Prepare For The Ultimate Gaslighting

[GovernorSilver]

 

But unlike the article's author (or me, for that matter), they can collect unemployment while they look for a job.

 

You and other self-employed folks might actually be able to apply for unemployment benefits now.

 

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/how-to-file-for-coronavirus-unemployment-if-youre-self-employed-2020-04-13

[Notes_Norton]

I'm staying at home for two reasons (1) all my gigs have been cancelled, the governor banned bans (2) we are under a stay-at-home order for all but essential businesses.

 

I don't consider people staying at home cowering in a corner. We're probably still going to get the disease, but by 'flattening the curve' we are saving many of the medical professionals and the throngs of people they are treating. My staying well for a while means someone else who is in an already overcrowded hospital has a better chance of living.

 

I salute the people who are out there working, the medical pros, people at the grocery store, gas station, and so on. My neighbor just had trouble with her water well. I ran a garden hose across the street from my house to give her water, a day later the water well tech showed up and the next afternoon she had water again.

 

In a way, the people out there working are risking their health and possibly their lives to keep those of us under the stay-at-home order supplied with what we need. I'll respect that by only going out for what I truly need, buy enough to last a couple of weeks so I don't have to go that often, and be sure not to hog too much so that others can do the same.

 

Thank you essential workers for your contributions.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[KenElevenShadows]

I cannot fully participate in this thread. Why? Because I cannot fully, adequately react to some of the things said above because my posts will be deleted or I will be banned, sort of funny since I have some Admin responsibilities, so as an Admin, I will "pre-edit" my post. I'll just say that any assertion that people get paid their "worth" - particularly women, people with different skin color, etc. - is pure unadulterated bulls**** to the degree that I cannot believe that anybody who has lived since the 1950s might actually say this.

 

https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap

https://www.aauw.org/app/uploads/2020/02/AAUW-2018-SimpleTruth-nsa.pdf

 

"The gender gap in pay has narrowed since 1980, but it has remained relatively stable over the past 15 years or so. In 2018, women earned 85% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers in the United States. Based on this estimate, it would take an extra 39 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2018."

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/03/22/gender-pay-gap-facts/

https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/economic-justice/fair-pay/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf

 

It is unlikely I will respond further to this point because if you take the time to read and consider the posted articles and still feel that people get paid what they're worth for the same job, there's nothing further I can say that will change your mind. Hell, if you actually believe that, there's really nothing further I can say that will change your mind already.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As for the article itself, I think it makes some interesting points.

 

Although the article doesn't state so, it's less a concerted effort to "normalize" things and more of what marketing and PR firms do: "If you purchase 'X', you will feel or look great."

 

"From one citizen to another, I beg of you: take a deep breath, ignore the deafening noise, and think deeply about what you want to put back into your life. This is our chance to define a new version of normal, a rare and truly sacred (yes, sacred) opportunity to get rid of the bullshit and to only bring back what works for us, what makes our lives richer, what makes our kids happier, what makes us truly proud."

 

I hope that for people reading the article, this is the main takeaway. It may have crossed your mind already. You may have thought about it. You may be doing it. But it certainly is a great message to bring forward, and if for this alone, makes the article at least somewhat worthwhile.

[Anderton]

I cannot fully participate in this thread. Why? Because I cannot fully, adequately react to some of the things said above because my posts will be deleted or I will be banned, sort of funny since I have some Admin responsibilities, so as an Admin, I will "pre-edit" my post. I'll just say that any assertion that people get paid their "worth" - particularly women, people with different skin color, etc. - is pure unadulterated bulls**** to the degree that I cannot believe that anybody who has lived since the 1950s might actually say this.

 

Well I said I wouldn't participate in this thread any more, but I felt it important to add my voice in support of you pre-editing yourself. So far, Musicplayer.com has remained an oasis of civility and helpfulness in the sewage-based world of internet interaction (hello, YouTube comments!), and I for one want to keep it that way. If people want to shout at walls, Harmony Central's political forum is still open, at least for now. (Remember, I spun that off from Sound, Studio, and Stage precisely because the political threads were sprouting like weeds, and I felt they detracted from the forum's main value.)

 

This also gives me a chance to mention a trap many people fall into: generalizations. For example, worth depends on more than a profession. A CEO who brings a company back from bankruptcy and restores vitality to a town is worth a lot more than a CEO who drives a company into bankruptcy through poor decisions (and adds insult to injury with a golden parachute worth millions of dollars). Some police, teachers, and doctors perform services that are worth so much as to be priceless, and some are a disgrace to their professions.

