America - The Official Thread

[Joey D]

Question

You've got a gun and you're going to kill people... why shoot people like you and not politicians?

Answering that will get you put on a list, but I'm really surprised it doesn't happen more. Although, politicians typically have better security and politicians at the federal level have really good security, much of it that we don't see.

 

[Exorcet]

Question

You've got a gun and you're going to kill people... why shoot people like you and not politicians?

I'm not sure that people looking to kill people are thinking rationally.

 

[merseyxshore]

Question

You've got a gun and you're going to kill people... why shoot people like you and not politicians?

Because part of the genius of capitalism is the way it pits working people against each other, and keeps them from seeing the real cause of their problems.

 

[Liquid]

Because part of the genius of capitalism is the way it pits working people against each other, and keeps them from seeing the real cause of their problems.

Critiquing capitalism has very little to do with the United States' gun violence problem. I don't agree with that at all.

 

[TexRex]

 

[Danoff]

Because part of the genius of capitalism is the way it pits working people against each other, and keeps them from seeing the real cause of their problems.

"Genius of capitalism". Capitalism is what happens when you protect human rights and then otherwise let people behave freely. It's not so much a designed "system" as it is a description of human behavior with a basic background of human rights. It's not a conspiracy, it's just people doing people stuff.

This is where Marx went wrong (and your post definitely has an air of Marx about it*). Capitalism isn't strings being pulled, and doesn't require a conspiracy to fight it. That being said, capitalism also doesn't do anything to prevent conspiracies or pulled strings.

* To anyone who doesn't see it, try replacing "working people" with "working class".

 

[UKMikey]

This should go on the cursed thread but it's about America so...

 

[Joey D]

The AR-15 is such a useless gun.

If America was going to have a "national gun" it would really need to be something that contributed to the building of America, specifically the Winchester Repeating Rifle, Colt single action revolver, or the Colt 1911. You could also probably make a case for the M1 Grande and the M1903 Springfield since they both contributed heavily to America's military superiority.

What has the AR-15 done besides allowing a bunch of fat guys to play Gravy Seals or allowing the most mentally unstable people to commit acts of domestic terrorism? I mean the M-16 and M-4 both have contributed heavily to the American military, but the AR-15 hasn't done anything remotely positive for the country.

 

[Famine]

If every Amendment needs a national symbol of it, what's the National Word of America for 1A? Or the National Person, House, Papers, and Effects for 4A?

 

[TexRex]

Pandering pisspot.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Perhaps he should move to Mozambique.

 

[Danoff]

The AR-15 is such a useless gun.

The AR-15's utility here is entirely in how well it panders.

 

[GranTurNismo]

I'm really hoping that a 4-day work week- at least for some professions for now- will gain momentum in the United States. It's easy to be "doomer" given the current cost-of-living crisis, but we were ultimately able to defeat the standard 12+ hour workday, child labor, and more blatant pay discrimination based on identity, while also enacting weekends, many safety/health standards, and union rights, all in the last century or so, and almost entirely from ground-up efforts. I think this is definitely a feasible idea. Sure, there's probably some confirmation bias at play, but I'm not surprised that it's Bernie Sanders who is at the forefront of the push for a 4-day workweek in the US.



The evidence seems to be in favor, overwhelmingly so. A UK study, that observed over 3,000 workers who transitioned from a five to four day work week, reveals that the 32 hour work-week resulted in a 46% drop in worker fatigue and a 60% increase in a healthy work-life balance. The number of sick days taken, resignations, and absenteeism declined. Additionally, many workers reported better sleep, more time to spend with loved ones, and even a majority of firms reporting higher revenue from the change.

Even the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post, and the generally unconditionally pro-corporate Wall Street Journal have conceded somewhat the 4-day workweek is promising, citing that 91% of firms that temporarily switched to the 4-day workweek will continue. Naturally, the biggest obstacles to the 4-day workweek gaining momentum would be opposition from big business, but if public opinion is overwhelmingly in favor of this, and if there's credible evidence that it can actually increase productivity and profits, they may be less averse. In addition, I can imagine many Republican politicians and media outlets intuitively branding the 4-day work week as "woke" or "socialist", simply because its mostly progressive Democratic lawmakers like Sanders and Jayapal who are at the forefront. But ultimately, who wouldn't want to work less if they could?

Sources:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60b956cbe7bf6f2efd86b04e/t/63f3df56276b3e6d7870207e/1676926845047/UK-4-Day-Week-Pilot-Results-Report-2023.pdf

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/02/21/four-day-work-week-results-uk/

After Testing Four-Day Week, Companies Say They Don’t Want to Stop

A large majority of U.K. companies participating in a test of a four-day workweek said they would stick with it.

www.wsj.com

 

[UKMikey]

As I understand it workers have only had a five-day week with paid weekends since 1886. It's a wonder anyone had time to bring up children (or make them). Guess that was women's work.

One of my dad's favourite Simpsons episodes:

(I should point out that he had a long and blissful retirement.)

 

[Danoff]

Four-day work week means teachers too. School curriculum is currently built around a 5-day week. Do we hire more teachers, teach kids less, expand the day, or cram more education into the same time?

 

[GranTurNismo]

Four-day work week means teachers too. School curriculum is currently built around a 5-day week. Do we hire more teachers, teach kids less, expand the day, or cram more education into the same time?

Thus why I said “some professions for now”. It’s self-evident that the ease of transition will vary based on job type. That doesn’t necessarily mean that teaching could never morph into a 4-day per week profession. Though in this particular instance, it would need to also depend on students ability (or lack thereof) to learn and retain information if they’re in school one less. Can students learn more information in a shorter amount of time? Again, it probably depends on the subject and rigor, but it’s definitely something worth studying.

