HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 

THE NEW REALITY: NO HUMAN INTERACTION

 

A new concept being tried by fast food chain "Chipotle" is a dark reflection on the sad state of our current times. Customers and employees will have no interaction during the food ordering process, all orders must be made through the Chipotle app, company website, or third party provider. There are no dining room, all orders will be either pick up or delivery.

 

There are uncountable thousands of carry out only restaurants throughout the US; however, in almost all cases employees can take food orders, or there is some method for customers to interact with restaurant staff when ordering food. Company executives claim this is designed to fit smaller stores in high cost urban area, and to minimize issues of contamination due to Covid-19. Many different fast food chains are trying the concept, in one form or another, and it all seems to have started with the Covid-19 lockdowns that began in March of this year.

 

Regardless of the reasons being given by Chipotle executives, or executives at other companies trying similar concepts, there are in fact two underlying issues which are driving these concepts: employee turnover and increased minimum wage requirements.  It may or may not surprise many readers, fast food chains have tremendous rates of employee turnover. In many cases the rate of turnover may reach as high as 150%. To put this in simple terms, at a rate of 100% turnover a 10 person staff will see all 10 staff members replaced in one year. At 150% turnover,  that same 10 person staff will be replaced by 15 new employees. The cost of hiring, training, and managing new employees can become overwhelming, and can have adverse effects of productivity. Productivity being one of most important aspects of every high volume fast food operation.

 

Robin B. DiPietro, director of the International Institute for Foodservice Research and Education at the University of South Carolina’s School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, says that six years ago, when she was in touch with Burger King, the average cost of turnover was about $600 per employee.

Cornell’s Batt said a survey of restaurants she helped conduct in 2013 put the cost of fast-food turnover at $1,600 per worker, and that was at a time when turnover was significantly lower.

The turnover cost estimates have kept going up.

The cost per employee now is estimated by the National Restaurant Association at $2,000 per employee. Those figures will vary by restaurant type as fast-food employees are still less expensive to turn over than those in upscale dining. Restaurant research firm TDn2K calculated replacement costs at $2,100 to $2,800. But all operators feel the pinch of the deepening turnover crisis, especially with a higher minimum wage, and higher recurring business costs.

 https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/29/fast-food-restaurants-in-america-are-losing-100percent-of-workers-every-year.html

 The unspoken truth behind many of these decisions is the quickly rising minimum wage. Legislatures in many states and localities have steadily increased the minimum wage to $15 an hour. This may not seem like much, but for a business to pay several employees $15 an hour, even during slow times, can be a burden most smaller businesses can not endure. Many fast food businesses have raised prices in consideration of this added cost. If a particular task or function can be completed by robotics or automation, an astute business leader, will quickly replace employees with machines that cost less over the long-term and are not going to call in sick or cause disciplinary issues. 

It seems that no matter the reason, the fast food restaurant of the future will look very different than anything seen in the past. A hungry customer may never actually see a person when picking up their order. Customers will order their meal through purely digital means, as employees will not be taking phone orders. Robots will prepare the food, with minimal human supervision. It is conceivable that a fast food business such as McDonald's or Chipotle, that once employed 15-20 employees, will have a staff of less than 10, which will include management. A dystopian future in which consumers order food from a machine, have machines prepare the food, and then machines deliver food to customer's vehicle, may not be that far away. 

(Richard B. Levine/Newscom)

DAMNED IF I DO, AND DAMNED IF I DON'T

 

 

The 2020 Presidential election has brought out the the worst in people. The Marxist/Socialist/Progressives that seem to have taken complete control of the Democrat Party have stayed true to their usual habit of labeling everyone that disagrees with them as "racist" or a "hater" of some sort, and since Donald Trump has many supporters. over forty percent of the nation must be racists and haters! How was our once great nation converted into a proverbial "run down high school" in which everyone must belong to a clique or group, and all the groups hate each other? 

From the Washington Times we learn that Congressperson Rep. Alexanderia Ocasio-Cortez was instrumental in setting up the “Trump Accountability Project”. a group whose goal is to blacklist and deny employment to anyone that in any way supported or even voted for Donal Trump. Singer Katy Perry, who publicly supported Biden, was savagely attacked online for suggesting she would offer a message of reconciliation to her family members that supported Trump. While Presidential-elect Joe Biden has been talking about unity and reconciliation, his party and his supporters seem to have ulterior motives. 

