March 5, 2010
Four For Friday for March 5, Two Thousand-ten
Q1 - Dressing Room: When you try on clothes at a store and choose not to buy them, do you return the items to where you found them or leave them in the dressing room (or just outside the dressing room) for someone else to deal with?
Q2 - Cut or Leave: Grappling with a growing budget deficit and an endangered credit rating, a divided Los Angeles City Council voted last month to eliminate 4,000 municipal jobs by July 1. City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana estimated the move would save the City of Los Angeles about $260 million this fiscal year and next. Earlier , Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declared that layoffs could be minimized if labor unions agree to pay cuts. "If all city employees agreed to a 5 percent pay cut, we could save $150 million," he said. "If civilian employees, firefighters and police officers agreed to a 15 percent pay cut, we could save $450 million." Would you take a 15% cut in pay to keep your current job or save your co-workers' jobs?
Q3 - Say It: How do you pronounce "2010"... Twenty-ten, Two Thousand and Ten, Oh-ten?
Q4 - China vs. Terrorism: More than twice as many U.S. adults (58%) say that debt owed to China is a more serious threat to the long-term security and well-being of the U.S. than is terrorism from radical Islamic terrorists (27%). Interestingly, for those of you who like to politicize everything, Interestingly there was little variation by party identification with a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents all agreeing that the debt owed by the United States to China poses the greater threat. What do you think... does debt owed to China pose a more serious threat to the long-term security and well-being of the U.S. than is terrorism from radical Islamic terrorists?
Posted by Mikal at March 5, 2010 9:56 AM
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1- I have worked at a retail clothing store as the person that has to put away and fold down the clothes that people leave in the dressing room. With that experience in mind, I take my clothes back to where I got them and put them away myself.
2- Wow, great question. That is a toughy. If everyone did, then I would seriously consider it. If not everyone did, then hells no.
3- Two thousand ten.
4- They are both topics of extreme importance, but I think that debt to China is a more serious threat in the long-run to the U.S. than terrorism from Islamic Terrorists. Sure U.S. and China are on ok terms right now, but what happens if we really piss off China? What's gonna happen then?
1. Return the garments to attendant, if no attendant I hang them on the rack/put them on the table myself.
2. I feel awful, but no. 15% is big, especially in expensive ass California.
3. Twenty-ten
4. China's way scarier.
1. I usually try to put them away. I feel guilty leaving a mess for someone else to pick up even if it's expected.
2. I would take a pay cut to save other peoples jobs. However, why take a pay cut at all. Quit your job and go off on your own. It is much more stable in the long run.
3. Two thousand ten. twenty ten sounds too futuristic to me.
4. Yes. Either way it's a threat waiting to happen. Take your pick. Islamic or Communist?
Q1 - Dressing Room: I always put them back, but only after passing gas while wearing them. You can politicize that if you like :) Actually, I don't bother trying stuff on. I know what size I am, so I just get that size without trying it on.
Q2 - Cut or Leave: Mmm... it would really depend on what my pay at the time is. In my current situation, I'm more likely to just quit and go freelance rather than give up a big chunk of my pay and stay.
Q3 - Say It: Twenty-ten all the way motha effas!
Q4 - China vs. Terrorism: I'm right wing and therefore automatically a nutcase (unless you are also right wing and agree with me, in which case I'm a genius -- or if you're left wing and agree with me, I have some nefarious evil reason for believing the same as you -- or if you're right wing and disagree with me, I'm a commie traitor to "the cause"). Now that I've politicized it by making fun of politicizing things... I tend to believe that changing our foreign policy would go a long way toward reducing the threat from terrorists. Assuming that is true, then I would say that the threat from the government of the most populated country in the world that is pissed they aren't getting paid back is the bigger threat. I don't want my thumbs broken!
Q1 - Dressing Room: I either leave them in the dressing room or on the rack just outside. I don't think I do as good of a job as the store personnel at prepping the clothes to go back on the rack.
Q2 - Cut or Leave: They should abandon the unions all together. In any case, I would take the 15% paycut to ensure I had a job in their down economy. You don't know if the layoff will impact you or not.
Q3 - Say It: Two Thousand Ten.
Q4 - China vs. Terrorism: The debt is a huge risk to the US. If it is called by China, the debt will either cause us to give up control of our country to China or declare bankruptcy as a country. In either case, our currencies value drops worldwide, and so does our clout. We need to back-off the wars, focus on humanitarianism only, keep jobs onshore, and get our country financially healthy.
q1: I've done both. Some places have a return rack and I've even seen signs that request you not return them to the rack on your own.
q2: I would take a 5-15% pay cut to save 4,000 co-workers' jobs. Honestly, either way the workers will be taking a pay cut of sorts. If they layoff 4K of your co-workers your work load will increase and your pay will stay the same (effectively being a pay cut).
q3: twenty-ten
q4: I think I agree with the majority. Debt to China seems like a more serious long-term threat.
Q1 - it depends on how many items I have and where I got them from, if they are all in the same area I will usually put them back, otherwise I put them on the rack in the dressing area for the employees to take care of, job security I say, haha.
