Why The $15 Minimum Wage Doesn't Work.

Historically, skilled laborers would go on strike -- welders, steel workers, mechanics and so on. Now, unskilled workers that flip burgers and work cash registers all day think they should strike, too.

As a follow up to my article yesterday, I want to extrapolate further as to the insane nature of a $15 minimum wage, especially in regard to unskilled service industry workers. The arbitrary nature of such a number ultimately detracts from the economy, causing more unemployment and greater competition between unskilled workers. It's something I've spoke about more than once. A big thank you goes out to my brother James for sharing the following video with me. In this video, Don Boudreaux, a highly-regarded economist at George Mason University, explains the pitfalls of the 'Fight for $15' movement and why such a financial policy simply doesn't work. I encourage you all to watch. You just might learn something.

Waitresses... At McDonald's?

Earlier this month on May 12, I wrote about the forthcoming automation at Wendy's restaurants. This is a cost saving measure to counter the ridiculous demands by employees to be paid $15 an hour. Obviously, if the price of staffing goes up, a business must find a more reasonable method of administering their product to offset the increased overhead expense. Long story short... here come the robots.

Today, McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook spoke to shareholders at the company’s annual meeting. He expanded upon the notion of kiosks and other robotic methods of serving customers, as well as their potential use in the house that Ronald McDonald built. Easterbrook said:

“I don’t see it being a risk to job elimination... Ultimately we’re in the service business. We will always have an important human element.”

Easterbrook further explained that any automation that takes place inside their restaurants would largely result in employees being shifted from the kitchen to the dining room area in a service capacity. Essentially, if you carefully read between the lines, the CEO is forecasting a major shift in what kind of employees will be hired by the company. So, what will that new status be?

They'll be waiters and waitresses. And what do waitresses make per hour? On average, less than $3.

Think about this for a moment. McDonald's employees will no longer flip burgers or bake apple pie crisps. Those jobs will be fully automated by machines. Instead, they'll bring customers more food and water, much like any other sit-down restaurant. As such, those employees will be compensated as waitresses, whom are legally allowed to be paid much less than the standard minimum wage. Customers will then tip these employees, thereby absorbing the increased cost of doing business.

In no simpler set of words, McDonald's shall put the burden onto its customers, at the same time paying less wages to their staff and making more profit. This is a classic win-win scenario.

Mark you calendars, my friends. I'm calling it now. At some point in the near future, you'll see waiters and waitresses at McDonald's.

Bubble Wrap Began... In The Shower?

Crackle, Pop, Pop! Who doesn't love popping a sheet of bubble wrap? And yet, this handy packing material hasn't been around that long. Surprisingly, bubble wrap got its start in the bathroom.

In 1957, inventors Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes were looking to market a new kind of wallpaper. Oddly enough, they started with two shower curtains. They sealed the two curtains together, creating random clusters of trapped air bubbles between them. When no one wanted to buy their terrible wallpaper, they decided to remarket the shower curtain monstrosity as greenhouse insulation. Again, their concept was a total disaster.

It wasn't until 1961 that their idea finally found its optimal use. IBM contracted Chavannes and Fielding's company, Sealed Air Corporation, to provide the bubble wrap as protective padding for their IBM 1401 computer.

The IBM 1401 Computer was HUGE by today's standards.

Since then, the Sealed Air Corporation has continually refined their bubble wrap product into the cheap, effective packing material we have today.

And there you have it! Bubble wrap as we've come to know it is a total accident. Yet, where would we be without it?

What's The Point Of A Phone Book Anymore?

I found a new phone book resting in my driveway today. Immediately, I began to mutter...

What's the point?

In the advent of modern mobile phones and the internet, the phone book has become all but a useless relic of days gone by. Sure, the phone book was a valuable tool in a time before the internet, but times change. It's not like we all have an abacus in our pocket, am I right? Quickly flipping through the phone book, which weights 1.5 pounds and has 316 pages, it was dreadfully clear that nearly every listing was an advertisement of some sort. Sure, I would find an occasional personal phone number here or there (which is a reflection of how few people have land lines any more), but the vast majority were numbers for plumbers, lawyers and other businesses.

Let me ask you this. When was the last time you looked in a phone book to call a plumber? Or a lawyer? How about a hair salon or contractor?

Like I thought... it's been YEARS since you did so.

Phone books are the very definition of pointless in this modern age. Of the half dozen phone books I've received in the past few years, they have all wound up in the recycling bin. I never even considered keeping one. All those advertisers hoping to earn my business? Nope. Total garbage. I never even saw your ad. Sorry, tough luck on your behalf!

You may say phone books have their place. What about folks that don't use the internet to find a phone number? Well, I have two points to counter that question.

• You don't have some form of access to the internet? Tough patooties... it's 2015 in the United States. Get with the times.
• If the phone book is intended for folks without internet access, then WHY DO ALL OF THE ADVERTISEMENTS FEATURE WEBSITE LINKS?