For their part, Trump supporters have not been idle. From the Biden bus being run off the road and instances of individuals being attacked. Most disturbingly, Trump seems to have been very popular with many fringe groups of dubious character, from the neo-Nazi thugs that staged an infamous protest in Charlottesville Virginia (read my post about that), to the QAnon conspiracy group and others such as the Proud Boys. Of course, the Democrat party is well known for it's many violent Marxist fringe groups, such as Antifa and BLM, but that is a story for another time. 

Perhaps Biden will be able to unify people in a way that Trump was never able to. Regardless, it seems battle lines have been drawn, and neither side is backing down. 

This brings me to my personal experience with pre and post-election anger. In recent weeks I have been attacked for not supporting Trump, and I have been attacked for not supporting Biden. Several of my Facebook "friends" from both political sides have severed their connections to me, because I did not support their candidate. My question to everyone is this: Why must I support a candidate that does not represent my values and political ideals?  The most difficult sort of tyranny to overcome is the tyranny of peer pressure. I believe I have been fortunate enough to think outside the box, and thus have my own opinions. However, it saddens me that so many people seem unable or unwilling to see beyond the normal sort of petty partisanship that has become an integrated part of our society. 

Perhaps things will get better one day. Perhaps the people of this nation will one day put aside their political differences, and embrace their fellow citizens in a spirit of true brotherhood. Perhaps this is all just wistful thinking on the part of a man that loves his country, and believes that this remains the land of opportunity, in which people live in harmony and seek to improve their community by improving themselves.

JOE BIDEN ELECTED PRESIDENT: WHAT COMES NEXT?

 

I think we can reasonably determine the 2020 Presidential election has been won by Democrat Joe Biden, along with his Vice-Presidential running mate Kamala Harris, even if an official announcement has not been made as of yet. The current resident of the White House, Donald Trump, can complain about widespread election fraud all he wants; however, he has no chance of proving such fraud and overturning the election. As President Trump was uncouth, uncharismatic, and viewed with contempt by many, in addition the media did a fine job of slandering and defaming him; regardless, he never seemed able or willing to reach across the vast political rift in this country in order to make any headway with his political opponents.

The election is over, more or less, and in January, Biden will take the oath of office. The question of what comes next is on everyone's mind. 

Biden has a tendency to make odd sounding or confused statements, many have questioned his mental health and acuity, and many are concerned that Biden may be showing signs of dementia. Some pundits have theorized that at some point Vice-President Harris, or Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, may invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution and have Biden declared to be unfit to carry out his duties as President. If such an event occurs, Kamala Harris will assume the Presidency, and she will be able to choose a replacement for the vacant office of Vice-President. There is no restriction as to who she can choose, it can be an elected politician or someone off the street. She can appoint anyone: a Senator, a friend, a celebrity, Hillary Clinton, or someone chosen at random, the only stipulation is that both Houses of Congress must approve of the choice. 

 The Covid-19 crises is still upon us, and many are calling for a return to lock downs and severe quarantines on a national level. Several European countries have already instituted such restrictions, and many of the Elite in the US wish to emulate their European counterparts. The US economy is quickly headed to an economic recession of epic proportions, and another round of quarantines will only serve to worsen the situation. Regardless of who had won the election, the nation will be experiencing some very difficult economic conditions. 

The Trump administration has withdrawn from a number of international treaties, many of the US's traditional Western European allies have been left confused and dismayed by these decisions. In addition, our relations with Russia, China, and other competing powers, have been soured by Trump's hardball tactics. The incoming president will have to decide how to deal with these issues, and what will ultimately be in the best interest of the American people. 

There has been a strong movement towards Marxist/Socialism within the Democrat Party, and though Biden tends to be moderate, Kamal Harris has opinions that place her on the far Left. This shift towards the Left began with Barack Obama in 2008, and it became stronger as the nation dealt with the Great Recession. The Covid-19 crises has frightened many citizens, and a growing number of citizens have become willing to accept the false promises of economic equality and security offered by Socialist demagogues such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Citizens that retain their composure and remember the harsh lessons of history, should make it clear to the newly elected President and Congressional representatives that the people of this nation will not accept the tyranny and loss of individual liberty that are a fundamental aspect of Marxist/Socialism. The promises made by Sanders, Warren, Castro, Chavez and every other Marxist/Socialist, can not be implemented correctly if people are free to make their own choices in life. 

Lastly, even if Biden is just fine and does not suffer from any health issues, there is one personal issue which he will be forced to address. He seems to have fondness for touching women and children in a very creepy fashion. There is ample photographic evidence of this behavior, there is no conspiracy theory behind this. He is just very creepy.  

A 2015 picture of Biden with Stephanie Carter, wife of Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

A compilation of Creepy Joe touching women and children.