Brandon Admin Proposes New Gig Worker Rule That Will Harm Small Businesses

By William Teach October 12, 2022 – 10:30 am

They didn’t learn the lesson from the fiasco in California (AB5 then Prop22), which created all sorts of problems and reduced the number of gig workers? The government needs to stop messing with things they do not understand, things that are working

Biden’s proposed gig worker rule could deal a major blow to small businesses

The Biden administration has proposed a new rule that could re-classify millions of gig workers as employees, a move that could deal a significant blow to small businesses across the country.

The Labor Department on Tuesday unveiled a new proposal that would make it more difficult for companies to classify their workers as independent contractors — a change that could have major consequences for ride-hailing, delivery and other industries that depend heavily on gig workers.

Companies are required to provide certain benefits and legal protections to employees but not contractors, making employment of those types of workers more expensive. That includes minimum wage, overtime, Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation insurance.

In determining whether a worker qualifies as an independent contractor or not, the Labor Department said it would take into consideration the worker’s “opportunity for profit or loss, investment, permanency, the degree of control by the employer over the worker, (and) whether the work is an integral part of the employer’s business,” among other factors.

Which would require a heavy hand from the federal government over small businesses. Which would mean a lot of small businesses would simply opt out of using gig employees. It won’t give millions employment status, it will give them unemployment

While the proposal could give millions of workers employee status, it could also have potentially catastrophic consequences for small businesses already struggling with the hottest inflation in four decades and a persistent labor shortage.

“This is a rule that’s only going to make it more challenging for small businesses to operate in today’s already difficult economy,” Beth Milito, executive director of the National Federal of Independent Business’ legal center, told FOX Business.

Businesses say their operating costs could surge if they are required to classify gig workers as employees, and as a result, employers could be forced to cut payroll or freeze hiring in order to keep their bottom line strong. They have also noted that some employees like the flexibility that gig work provides, including the option to work for different companies if they choose to do so.

It could raise operating costs 20%-30%, meaning fewer employees. And small businesses will just simply not want to deal with it all, because they just do not have the time. It could mean that many would be limited to part time hours to avoid all the benefits. It’ll be a big mess.

And, beyond that, this seems more of making law with such a huge, encompassing law, something that the duly elected Legislative Branch should do. At least in California the general assembly passed AB5, then Proposition 22 via direct voting of the citizens. The Supreme Court has already ruled that major, heavily impactful rules are unconstitutional, should go through the Legislative Branch.

Read: Brandon Admin Proposes New Gig Worker Rule That Will Harm Small Businesses »

Posted in Economy, Joe Biden | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

PRC To Now Ban Plastic Bags Used To Protect Produce And Meat

By William Teach October 12, 2022 – 7:15 am

It’s always something with these loons in the People’s Republik Of California

California banning another popular plastic bag from all grocery stores

California is phasing out the single-use plastic bags commonly used to protect produce and meats from being damaged or contaminating other foods in a shopper’s cart.

“It helps consumers be a lot more educated about which products that claim compostability are actually compostable,” Legislative Director at Californians Against Waste Nicole Kurian told KGO last week. “[It] helps them collect their organics, so this is a win-win bill on multiple different sides.”

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law at the end of September, which will require grocery stores across the state to phase out the small bags, typically found on produce and meat aisles in grocery stores, by Jan. 1, 2025.

California is the first state in the nation to phase out such bags, according to The Seattle Times. The traditional bags will be replaced with recycled paper bags or bags that are compostable.

Well, this should go swimmingly, right? Using paper will work wonders for meats, right?

“This kind of plastic film is not recyclable. It’s a contaminant in almost any bin you put it into,” said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste, told The Seattle Times.

“It flies around landfills and flies out of trucks. It gets stuck on gears at recycling facilities. And it contaminates compost. It’s a problematic product we want to get rid of.”

On that, I’ll agree. But, perhaps we should look for better methods. Maybe talk with the professionals to come up with a good solution before just banning things. Oh, he, when will they ban single use bottles?

