Lou Dobbs Pwns Congress

ID:14046
 
Jun 21 2006, 1:19 pm
Jun 21 2006, 2:20 pm
Someone has to say it, good.
Jun 21 2006, 5:34 pm
I got a robot call today from some firm that was paid to rail against my Congressman (Jim Walsh, R-NY), citing the pay hike as an excuse. True, it did educate me about the vote, which I hadn't heard about yet, but I loathe telemarketers (who violate the do-not-call list, at that) and if I wanted editorials intruding on my home, I'd watch the evening news.

On an unrelated subject, I read the daily paper at work on my lunch breaks, and that's quite informative. I like the daily paper. TV news may be convenient but it sucks something fierce. Plus we have weird anchors here in Syracuse, who aren't very watchable.
Jun 21 2006, 9:23 pm
Yeah, your minimum wage is too low. Ours is $12.75 AUD an hour (higher for casual employees), which is about $9.45 USD, or close to double the US's rate! It's even higher than Dobbs' suggested increase to $7.50 USD.
Jun 22 2006, 7:05 am
Telemarketing should be banned. So should junk e-mail. And punishable by something very painful.

The minimum wage is pathetic in the US. Not even enough to hit the poverty line working full time. Yet, it *can* be enough to disqualify you for certain benefit programs. Isn't that messed up? If you actually work, you can't make enough, but you won't get assistance. Hence the whole working poor problem and incentive to not even bother.

But it's cool, as long as businesses can keep getting cheap illegal labor, they won't have any reason to pay a decent wage anyway.
Jun 22 2006, 7:01 pm
Darn. That is extremely messed up.

Telemarketers suck. Yesterday I had three calls from the same Indian call centre in the space of as many hours, all wanting to sell me some kind of mortgage package.

Me: "Hello?"
Phone: *clicks for a few seconds while the international connection is made*
Me: "Helllllo?"
Telemarketer: "Good evening, sir, I believe you have a mortgage--"
Me: *SLAM*
(repeat chorus x3)

We don't even have a mortgage (we rent) and they keep bugging us. Bastards. I wonder if it's possible to put a permanent block on all phone calls from India...

Last month it was a "free colour phone". I didn't stay on the line long enough to find out what the catch was. I already have a colour phone, go away already!
Jun 23 2006, 3:58 am
Heh. Color phone. Yeah, I sure hate those black and white ones. It's like talking in an old movie!