Take a look at this two page spread of the phone book I received. This particular edition is published by Local Edge, a subsidiary of Hearst Communications. That's right... THAT Hearst Communications founded by the infamous William Randolph Hearst in 1887. On page 40, It features the same advertisement repeated twice from two different lawyers. For what?! Why so much redundancy? If I was one of these lawyers, I'd be absolutely enraged that they put two of my spots so close together. Much less, what a waste of money for the advertisers. Here's a much bigger question. Why is Hearst Communications, a multinational media conglomerate which had $9 Billion in revenue during 2014, printing useless phone books?

I'll tell you why. They're taking advantage of the schmucks whom advertise in phone books thinking it will draw in new business. The only business making money from the phone book IS THE BUSINESS THAT PRINTS THE PHONE BOOK!

That's right... these advertisers are schmucks and Hearst knows it. They're wasting their money. If they want to advertise, then they should do it on local television, radio or on the internet. You know... things people actually watch, hear or look at!

Look at all of these businesses people will almost certainly look up on the internet!

Here's a much larger and more troubling issue with phone books. They're a massive waste of natural resources. There are 67 houses in my neighborhood (yes, I've counted). Each and every one of them received the same phone book I did. Added together, there's 100.5 pounds and 21,172 pages of paper in all of those phone books. Now, expand that to a whole town or city. Then multiply that across an entire state. On top of that, there's fifty states! How many tons of paper are being wasted to print a book that no one is going to look at? A lot, my friends... a lot. As a whole, the phone book industry largely receives failing grades for their gross mismanagement of natural resources. Look no further than the 2015 Sustainability Report Card for Telephone Directory Publishers for proof. Seven of the participating 13 phone book publishers in the United States received a failing grade of D when it comes to production sustainability, use of recycled paper and the ability of consumers to opt-out. No publisher received a grade better than a B. In fact, many of the publishers failed to even make their internal data available for the publication, simply because they didn't care enough to even respond.

Look, even the company publishing the phone book knows that their publication is pointless. They feature ads all through like the one above, actively sending readers to their website to search for the same businesses featured in the book itself. Again... WHAT'S THE DAMN POINT OF PRINTING THE BOOK THEN?!

Maybe I'll put this phone book to good use and start a flame in my fire pit with it. At least it won't be a total waste.

Shoe Shopping Is A Total Scam.

Honestly, I like to shop. Yeah, I know... I'm one of the rare guys who enjoys shopping. Yet, if there's one thing I don't like to shop for, it's shoes. I wear a size 10.5 Wide, which is a fairly hard combination to find. Thankfully, I can depend on Skechers to make a pair of tennis shoes that I fit into.

Today was a different experience, though. I've wanted to find a pair of casual, Oxford style shoes for a while. Unfortunately, I've had no luck in finding any for a reasonable price. Sure, I could pay upwards of $75-$100 for a pair that will fit me, but that's just ridiculous. As a general rule of thumb, I won't pay more than $50 for a pair of shoes -- and that's pushing it.

The very moment you walk into a shoe store like this, you're in immediate danger of being ripped off.

It's not that I can't afford a pair of $100 shoes, it's just that I'm not dumb enough to spend that much. They're shoes, for goodness sake! I wear them on my feet -- it's not like they can launch me to the moon. Shoes simply should not cost that much. In reality, they don't... and I have proof.

Last year, a thirty-plus year veteran of Nike revealed a long-standing mystery within the tennis shoe industry. Presenting before the University of Oregon's Sports Product Management program, Nike employee Steve Bence broke down just how much a typical $100 pair of Nike shoes costs to produce. I won't bore you with the exact details, but Bence provided some startling numbers. A pair of $100 Nike shoes costs about $28 to make and ship to the United States. By the time that pair of shoes has overhead costs and taxes levied upon it, Nike sells it at wholesale for around $50, making approximately 9% profit. I honestly don't take issue with this -- 9% profit is reasonable. Now, here comes the shocking part.

Once the shoe is purchased at wholesale by a retailer, they immediately raise the price to $100! That's where all the profit goes -- to the retailers. And remember... those shoes are being sold by part-time employees making minimum wage with no health benefits. Shoe retailers like Foot Locker (whom also owns Champs, Footaction and Eastbay) are making an absolutely killing on their retail products. Foot Locker was ranked #400 on the 2014 edition of the Fortune 500 list -- their market value was an astounding $6.8 Billion. Obviously, the profit margins are even higher on shoes that get top promotional billing, like Air Jordans.

So no, I won't buy a shoe that's been marked up nearly 100% percent at retail... and I hope you wouldn't either. Be a smarter shopper!

Your Advertising Makes Me Want To NOT Buy From You!

There's just something about really terrible advertising campaigns and commercials that riles me up. Here's an example.

Click for full-size to see how much it sucks.

I received the above local ad in the mail today. It's one of your typical coupon fliers that try to grab your attention with silly antics. Haha... look at that fat cheerleader. Teehee... that so makes me want to buy tires from you.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those people that are completely deterred by this sort of nonsense. Such advertising speaks to a lower caliber of individual. If you feel the need to look like a fool in your advertisement, how can I feel comfortable knowing that you'll provide me with a quality product and/or professional service?