The bill was opposed by the California Grocers Association, which sent a letter to the bill’s author, state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, requesting grocery stores have until 2025 to switch to compostable bags instead of an original 2023 timeline. The request was granted.

That would have made sense, listening to the professionals, but, hey, keep dumping the solar panels in landfills.

Read: PRC To Now Ban Plastic Bags Used To Protect Produce And Meat »

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Hot Take: Harris Accuses Abbott Of Dereliction Of Duty For Busing Illegals To Sanctuary Areas

By William Teach October 12, 2022 – 7:00 am

I’m guessing Abbott will send another bus load of illegals to Kamala’s DC residence shortly

Border Czar Kamala Harris Accuses Abbott of ‘Dereliction of Duty’ for Busing Migrants Out of Texas

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was tapped by President Biden to address the ongoing crisis at the Southern border, lashed out at Texas governor Greg Abbott for busing migrants to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers Monday, accusing the border-state governor of “dereliction of duty.”

“I just think it’s an absolute dereliction of duty. If you see a problem and we agree that we need to address it, then if you’re a leader, participate in a solution, right?” Harris said. “They’ve fled great harm and they are coming here seeking refuge. Talk about political theater.”

Harris has overseen skyrocketing rates of illegal migrants crossing the border since being made border czar. This April, nearly a quarter-of-a-million migrants were apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border, nearly half of whom were released internally. Yet, Harris still insisted in the interview that the border is “secure” and that Abbott should work on constructive solutions instead of “this gamesmanship with real human beings who trust us.The comments come after Abbott sent a bus full of migrants to Harris’s official residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., last week. The bus was just one of many that the governor has shipped to Democratic-controlled cities as part of Operation Lone Star. He announced Monday that the state has sent 8,200 migrants to D.C., 3,200 to New York City, and 920 to Chicago since the program began in the spring.

The comments come after Abbott sent a bus full of migrants to Harris’s official residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., last week. The bus was just one of many that the governor has shipped to Democratic-controlled cities as part of Operation Lone Star. He announced Monday that the state has sent 8,200 migrants to D.C., 3,200 to New York City, and 920 to Chicago since the program began in the spring.

This is the border czar who’s never been to the border during her time as vice president. Complaining about Abbott. Funny no mention of the Democratic Party mayor of El Paso, Oscar Leeser, who’s sent 60 busloads to sanctuary cities. But, it is fantastic that Democrats are whining up a storm over being forced to confront the open borders they say they support.

Read: Hot Take: Harris Accuses Abbott Of Dereliction Of Duty For Busing Illegals To Sanctuary Areas »

Posted in Democrats, Illegal Immigration | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Doom: ‘Climate Change’ Made Drought 20 Times More Likely Or Something

By William Teach October 11, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Say, what about the big drought in the 30’s, when carbon pollution was well below the “safe” limit of 350ppm?

Climate change made this summer’s drought 20 times more likely, study finds

Rising global temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels made this summer’s brutal droughts across the Northern Hemisphere — which dried up rivers, sparked unprecedented wildfires and led to widespread crop failure — 20 times more likely, according to a new study.

Climate change is rewriting normal weather patterns in real time, said the study by World Weather Attribution, a consortium of international scientists who examine the link between rising average global temperatures and extreme weather. The droughts that affected North America, Europe and Asia this summer were so extreme that they would normally be considered a 1-in-400-year event, the study found, but due to climate change, the planet can now expect a repeat of those conditions every 20 years.

This isn’t journalism, it’s propaganda. No proof is required, no skeptical eye involved, no attempt to ask for alternative viewpoints. It’s simply a cult. If people cannot deal with a slight 1.5F increase in global temperatures since 1850, perhaps other factors are in play?

But, um

The Mississippi River basin is getting wetter as climate change brings era of extreme rain, floods

In the early morning hours of July 26, many St. Louis-area residents awoke to floodwater filling their homes, or to the din of blaring car alarms from vehicles getting overtaken by murky brown water. Too much rain was falling far too fast.

The weather system dumped more than 9 inches on St. Louis – about a quarter of the city’s annual average – compressed largely within a few hours. That same week, torrential rain storms settled on Eastern Kentucky, where up to 16 inches fell and water rushed into people’s homes so swiftly that many didn’t get out in time.