 

All we can do is the best WE can, because we have control over ourselves. And yes, I realize that's a generalization

 

Peace out.

[PrairieGuy]

"The gender gap in pay has narrowed since 1980, but it has remained relatively stable over the past 15 years or so. In 2018, women earned 85% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers in the United States. Based on this estimate, it would take an extra 39 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2018."

 

It's not a fair comparison unless job choice is factored in. Apples to oranges. Men "generally" choose higher paying jobs. The wage gap is entirely due to career choice, not sexism.

[pinkfloydcramer]

 

Although the article doesn't state so, it's less a concerted effort to "normalize" things and more of what marketing and PR firms do: "If you purchase 'X', you will feel or look great."

 

"From one citizen to another, I beg of you: take a deep breath, ignore the deafening noise, and think deeply about what you want to put back into your life. This is our chance to define a new version of normal, a rare and truly sacred (yes, sacred) opportunity to get rid of the bullshit and to only bring back what works for us, what makes our lives richer, what makes our kids happier, what makes us truly proud."

 

I hope that for people reading the article, this is the main takeaway. It may have crossed your mind already. You may have thought about it. You may be doing it. But it certainly is a great message to bring forward, and if for this alone, makes the article at least somewhat worthwhile.

 

I liked that part. And it inspired some nice ruminations along that line, in some of the posts here. I've had my own, in fact. No longer chasing gigs I hate just to make those 100's a year. Why should I, when apparently I can live on 10's?

[Greg Mein]

 

This also gives me a chance to mention a trap many people fall into: generalizations. For example, worth depends on more than a profession. A CEO who brings a company back from bankruptcy and restores vitality to a town is worth a lot more than a CEO who drives a company into bankruptcy through poor decisions (and adds insult to injury with a golden parachute worth millions of dollars). Some police, teachers, and doctors perform services that are worth so much as to be priceless, and some are a disgrace to their professions.

 

This brings to mind a situation I experienced late last year when a co-worker of mine was more or less forced out of the department. I took over his projects in different areas and one day soon after when I returned to my main "home" area I was treated like a conquering hero, it actually kind of weirded me out as I was heaped upon with praise and gift cards. I wasn't doing anything special or over and above, I was simply doing my job, the same thing he should have been doing!

 

At my house my wife brings home nearly twice the salary I do but then she has post doctorate degrees whereas I'm barely qualified to change a spark plug.

[Jazzmammal]

Sounds like you married well, Greg!

 

You have a good attitude which just that by itself goes a long way in many companies. Many people I've seen over the years are educated, seem to know what's required to do a particular job but for whatever reason are just slackers. No other way to put it, they just don't get it. My attitude has always been "What can I do to help the company make more money?" That's all a boss wants, someone who can get it done so they don't have to worry about it, they can focus on other things. I've tried to be helpful and eager to do whatever it takes to move things forward. If you're able to do that good things usually happen. Not always of course but more often than not.

 

Bob

[Greg Mein]

Sounds like you married well, Greg!

 

Bob

 

I did indeed, she's a fantastic woman and an incredibly intelligent, talented and personable......person. We're very happy and get along great. We like to joke that I married her for her 1920 Steinway Model O baby grand and she married me for my Harley.

[Tusker]

Dave, I love the article. Thank you for sharing.

 

The gender wage gap issue is of particular interest to me as I have a wife in the workforce and a daughter who expects to join it. While it is intuitive to me that womens' choices play a role, it also intuitive to me that there is more texture to the situation than womens' choices alone. Here's a helpful video which aims to explore that texture ...

 

[video:youtube]

 

I wonder if that seems to provide good explanations? It does to me ... yet challengingly suggests that there is a lot of variability in the causes of the gender wage gap, which means we can't generalize accurately from our personal experiences. I wonder if the wage gap is correlated with the success of various countries, where countries with great wage equality also experience higher levels of democracy, economic growth and human rights. That's what my personal experience would suggest, but would welcome any information on the subject rather than my own faulty intuitions.

[Dave Bryce]

Sounds like you married well, Greg!

 

Bob

 

I did indeed, she's a fantastic woman and an incredibly intelligent, talented and personable......person. We're very happy and get along great. We like to joke that I married her for her 1920 Steinway Model O baby grand and she married me for my Harley.

That's hysterical - my wife and I joke that I married her for her K. Kawai parlor grand, and she married me for my dogs.

 

dB