Liberal Regrets...

originally posted by: Edumakated
This quote basically sums up liberal thinking. A restaurant owner wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal today admitting she supported Joe Biden, but now his $15/hr minimum wage proposal is threatening to put her out of business.

I am a staunch supporter of Joe Biden and voted for him to save this country. Now I ask him to save my restaurant from the good intentions of progressive policy makers.

I mean WTF lady? Did you not understand his policy platform before voting?

You know, she's hardly the first to express regrets for voting for a President within the first few weeks of his office.

HOWEVER... Biden's approval rating (even among hostile polls) is higher than Trump ever achieved during any week of his presidency. I'm not surprised to see regrets among some. What interested me is the number of reports I've seen about people abandoning the Republican party.

I suspect things are ripe for the appearance of Yet Another Third Party.

originally posted by: JAY1980
Starting to think these Democrats didn't actually read the policies their guy SAID he would put in place.

Not true. The attempt to raise the Federal (not "universal"; Federal only) minimum wage rate has been on the table for over 10 years ( since 2009, in fact -- link is simply a conveninet source)

Now... YOU might not be aware of this, but long-term Democrats certainly are. We were behind the 2009 raise as well.

And before we weep too many tears over the restaurant industry, remember that the "wage" that servers and staff are paid is actually less than minimum wage because (in theory) they "make up the difference with tips."

So the actual paycheck they get may be $2.50/hour.

In Europe they pay servers a living minimum wage and tips are not expected nor are servers supposed to live off tips... as our European members can confirm. The food there isn't any more expensive and small places are open everywhere, so the charge that this sort of price will shut down mom-and-pop places is clearly not correct (unless one believes that Americans are too stupid to be able to run a business and not pay at least a living minimum wage.)

Anyway, your idea that we didn't know about this or read about it or think about the implications is wrong. And the idea that we've never seen such a practice be successful is also not correct.

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: Sookiechacha
a reply to: Edumakated

She's only paying her bartenders $2.23 an hour?!
Cheapskate bar owner!

You do realize restaurant waiters make their money from tips which can equate to well above 15/hr?

Bartenders are different that waiters. They have more responsibilities and usually command a higher pay than servers, which is usually minimum wage.

originally posted by: Byrd

originally posted by: Edumakated
This quote basically sums up liberal thinking. A restaurant owner wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal today admitting she supported Joe Biden, but now his $15/hr minimum wage proposal is threatening to put her out of business.

I am a staunch supporter of Joe Biden and voted for him to save this country. Now I ask him to save my restaurant from the good intentions of progressive policy makers.

I mean WTF lady? Did you not understand his policy platform before voting?

You know, she's hardly the first to express regrets for voting for a President within the first few weeks of his office.

HOWEVER... Biden's approval rating (even among hostile polls) is higher than Trump ever achieved during any week of his presidency.

Not true. Trump was above 50% in his first weeks. Biden started at 49% and has gone down. That's so wierd for a guy who got so many votes.

I'm not surprised to see regrets among some. What interested me is the number of reports I've seen about people abandoning the Republican party.

And *that* is sub-par deflection.

I suspect things are ripe for the appearance of Yet Another Third Party.

Yeah yeah we hear that all the time. All I have to say to Dems, Progs, Leftists and Statists: You first.

a reply to: SleeperHasAwakened

I had made a post about how I think there is a non-trivial number of people in the US who fit a certain profile (aging, no children, not religious, disillusioned/bitter with the system) that have no vested interest in the continuation of the US Republic as it has been all these years. Such people more or less DGAF about tradition or how this country has operated, they don't have any "skin in the game" for when they depart this world, and often seem spiteful to the point that they are actually rooting for the US to decline and eventually fail.

Many white liberals, especially young ones, are ashamed of being white. They think their race should be replaced, which I think is a major reason for their fervent support of immigration. I don't know if there's ever been anything like it on such a widespread scale, and with such popularity. I mean, what people in history have welcomed foreigners to their land in such numbers as to guarantee they'll soon be a minority? It baffles me, but then so many of our cherished beliefs and traditions are being stood on their head at an ever-increasing pace. It seems a sort of runaway national madness that's taking us toward the precipice.

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Edumakated

That GIF still has not gotten stale. I suspect you will be using it for awhile...

I already stole it.

Fred..

a reply to: Byrd

And before we weep too many tears over the restaurant industry, remember that the "wage" that servers and staff are paid is actually less than minimum wage because (in theory) they "make up the difference with tips."

So the actual paycheck they get may be $2.50/hour.

It's incredibly hard to make a profit in the restaurant business. Most owners are not big corporations but folks of modest means who often sink everything they have into their eateries. They have so many expenses: leases, business taxes, utilities, replacing stuff, upkeep, insurance, income tax, advertising, etc. And it's hard to find dependable people to work for you; you can't afford to pay them much and the work can be grueling. So pay them more and you'll get better people who'll want to stay on, right? Easier said than done. How much profit do you think a mom-and-pop cafe makes on a breakfast platter, a hamburger combo or blue-plate special? Somewhere between 2 and 6 percent seems to be the average range. You have to sell a lot of cheeseburgers at that rate to break even.

a reply to: Byrd

In Europe they pay servers a living minimum wage and tips are not expected nor are servers supposed to live off tips... as our European members can confirm. The food there isn't any more expensive and small places are open everywhere, so the charge that this sort of price will shut down mom-and-pop places is clearly not correct (unless one believes that Americans are too stupid to be able to run a business and not pay at least a living minimum wage.)

