#workforce housing

[racefortheironthrone]

With housing becoming increasingly unaffordable to many Americans, do you think we might start to see bigger companies and labor unions start buying and/or building housing for their workers?

Companies, not so much, because especially post-tech layoffs, the dominant paradigm is to view labor costs as something to be avoided and passed on to consumers or the government etc. as much as possible. So even though workforce housing is a sound investment, most employers won't put in the money.

Labor unions have done this historically, but it's a heavy lift when it comes to organizational capacity, especially when the costs are distributed across ever-smaller numbers of members. It's also the case that U.S banking, housing, and labor law makes it unnecessarily difficult to build cooperative housing of this sort.

Changing the law and financial policies to something more similar to continental Europe or Scandinavia would dramatically alter how much cooperative housing is built in the U.S.

[salamanderinspace]

"Workforce housing" is actually defined by governments and developers as a unit that can house three people who spend less than %30 of the median income on housing. In NH this would put rent for that unit at over $7000 per month for a three bedroom.

"Workforce housing" is a government propaganda tern for "whatever housing developers feel like building." I watched one of the Jay Childs propaganda films, "housing fact or fiction," and the presenter actually says, "if you can afford the housing, then that housing is Affordable!"

When local politicians crusade for affordable housing, they're crusading for corporate developers to build more luxury units. We don't need "affordable housing," we need rent caps and rent control.

[fishstewarding]

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[agentfascinateur]

Trump, not content with picking MAGA pockets and pay-for-play WH schemes, now set on Americans' nest eggs:

#boiler room alert

[psychologeek]

"Is murder okay?"

Psychologeek, digital art. 2023.

Drawing, because I don't have words.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Arthur Delaney at HuffPost:

U.S. House Republicans sent a subpoena Wednesday to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, for information about how his state responded to a massive fraud scheme by a nonprofit operating a pandemic relief program. Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of people affiliated with a Minnesota nonprofit that stole $250 million worth of aid intended to feed children.

“You are well aware of the multi-million-dollar fraud that has occurred under your tenure as Governor,” House Education and Workforce Committee chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said in a Wednesday letter accompanying the subpoena to Walz. The subpoena requests any emails between Walz and the Minnesota agencies administering the aid that Foxx said would show “the extent of your responsibilities and actions addressing the massive fraud that resulted in the abuse of taxpayer dollars intended for hungry children.” Foxx had requested information about the fraud scheme from the Minnesota Department of Education in November 2023 and in June. In August, Walz became Kamala Harris’ running mate ― and a much juicier target for Republican oversight. “This was an appalling abuse of a federal COVID-era program,” a spokeswoman for Walz said in an email on Wednesday. “The state department of education worked diligently to stop the fraud and we’re grateful to the FBI for working with the department of education to arrest and charge the individuals involved.”

House Republicans doing waste of time subpoenas, this time towards Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

See Also:

The Guardian: Republican-led House panel subpoenas Tim Walz over $250m Covid relief fraud

[bishimightwing]

In lieu of some possibly legal mess I'm kinda trying to avoid while still trying to adult, I'm having a healthy "fuck it Friday" feat. a sorta Superman themed protein shake of my own making.

The Kent Shake

25g scoop cinnamon sugar flavored whey

Half cup of vanilla Triple 0 OIKOS Greek yogurt

1/4 cup organic apple juice

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup of crushed ice

[rainywithachanceofstars]

[tamilethnicity]

Musk's power play standing with son behind Trump in odd Oval Office moment

In an unusual joint press conference from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Elon Musk made his first appearance alongside President Donald Trump since the inauguration. During the conference, Musk appeared to question the very foundation of American democracy. “If there’s not a good feedback loop from the people to the government and you have rule of the bureaucrat, or if the bureaucracy is in charge…

[orcelito]

Spent 4 hours (much of which was severely distracted) reading the chapter I have to present on in 3 days

Learned..many things about women's rights movements in the US. holy cow

[quitedisastrous]

life was so much easier three days ago when i was detaching myself from reality and spending all of my free time shiny hunting

[fozmeadows]

there is no ethical consumption under capitalism

Years ago now, I remember seeing the rape prevention advice so frequently given to young women - things like dressing sensibly, not going out late, never being alone, always watching your drink - reframed as meaning, essentially, "make sure he rapes the other girl." This struck a powerful chord with me, because it cuts right to the heart of the matter: that telling someone how to lower their own chances of victimhood doesn't stop perpetrators from existing. Instead, it treats the existence of perpetrators as a foregone conclusion, such that the only thing anyone can do is try, by their own actions, to be a less appealing or more difficult victim.

