Have you wondered why so many companies are requiring customers to wear a mask? Why are so many people falling in line with the paranoia that somehow a mask will protect you from Covid when there really isn’t any proof?
Hint, the answer is one word: lawyers.
Yep, if your business bucks the orthodoxy of CNN and a customer happens to get Covid, said customer will blame you not because they have any proof but because you didn’t follow the rules so you must be the guy to blame. It’s a logical fallacy but the Jonathan Edwards crowd doesn’t care about facts just feelings. Emotions are the gateway to get big settlements and CNN viewers are the stooges to get you there.
Republicans say they know that they need to indemnify businesses but somehow the legislation is stuck in limbo. Folks, until we get meaningful indemnification for businesses, there will be no economic recovery. Tyrants in Democrat states will not be seriously challenged about arbitrary rules without legal protections for American’s institutions. This extends to more than businesses but also schools, churches, etc.
So next time you have to apply the “muzzle of the beast” to buy and sell, remember to blame Gavin Newsom and lawyers that support him, but also know that Congressional Republicans can stop this and haven’t.
Yep, SCO strikes again. As a follow-up to yesterday’s report on payroll problems with the State of California, today another error surfaced. This one is related to most State Employees represented by the good ole SEUI.
As part of the new contract that went into effect January 1, 2020, the SEIU got the Governor to agree to give all SEIU represented employees an extra $260 per month starting with the new fiscal year (July first). One bargaining unit already gets this perk but the rest were supposed to start getting it in July’s pay which was distributed yesterday. The number 260, is supposed to be the average amount that people in their bargaining units—notice I’m not limiting this to union members—are paying for their share of medical insurance for them and their families. Thus for many State Employees, there is no longer an employee contribution for medical insurance.
Note: Ok, technically there is because they are separate line items in the check, but in actuality, if you are only insuring yourself on the state’s dime and happen to have Kaiser, you get to bank about $140 each month. $260 minus ~ $120.
Here’s the official verbiage from the State Controller’s Office:
Improving Affordability and Access to Healthcare Employees in bargaining units R01, R03, R04, R11, R14, R15, R17, R20, R21, excluded employees, and certain classifications tied to Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who are eligible for state-sponsored health benefits, shall receive a $260 pay differential for Improving Affordability and Access to Health Care each month and can expect this pay differential to be issued as a supplemental payment, processed in a daily payroll cycle, following the close of the business month.
So taxpayers, thanks for the extra money during these tough times. And one last thing. I’ve talked with a few State workers today that told me that even with Garvin’s 10 percent pay cut, because of this money and a few accounting tricks, that many State Employees will now have HIGHER take-home pay than before the 10 percent cut.
If you mixed Peanuts, The Far Side, and Dilbert in just the right way, you might get a fictional result that’s almost as strange as what happened today.
Remember those pay cuts that Governor Newsom was supposed to give to State Employees? Well today, after most State Workers got their checks, the gang at the State Controller’s Office figured out that they calculated ALL the state employee’s pay wrong.
The miscalculation affected the employee and employer share of the retirement deductions. Depending on the employee’s circumstances, the calculation varies. The employee share amount ranges based on the gross subject to retirement amount but is estimated to be between approximately $.01 to $100, depending on the amount of retirement deduction.
SCO has corrected the calculation and payroll will process accurately, beginning with all payments issued July 24, 2020, and forward. SCO will process retirement adjustments with the August 2020 payroll to correct the July 2020 payroll discrepancy. The adjustment will be shown as deduction *PERS ADJ on the earnings statement…
By the way, SCO is way worse than DMV but you folks in the public don’t have to try to sort thru their crap which is a blessing. Betty Yee has run that place into the ground. They are further behind than EDD and DMV put together. (Years not months.) SCO’s processes and procedures were developed in the 1970’s and technology wise, I expect they are still running those computers from Y2K. Oh, I’ve been to their check processing facility. It looked like it was state of the art when Ronald Reagan was leaving the White House and they keep nursing the antique equipment along as best they can. When is the last time you saw someone using industrial equipment made by Pitney Bowes?