Longtime residents in both regions, no strangers to severe storms and flooding, said they’d seen nothing like it before – and they’re right.

The rainfall totals obliterated previous records in each area by a margin that was difficult for some experts to fathom – topping St. Louis’ single-day record by more than two inches, for instance. It was yet another example that rain isn’t falling the way that it used to, with both the magnitude and intensity of extreme rain events increasing throughout recent decades, across a large part of the country.

So, is it drought or flood caused by the burning of fossil fuels? Oh, right, it causes everything, because this is a cult.

Read: Doom: ‘Climate Change’ Made Drought 20 Times More Likely Or Something »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach October 11, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…are trees changing late due to carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Weasel Zippers, with a post on a VP who used to jail people for small marijuana infractions saying no one should go to jail for marijuana infractions.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

Here We Go Again: Usual Suspects Predict Doomy Fall/Winter COVID And Flu

By William Teach October 11, 2022 – 10:30 am

They just can’t give up, because they’re too invested in the scaremongering when most people have mostly moved on. Do they think they’ll be able to get more mandates at this point? No one will allow it

How bad will flu and Covid be this winter? Hospitals brace for rough season.

Hospitals nationwide are preparing for another winter with Covid — the first one that’s also expected to include high levels of influenza and other respiratory illnesses that have simmered quietly in the background for the past two years.

Flu cases are already rising in parts of the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pediatricians, too, are seeing a growing number of children sick with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and enteroviruses.

And despite a downward trend in Covid, tens of thousands of new cases are still being diagnosed every day.

The convergence of viruses is hitting health care systems as they’re forced to reckon with staffing shortages that worsened during the pandemic.

Staff shortages? You mean like from terminating doctors and nurses and assistants for refusing to take the unproven, emergency use vaccines? Which, sadly, have shown to be not as good as positioned, and are causing a lot of problems, such as strokes (including in young folks) and messing up menstrual cycles?

“If you go around the nation and ask hospitals how busy they are, every single one of them will tell you: They’re busy,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an executive associate dean at the Emory University School of Medicine and Grady Health System in Atlanta.

Really? Weird that I do not see that in the local news around here or any of the other outlets I hit for whatever reason.

Health care workers are quitting at rates 23 percent higher than when the pandemic began, mirroring a larger nationwide trend of workers leaving their jobs, according to Health System Tracker, a joint effort between the nonprofits Peterson Center on Healthcare and Kaiser Family Foundation to monitor how well the U.S. health care system is performing.

“Nurses were on the front line, and some of them burned out and quit,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Others that were in their 50s and 60s who maybe thought they’d be working for another five years took an early retirement.”

Some are leaving because they refuse to take the mandated vaccines. Some refuse to take a booster, because we now know more. The COVID cultists really want to make this happen, as they are too invested in doom. And, speaking of vaccines

Federal employees have more paid time off from OPM to get COVID-19 booster shots

The Office of Personnel Management is making it a little easier for federal employees to get their booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Employees now have up to four hours of paid administrative leave, after OPM authorized the time off on Oct. 6. Feds can also use time off to take family members to get their doses of the vaccine. And any employees who are not yet vaccinated against COVID-19 can use the time off toward getting their first dose.

Why? They have days off. They have after work time. It barely takes any time to get a shot. Even in the depths of COVID, with all the social distancing, it took less than an hour to drive to the center, wait in line, get jabbed, and get home. Why are We The Taxpayers footing the bill for federal employees? They surely won’t take advantage of this, right?

Additionally, federal employees are eligible for up to two days off if they have an adverse reaction to the vaccine. Beyond the initial two days, employees can use their own sick leave to take additional time off until they recover.

Adverse reactions, eh? Huh.