And the thing is, ever since the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, I've kept on thinking about how, in this day and age, CEOs of big companies often have an equal or greater impact on the day to day lives of regular people than our elected officials, and yet we have almost no legal way to redress any grievances against them - even when their actions, as in the case of Thompson's stewardship of UHC, arguably see them perpetrating manslaughter at scale through tactics like claims denial. That this is a real, recurring thing that happens makes the American healthcare insurance industry a particularly pernicious example, but it's far from being the only one. Because the original premise of the free market - the idea that we effectively "vote" for or against businesses with our dollars, thereby causing them to sink or swim on their individual merits - is utterly broken, and has been for decades, assuming it was ever true at all. In this age of megacorporations and global supply chains, the vast majority of people are dependent on corporations for necessities such as gas, electricity, internet access, water, food, housing and medical care, which means the consumer base is, to all intents and purposes, a captive market. We might not have to buy a specific brand, but we have to buy a brand, and as businesses are constantly competing with one another to bring in profits, not just for the company and its workers, but for C-suites and shareholders - profits that increasingly come at the expense of workers and consumers alike - the greediest, most inhumane corporations set the financial yardstick against which all others are then, of necessity, measured. Which means that, while businesses are not obliged to be greedy and inhumane in order to exist, overwhelmingly, they become greedy and humane in order to compete, because capitalism encourages it, and because there are precious few legal restrictions to stop them from doing so. At the same time, a handful of megacorporations own so many market-dominating brands that, without both significant personal wealth and the time and resources to find viable alternatives, it's all but impossible to avoid them, while the ubiquity of the global supply chain means that, even if you can keep track of which company owns which brand, it's much, much harder to establish which suppliers provide the components that are used in the products bearing their labels. Consider, for instance, how many mainstream American brands are functionally run on sweatshop labour in other parts of the world: places where these big corporations have outsourced their workforce to skirt the already minimal labour and wage protections they'd be obliged to adhere to in the US, all to produce (say) electronics whose elevated sticker price passes a profit on to the company, but without resulting in higher wages for either the sweatshop workers overseas or the American employees selling the products in branded US stores.

When basically every major electronics corporation is engaged in similar business practices, there is no "vote" our money can bring that causes the industry itself to be better regulated - and as wealthy, powerful lobbyists from these industries continue to pay exorbitant sums of money to politicians to keep government regulation at a minimum, even our actual votes can do little to effect any sort of change. But even in those rare instances where new regulations are passed, for multinational corporations, laws passed in one country overwhelmingly don't prevent them from acting abusively overseas, exploiting more desperate populations and cash-poor governments to the same greedy, inhumane ends. And where the ultimate legal penalty for proven transgressions is, more often than not, a fine - which is to say, a fee; which is to say, an amount which, while astronomical by the standards of regular people, still frequently costs the company less than the profits earned through their unethical practices, and which is paid from corporate coffers rather than the bank accounts of the CEOs who made the decisions - big corporations are, in essence, free to act as badly as they can afford to; which is to say, very. Contrary to the promise of the free market, therefore, we as consumers cannot meaningfully "vote" with our dollars in a way that causes "good" businesses to rise to the top, because everything is too interconnected. Our choices under global capitalism are meaningless, because there is no other system we can financially support that stands in opposition to it, and while there are still small businesses and companies who try to operate ethically, both their comparative smallness and their interdependent reliance on the global supply chain means that, even if we feel better about our choices, we're not exerting any meaningful pressure on the system we're trying to change. Which means that, under the free market, trying to be an ethical consumer is functionally equivalent to a young woman dressing modestly, not going out alone and minding her drink at parties in order to avoid being raped. We're not preventing corporate predation or sending a message to corporate predators: we're just making sure they screw other worker, the other consumer, the other guy.

All of which is to say: while I'd prefer not to live in a world where shooting someone dead in the street is considered a valid means of redressing grievances, what the murder of Brian Thompson has shown is that, if you provide no meaningful recourse for justice against abusive, exploitative members of the 1%, then violence done to those people will have the feel of justice, because it fills the void left by the lack of consequences for their actions. It's the same reason why people had little sympathy for the jackass OceanGate CEO who killed himself in his imploding sub, or anyone whose yacht has been attacked by orcas - it's just intensified here, because where the OceanGate CEO was felled by hubris and the yachts were random casualties, whoever killed Thomspon did so deliberately, because of what he did. It was direct action against a man whose policies very arguably constituted manslaughter at scale; a crime which ought to be a crime, but which has, to date, been permitted under the law. And if the law wouldn't stop him, can anyone be surprised that someone might act outside the law in retaliation - or that regular people would cheer for them when they did?

[byjove]

Women throughout (American and English) history worked. The idea that in the past the sole responsibility of women was domestic labor and childrearing is largely inaccurate for the majority of women in these societies. Women were expected to do domestic labor like cooking and cleaning and raising children AND work to bring income to their family, this was true for the average woman, excluding the upper middle class/wealthy. If a woman’s husband owned a tavern or restaurant, she also cooked and kept bar and did the duties associated with the business. If a woman’s husband was a (small scale/subsistence/tenant) farmer, the woman did farm labor. Often a woman was expected to do labor related to her husband’s job.

Women also had vocations and forms of income unrelated to their husband. The nature of these jobs changed over time but many women did things like weaving, embroidery, crafting, beer brewing, chicken tending and laundress work to bring income. Women with skills were seen as better marriage candidates because they’d make money for their husband.

My great-great-great-great grandmother told fortunes and did farm labor, my great-great-great grandmother was a midwife, my great-great grandmother worked in a textile factory for most of her adult life and my great grandmother was a school lunch lady.

