BAN Ban The Box

 

As a supervisor who hires, trains and managers numerous employees, I am NOT in favour of Ban TheBox. To be perfectly honest, I’m totally against it.

There is a reason job applications ask if an applicant is a convicted felon. It’s for protection—person and property. In my 32+ years hiring employees, many felons are repeat offenders. Many others are career felons and a mere handful are those who made a mistake, paid their dues and never did it again. The latter are the ones who should be given a chance. And in my career, I have given plenty. Even though I get less and less background checks that are blank—meaning the person committed NO crime, not even a DUI. That’s just shameful.

Ban The Box eliminates the question on job applications with the hopes that you will not judge the applicant if they checked “yes” and by the time you’ve interviewed the felon you will like them so much, and think they are so qualified, you will hire them in spite of their criminal record.

I’m here to tell you, if you are a CAREER felon, I don’t give a rat’s patootie how qualified you are, I will not hire you.

Now, if you made a mistake 20+ years ago and have had a clean record since, absolutely, I will hire you, and as I said, I have.

This crap that it’s discriminatory to ask if someone is convicted of a felon is BS. Is it also discriminatory to have employees drug tested?  Or are we going to have to accept alcoholics and drug addicticts because it’s not fair and they can’t help it? Is it discriminatory to get someone’s credit report when their job duties include handling thousands and thousands of dollars? Or how about when they work with children? Are we going to stop doing criminal background checks and finger printing and eliminate the sexual predator’s list? Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if we did eliminate all that. We are a society where no one is responsible for any of their actions. And if they perpetrate a crime, we owe them something. After all, we’re all entitled now.

I’m sick of this. It’s dangerous to carry a gun, but it’s safe and acceptable to put employees and customers in danger with convicted felons. And I do know of what I speak. I’ve had people apply for jobs who committed assault and battery, robbery, identity theft, selling drugs, stalking and even rape. And many of them lied on the application by saying “no” they committed no felon. However, their arm-long criminal background shows they are career criminals. And no, many are not 20+ years ago. Many aren’t even 10 years ago. I’ve had them within one year, or less.

So, if you don’t want me to judge, DON’T COMMIT A CRIME.

 

 

GM Plant in Mexico to Receive $500 Million

General Motors (GM), or as many refer to it, Government Motors, because we, the taxpayer, own 60% of the onetime auto giant, is investing $500 million dollars in a Mexican auto plant to build a new mystery vehicle and eight cylinder engines.

I don’t know about you, but I find this rather disturbing considering our country is facing “the worst economic crisis since the great depression” (I think I could recite THAT sentence in my friggin sleep!); we’re at 9.5% unemployment; and all we hear from the Left is how the Republicans have ruined the economy with trickledown economics, tax cuts and how they’ve sent all the jobs over-seas. Hmm, I guess it’s okay that we send hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars AND jobs straight over the border though, huh?

I mean GM only closed 14 plants and 13 warehouses in 2009 leaving 20,000 people unemployed. This Mexican plant employs 11,000 workers and with this new influx of cash it will hire 390 new workers. I’m sure there are 11,390 people unemployed in the United States who would LOVE to have a job right about now!

Where is the outrage? Where is the outcry? Queue the crickets because the silence is deafening. The Left is notorious for their rage over anything and everything that Bush, or anyone on the Right, has done, real or imagined, but let Obama do something, even take over an American car company then send half a billion dollars to another country when we NEED it right HERE and you hear NOTHING. The hypocrisy is astounding.

That Mexican plant, and any other foreign GM plant, should be shut down—YESTERDAY and reopened here in America where it can employee LEGAL AMERICANS, because it is OWNED by United States taxpayers. A privately owned company can do whatever it wants as it has its own money, but when taxpayer money is involved it should then do what is RIGHT for the taxpayer.

I know I’m wasting my time writing about this, but when I see such a horrific injustice, I just can’t help myself. I believe in doing what’s RIGHT and it angers me when I see such inappropriate actions and by our OWN government no less! It’s actions like THIS that make me wonder how anyone could ever think government is more capable than the average person. Those in government are NOT Gods. They are flesh and blood humans, with failings and frailties like so many others and THAT is why I don’t trust them to run my life, our car companies, our banks, student loans, and our health care. I don’t have blind faith that human beings are without fault and with total power they won’t abuse it. It’s just too tempting to people with less moral character and Washington has proven time and again that they have LESS moral character than the average person.

To emerge with one’s dignity unscathed after encountering temptation’s call is a feat many will flaunt but few will actually achieve …

Democrats Bogus Job Creation Plan

It appears the Obama Administration wants to spend millions more for “Job Creation”. According to Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio the $787 Billion Dollar Stimulus Bill boosted our employment but “did it in a way that was not as highly visible as a lot of people would like.”

So let me get this straight. We spent $787 Billion dollars BUT we can NOT see the jobs it created. Unemployment is at 10.2%-- 17% if you count the people who have given up looking and those who have fallen off the radar… tell me again how the Stimulus BOOSTED jobs, Betty!


But wait, I may be jumping on Betty prematurely. Because she also said, “It did so in somewhat of a scattershot approach — a job here and a job there, trickled out over time. Far too many Americans are without a job, and far too many more are worried about what tomorrow is going to bring.”

Nope, I was NOT premature. A trickled job here and a trickled job there does NOT help when we have MILLIONS out of work! And with the way things look, hundreds of thousands more could lose their jobs!

Help is on the way though! Harry Reid HAS a plan! Yep, our Dear Harry wants to spend $600 Million dollars to SAVE jobs! Isn’t he a nice guy? Now I’m just being mean. Sorry.

Reid’s plan is a work-share program for all 50 states which will provide federal aid (or should we call it unemployment) to employees who accept less hours so that their employer can hire more employees thus averting layoffs. This approach Reid says will “save taxpayers money by keeping people on payrolls and off unemployment benefits.”

WHAT?! Wait, let me read THAT again. Save Tax Payers Money. We’re going to spend $600 Million dollars to enact this program but Reid says tax payers are saving money…um…am I brain dead? How the hell do tax payers SAVE money when Reid is spending $600 Million dollars of OUR money to get this program off the gosh darn ground? Saving tax payer money, I would think, and I’m not a Rocket Scientist, would be NOT implementing programs that require TAX PAYER MONEY in the fist place.

This program is sweet though, isn’t it? You only have to work half the time but get a full paycheck. It’s another entitlement program. Whatever happened to allowing businesses to do what THEY feel is best for their company? You know free will and all. If I were a business owner there is NO WAY I’d take one dime from the Feds. Federal money comes with strings. Just look at AIG. The next thing these small business owners will face is the Pay Czar telling them how much to pay their employees. Not a good plan. But then again, what Government program ever TRULY is? (Please don’t tell me SS; it’s soon to be bankrupt.)

I realize we are in a huge mess, however, just because the Democrats are in trouble of losing seats in 2010 does NOT give them the right to start another spending spree to try and save their butts. They OWE Americans a fiscally honorable plan. I’m tired of watching our budget go from red to blood red second after second. And I really don’t want to hear how it’s Bush’s fault, either. THAT ONE is REALLY old. This IS Obama’s economy NOW. It’s Obama’s war and it’s Obama’s unemployment. BUT he needs to start getting involved and stop with the stupid celebrity interviews and TV ads. I want a Leader who actually LEADS. So far that’s not what I’ve seen.