Read: Here We Go Again: Usual Suspects Predict Doomy Fall/Winter COVID And Flu »

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Your Fault: Heatwaves To Make Places Unlivable

By William Teach October 11, 2022 – 7:00 am

Yes, it’s that time of year to start really pimping the uber-doom, what with the next UN IPCC COP meeting in Egypt coming up in November

Heatwaves will make regions uninhabitable within decades: UN, Red Cross

Heatwaves will become so extreme in certain regions of the world within decades that human life there will be unsustainable, the United Nations and the Red Cross said Monday.

Heatwaves are predicted to “exceed human physiological and social limits” in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and south and southwest Asia, with extreme events triggering “large-scale suffering and loss of life”, the organisations said.

Heatwave catastrophes this year in countries like Somalia and Pakistan foreshadow a future with deadlier, more frequent, and more intense heat-related humanitarian emergencies, they warned in a joint report.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) released the report in advance of next month’s COP27 climate change summit in Egypt.

“We don’t want to dramatise it, but clearly the data shows that it does lead towards a very bleak future,” said IFRC secretary-general Jagan Chapagain.

Right, right, they don’t want to dramatise it. That’s all they do. And, what happens when this doesn’t occur? Who’s held responsible for the doomsaying? And, has this happened during previous Holocene warm periods? There needs to be a comparison for proper science. The Sahara used to be a lush rain forest 6,000 years ago. How dare you drive fossil fueled vehicles back then!

Read: Your Fault: Heatwaves To Make Places Unlivable »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 14 Comments | Trackback URL

New York Open Border Liberals Upset Over More Shipped Illegals

By William Teach October 11, 2022 – 6:45 am

The NY Daily News is a pretty far left “newspaper”, further out than the NY Times. Of course, no one at the NYDN is offering to support or house any of the illegals/migrants

Nearly 2,000 migrants arrived in NYC over weekend as shelter crisis shows no sign of abating

At least 1,800 Latin American asylum-seekers arrived in the city over the weekend, signaling that the migrant wave is accelerating even as Mayor Eric Adams’ administration scrambles to shelter thousands of desperate travelers already in New York.

The mayor disclosed the latest figure to reporters on the sidelines of the Columbus Day Parade in Manhattan on Monday morning.

“Those numbers are unbelievable — 1,800,” Adams said before issuing a plea for assistance: “We need every level of government to participate in dealing with this crisis that we are facing. You know, over just the last few days to receive those large numbers, it’s a strain on our system and we have to make sure we get the support that we need.”

The weekend influx means the total number of migrants in the five boroughs is now at least 19,200, according to data from Adams’ office. An Adams spokeswoman cautioned the tally is likely higher, as the data only covers migrants who have cycled through the shelter intake system.

Aww, that’s a real shame, NY having to deal with the results of the policies they support.

The mayor did tell reporters that the city desperately needs funding and assistance from the federal and state governments to deal with the crisis, and suggested his emergency declaration served as an opportunity to communicate that.

“I had to explain to New Yorkers what we were dealing with, what we did already, what we’re going to do and what we need, because this situation is so complex,” he said. “I wanted to take my time out and say to New Yorkers, ‘Here’s what we’re dealing with.’”

Like the border cities with way, way more fallout from liberal open-border policies?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott criticizes NYC Mayor Eric Adams for ticketing buses carrying migrants

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott criticized New York City Mayor Eric Adams over the ticketing of buses carrying migrants from his state to the so-called sanctuary city, following a state of emergency declaration in the Big Apple amid the influx.

The New York Police Department was seen over the weekend pulling over buses near the Port Authority that had dropped of dozens of migrants. The officers reportedly searched each bus for possible infractions, including tire treads, fluid levels and even windshield wiper placement, the New York Post reported (snip)

“This is another pathetic ply by Mayor Adams to stop Texas from busing migrants to his self-declared sanctuary city,” a spokesperson for Abbott’s office told Fox News. “Each bus used by the State of Texas for this busing mission undergoes thorough Texas Department of Public Safety Commercial Vehicle inspections before departing for sanctuary cities.”

Why doesn’t Adams want to be compassionate to illegals?

But the bussing is a bipartisan effort, with the Democratic mayor of El Paso, Texas, sending more migrants to New York City than Abbott.

Hmm, I hadn’t heard that one before.