One reason I’m hitting SCO is this: instead of sending an electronic record of each error correction to each department’s accounting office, which anybody on the private sector would do, SCO’s practice is to print one 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper for each payroll error correction that is made. This paper is then mailed to each department every few days. In a typical year they print and mail well over 100,000 of these sheets of paper. Folks per my quick Internet search, there are reportedly 210,916 full time employees! I hope they don’t really waste that much paper. Last time I remember them making a big mistake in payroll was when open enrollment changes took effect and they botched deductions on over 30,000 checks. I got to touch over 17,000 of their error corrections myself. Oh, once the error corrections arrive, they are scanned and attached in the accounting system to the corresponding line item. If handled in the usual way, the current error will not waste man-hours, it will waste man-years of time.
I could explain more about how wasteful SCO is, but you get the idea. You’d think in a state like California, they could find a tech company to computerize the state’s financial processes but truthfully the state isn’t that interested. You taxpayers have already spent a billion dollars on the latest attempt to try. Do an Internet search on FI$CAL cost over-runs.
The state has no incentive to innovate or become more efficient. They refuse to change processes to assist in automating operations. The lack of a profit motive has that result. It’s much simpler to confiscate more money from you than be better with what they already take. Also, they have a contract with the union that nobody can be fired if their position is replaced by technology. Take comfort that no one will lose their job over this. SEIU, or somebody like that, has their back.
One thing we can all learn from a crisis like Covid-19 is that people’s true colors will come out and often the end result is ugly. Today we will look at how big of a cow paddy the 90-Day Guy stepped in with regards to this crisis.
First some background. In 2016 he refused to say Donald Trump had a chance to win. It was always “the coasts pick the president”, “voter fraud will win the day for the Dems”, and my favorite, “We have never had a Hollywood Politician before.” So, I guess Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Fredrick Grandy (Love Boat), Jesse Ventura, Al Franken, and Sonny Bono don’t count?
Fred Grandy — US Congressman (Iowa)
As the votes were tabulated that night and the pendulum swung toward Trump, he quickly morphed into a “Trump Truther” saying he was behind him all along, and it was me who doubted him. As his presidency raged on, he backed the orange man through and through. Then Covid-19 hit….
Once again, his true colors came out. He immediately said I was required to go to the office daily…not a problem, me and all sane folks knew this was just a virus and things would calm down. He fired off a series of texts to me over the next few weeks saying he needed to provide for this family and that since I didn’t have one, I needed to go to the office. Again, just for the record I did not complain or raise any issues. I guess since I am a single guy, I’m just a throwaway in today’s society? Not sure why the Blog Father joins me for lunch, maybe I would be better utilized under “Operation Human Shield” in the Army? I told 90-Day Guy that he was overreacting and not to watch so much cable, clearly it was getting to him.
One day, when Governor Newsom said we would be re-opening, he had a massive anxiety attack, perfectly timed before one of our worst customers was set to come to the office. He went and played golf the following day, and while it isn’t my business, I find it odd sharing a golf cart isn’t something that would cause anxiety. He claims over and over he doesn’t watch TV or cable, yet he always seems up to date about how the virus spreads and where it is causing a hot spot. The re-opening continued and one night I was at the gym watching Fox (I do not have cable, so I watch at the gym) and I noticed Tucker, Hannity, and Laura Ingraham were 100% anti-Covid for their respective hour long shows. This continued for about 3 weeks until Newsom shut the gyms back down. In the meantime, 90-Day Guy morphed into a Truther again, saying Covid was never a big deal (keep in mind deaths are going up) completely contradicting his earlier stance. The following day I called his cell and heard clanging in the background, he sheepishly told me he was at an Indian Casino! Hmmm office bad! Golf and casino good! He also started using “we” instead of other pronouns, giving himself cover if challenged.
But wait the story turns again. Newsom ordered bars and indoor dining shut. Now most folks; especially Republicans, would take umbrage at this idea. 90-Day Guy embraced it saying those places are dirty and filled with unsavory folks. Doesn’t that sound like Hillary’s deplorables remark? Or Obama’s clinging to their guns and religion remark? Too me it does! The bottom line is he is your typical country club liberal who believes if they don’t do it, it must remain shut. He is way too cultured to leave California. While it may be a foreign concept to most, many folks gather at a local bar after work for happy hour to discuss the rigors of the day. Actually, a local started his own craft brewery called the Hungry Pecker and sunk a lot of his own money into the venture but he has yet to open since he isn’t allowed to.