Q2 - 15% is pretty big, I don't know. Since I don't currently work, good luck taking any money from me, hahaha. Seriously though, that's a tough one, 15% less is better than none though and with many departments having hiring freezes and layoffs of their own, finding another job would be tough. (pretty political answer of me, you should be proud, I didn't really answer it, go me)
Q3 - I say twenty ten most of the time
Q4 - Can't decide if I should answer seriously or not....I think both are pretty big threats and can't be fixed easily. I think China is the winner though, we owe them so much money and you can't do a whole lot without money, including bomb making, paying the troops, etc etc etc.
Dressing Room - Some dressing rooms have a sign requesting shoppers leave clothes for employees to put away. Otherwise, I would be happy to put them back.
Cut or Leave - I think taking a pay cut, and keeping the job is a better strategy that losing the job. I believe it would be harder to get re-hired, than to let the union fight to get my pay back up.
Say It - I still say two thousand ten. I think I will change to twenty-eleven next year though to save syllables.
China or Terrorism - There are more Chinese than terrorists. Plus, the terrorists keep killing themselves, further disadvantaging their side.
The Chinese will be around longer, plus - judging from the restaurants, they only take cash - no checks. Therefore, the Chinese are a greater long-term threat.
1 - If I have to go back for a different size I will return them. If I don't, I leave them on the counter, but never in the room, that's just lazy.
2-May depend on if there would be an opportunity return back to my regular rate of pay at some point. But having been unemployed recently myself, I would probably rather keep my job at a lower rate of pay.
3-Twenty-ten.
4- Debt to China.
1. Definitely return the clothes. :)
2. Yup
3. Twentyten
4. Debt to China
1. I take them back to the attendant. They usually don't want people to replace things.
2. I would not if the cut did not start at the top of the food chain. I have said this over and over--our city is not as bad as LA on the budget line, but there are plenty of cuts happening--when the City Manager takes a pay cut, I will be on board with my own pay cut.
3. I'm waffling between Twenty-Ten and Two-Thousand Ten. Ten years of saying the latter is hard to break, but I can't keep doing it for the rest of the century.
4. Yes. Money is the grease that makes the world turn, and without money, terrorists would dry up and fly away. We need to address debt in a serious way, not just our country's debt but our own personal financial issues.
I fold the clothes I have tried on and leave them in the dressing room. I used to work at Banana Republic. Working at a clothing store is pure torture. When I worked at BR, I always wanted to work the dressing room so that I would have something to do instead of walking around waiting for customers to pounce on. (We had sales goals set for us every day.) Leaving the clothes in the room gives the employees something to do so that they don't go crazy!
I am actually going through the job thing right now. I would definitely take a 15% cut to keep my job. Hey, I make $31 an hour, get excellent benefits and an awesome healthcare plan. Most government workers do. (I work in education.) I could end up at Trader Joe's making $10 if I don't take the cut. I live in a college town, and it's very difficult to find a solid position in a college town. It would be nice to have a sunset clause attached to the reduction in pay, however. For example, pay will go up to what it it is today by the year 2012.
I say 2010 both ways.
I think both are a threat. However, Americans are very naive when it comes to terrorism. They need to read more about what is going on in Europe and the rest of the world when it comes to Islamic extremism and stop listening to our media.
I fold the clothes I have tried on and leave them in the dressing room. I used to work at Banana Republic. Working at a clothing store is pure torture. When I worked at BR, I always wanted to work the dressing room so that I would have something to do instead of walking around waiting for customers to pounce on. (We had sales goals set for us every day.) Leaving the clothes in the room gives the employees something to do so that they don't go crazy!
I am actually going through the job thing right now. I would definitely take a 15% cut to keep my job. Hey, I make $31 an hour, get excellent benefits and an awesome healthcare plan. Most government workers do. (I work in education.) I could end up at Trader Joe's making $10 if I don't take the cut. I live in a college town, and it's very difficult to find a solid position in a college town. It would be nice to have a sunset clause attached to the reduction in pay, however. For example, pay will go up to what it it is today by the year 2012.
I say 2010 both ways.
I think both are a threat. However, Americans are very naive when it comes to terrorism. They need to read more about what is going on in Europe and the rest of the world when it comes to Islamic extremism and stop listening to our media.
Q1 - I return the clothes to the rack and get the correct size (usually larger around the waist). I try on very few clothes that I don't buy. That is, I don't have a large wardrobe, nor am I interested in clothes. They are a necessity not a luxury in my life.
Q2 - I would consider the pay cut to save jobs. I think that it would be good for all to consider the salary level of those be asked to sacrifice versus the median income for the area.
Q3 - Working for the Census Bureau, we are told to refer to it as twenty ten.
Q4 - Certainly the debt has / will have the largest effect on the total population but terrorism has the largest effect on those terrorized. The threat of terrorism is, however, probably more "on the minds" of the general population.
1) It's been a while since I've actually tried on clothes at a store, but let me set my way-back machine to the appropriate dial, here... It seems like the last time I went, the store actually had a counter in the changing area where you return your unwanted items. That's the best way to handle it, I think. Other than that, I think I leave 'em in the changing room. I do so not because I wanna inconvenience anyone but because the store would prefer that to me putting the clothes on the wrong shelf myself. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it :).
2) Hmmm. I'd like to think I would, but I'm just sure if I'm that magnanimous. I and my co-employees took an 8 1/2% cut last year, but that wasn't on a volunteer basis. Anyway, it's been a pain, but it's been bearable. The experience has made me a LITTLE bit better prepared to say that I'd take a 15% cut down the road, though.
3) I'm a Two-Thousand Ten-er.
4) Definitely debt to China.
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