I can't.

Another trend in advertising (especially in rural areas and smaller cities), is to use children in television commercials. I HATE THESE TYPES OF COMMERCIALS MORE THAN ANY OTHER. If I see a child in your commercial attempting to sell me a car, sing me a jingle or generally just try to be cute, I will NEVER... and I mean N-E-V-E-R buy anything from you. Trying to sell your business with children is just, well... for lack of a better word, childish! This method gives me ZERO confidence in your business. Instead of showing me what you do or what you sell, you just assume shoving some cute little kids in front of me will garner my trust. Nope - it makes me assume that you're pathetic. It's also insulting. Expect better of yourself and your potential customers. Look at it this way...

Would you buy a car from a little kid? Of course not. Then why would you use a little kid in your commercial to sell me a car? YOU SHOULDN'T!

Hell no I'm not buying something from you. Get off my television screen!

One of Those Days.

Today has just been one of those days. There simply isn't enough time in the day. Seems like one thing after another just goes wrong. And look at me... my blood pressure goes up, I get testy and yell. GAH!

Between trying to do double-time on my business inventory and get it prepped for sale in time for the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales rush... managing a sick dog, cooking, cleaning... it just gets to be too much.

I wanted to cook pork ribs for dinner. Of course, I open the package and they're spoiled. The rotten odor hit me as soon as I peeled the plastic back and incurred a gurgle in my gut. Food Lion will be hearing from me!

Mellow's bum leg is unfortunately not improving, so an unexpected visit to the vet in an already busy week will be attempted tomorrow.

I still have to clean and prepare for dinner guests this week. I'm happy to host Thanksgiving visitors for once, but I am grossly unprepared and not accustomed to such a daunting task.

Of course, when I get aggravated, I inappropriately yell and argue with Crystal. She's under just as much stress in trying to prepare for the holiday... probably more so than I. What do two bull-headed, domineering people do in a relationship when things get tense? They argue. BLAH! I hate the thought of fussing... really makes me feel like a piece of crap. I always vent and say things I don't mean.

Either way, I've got work to do. Tomorrow's blog post may be reported from an asylum.

I'm just a hack.

I'm feeling pretty good today. Or at least so I thought.

I packed some customer shipments and went to the post office. Worked a little bit on my store inventory, too. I also finally finished a really freaky and enthralling graphic novel I've been reading - The Furry Trap from Josh Simmons (check out his blog here). If you know me well... and some of you do... then you know that my particular tastes in comics can venture out into the land of weird and horrific. Trust me, The Furry Trap continues that trend.

As I finished the book, I came to feel a deep sense of regret. Why have I not published my own comic yet? Where did I leave the path? What took me away from my lifelong goal of being a comic creator? Now don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVE what I currently do. Setting up my own vintage toy business is one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. I'm my own boss. I set my own hours. I control what I sell and how I sell it. No longer am I trapped working for a bank that I have major ethical conflicts with. Literally, creating The Cybertron Armory is one of the accomplishments I'm most proud of in life. But... for years, all I wanted was to be a published comic creator. Eventually, I guess I just gave up on myself. There were numerous lies I'd tell my inner being... I'm not talented enough... no one would read my work... I'm just a hack with no real vision... the list could go on and on. Yet, here's a comic filled with strange stories, unique art and a singular vision. If this creator could do it, then why haven't I? What is holding me back from making something all my own?

Me.

It's the only true answer. No... the only answer I've never wanted to accept. This absolutely infuriates me. Here I am... thirty years old. In thirty years time, I haven't been able to publish my own comic. THIRTY YEARS! That's a long time! Consider this... in the same thirty year span I could have gotten my own comic published:

- A man of color finally became President.
- We've had three Robocop feature films, and the remake is about to come out later this year.
- Two wars have been fought in the Middle East.
- The US Military has confronted Saddam Hussein twice.
- The Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union both fell.
- I've owned not one, not two, but seven different Nintendo Game Boys.
- Duke Nukem Forever was finally released. The video game that was never to be finished... was finished.
- Family Guy was created, flopped, then got canceled, then was shown in reruns and became successful, then got brought back to life again.
- Speaking of animated programs, we got King of the Hill for thirteen seasons... no one will ever top that show.

My point is this - I've had plenty of time to become a big shot comic creator. Hell, not even a big shot... just a good creator. Yet, all I've managed to do in thirty years is keep myself from completing my goal. This dilemma is not just filled with deep-seeded anger with myself, but it's filled with pure, unfiltered disappointment.

I have to admit it to myself and the rest of the world. Perhaps I'm scared of success. Deep down, something has told me that I don't deserve to be as successful as I can be. Something has programmed me to be afraid of what I can become.

Maybe Yoda has some insight for me...

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

 

Fear does lead to anger. It seems I'm living proof of that. That damn green, big-eared puppet was right.