Parenting...

...the right way?

Government Overthrow?

The gun lovers think it'll be taking away guns that brings us to revolution.

I beg to differ, I think this trend explains what puts us on a collision course with unrest:



To me, income is income.

Wealth transfer due to death should be taxed as income. I understand this will force liquidation of the family farms and other businesses. I also understand it will begin to break down the forming aristocracy and return us to a meritocratic society.

If corporations share legal rights with individuals, then they should share the same income tax rates too. Make compensation of all citizens (salary and benefits) 100% tax deductible up to 100k or 10x the poverty rate or something.

Flatten the tax rate, give us all, including the corporations, the fist 40k tax free and only tax income earned above that amount.

Other policies that free up wealth and steer it toward providing opportunity for people.

Why? While it would cause quite a stir if government began to crack down on guns for real, I don't think it would be enough to stir the population to rebellion. When the have-nots begin to despair because they come to believe that there are so many resources in the hands of the few that it is impossible to find a job or even take a hand out to eat or feed your children, that's when there will be revolution. I'm not opposed to someone earning, especially if they are creating. I am opposed to people who make money off money having a lower tax rate. I am opposed to aristocracy in the United States. Nobody should be rich just because their great, great, grandparent was and the family hired good money managers. That just doesn't benefit society in any way I can see.

Employment Based on Browser Browser Indecision and Big Data

Apparently companies are starting to apply "big data" techniques to decide which applicants to hire. One of the criteria is if you have installed a non-default browser on your system. Apparently the data suggest, "...that those applicants who have bothered to install new web browsers on their computers (such as Mozilla's Firefox or Google's Chrome) perform better and stay in their posts for 15% longer, on average, than those who use the default pre-installed browser that came with their machine."

Another interesting quote, "...for customer-support calls, people with a criminal background actually perform a bit better."

The Econimist's brief article mentions other criteria too.

H1-B Visas - Indentured Servitude and Unemployed Americans

I understand why businesses want more H1-B visas-- it's so they can hire more skilled workers at less cost. But it's more insidious than just displacing an American from that job. As if displacement weren't bad enough...

Foreign nationals who come here to work under an H1-B visa usually end up making less and-- truly, I've seen it-- are sometimes treated like indentured servants. The company promises them lawyers to help with their green card (permanent residency) but strings that process along for *years*. All the while, the worker is stuck at the company unless they want to start over at a new one.

There are actually businesses that specialize in running adds for programmers where the job requirements listed are actually impossible to meet. That is then used as proof that a company tried to hire a citizen or resident but was unable to fill the position proving that they need to bring in someone from another country.

It's in the news again. A new record, in fact. All of this year's visas were depleted in 5 days. So, of course, a bunch of rich people have come together to lobby for more visas. Here's a warning about it from the IEEE. Seriously? How can anyone even consider this when we have the lowest percentage of Americans employed since President Carter. And for those who have jobs, the number of underemployed is unbelievably large. Seriously.

I've said this before and I'm going to keep saying it. Why not just let anyone come here and work but impose a flat percentage tax on it at the federal level? 20%? 50%? I don't know the right number, but I do know that would give the businesses the flexibility to bring anyone eligible in from anywhere, reduce the deficit, and give Americans a better than fair shot at the job (which, btw, would also reduce the deficit.)

Learning What Companies Know and Share About You

California has a bill in the sausage grinder that, "...would require any business that retains customer data to give a copy of that information, including who it has been shared with, for the past year upon request. It applies to companies that are both on- and offline."

People have no idea how much information is collected about them by companies. The idealist in me thinks this would be really cool in my state too! The pragmatic computer guy in me wonders what's to stop me from social engineering my way in to ask a company for someone else's information?

Guns

When you hear about the low rates of gun crime in European countries, you might think we're the only ones struggling with this issue. I agree with this editorial that covers how the issue is more wide-spread.

I don't really feel the need to own a gun. Never have. But when I read stuff like this from the National Rifle Gun Manufacturers Association I really think about getting one just to protect myself from right wing extremists. I mean, seriously. It bugs me that we use war language for political sound bites. It bothers me more when gun people like LaPierre do it.