed by another. She is comparing two possessions, not the owners, and “whose” is the grammatical word choice to do that.

    Dave (1bb933)

  69. it is designed to destroy jobs, to make people more dependent on the government, like everything vizier gruesome does on the way to turning california into thx 1138

    bolivar de gris (7404b5)

  70. …possessed by of one group…

    Dave (1bb933)

  71. @52

    A threat by both Uber and Lift to cease operations in California at midnight yesterday…

    Gee, folks will just have to call a cab.

    DCSCA (797bc0) — 8/21/2020 @ 10:52 pm

    Cab companies and operators says: That’s the point. (while massively donating to CA Democrats)

    It’s naked crony capitalism.

    whembly (c30c83)

  72. Does it come in the convenient pocket size and the economical 2-pound refill size?

    Yes. They’re called “one hour shifts” and “twelve hour shifts”.

    Is it mined or extracted from seawater?

    It is usually extracted from people. Under the right circumstances it can replaced by other commodities like the labor of an animal or energy passing through a machine or computer.

    Filthy kulak can plow potato field himself, rent neighbor’s ox, or hire neighbor’s son. Is same.

    No wonder you think Sowell is a genius.

    Because I’m capable of grasping the generalization of an abstraction?

    Let me ask you in another way, one you might have learned from real science. What does the First Law of Thermodynamics say?

    In a closed system, the total energy does not change. (There are other, equivalent formulations)

    Dave (1bb933)

  73. That’s interesting, because cab companies and operators are two entirely different things, unless the taxicab system in California is different from everywhere else. The cab company owns the cab and the medallion, and operates the dispatch system. The operator leases the cab and medallion (up here on a daily lease) for a set rent, and in addition to his rent pays an association fee to be part of the dispatch system. What’s left over is his. They’re nobody’s employees but their own selves’. The owner-operators pay the rent to their own corporation which owns the cab and medallion, but otherwise they’re the same, paying their dues to the association and having the same dispatch system and same markings as the cab companies. Many lease their cabs out for the half of the day that they’re not driving them themselves.

    nk (1d9030)

  74. In a closed system, the total energy does not change. (There are other, equivalent formulations)

    When you put zero energy in system, how much energy you get in system? (“The real minimum wage is zero.”)

    (There are other, equivalent formulations.)

    Like you don’t get something from nothing?

    nk (1d9030)

  75. To follow up on my 76,

    I think that the only way cab companies differ from ride-share is that the Uber and Lyft collect the fare and kick back a percentage to the driver.* Who pay whom is the only difference I see.

    *They do set the price of the fare, but then municipalities set cab rates, so that’s not different.

    nk (1d9030)

  76. Stills & Guy ina Dress Director’s Cut…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTJzPeg8if4

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  77. You may need to further enlighten me, because I don’t see the relevance. I assure you I have tried.

    A minimum wage law says: “You must pay your burger-flipper/bolt-tightener/phone-answerer/potato-picker at least $X per hour.”

    But there is always the choice to entirely forgo purchase of the labor in question at a price higher than the market would justify, whether by installing a mechanical burger-flipper, having your bolts tightened in Mexico or your phones answered in India, or just picking fewer potatoes.

    Dave (1bb933)

  78. Speaking of undercutting the labor market with technology:

    Sex robot customer vows to ‘never date again’ after AI replicant ‘perfect woman’

    Check it out. One of the models even looks like Ivanka!

    Hair? Blonde.
    Eyes? Blue.
    Weight? 1-1-0.
    Disposition? Even.
    Mood code? Rotary-adjustable.

    I need a unit to sample and hold
    But not the angry one
    A new design
    New design

    Dave (1bb933)

  79. I don’t know but I been told,
    Profit is the way to go.
    Buy low, sell high,
    Never split that money pie!

    Go team!

    I don’t know but I believe,
    We all needs to eat to live.
    Do what you can, get what you need,
    There’s no place here for greed.
    Go team!