Rahm Emanuel put it best, never let a good crisis go to waste. We now have major unemployment and there is no V-shaped recovery happening. Folks, we needed restaurants to re-open at 100% for a rapid recover to happen. Ditto for bars and other businesses. Sadly, it’s now too later for many small businesses. To 90-Day Guy, the issue isn’t one of personal rights and actions (liberty), but its “I don’t want to get Covid” and therefore we must close permanently any establishments I don’t like. Special treatment for me, but not for thee anyone?
As far as his claim about not having cable anymore, I’m looking right at a Comcast Xfinity bill on his desk. $351.85 a month. That is one very expensive landline and wireless internet bill!
Johnnie Does
PS: Oh, here is a cute tidbit. He came into the office saying he was planning on voting for Biden. Reason being Trump won’t win out here in California, and he doesn’t want his house destroyed by protestors. Why do I have a feeling this guy has been a Democrat all along and is just now using this as an excuse to show his true colors? Oh well, I guess if you always straddle the fence one can never be wrong!
Folks, no one that I have encountered has ever given me a scientific explanation as to why prohibited indoor activities that are moved outside are magically blessed and good in the era of arbitrary Covid-19 rules. This includes church, haircuts, sit-down dining, fitness centers, and so on.
While I’m sure you can sense my disdain and loathing of such tyranny, I would like to set my political views and emotions aside and just comment on outdoor dining. In the last few days, I have had lunch at three different local restaurants. Of the three places, two are national chains and the other a mom and pop Mexican place. All three failed in fundamental rules issued by Governor Newsom as a conditions of their continued operation.
The mom and pop place no longer gives customers disposable paper menus but their regular ones which are paper inserted into place folders. I don’t recall this being allowed again and I also got no assurance from the restaurant that these things are scrubbed between uses. They have however put a plastic sheet on top of the wrought iron patio furniture table they are using for outdoor service. At least this way the table can be wiped between customers.
In contrast, both national chains that I have visited in the last few days also have wrought iron furniture for outdoor service; however, they don’t clean anything in the customer seating areas. And they don’t cover the tables. Yep, just like normal, one person eats their meal and then the next customer comes along and sits in the very same place with no effort at sanitation. Neither place allows indoor seating and expects customers to eat outside or get food to go. Both places require that I wear a facemask in their business but neither actually takes any meaningful steps to protect their customers from germs.
What prompted me to write about this today was the table of four eating at the national chain with their baby crawling all over the table. When they were ready to leave, the mother told one of the other adults in her party that she couldn’t lift her child off the table because she had catsup on her fingers. So, catsup on your fingers is a problem but letting your infant crawl all over a table that never gets cleaned unless it happens to rain or get blasted by an errant sprinkler is ok? In what universe? Oh, did I say baby was only wearing a diaper? (Said diaper looked like it was full.) How does this make any sense or keep anyone safe from Covid-19?
Folks, the irony is that if these same customers were eating indoors at these establishments, then the tables would get bussed between customers. Thus, it is more sanitary when indoor eating is allowed and more unsanitary when outdoor eating is mandated. Also, said restaurants have more staff when regularly operating.
In my mind, this just further illustrates the absurdity of living in a place governed by fear. Again, I affix much of the blame for this on feckless clergy who fear men more than God and capitulated on following biblical principles. Keeping the 501 (c) (3) is more important. The ghost of L.B.J. looms much larger on this country than just the Great Society and Vietnam War.
Anyway, I hope you think about what I’ve said next time you decide to eat out for lunch or give the wife a night off and let someone else do the cooking.
“Stop the spread“, “Bend the curve“, take your pick on what phrase the political types used. All we, as a people, were told was that we had to shelter in place, and we could beat this virus. Keep in mind this virus, to this day, is still a giant unknown. How does it spread, why do some folks show zero symptoms, type O blood makes you immune, wear/don’t a mask, wear gloves, etc. We have no clue about this damn thing, it’s just a political football at this point.
