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[Vector]

In the case of the rail strike, it's because the rails won't budge on having 24/7 on-call scheduling for rail employees. Wages aren't the problem.

(Next: start a new freight railway system. Unfortunately, they needed slave labor to build the current one).

[EuchreJack]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/09/13/rail-strike-economy-impact/#UC5I6ODJI5HENAZGYZGWISLZAQ-2

Because I had no idea what Vector was saying until I read that article.

"Why is a strike looming?
A crucial issue preventing an agreement is some of the largest carriers’ points-based attendance policies that penalize workers, up to termination, for going to routine doctor’s visits or attending to family emergencies. Conductors and engineers say that they can be on call for 14 consecutive days without a break and that they do not receive a single sick day, paid or unpaid."

I'm appalled that the media narrative seems to be so against the workers. They have a word for making someone work in conditions they don't approve of....

[McTraveller]

I think the media is against the workers because we have a national worker shortage - the average person says "I want to buy X, and it's either super expensive or I can't get it at all because it's just not available."  So people will watch anything that confirms "yeah yeah, it's all these other people, causing me to suffer!" and get the organizations that show that kind of material the sweet, sweet advertising income.

That said - I thought there was a federal law that required sick days at least FMLA? Or is there something unique about the rail-workers laws that exempts it?

Also - doesn't OSHA still apply? Such as if you are on-call for 14 days, if you work during that time, aren't you required to have some time off at some point?

I'm actually ignorant here.

[MrRoboto75]

we have a national worker shortage

We have a shortage of wages, not workers.

[McTraveller]

I wish I could believe it was as simple as "just pay people more."

[bloop_bleep]

Lol. It kinda is though. Maybe give that a go first?

"We've tried nothing and are all out of ideas! Guess the workers should stop complaining!"

EDIT: Actually I suppose they did try some things. Candy bowls and $5 Amazon giftcards. What more could one want??

[McTraveller]

Are you talking in aggregate, or for specific companies?

I mean a significant portion of people are employed by "small companies" which already have really slim margins... how can they afford to pay more?

I feel like many people have never considered what it takes to maintain a business?  I think I have experience bias, as both my parents have tried to start and run businesses (with varying degrees of success).  I've also worked for small mom-and-pop businesses (literally a 3-person consulting company), medium-sized companies (50-500 employees) and mega corps (Fortune 100 kind of stuff).

[bloop_bleep]

Multinational corporations are making out like bandits ever since the pandemic began. It is ridiculous to think they can't pay their workers a living wage.

And if your business can't be profitable enough to pay your workers a living wage -- it doesn't deserve to exist.

[Great Order]

I wonder if we let businesses get used to the idea they could keep gouging us for all we're worth and, like anyone else, they kept pushing that envelope and we've now reached a point where it's not just unfair, but actually getting unsustainable. Not literally, of course, we could keep running at poverty wages, but people don't work like that.

In other news, Liz Truss wants to uncap the UK's banking bonuses (For reasons that are certainly not "Because they'll give me kickbacks for it") and nobody likes it. The highest polling group is the Tories, and they're at 20% support to 65% oppose.

https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1570430058292211718

[Jopax]

I guess this could go here as it's economy related, but a somewhat funny thing is happening in Croatia. So in light of recent inflation trends the govt has issued a price fix on certain essential goods like flour, milk, oil, sugar etc. meaning that their price can't go above a certain point. Croatia also has certain laws that prohibit selling goods for below their minimum acquisition price, this is to prevent unfair practices like massively undercutting products when you can absorb the cost to drive competition out of business and similar shady stuff companies would  try and pull if they weren't leashed properly.

The problem we now get to is that because the base price of sugar has gone up past the price cap set by the govt retailers are now legally unable to sell it, and since the laws are made by incredibly competent people, nobody thought to introduce exceptions and provisions for extremes such as this one. And now you're stuck with a nation-wide sugar shortage, except there's plenty of sugar in every supermarket, but nobody can legally buy it :V

[McTraveller]

Oof! That is a good example of why price controls are often considered to be a Bad Move.

So for “banking bonuses” - I’d say “sure there is no limit, but your marginal tax rate increases according this formula that increases up to 100%” - so you don’t end up with situations like Croatia but you also make it not worth it to keep accumulating more wealth.

[MorleyDev]

Presumably the easy solution would be allow the sale at cap price if acquisition price is higher than the cap. Businesses would be selling it at a loss and there'd probably be some extra loopholes to consider, but businesses sell stuff as a 'loss leader' all the time so it wouldn't be unprecedented for businesses to work around.

Worst case you'd need to bring in temporary subsidization of the good and pay businesses the difference, but ideally would only want to do that for small retailers but not large who can afford to absorb the losses into their existing profits on other goods.

[EuchreJack]

I guess this could go here as it's economy related, but a somewhat funny thing is happening in Croatia. So in light of recent inflation trends the govt has issued a price fix on certain essential goods like flour, milk, oil, sugar etc. meaning that their price can't go above a certain point. Croatia also has certain laws that prohibit selling goods for below their minimum acquisition price, this is to prevent unfair practices like massively undercutting products when you can absorb the cost to drive competition out of business and similar shady stuff companies would  try and pull if they weren't leashed properly.

The problem we now get to is that because the base price of sugar has gone up past the price cap set by the govt retailers are now legally unable to sell it, and since the laws are made by incredibly competent people, nobody thought to introduce exceptions and provisions for extremes such as this one. And now you're stuck with a nation-wide sugar shortage, except there's plenty of sugar in every supermarket, but nobody can legally buy it :V

And I assume Honey, Maple Syrup, Cornmeal, and Oatmilk are out of stock or hugely expensive.

we have a national worker shortage

We have a shortage of wages, not workers.

There is actually a worker shortage.
Most businesses were designed to work with the high numbers of Baby Boomers.  Innovations that would reduce worker demands were put off to some extent because there was just soo much cheap labor.

Now there isn't, because those Baby Boomers are retiring and the following generations are significantly smaller in size.

Imagine: Every employer now has to "get by" with one less person. Because those are the demographics.

But remember: Most of your politicians/voters are Baby Boomers, because they still have that number advantage. Old people vote.

[Lidku]

So the UK right now...

[Great Order]

We're not in an economic meltdown yet, we're just heading straight to that waterfall, refusing the change course, and turning up the engine power.

EDIT: I beg your pardon, as a Tory MP has assured us, it's not Trussonomics causing the meltdown, it's the markets being terrified that Kier's going to get into power.