    I give up. I won’t persuade you. If you ever come to the conclusion that economics is a pseudoscience, that economists are frauds, that economic theories are mere cheerleading for the “home team, and that “Do not muzzle the ox that treads the grain” is in fact profound, while “The real minimum wage is zero” is meaningless babble, it will have to be on your own.

    Just remember that the elixir of punctuality rises above the frozen flames of apricot juice on the gossamer tentacles of the monolith of hirsuteness.

    nk (1d9030)

  80. BTW, those sex-bots, do they have minimum voltage and amperage requirements, and can I get one from Mexico or India with lower ones?

    nk (1d9030)

  81. im sure environmentally sustainable sex robots will be very affordable in a few years mr nk

    where theres a demand capitalism will fill it

    and if not california will mandate them anyway

    Dave (1bb933)

  82. Sex robot customer vows to ‘never date again’ after AI replicant ‘perfect woman’

    Like he has a choice.

    nk (1d9030)

  83. Lawrence Block has one of his characters murder and rob someone who sleeps with an inflatable doll with a cutout picture of Ann Coulter’s face taped to its face. The story is from the killer’s point of view, so we find out that that is the saddest thing he has ever seen.

    nk (1d9030)

  84. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/rolling-blackouts-no-uber-businesses-flee-california-is-democrats-dream-for-america

    President Trump has rightly been derided for lacking a second-term agenda, but we know what the Democratic Party agenda is — it’s California, the land of rolling blackouts and no Uber. We can at least be thankful it has slightly less looting, arson, and anarchy than the Golden State’s neighbors to the north.

    Looting, anarchy and mayhem. The Democrat Party platform is the same as the Joker’s.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  85. This is not a new issue. I began working as an independent contractor about fifty years ago, getting my own Employer Identification Number and setting up a Keogh account. Even with that, I ran into problems with prospective clients who worried that they would be forced to treat me as an employee for tax and pension purposes.

    I dealt with this by going through the IRS SS-8 application process, which confirmed that I was an independent business. Once I provided a copy of the confirmation letter to a prospective client, the problem disappeared. My fees were reported via a 1099. I believe that the SS-8 process is still available to anyone who wants to work as a gig contractor and the IRS certification should take precedence over any state regulation, such as AB-5.

    John B Boddie (042948)

  86. Poor Ann. It’s all been downhill for her since she declined my invitation to the Rose Bowl twenty years ago.

    Dave (1bb933)

  87. I like her since I gained all the weight I criticized her for lacking. And when she turned against Trump.

    nk (1d9030)

  88. @89

    Yes, I just thought the same thing. If Biden and the Dems get into power (meaning Dems control both houses of Congress) you are going to see the California model for the entire nation.

    That is what I keep saying. On one side, you have a narcisstic buffoon, on the other side you have leftist ideologues who are oblivious to the real world and will impose their hare-brained schemes on the nation. Someone here asked what harm they will do? California is Exhibit A.

    I will, reluctantly, take the buffoon.

    Bored Lawyer (7b72ec)

  89. BTW, on the blackouts, California is the home of Silicon Valley, the world center of technological innovation. Yet the state cannot provide enough electricity for its residents.

    Venezuela, here we come!

    Bored Lawyer (7b72ec)

  90. 11. Eyefull (fd0e2c) — 8/21/2020 @ 4:52 pm

    I never understand why voters don’t look below the surface a bit.

    They;r not suspicious there could be anything out of the ordinary about them = and they’re presented as independent thinkers who don’t have bosses or trainers. They are repeatedly surprised when they do find out.

    Sammy Finkelman (db2a13)

  91. @93 and 94

    Well-said. I couldn’t agree more!

    norcal (a5428a)

  92. 36. Dave (1bb933) — 8/21/2020 @ 8:17 pm

    As Thomas Sowell (and others) have tried to explain, the real minimum wage is always zero.