Around mid-March we were treated to horrific theatre led by Dr. Falsie, Comrade Newsom, Duchess of Lansing Gretchen Whitmer, and Supreme Ayatollah Cuomo. They said we had to shut down our commerce to slow the spread. Newsom, Cuomo, Whitmer and others shut their entire states down, even counties with zero cases or deaths! But if you were “essential” –whatever the heck that means–you were required to report to work. Absolute hilarity ensued, marijuana stores, liquor stores, pet stores, all were deemed essential. Dental offices, dine-in restaurants, and elective surgery at hospitals, were shuttered. Yes, you read that right, want to get drunk or high you’re in luck, need diabetic checkup, sorry.
What was very funny to see were the masses that would gather at the grocer/big box stores, all sans a mask. Yep, folks were on top of one another, and that was just to grab the last case of toilet paper. This brings me to my point; you cannot lock up Americans in their homes and tell them to stay as if they are a household pet. During this time, if you were essential then you worked and were paid, if you were not essential you were laid off. If you were in the latter group, it wasn’t all doom and gloom as you qualified for the extra kicker, $600 a week in unemployment. If you were a 90-Day Guy, you hid at home to “protect your family.”
Back to my point, in the USA we rely quite a bit on interstate commerce, just look at the types of vehicles on the highway system. Heck look at the state to state/city travel via plane! Or even one better, look at the international travel to/from the US! A shutdown will never work. Travel is not just essential for many, it is required! We also, as a people, enjoy shopping/spending, just look at the credit card debt numbers each month. We would rather go out for meals as opposed to eat in, it’s just the way we are.
As a result, we spread the virus amongst our communities, mostly unknowingly. Our fellow comrade Gavin Newsom re-opened the state based on nothing other than a budget deficit and as a result the virus has taken off. Masks are now required, and churches have basically been re-closed. Ditto for inside dining, weird because as the Blog Father pointed out to me, the air inside is likely far safer than the air in the newly created “outdoor dining area.”
Bottom line this idea of a shutdown does nothing, as the local police won’t arrest you, the sheriff won’t jail you (witness 18,000 felons being released in Soviet CA) and even if you have symptoms, you are not required by anyone to get tested (certain exceptions apply). Even the mask mandate is another folly. I was at a local grocer (stocking up on Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Cracker Jack) wait scratch the last one, hardly anyone was wearing the mask correctly, covering both mouth and nose. Others were not wearing it at all.
But go ahead tune into Falsie on the national news network while he tells you we must shut the country down all while he is worth over 500 million and hasn’t seen a patient in over 50 years.
Just when you thought you could breath easy again and be welcome back to your local church, Gavin Newsom has again shutdown worship and a bunch of other activities that America citizens once called “freedoms.” Gone again is freedom of association and freedom to worship in California. Yep, Gavin has unilaterally suspended the First Amendment of the US Constitution again. Of course in a state this liberal, he will be able to find a host of judges that will agree with him—especially since these guys won’t be bound to their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. Since the biggest domestic threat to America is the political party in power in California, it isn’t a surprise to us here at ReallyRight; however, we are disappointed that our fellow citizens are so willing to give-up their freedoms for security—or the promise thereof.
As I often say, ideas have consequences. Shutting down churches and releasing even more criminals into our society in the name of protecting us from Covid-19 will have the opposite effect. Newsom’s abdication of protecting citizens from evil doers and locking up all the law-abiding citizens in their homes will endanger many people. Look for a return to shelter in place in most of the State. I told you this crackdown would happen about mid-July.
Oh, all these unemployed people at home will also see more destruction and protests, along with general societal unrest. Folks, Joe Biden is nowhere to be see. What you are witnessing now is the proxy campaign to defeat Donald Trump.Joe is just the figurehead of the revolution; Marxism is the religion and socialism is the philosophy that underpins it.
Norman Rockwell’s America is Dead
Folks we were told from our earliest days to be good, follow the rules, try hard, and we just might be successful. However, Newsom has thrown such American ideals in the crapper. Every business that Newsom shutdown this month has spent time, money, and talent to follow his edicts and open their businesses at reduced capacity and in a safe manner as dictated. Now thru absolutely no fault of these business owners and after following all the arbitrary rules imposed on them from Newsom, Garvin pulls the plug anyway.