 

[Exorcet]

I'd prefer more vacation time to a 4 day work week. Don't get me wrong, a 3 day weekend is better than 2 days, but not by much. I'd much rather work 5 days for 5 weeks and then get a week off. That would be a lot more useful when it comes to getting necessary tasks out of the way or for just relaxing.

 

[UKMikey]

I'd prefer more vacation time to a 4 day work week. Don't get me wrong, a 3 day weekend is better than 2 days, but not by much. I'd much rather work 5 days for 5 weeks and then get a week off. That would be a lot more useful when it comes to getting necessary tasks out of the way or for just relaxing.

I used to save three or four of my five weeks up and jet off to Singapore. My bosses were fine with that until the last one but he was a bastard anyway.

 

[Populuxe]

In the Air Force, we earned 2.5 days of leave each month, meaning you could take a week off every other month.

 

[Exorcet]

Four-day work week means teachers too. School curriculum is currently built around a 5-day week. Do we hire more teachers, teach kids less, expand the day, or cram more education into the same time?

For me at least, learning outside of school was very productive. I was able to explore subjects that I was really interested in, and whatever I ended up doing tended to be more interesting that classes. This was more or less true from grade school to university. Maybe students could take a day out of the week to pursue their own learning outside of class. If you wanted to make sure that they're participating, have them send in short reports that an AI can look over or something.

I used to save three or four of my five weeks up and jet off to Singapore. My bosses were fine with that until the last one but he was a bastard anyway.

I do something similar and take the bulk of my time off at once. Management here is pretty flexible about it thankfully, and I'm grateful for that. It's pretty much the most productive time of the year for me.

 

[Joey D]

Ya, I think I'd want more vacation time than only working 32 hours per week. I don't take vacation time, so having more of it would mean I could just cash more of it out.

 

[Sprite]

The company I work for have been on mixed shift depending on what you want.

Basically 5 day a week, 4.5 day a week with choice of half day off or 4 day week.

They’re all the same working hours just 4 day week is longer days with a 45 minute lunch.

The days off are then any day in the week but you put your preference in and it was divided up equally and fairly across the whole business to fit their needs of staff in and out based on customer demand patterns.

In the 16 years I’ve been there I’ve always had a 4.5 or 4 day week.

Previously it was 4.5 with Thursday off and half day Saturday.

Now it’s 4 days with Thursday, Saturday and Sunday off.

It’s a godsend not working a full 5 days, or weird alternating shift patterns. Obviously some job roles don’t suit it or would need a big shift in the normal day to day for a huge amount of people. It is a shame more companies don’t offer it as an alternative though.

 

[GranTurNismo]

Ya, I think I'd want more vacation time than only working 32 hours per week. I don't take vacation time, so having more of it would mean I could just cash more of it out.

Probably something that varies person-to-person, though given that the push is for a four-day workweek seems stronger than a push for lengthier vacation time, if any, I reckon the former is more popular. Though that might have something to do with the fact that vacation time (and sick leave) is not mandatory in the US; though many white collar professions will offer some vacation time (still less than in other developed countries almost always), but its rarer for lower-wage jobs to do so. Thus, if vacation time isn't even foreseeable, a 4-day workweek might sound more intuitive.

 

[Shaun]

Though that might have something to do with the fact that vacation time (and sick leave) is not mandatory in the US

Wait, what?

Is that dependant on whether you work on a full time basis in comparison to part time or casual?

 

[GranTurNismo]

Wait, what?

Is that dependant on whether you work on a full time basis in comparison to part time or casual?

I know, right. Just wait until you get a load of our healthcare system.

The Fair Labor Standards Act made tremendous progress as far as workers' freedoms, but did not include mandates for vacation time in any form. Labor law in the US tends to be very decentralized- often left up to individual states, localities, and the employers themselves. It varies by employers, and yes, full-time workers are more likely to have vacation time than part-time/casual. It's also often in proportion to the amount of hours/time worked.

 

[Liquid]

Am I stupid (don't answer that) or is it only me who thinks that a 4 day working week is still 40 hours and you just work a bit longer Mon-Thu?

 

[Blitz24]

Wait, what?

Is that dependant on whether you work on a full time basis in comparison to part time or casual?

Contractors sadly are not eligible for PTO. In my position, if I don't work, I don't get paid (unless I take legitimate sick time off).

 

[GranTurNismo]

Am I stupid (don't answer that) or is it only me who thinks that a 4 day working week is still 40 hours and you just work a bit longer Mon-Thu?

No, it would still be an 8-hour day.

 

[McLaren]

Am I stupid (don't answer that) or is it only me who thinks that a 4 day working week is still 40 hours and you just work a bit longer Mon-Thu?

Seems like it depends. Some of the companies switching to it stay w/ a normal 8 hour day and just up the hourly wage to compensate so their workers are still making the same. I have read some places like it bc a 32 hour week instead of 40 really eases the chance of OT pay if you’re hourly.

 

[Shaun]

Contractors sadly are not eligible for PTO. In my position, if I don't work, I don't get paid (unless I take legitimate sick time off).

Liked that for the response not you not getting paid unless you work.

Our industrial relations laws are pretty good here, though that can depend on the industry you work in.

As an example for myself.
I'm at work for 8.5 hours a day 5 days a week and don't get paid for my 30min lunch break. That leaves 8 hours a day for which we get paid 7.6hrs a day. The remaining hours gives us 13 RDO's (Rostered days off) a year. We earn and pay those so that's not the employer being nice.


Other leave per year is 4 weeks annual leave with and extra 17.5% pay for those weeks.
10 days sick leave.
7 days bonus leave days, like annual leave but no extra payment.
And how many public holidays we get, think it's 11.

Work on Saturday and Sunday is double time and public holidays triple time for the most part.