    No, it’s negative (a negative wage is called tuition.)

    And proponents of a high minimum wage don’t have too many problems with people working for nothing (volunteers) although sometimes they want interns (temporary volunteers, usually for experience or college credit) to be paid full wages, with the result maybe there won’t be very many interns.

    It’s wages between $0 a hour and $15 an hour that they have a problem with.

    That’s what’s wrong with the theory.

    Sammy Finkelman (db2a13)

  93. 37. nk (1d9030) — 8/21/2020 @ 8:22 pm

    Only slaves work for zero.

    Plenty. plenty people work for zero. (Albeit often with limited hours, averaging 1 hour a week.)

    https://www.indeed.com/q-Volunteer-l-New-York,-NY-jobs.html

    https://nonprofitssource.com/online-giving-statistics/volunteering-statistics

    Volunteering Statistics

    Approximately 63 million Americans — 25% of the adult population — volunteer their time, talents, and energy to making a difference.

    The 2016 national value of volunteer time is $24.14 per hour. In other words, Americans contribute $193 billion of their time to our communities.

    The volunteer rate declined by 0.4% to 24.9% in 2016.

    Women volunteer at higher rates (27.8%) than men (21.8%).

    People aged 35-44 and 45-54 are most likely to volunteer (28.9% and 28% respectively) while 20-24 year olds have the lowest rates (18.4%).

    On average, people spend an average of 52 hours per year volunteering their time.

    72% of volunteers are involved with only one organization, while 18.3% are involved with two.

    The top four national volunteer activities are food collection or distribution (24.2%), fundraising or selling items to raise money (23.9%), general labor or transportation (18.8%), and tutoring or teaching (17.9%).

    The top four volunteer areas are for religious (34.1%), educational (26%), social service (14.9%), and health (7.3%) organizations.

    42.1% of people became volunteers with their main organization after being asked to volunteer.

    And even below zero:

    https://www.careeronestop.org/FindTraining/Pay/how-much-will-it-cost.aspx

    Sammy Finkelman (db2a13)

  94. 58. Dave (1bb933) — 8/22/2020 @ 12:48 am

    Minimum wage laws eliminate jobs, but they at least make things better for the tiny minority of workers whose wages go up and don’t get a pink slip.

    That probably is majority, as long as the increase is not too high.

    The people who lose out are the people who don’t get hired in the first place.

    A highr minimum wage may make certain jobs uneconomic. However it does not create that much unemployment. It forces people to hold out for jobs where they will be more productive.

    It increases time unemployed, and doesn’t allow people to trade convenience or job conditions, for lower wages. In certain areas, it frces peple to sped money up front to “qualify” for a job.

    This law sounds a lot worse, because it proscribes an entire class of businesses in which millions of people make their living. The whole reason for the independent contractor business model is that government has already made more traditional arrangements (i.e. hiring as employees) too burdensome and costly.

    Or businesses are just not used to it. It’s like job sharing.

    Sammy Finkelman (db2a13)

  95. 60. Rabbis tend to collect fees for officiating at weddings and funerals, and maybe also private teaching. The claim here is that AB5 would create legal difficulties in doing that.

    Sammy Finkelman (db2a13)

  96. nk @66. It should be whose and what is being possessed is really opinions in both cases.

    Sammy Finkelman (db2a13)

  97. 83.

    Buy low, sell high,

    It requires great skill to buy low and sell high. Buy wholesale, sell retail is much easier.

    First Law of Business:

    “The whole is worth less than the sum of its parts, and vice versa.”

    Sammy Finkelman (db2a13)

  98. @93 and 94

    Well-said. I couldn’t agree more!

    The triumph of fear over experience.

    nk (1d9030)

  99. The triumph of fear over experience.

    No, it is seeing empirical reality. California and half a dozen cities which have been run into the ground is enough experience to tell you what will happen if the Dems come into power.

    Bored Lawyer (7b72ec)


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