Folks there is zero reason to do this. No data supports this decision. It is arbitrary and an abuse of the police powers given to the Executive Branch by the State Constitution and Legislature. In short, tyranny.
Oh, the stated reason for the shutdown is too many family gatherings. So where were said family gatherings? Why the Fourth of July celebrations that we all had. Told you that would be the reason. If you people weren’t so darn patriotic and love your country so much, none of this would be necessary?!
Hey Gavin, get a life…preferable in another country where they hate America as much as you and your Party do. In fact, take your Party leadership with you. May I suggest you consider a country where face coverings have been all the rage since the 7th Century.
Folks again remember that Newsom will not allow things to return to normal until there is a vaccine…which may never happen. In the meantime, face coverings will be required in California as long as a Republican occupies the White House. Remember those news stories last week about requiring face coverings for the next three or four years? This ain’t coincidence.
The Vaccine Windmill
Oh, the leading pharmaceutical companies researching a vaccine are jumpstarting their research by using human tissues from aborted babies. As such, is it moral to even get the vaccine? What do I do when required by my employer to get this vaccine—experimental as it will be—and considering its immoral origins? I will refuse if either is true. Con Law people are invited to send me their contact info just in case.
Another Reason Things Can’t Open
Folks, the other unspoken reason that Newsom and his fellow Democrat Governors can’t allow businesses to open is that it will improve the economic numbers which would increase Trump’s reelection chances.Newsom needs to suppress employment as much as he can to assist Biden. Since people will get their $600 a week in federal unemployment, Newsom and his ilk are getting a backdoor bailout to suppress people’s livelihoods. The fact that many of the businesses Newsom is shutting down will never reopen is irrelevant to him.He is a cold-hearted SOB. Newsom also benefits by wiping out a broad swath of the middle class. Democrats function better in the binary world of haves and have-nots, where they are the haves and the rest are totally dependent on them.
Meanwhile, the wife and I have our realtors lined-up in California and Idaho and the financing will be ready in the next few days. Trust me, I’m really ready to get the hell away from this miserable state of tyranny and one Party rule.
In yet another drive-by attack on the private sector and the American way of life, California’s Executive has demanded the closure of bars, restaurants, and beaches lest people might celebrate the Independence Day holiday coming up this weekend. This is in addition to local governments in most places cancelling fireworks displays that real people might actually attend and enjoy.
We all now know thanks to Some Black Lives Matter that all people that came before us were evil whether they supported or opposed black slavery—please note that present day slavery in order to build iPhones and mine raw materials to build electric cars and solar panels is perfectly ok—but I digress.
Anyway, the Pontiff of California has decided that people living their lives in liberty is a threat to his control of the populace. He can take all these punitive actions with a clear conscience because there is no way the Orange Man will win in his state and Gavin hopes that as goes California, so goes the nation will ring true. He’s banking that Uncle Sam will then use the power of the press—no not the liberal media and tech companies—but the printing press at the US Treasury to print their way out of this fiscal mess. We all know that once Hidin’ Biden is elected that China—you know that country that engineered the Wuhan Flu and gave it to the world —will once again be our ally and start buying our T-bills in record numbers like they used to before the Orange Man stole the election from the entitled Secretary Clinton.
Folks I’m so angry at all this nonsense I’m beyond words. In know that the restaurants have been following all the BS rules they have been shackled with and on the whole were doing a great job trying to stay open. Most people just want to make a living and be at peace with their neighbors and somehow that’s not good enough for Newsom. It is typical Liberal behavior, punish the innocent instead of the guilty.
Oh, lest you think this is just a blip on the radar, I’m warning you that Gavin is very close to trying to force us to shelter in place again. I predict about two weeks from now that he will claim the continuing spike in Covid-19 cases is due to family gatherings over the July 4th weekend and he has no choice but to further roll-back the openings. Remember that he says we can never safely and fully reopen without a vaccine. Also, his pronouncements were on the very same day that Congress renewed the $600 a week bonus for unemployment benefits. This is not a coincidence. Guess Newsom figures the optics aren’t that bad when the Feds have your fiscal back.
