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[Flaede]

As a duly appointed Canadian, I will gladly accept Seattle and Oregon into our mighty British Empire country.

And not North Dakota? As the resident Fargoan, I'm somewhat insulted.

Cuz we already have too much Manitoba.

Hey, now. You can't have too much Manitoba.

I thing trying to get N. Dakota would be trying to bite off too much. Start with what is increasingly sounding like a good bargain:

And what, exactly, would we do with Michigan?

The UP is pretty much one giant copper and gold mine waiting to happen, and the LP is a giant bed of sedimentary shale via glaciation, with various locations that are prime candidates to be huge oil shale pockets. You figure it out.

Point taken. Clearly I was being foolish.
I still say we got ripped off with that whole pan-handle deal on the west coast, though.

[alway]

http://www.senate.mo.gov/11info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?BillID=4124271&SessionType=R
Seems Republicans now want to bring us back to the good ol' days of Oliver Twist. Repeal child labor laws! Bring back the golden days of industry!

Current Bill Summary


SB 222 – This act modifies the child labor laws. It eliminates the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen. Restrictions on the number of hours and restrictions on when a child may work during the day are also removed. It also repeals the requirement that a child ages fourteen or fifteen obtain a work certificate or work permit in order to be employed. Children under sixteen will also be allowed to work in any capacity in a motel, resort or hotel where sleeping accommodations are furnished. It also removes the authority of the director of the Division of Labor Standards to inspect employers who employ children and to require them to keep certain records for children they employ. It also repeals the presumption that the presence of a child in a workplace is evidence of employment.

[Aqizzar]

Yeah, Chaoticag mentioned this one to me earlier.  I wasn't worried about it, because there's nothing to indicate it has a gambler's prayer of passing.  If you search around about it, it was apparently introduced over a month ago, and has never been mentioned otherwise.  Going by its introduction, that's unlikely to change.  I just love the reasoning - the Congresswoman who introduced it made her two boys (named Rod and Todd no doubt) mow lawns before they were 14, and they turned out the better for it; therefor, repeal all state child-labor laws, and specifically remove the labor authority's right to inspect a business employing children.  What the flying fuck.

But again, what separates it from the stuff I already linked in this thread is that absolutely no one has made any mention of supporting it.  Crazyass bills get introduced all the time.  If it passes one or another chamber, then it will be cause for alarm.

[olemars]

I wasn't worried about it, because there's nothing to indicate it has a gambler's prayer of passing.

Awww. I had already started looking for good Missouri coal mines to invest in, and you have to come in here and shoot it right down 

[Gorjo MacGrymm]

How 'bout you all actually try READING the real bill, not some knockoff BS interpretation.

You might maybe discover it doesnt say what you think it says.

[Realmfighter]

How 'bout you all actually try READING the real bill, not some knockoff BS interpretation.

You might maybe discover it doesnt say what you think it says.

I'm fairly certain that alway posted the bill word for word instead of posting his interpretation of it.

[Aqizzar]

How 'bout you all actually try READING the real bill, not some knockoff BS interpretation.

You might maybe discover it doesnt say what you think it says.

In case you didn't notice, the link Alway posted was to the Missouri Senate's own website, listing a brief description of the bill's intention, exactly as it was given to the Senate i.e. their official interpretation of it.  You can try reading the bill yourself, and yeah, it does do exactly what the Senate summary says, mostly by way of repealing a lot of existing segments of standing Missouri law.

[Assassinfox]

Apocalyptic natural disasters and now this?  Time to get the cardboard and glitter out and make a "The End is Near" sign to hold at the corner.

[Gorjo MacGrymm]

Again, try READING it, and maybe you will learn something.

Quote from the beginning of the bill:  bolding mine

To repeal sections 294.021, 294.022, 294.024, 294.027, 294.030, 294.040, 294.045,
294.051, 294.054, 294.060, 294.070, 294.080, 294.090, and 294.100, RSMo, and
to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to child labor.

typical of someone to say "oh look they want to abolosh child labor laws blah blah blah" without looking deeper and discovering they are getting rid of them to create newer ones.

[zilpin]

«looking deeper» would require knowing what the new sections are.
Please continue, Grymm.

[lemon10]

«looking deeper» would require knowing what the new sections are.
Please continue, Grymm.

try reading the bill

Given that they are putting two new sections in, it seems much less retarded. Don't really have the time however to read all the old bills, and then compare it to the new bill, however, if you do, then information on what bills are being repealed and the effects of the current bill are in there (although i suspect its less strict then the old rules).

[Vector]

Posting to watch.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Apocalyptic natural disasters and now this?  Time to get the cardboard and glitter out and make a "The End is Near" sign to hold at the corner.

Nigh. The end is nigh.

[Aqizzar]

Update on the "Hi, we're from the bank and your town no longer exists" story in Michigan - thousands turned out in Lansing, including some town council-members from various townships and Michael Moore (who's from the area), and several people were arrested in a capitol sit-in attempt.

They're not just protesting the town-dissolution power, but also massive cuts to state-level township dispersals, which forms the beautiful cycle of towns are in financial trouble >>> give banks power to dissolve towns >>> reduce funding assistance for towns.  Also, a proposed state budget with raised Sales Taxes, lower family assistance, lower public employee pay and layoffs, and massive cuts to business tax.  You could almost put it to music at this point.

For some clarification on the Emergency Manager system itself, Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero, who has the kind of staff and experience to actually read laws (and ran against Rick Snyder for the Governor last year) finally had a chance to do what most of the Michigan legislature didn't, and read the bill.  The principle criteria for what qualifies a town as in "Financial Emergency" will be: a credit rating of BBB or lower, a deficit (temporary, permanent, or otherwise) in any city fund, or a projected budget deficit of more than 5%.  Between Michigan's financial climate and upcoming state spending cuts, it will be a rare town that doesn't fall into one of those problems.  The powers of the Emergency Managers I described in dire terms are exactly as dire as I described them.  The icing on the cake is that the township itself is financially responsible for the salary of the Manager, and any and all staff and "consultants" he hires to assist him.  And as I mentioned earlier, every amendment that would have capped or regulated the salary of the Managers was shot down.

To make that perfectly clear: It will be virtually impossible for Michigan towns to not fall under the criteria of an emergency, the guy appointed can do whatever he pleases, and he can force the town to pay whatever he decides is fair price for himself and anyone and everyone he feels like hiring, for the job of effectively running the town's government in whatever manner the bank that appointed him feels best.  The sheriff of Nottingham never had it so easy.

[mainiac]

Jesus, at this rate we are going to have a peasant revolt with pitchforks.