Gavin Newsom's lying ads
Hey Krystal and Sagaar Please look into doing a segment on how Gavin Newsom is starring in ads against a millionaire's tax in California to fund a clean air ballot proposition. He and only 3 other millionaires are the sole sponsors of this thirty-second spot he's been saturating the airwaves with. The proposition (30) is supported by firefighters' and electrical workers' unions as well as a nursing association and a climate organization. The only opposition is Newsom and his 3 rich friends, it seems. It's just so extreme to see a sitting governor shill so blatantly to keep his taxes from rising. And his commercial is filled with lies. Is no one paying attention? I'd love to see you guys take him apart for this. Anyway, love the show. Been with you since 2018. Keep up the great work.
Limitations of union power
Hey Krystal and Saagar, Thanks to your coverage on unions I now look much more favorably on unions and their promise to deliver more power to workers. Generally, I believe that workers should have more of a say than they currently do about their working conditions, but I wonder how much power workers should ideally hold in their workplace. Nobody wants all companies to be equally crappy little fiefdoms, but I do think giving workers too much power in the workplace is also less than ideal. To give an example, my father-in-law used a manage a public utility that provided hydroelectric power to a major US city. His staff were all union workers and were tasked with the important job of maintaining three hydroelectric dams that together provided about 25% of the electricity powering the nearby city. He found that his staff often abused the powers that their union afforded them. He was unable to fire workers that performed poorly and in some cases were barely doing their jobs at all, because they would simply complain to their union, file an appeal and drag him through a lengthy review process where they would almost always end up keeping their jobs. The only time he was actually able to fire someone in the five years he worked at the company was when a worker committed a crime on the job, by chopping down trees and stealing wood from the surrounding national forest. In a workplace environment like this it was very difficult for my father-in-law as a manager to change the culture of the company, fire workers that were causing legitimate problems, and get his staff working as a team to perform better. So with situations like this in mind, what do you think is the ideal separation of power between workers and management? How much power should workers ideally have in their workplace? How much power should companies ideally have to make unilateral decisions concerning their business and their workforce? Keep up the great work! Jason
Investing Subscription Revenue?
Hi K&S - I love the feeling of knowing that I’m receiving my news from an unbiased source that is free of any direct or indirect influence. I have YOUR show to thank for that! Your 100% subscriber funded business model is always what I refer to first when I’m suggesting your show to family and friends. Your high level of style, accuracy and substance are always what I refer to next. In keeping with that concept, are you also committed to not investing or trading with any of your subscription revenue? Needless to say this could create the perception of possible conflict and indirect influence on your reporting. Not that it actually would. Your integrity is beyond reproach to me. It’s the perception…. This commitment may be unrealistic or unfair to request but it would certainly add to your listeners continued belief in the dedicated purity of our #1 news source. Thank you for what you’re doing and if you bring the live show to Philly, I am THERE! Mark Souvigny Philadelphia, Pa