Against this backdrop, the fourth or fifth attempt to recall the governor is now underway. What a laughable windmill to battle. Not only do these guys have no money for such a venture—which is both typical and laughable—but they have no candidate that is better than Gavin to put in his place. Sorry but you can’t recall the governor and then leave the office vacant until the next election. If there was a guy better than Gavin, then why didn’t he run?
I told Johnnie Does and The Chief at our last Pow-Wow that the family is getting out of this wretched state as fast as we can make it work. Long ago, I promised you dear readers that Gavin Newsom would remake California—the whole state—into San Francisco. How’s that going for you? Just think, you folks get him for governor for six more years. I plan to be living in one of the free and thus prohibited states on Attorney General Becerra’s list long before Newsom is finished with his rampage.
Victoria’s Secret is a women’s fashion company that has faced struggling sales and financial issues over the last year and a half, in fact they were even sold to a private equity company, only to have the buyer pull out of the deal. I am going to examine just how these problems began arising and what is being done to fix them.
Investing in a company like Victoria’s Secret should be a no-brainer, right? Most of their products are made using unpaid/sparsely paid jail labor and sold for a very large markup. Typically, if you sell a few items you have paid for the cost of the entire box and everything after that is profit. Items sold at VS are sold at very high margins, with the only expenses being rent and employee salaries. Add to that the long line of supermodels and stars who wear/market their products. Their annual fashion show gets millions upon millions of viewers. So why did the stock crater, profitability dry out, and cause 55% of VS to be sold to a private buyer?
The answer is complex and frankly I am not sure the company can dig itself out of the hole they created themselves.
Pink has VS seeing red
It seems like it started in 2002 when they opened VS Pink stores, aimed at the 15-22-year-old demographic. It used to be a brand for mature, older women who would buy a special something for themselves, and for their partner. It was sexy, unique, and basically you wore it in the bedroom for a little bit, or when you were feeling yourself (feeling good, head out of the gutter) or as a surprise for your man. This opening of Pink caused a sea change in the company’s philosophy and likely caused outright shock for anyone who has a daughter, fathers especially. Pink caters directly too college/high school students, but it’s not just the pajama’s, thong underwear, etc. that was shocking, it was the horrendously cheap quality. A hallmark of VS used to be an unmatched quality product.
In addition to poor-to-average quality products, Pink delineated the brand, in another way. VS used to be iconic with models/the bedroom, they began selling workout attire, perfume, swimwear, and regular clothing, similar to Abercrombie and Fitch. The phrase “I went to VS”, went from wow, am I in for a fun night, to……well she probably got some cheap underwear or a bath bomb. If you’re a company selling sex/smut/etc. you want to keep that identity, they threw it away.
Another thing, Victoria’s Secret didn’t keep up with changing times. This resulted in erosion of the brand’s perception. Back then if a girl was not skinny or didn’t have the right body type, her friends didn’t care, they bought the product anyway. Now girls tend to protest companies that do not foster inclusion. VS went all in on girls who were a size 0, basically very skinny, and had the perfect body type, think very toned and the perfect breasts and butt. This works for a while, but stories began to trickle out of VS associates telling certain girls “we don’t sell anything for your body type here” and not stocking sizes over a medium will get you killed in the social media environment we live in today. Think herd mentality (or Yelp), if you get treated wrong at a store, then you tell your friends. Often this results in a high likely hood they will boycott as well.
I spoke to several women about this issue ranging in ages from 18-55 and they all were very down on VS, I have included responses below.
Their products are cheaply made crap, the underwear rips after being washed about 4 times.
I wanted to get sized for a bra, they only had a guy working on the sales floor, he was more than eager to help…creepy!
VS isn’t for me, they market to supermodels…I like my body, VS wants me to hate it.
VS is for college kids, I am not longer in college, I found a new brand.
I’m not a skinny girl, VS has nothing for me…too bad because bigger women have sex too ya know.
I used to shop their religiously, then I realized at 30 I was double the age of the average VS Pink customer…. I found a new brand.
