What do you think about the Walmart protest?

While helping out your dad is admirable, it is actually different than providing employment.

 

I'm not sure about compassionate. I'm an employer, a consumer of labor. The guy provides a quality service for the price, I'm happy to pay it, and he is happy to have it. If someone else was willing to pay more, I would have to match it or shop elsewhere.

One thing is certain. He doesn't complain about what I pay him, or threaten not to show up at a critical point in a project if I don't bump his rate, or take out advertisements/march in a picket line in an effort to tarnish my name based on his compensation package. He doesn't have a sense of entitlement about his employment, like the people of Walmart.

Looking at the quality of people who work for the TSA, it seems the government is an employer of last resort for people who may not be able to find a job any place else. The same may be said of Walmart. I'm personally a lot happier with having Walmart cover the costs of subsistance living than I am having my tax dollars cover it.

 

You're paying them a fair wage. Again, it's obvious that what you are doing is smart, very smart. The smart thing is often the compassionate thing.

Meanwhile, the libs here think that compassion is stupid.

 

Are you saying that as neo-cons Republicans you think paying cash for workers and cheating on social security and income taxes are compassionate thing to do? It is funny, I thought you bunch were only supporting rich people to cheat on their taxes but after losing the last election, it seems you want to expand your electoral bases and advocating that everybody should cheat on their taxes.

 

I don't shop at walmart, I didn't know anyone was protesting it.
This is all I see at walmart..
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

 

Why would you assume he is cheating on his taxes? As far as I know, he declares all his income.

 

No, no, you don't understand - gworld doesn't understand that you are legally paying him as a contractor.

O'nation, gworld wants you to deduct what you pay your Mexican from your income taxes - he's worried that you are cheating YOURSELF by not legally deducting what you are paying the Mexican off YOUR taxes. Am I right, gworld?

Also, like all liberals, gworld assumes all Mexicans can't be trusted, so your Mexican isn't paying his taxes on the money you pay him. Am I right, gworld?

 

source: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/under+the+table

LOL. neo-cons are such morons that they cannot even coordinate their lies.

 

Well excuse my use of the wrong phrase. The fact remains, I don't file his taxes for him. As Corwin pointed out, I pay him as a contractor. Declaration of income to the proper tax authorities is his responsibility, not mine. Chose whatever phrase you would like to describe it.

Next you'll be insisting I demand an identification from him that he doesn't even need to vote.

 

The thing about Walmart is simply that they provide an immense number of jobs, that are primarily retail. They aren't significantly different than many other retail jobs in scope or salary. What is unique is simply that Walmart is an immense employer dramatically larger than any other retailer in the nation.

I know Rebecca has referenced the situation for other types of workers in categories like this, wherein the employees are paid at very low rates. If I'm correct I think she was referring to the status of companies with low paid wage earners vis a vis the new health care legislation.

Regardless, there are a lot of people earning money on a full time job whose income just hits the US poverty designation and qualifies them for various benefits such as food stamps. It isn't a great way to live.

One of the arguments against Walmart is to use the Costco example. Basically most articles I've read suggested Walmarts rough average salaries for retail personnel were about $11-12/ and Costco's are at about $17/hr At those rates that difference is huge.

Costco is a membership discount operation versus Walmart which is not membership; but Walmart includes Sams Club which is a membership operation:

A latest example of the differences between Walmart and Costco can be found in this article: http://my.firedoglake.com/thingscomeundone/2012/08/10/wallmart-vs-costco/

 

LOL. I can accept the misuse of the language because English is not your mother tongue but as "pro-business neo-con Republican" you should at least know about the business laws. The situation you described as he working the whole year for you is considered an employment as soon as IRS starts looking at it which makes you liable for different taxes no matter how much you claim that he is an "independent contractor". Also as unlicensed contractor you can become liable for all his mistakes which is even more stupid for someone who considers himself as a businessman. Finally you are breaking the law by not reporting what you are paying him.

http://www.dcss.saccounty.net/EmployersCorner/SAC_DCSS_DF_NewHireRegistry

May be it is best that you limit yourself to posting "Obama is bad, Republicans are good", instead of discussing anything serious.

 

It isn't just a new California law, it is a new Federal law. Perhaps you failed to read the context, but these reporting requirements are applicable to small business, not to individuals. That isn't to say that some overzealous IRS or State Franchise Tax Board agent might try and apply these laws to an individual, but it would be highly unlikely.