Read: New York Open Border Liberals Upset Over More Shipped Illegals »

Posted in Democrats, Illegal Immigration | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Good News: High Speed Rail Company Declined To Work On California Project Due To State Being “Politically Dysfunctional”

By William Teach October 10, 2022 – 6:06 pm

First the shot

Multi-billion?

(Hoover) Back in 2008, California voters approved about $10 billion in bond funds to partially finance a HSR system that would stretch across the state, from the south to north, and from the valleys to the coast, promising travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in just two and one-half hours, with trains traveling at 220 miles per hour. The system was to be operational by 2020, for a cost of about $34 billion. Too date, the cost has escalated to about $105 billion, just for the 520-mile Los Angeles–San Francisco leg. And now that we are in 2022, the only certainty is that costs that will rise further, and that a completion date—“completion” meaning whatever bits and pieces of the system ultimately are finished—will stretch further into the future.

A bit more than “multi-billion”, and, so far, nothing is operational

A company hoping to help California with its high-speed rail built one in North Africa instead, saying the region was ‘less politically dysfunctional’

The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF), a French state-owned railroad operator, came to California in hopes of helping the state build a high-speed rail system from Los Angeles to San Francisco but left for North Africa in 2011 because the region was ‘less politically dysfunctional’ than the Golden State.

Within 7 years, they built a functioning high-speed rail system in Morocco, the New York Times reported.

California sought to have the first high-speed rail system in the country, but a new report from the Times showed political disagreement on the train’s route slowed the ambitious project to a near halt — and raised construction costs by billions.

That Times piece notes that the Peoples’ Republik Of California is now thinking $113 billion. That Hoover piece is from mid-August this year.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority continues to build: The first section of the rail is under construction in Central California. The authority hopes to begin testing the section in 2025.

Some rail operators told the Times the entire project could potentially be a bust.

“I don’t think it is an existing project,” Quentin Kopp, a former rail chairman, told the Times. “It is a loser.”

The same types of Leftists want to force Everyone Else to take the train.

Read: Good News: High Speed Rail Company Declined To Work On California Project Due To State Being “Politically Dysfunctional” »

Posted in Liberal World | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Half Of Voters Say ‘Climate Change’ Is Super Important For Them Or Something

By William Teach October 10, 2022 – 3:00 pm

It’s obviously not important enough for them to change their own lives and make them carbon neutral

Half of voters say climate change is important in midterms, poll finds

climate cow…

With less than a month until Election Day, roughly half of registered voters say climate change is either “very important” or “one of the most important issues” in their vote for Congress, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll.

As Republicans work to wrest control of the House and Senate from Democrats, the results are divided along party lines. Among adults, roughly 8 in 10 Democrats (79 percent) say climate change is at least very important in their vote, compared with 46 percent of independents and 27 percent of Republicans.

Similar shares of voters of all ages say global warming is a priority at the ballot box. That’s a change from previous polls that have shown younger Americans worry more about Earth’s rapid warming, which is more likely to affect them in the form of raging wildfires, rising seas and stronger storms.

They can say “half”, but, less than half of Independents care, and, let’s be honest, all those Democrats may say climate apocalypse is important, but, they won’t really factor it into their vote, as, again, it’s popular in theory, not practice. Other things they find

Overall, climate change ranked below the six other issues tested in the poll, including the economy, abortion, crime and immigration. While 51 percent of registered voters say climate change is important in their vote, that compares with 85 percent who say the economy is important.

The gap is smaller when it comes to the highest category of importance. Roughly 14 percent of registered voters say climate change is “one of the most important issues” in their vote, below the economy (27 percent) and abortion (22 percent) but similar to immigration (14 percent) and crime (13 percent).

So, it’s super important, but, as usual, below real world issues. This is from page 11 of the poll

When measured against those real world issues, ‘climate change’ is dead last, 11 points behind immigration. As usual.

BTW, the poll starts out noting that Biden has a 39% approval rating, with 53% disapproving. On handling the economy, it is 36% approve, 57% approve.

Read: Half Of Voters Say ‘Climate Change’ Is Super Important For Them Or Something »

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