You should open your own restaurant and show us how easy it is to pay your staff well, earn enough to stay in business and have a decent income for yourself and your family. I don't mean living like a king, but a middle-class lifesyle with a 3 bedroom 2 bath home, a new car every four or five years, raise a couple of kids, take a modest family vacation each year and save a litte for retirement and the kids' college fund.

I am a staunch supporter of Joe Biden and voted for him to save this country.

Save this country from what?

People talking smack about their Political Opponents?

The far-Right doing the same thing in D.C. that the far-Left has been doing in Cities all over the U.S. for about a year now?

She found out the hard way - be careful what you wish for.

originally posted by: Teikiatsu

originally posted by: Byrd

originally posted by: Edumakated
This quote basically sums up liberal thinking. A restaurant owner wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal today admitting she supported Joe Biden, but now his $15/hr minimum wage proposal is threatening to put her out of business.

I am a staunch supporter of Joe Biden and voted for him to save this country. Now I ask him to save my restaurant from the good intentions of progressive policy makers.

I mean WTF lady? Did you not understand his policy platform before voting?

You know, she's hardly the first to express regrets for voting for a President within the first few weeks of his office.

HOWEVER... Biden's approval rating (even among hostile polls) is higher than Trump ever achieved during any week of his presidency.

Not true. Trump was above 50% in his first weeks. Biden started at 49% and has gone down. That's so wierd for a guy who got so many votes.

Would you please share where you get your data from (which polls?) I use FiveThirtyEight (linked here to Trump's numbers which links to a number of different pollsters and then aggregates the results.

Now, if you were reporting on Republican Only numbers, I can see that. But not for the entire country.

BTW, here's the link for the Biden approval rating numbers on 538. They have links so that you can fact check the polls. Even Rassmussen (generally favorable to Trump) shows Biden with a higher approval rating.

I'm not surprised to see regrets among some. What interested me is the number of reports I've seen about people abandoning the Republican party.

And *that* is sub-par deflection.

Not a deflection. The original thesis of this thread was that disappointed Democrats were leaving the party. I am pointing out that the election resulted in disappointment on both sides and there's been movement both ways.

I didn't point out the numbers, which you may investigate for yourself. There's been news stories on this with links to the public registration numbers.

It appears that there's a significant internal division within the Republican Party over whether they should abandon Trump or not seem to be coming to a head. A few members of Congress have actually left the Republican party to become Democrats (and in one case at least, Independent) over the issue.

I suspect things are ripe for the appearance of Yet Another Third Party.

Yeah yeah we hear that all the time. All I have to say to Dems, Progs, Leftists and Statists: You first.

I feel that the mood in this country is similar to that when the Tea Party was formed. They haven't made much of an impression lately, and I've wondered if they were all-but-dead. If not, they would certainly be a pro-Trump faction that would gain power from his followers. The Democrats at this point are not divided over whose leadership they should follow.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

originally posted by: Scapegrace
a reply to: Byrd

In Europe they pay servers a living minimum wage and tips are not expected nor are servers supposed to live off tips... as our European members can confirm. The food there isn't any more expensive and small places are open everywhere, so the charge that this sort of price will shut down mom-and-pop places is clearly not correct (unless one believes that Americans are too stupid to be able to run a business and not pay at least a living minimum wage.)

You should open your own restaurant and show us how easy it is to pay your staff well, earn enough to stay in business and have a decent income for yourself and your family. I don't mean living like a king, but a middle-class lifesyle with a 3 bedroom 2 bath home, a new car every four or five years, raise a couple of kids, take a modest family vacation each year and save a litte for retirement and the kids' college fund.

How do you suppose they do it in Europe, then? Or Canada, where waiters have a $10/hour base (higher than the US minimum wage and almost double the average base pay for waiters in many places in the US (under US laws, some places get away with paying their waters $2.50 per hour))?

The food isn't more expensive.

How can they manage that in Europe... but not in the US?

originally posted by: Scapegrace
a reply to: Byrd

And before we weep too many tears over the restaurant industry, remember that the "wage" that servers and staff are paid is actually less than minimum wage because (in theory) they "make up the difference with tips."

So the actual paycheck they get may be $2.50/hour.

It's incredibly hard to make a profit in the restaurant business. Most owners are not big corporations but folks of modest means who often sink everything they have into their eateries. They have so many expenses: leases, business taxes, utilities, replacing stuff, upkeep, insurance, income tax, advertising, etc. And it's hard to find dependable people to work for you; you can't afford to pay them much and the work can be grueling. So pay them more and you'll get better people who'll want to stay on, right? Easier said than done. How much profit do you think a mom-and-pop cafe makes on a breakfast platter, a hamburger combo or blue-plate special? Somewhere between 2 and 6 percent seems to be the average range. You have to sell a lot of cheeseburgers at that rate to break even.

I doagree that it's hard to make a profit in the restaurant business - we have acquaintances who ran a reasonably successful upscale restaurant until the recession hit and they had to give it up. They paid well, which meant their staff stayed with them for years (decades in some cases).

I don't know the details of their business, but what hit them was the recession when people quit eating out. Before then, their model (based on European practices) was successful and they did indeed put a kid through college and had a nice house, all while paying their waiters above minimum wage (and not playing the old "we'll pay you a base rate and your tips will even it out to the minimum wage or better" note.)

Paying lower wages wouldn't have helped them in the recession. I know other restaurants that did not pay minimum wage who also had to close in the recession.