Consider this. Most lawn services make more than 600$ a year per client, are paid in cash, are legitimate businesses. I can guarantee you less than .01% of Californians who use such services file a 1099 on them. The same goes for cleaning services, large purchases at Costco (yes payments for non-services also fall under the 1099 legal reporting requirements for businesses).

This is exactly the type of business killing regulations Romney was talking about. Seriously, what small business has the time to print up a mountain of 1099's for every purchase it made over the course of a tax year? How many new IRS employees does it take to process all this new paperwork? This is the type of thing that makes small business unattractive to anyone, leaving us with nothing but companies like Walmart. It is complete BS.

Anyway, if failure to file 1099s on everyone I pay more than $600 in cash makes me a criminal by the letter of the law, I suppose I am content to join the ranks of the criminals, along with 99.9% of my fellow Californians. It would pure comedy watching an IRS agent try and run such charges past my accountant. She would chew him up and spit him out.

By the way, these types of laws are exactly why gun sales are through the roof in this country.

 

Interesting note on Walmart and unions: Walmart pays their employees so little that they have a high turnover rate, something like 70%. With such a high turnover rate it's tough for a union to get a grip on the employees.

Ironically, if Walmart paid their employees more and treated them better, there would be a lower turnover rate making them a better target for union organizers.

 

Are you as neo-con Republican supporter of law & order suggesting that people should break the laws and only follow those laws that they like? It is funny to see your transformation from this big time businessman that pays his employees more than Wallmart under the table to this small time individual who just hires a gardener in just couple of posts.

 

No, no, no - you don't understand, that's what the DEMOCRATS do. For example, Obama admitting to ignoring immigration laws, California ignoring federal drug, immigration, and finance laws, etc.

gworld, you're not a liberal, you're just an anarchist. Isn't it hypocritical of you to accuse others of ignoring laws that you yourself ignore?

 

What has obama got to do with the fact that obamanation wants to break the law and pay his gardener under the table?
First blaming Obama and federal government and then attacking me but not a word about the actual post which was about obamanation telling people that they should break the law, do you really think this kind of arguments fools anyone?

 

You clearly have me mistaken for someone else. I think we have way too many laws on the books. In my opinion, any law that criminalizes more than 50% of the population is an illegitimate law in a Democracy. The very concept runs in direct opposition to the principals of Democracy. It was true of alcohol prohibition, it is true of marijuana prohibition, it is true of our speeding laws, and I suspect it is true of a myriad of other laws.

The implication is that, if we had perfect enforcement, we would have to incarcerate more than 50% of our citizens. That is what most would call a dictatorship.

Not as funny as your poor understanding of the english language. Somehow you think this quote was a claim I am a "big time businessman" by means of contracting a single individual

Somehow you came to the conclusion that this individual is my gardner, as if I have enough gardening work to keep someone occupied 40 hours a week.

The fact remains. Like millions upon millions of other Americans, I regularly contract labor for hire on a personal basis in excess of $600 a year. I pay in cash, I pay more than Walmart, and the contractors are satisfied with the relationship. No unions, no strikes, no labor disputes.

This is how a much larger portion of the US economy used to work. Big labor, big business, and crony capitalism make for a pretty toxic combination to small business and the middle class. All they need is the support of mindless drones like yourself to help criminalize free thought and social mobility.

 

Lets summerize, you are an individual that sometimes hires contractors for small jobs. You don´t even check if they are licensed (which is stupid) and you break the law by paying under the table and not reporting it. How this got anything to do with a case of business such as Wallmart that actually employs people, pay insurance and taxes and has to follow the law? Absolutely nothing, which makes your post an irrelevant rant as usual.

 

To get back to the OP. Its been a week since the black Friday protest. They just didn't seem to have a big impact. Walmart made a seemingly strong effort to make them inconsequential, it appears overall # of protestors from Walmart wasn't that huge, that in some of the cases the protestors included outsiders.

I think the impact of the Walmart protest had a lot more to do with Walmart employees than the rest of us, and it appears it wasn't all that successful or impactful, as far as I can see.

 

I think I have to agree, Earl. It was just a bump in the road for Walmart. It's a shame, really.

WHAT???

gworld, I work as a marketing consultant. I'm paid as a contractor and I do not need to be licensed. What the &$%* are you talking about?????

I kid comes to my house and I pay him (as a contractor) to cut my lawn. You think he needs a license?