Hey, some good news for a change!

[Randomguy]

58 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Geeze, less than 2 years ago $15 was the dream minimum wage.  Where do you think it should go now........1 BILLION DOLLARS?

[Page Turner]

2 hours ago, Bikeguy said:

 

Until this happens... Automated Pizza Kitchens

 

2 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

What you have to watch out for are the automated cake kitchens.

 

[Page Turner]

Nonprofit mechanics petition for repairable bikes

The petition calls on manufacturers to “stop producing and selling bikes that fall apart after a few months of use. These products are harmful to the environment, erode public confidence in the usefulness and joy of bicycles, and waste the money of the mostly poor and working-class people who buy them.”

The campaign’s early supporters are bike techs from nonprofit community bicycle shops and similar programs, the groups that often refurbished used bikes to provide affordable transportation to the needy.

One supporter, Mac Liman of Denver’s Bikes Together shop, said bikes have gotten less and less repairable in recent years. Liman has been a mechanic for nearly 19 years, including 14 at Bikes Together.

“If I get a Huffy from the 90s, chances are I can actually make repairs to it. It will still be heavy, but the steel will hold together,” Liman said.

More recent bikes from big box stores and the internet have threads that shear off when a mechanic tries to replace or adjust components. They have frames that crack, and non-standard parts that can’t be affordably replaced, she said.

“I’ve seen bearing cups that just fall out of hubs, so there’s no way you can rebuild them,” she said. 

[Page Turner]

Petition to end the manufacture and sale of built-to-fail budget bicycles

Dear bike manufacturers and major bike retailers,

We -- the undersigned bicycle shops, nonprofits, co-ops, bicycle mechanics, and cycling advocates -- are calling on you to stop producing and selling bikes that fall apart after a few months of use. These products are harmful to the environment, erode public confidence in the usefulness and joy of bicycles, and waste the money of the mostly poor and working class people who buy them.

When someone gets a bike to commute or get to school and that bike breaks down in short order, it undermines trust and access to biking. It’s predatory -- these bikes are made to appear that they have functional, reliable and repairable qualities when they do not, and people don’t expect a bike to fall apart so quickly.

We are tired of telling distraught customers and riders that their bikes are made too poorly to fix, and we are tired of seeing these bikes filling up our waste streams. Frankly, you should be ashamed of selling bikes that last some 90 riding hours.

We call on you to:
- Set a minimum durability standard for bicycles to last at least 500 riding hours before breaking down,
- Design bikes to be serviceable and hold adjustment, with replaceable and upgradable components, and
- Stop creating and selling bikes that are made to fall apart.

...sign at this link.  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6dcfFQFqE6CmLxm02taF7SpTBEPG2Jq8cJBTOVebbX5L1EA/viewform

[Dottleshead ★]

On 1/25/2022 at 8:37 PM, Page Turner said:

 

...repairability has become a growing issue with consumers like me and cars.  I used to do everything on my own cars, and was trained and qualified in auto electrical and emissions here in California. That was back in the mid 1980's.  Of the two cars we have now, there is very little I can find, in the way of repair manuals or even the diagnostic software, although there are online forums where information is shared on stuff like diagnostic codes.

They don't publish the repair manuals any more, you have to subscribe.  The costs of a subscription are prohibitive.  It's a racket.

 

Wait for it........it's coming...........wait for it..........fortunately rich California liberals like me have so much excess cash that we just hire out this work.

You did better at the bike shop when you could tap the Sierra Nevada keg. 

[Dirtyhip]

3 hours ago, Dottles said:

You did better at the bike shop when you could tap the Sierra Nevada keg. 

You were up early

[12string]

interesting note: It has just been revealed that memos were circulating Costco upper management discussing the fact that fully 20% of their workers were not paid enough to simply pay the rent on low cost living quarters, and 50% were receiving government food assistance.  They actively hid the information.  And paid their CEO $22M.

We can't mandate the upper limit on how much money people make.  We can return taxation to previous levels to be more fair, and use that to care for the poor.  Maybe take one less trip to space each year so a few hundred families can eat.

[Randomguy]

Are we still talking about this?

[maddmaxx ★]

13 minutes ago, 12string said:

interesting note: It has just been revealed that memos were circulating Costco upper management discussing the fact that fully 20% of their workers were not paid enough to simply pay the rent on low cost living quarters, and 50% were receiving government food assistance.  They actively hid the information.  And paid their CEO $22M.

We can't mandate the upper limit on how much money people make.  We can return taxation to previous levels to be more fair, and use that to care for the poor.  Maybe take one less trip to space each year so a few hundred families can eat.

No CEO is worth 22 million.  It only happens because the board members want their cut too.

[Razors Edge ★]

1 minute ago, maddmaxx said:

No CEO is worth 22 million.  It only happens because the board members want their cut too.

Rats. I was gonna blame a threat of a $15 minimum wage.  

[12string]

3 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Rats. I was gonna blame a threat of a $15 minimum wage.  

Math says:  cut the CEO's salary in half, give it to the employees.  That's a 2 1/2 cent an hour raise.

So, not so simple.

Now this math:

giving all the employees a $3/hour raise: $1.3B.  That's a difference maker.

Of course, Costco's PROFIT in 2020 was $5B, so, still making $3.7B would be OK, shareholders would still make decent returns.

Or, pass the increased costs onto the customers, the vast majority of whom are poor, and let the rich shareholders keep their money.

[Dirtyhip]

18 minutes ago, 12string said:

interesting note: It has just been revealed that memos were circulating Costco upper management discussing the fact that fully 20% of their workers were not paid enough to simply pay the rent on low cost living quarters, and 50% were receiving government food assistance.  They actively hid the information.  And paid their CEO $22M.

We can't mandate the upper limit on how much money people make.  We can return taxation to previous levels to be more fair, and use that to care for the poor.  Maybe take one less trip to space each year so a few hundred families can eat.

YES!  

The disparity is so terrible.  This is not sustainable for a healthy society.  It is unbelievable that people are against offering a living wage.  Crime will worsen as people have no hope.

[Page Turner]

8 hours ago, Dottles said:

You did better at the bike shop when you could tap the Sierra Nevada keg. 

..it's sad when your volunteer job is so painful you need to be drunk to go to work.

[Dottleshead ★]

2 hours ago, Page Turner said:

..it's sad when your volunteer job is so painful you need to be drunk to go to work.

under those conditions, "sad" is not the term I'd use.

[Randomguy]

2 hours ago, Page Turner said:

..it's sad when your volunteer job is so painful you need to be drunk to go to work.

I would respect that, though, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a fine beer to drink while working.

[Dottleshead ★]

7 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

Rats. I was gonna blame a threat of a $15 minimum wage.  

This… is.. a political post.  I’m on to you hijo.