This is why it makes me irate when women on the right say things like “feminism forced me to get a job instead of being allowed to stay home with my children” before feminism you would have had to tend house, raise your children and bring income to your husband. Now, at the very least, the money is hopefully your own. Women were always in the workforce, their work was not recognized.

[furylad]

I start a new work program tomorrow and I'm nervous as hell

they're all nice and this is going to be helpful to me but it's an unfamiliar environment which I always have difficulty with

also I have to wake up very early compared to what I'm used to

[saywhat-politics]

Feb. 13, 2025, 4:05 PM MST

By Nnamdi Egwuonwu

A group of 14 states sued Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on Thursday, arguing that the authority the White House granted the tech billionaire and his advisory Department of Government Efficiency is unconstitutional.

The suit, filed by Democratic attorneys general from states like Arizona, Michigan and Rhode Island, takes aim at the magnitude and scale of Musk’s power, noting that DOGE has led the Trump administration’s efforts to dramatically reduce the size of the federal workforce, dismantle entire agencies and access sensitive data.

“The founders of this country would be outraged that, 250 years after our nation overthrew a king, the people of this country—many of whom have fought and died to protect our freedoms—are now subject to the whims of a single unelected billionaire,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement.

The attorneys general argue that Trump violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution by creating DOGE — an unofficial government agency — without congressional approval and by granting Musk “sweeping powers” without seeking the advice and consent of the Senate through a confirmation hearing.

“President Trump has delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress and without meaningful supervision of his activities,” the lawsuit reads. “As a result, he has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of the separation of powers.”

The states are seeking a court order blocking Musk from making changes to government funding, canceling contracts, making personnel decisions and more.

[reasonsforhope]

"Across the country, thousands of public schools face closures due to low enrollment. 

But Detroit, Michigan-based nonprofit Life Remodeled is welcoming vacant schools into a new era.

The organization, which has invested $51 million in revitalizing Detroit neighborhoods, primarily works to purchase vacant properties and work with dozens of area organizations to provide life-changing resources to community members.

Its first remodel — the Durfee Innovation Society — opened in 2023. A former elementary and middle school, the building is now what the organization calls “an opportunity hub,” providing resources like after-school programs, career preparedness, and support in accessing healthcare, financial literacy, and more.

“The Durfee Innovation Society is an Opportunity Hub,” Brandy Haggins, the director of the project, told CBS News. “We call it that because we’ve taken an old school building that probably would have set back vacant, and we housed it with the best and brightest nonprofits in Detroit.”

She continued: “An Opportunity Hub is a place where individuals can come and get opportunities that they deserve, that they probably otherwise would not have access to.”

The building is home to over 35 organizations, including Nursing Detroit, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Starfish Family Services.

Since it opened, the Durfee Innovation Society has provided 3,400 Detroit students with after-school programming, 5,600 with job opportunities, and 13,400 children and families with resources and support. 

Ultimately, the organization says, 22,000 Detroiters take part in Durfee’s programs every year.

These numbers represent exciting milestones, but they are also in competition with what Life Remodeled is up against.

According to the organization, 88% of third graders in Detroit read below grade level. 30% of Detroiters can’t access the healthcare they need. And Detroit residents’ median household income is 50% less than suburban residents.

School closures impact low-income communities hardest, with low enrollment rates causing school districts to consolidate resources — and infrastructure.

In 2017, Durfee Elementary School merged with a local high school, and Life Remodeled swooped in to save the space.

“It’s not just community history; It’s personal history for a lot of people,”  Haggins told CBS News in 2024. “What better way to work with the community than to reopen their school building into something that still belongs to them?”

The services available at the hub are free to anyone in the community. Nonprofits housed there pay for their space “at cost,” meaning they only pay what it takes to keep the building up and running.

It’s a model that seems to be working.

“The best part about being involved is seeing the actual change be made,” Charles Spears, the youth alliance president for Durfee Innovation Society, told CBS News. “You know, a lot of people talk about it. But when you get to see first hand, you actually see what is happening. It’s just like, wow, there is literally opportunity for all.”

Now, Life Remodeled is onto their next project: another “opportunity hub” on the east side of Detroit. The new property, formerly Winans Performing Arts Academy, is a 90,000-square-foot space that plans to open in December of 2025.

It’s called Anchor Detroit, and it’s located in the Denby community — an area in which residents “face significant poverty and lack access to opportunities related to educational attainment, job opportunities, and health and wellness resources,” according to a press release from Life Remodeled. 

More than 50,000 square feet of the space will be leased by nonprofit partners, who will bring more after-school youth programs, workforce development initiatives, and health resources to the area...

Anchor Detroit is currently being renovated to prepare for its reopening and will reportedly include a “significant presence” for arts and culture programs. 

Once it opens, Life Remodeled estimates the new space will support 18,000 community members per year.

“This should be a nationwide model for other schools that have closed across the country,” Haggins told CBS News. “I think taking a school building, or any historical building that means something to a community, and repurposing it into something that’s for the community — that’s huge and necessary.”"

-via GoodGoodGood, February 5, 2025