Not every girl looks like Kate Upton or Megan Fox. It creates a dangerous stereotype of perfect women, also it creates a culture of men not wanting to be seen with/date bigger women.
(Editor’s Note: who is Kate Upton? This is the first I’ve heard mentioned about Megan Fox since she quit the Transformers franchise over a decade ago. Guess Chief likes his squaws on the young side.)
Megan Fox Transformers (2007)
Note: every single woman I spoke with was done with the company and would not come back. When I asked their preferred brand, the answers ran the gamut; Aerie, was the number one choice. Most folks these days are intensely brand loyal and will not return if they have a bad experience or interaction.
The stock of VS parent L Brands has gone from about $100 to about $12 over the span of 18 months, most of this pre-pandemic. VS was actually sold (55%) of it to a private equity group Sycamore Partner, they are famous for buying distressed clothing assets and trying to turn them around. Sycamore backed out of the deal about a month ago. When private equity (think Mitt Romney, Warren Buffett, Carl Icahn etc.) want no part of you, it’s a sinking ship. VS is and continues to be a major drag on L Brands earnings. (L Brands also owns high growth brand Bath and Body Works). Problem is they have no buyer so they must do something to re-image the brand. I am not sure what the future will look like, but they announced they were closing 25% of their stores today. Ask how that strategy worked for Circuit City, Sear’s, Pier One, and a host of others. I think VS is circling the drain, problem is management likely doesn’t see the dark hole, they think there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Chief
PS I spoke to a former girlfriend who works for law firm Lowe, Ballem & Lynch, a direct competitor of Dewey, Screwem & Howe, the latter being a friend of the blog. Anyhow the ex had this to say about VS. I used to shop there, I won’t anymore, the Pink store is 90% high school and college age girls, and I am not one anymore. As far as the flagship VS stores, they carry nice stuff but it’s very overpriced, and all the photos are of perfect bodied models. They also manipulate their sizing, I wear a size small at most places, at VS the medium was too small and sometimes the large felt just right? It made me feel very self-conscious and questioned my motives of being a customer of theirs. I shop at Aerie (American Eagle Brand) and they cater to all women, we all have unique bodies and I just feel more comfortable. It doesn’t help CEO of L-Brands Les Wexler (the founder by the way) was linked to Jeffrey Epstein and his underage girls…. I have a hard time supporting someone like that.
Blogger note: For the record Wexler did step aside.
Scott Adams of Dilbert fame wrote many years ago that, “There is a right way, a wrong way, and the weasel way.” Often the way of the politician and the weasel are indistinguishable.
Newsom Moves the Goal Posts Again
Recently, our embattled monarch, Gavin Newsom, has been moving the goalposts of reopening California businesses in reaction to all the pushback that he has received. Barack Obama called this style of leadership, “Leading from behind.” Newsom is being forced to let California resume operations not because he wants to but because the revenue is falling frighteningly short of projections and the natives are getting restless. (Oh, and for the first time in 22 years, Republicans just picked up a House seat in last week’s special election.)
Today Newsom redefined the requirements for opening California counties for business.Please note the science has not changed since last week, only the politics.
The changes eliminate requirements that a county have zero deaths and no more than one case per 10,000 residents over 14 days.
Johnnie Does nailed this very point on our blog a few days ago.
Newsom estimated 53 of 58 counties could meet the new criteria.
Twenty-four counties in mostly rural Northern California had already been cleared to move faster under the old standards.
Folks, in part, you have Elon Musk to thank for this change not you local county supervisor. Elon has embarrassed the crap of out of the unelected bureaucrats and made sure the whole nation knew what horse’s asses the Alameda County Health guy is and by extension, Newsom as well.
Alameda County is allowing Tesla to restart, while the vast majority of other businesses in the county must remain closed.
Oh, lastly, we get this little nugget about Sacramento County.
“In all the hospitals in the county, there are a total of 15 people with COVID, so that’s an example of how the epidemiological data has gone down,” –Dr. Peter Beilenson, Director of Sacramento County’s Department of Health Services
OK, so now even the densest amongst us learn we’ve been sheltering in place for two months for no reason; 15 people hospitalized in the whole county. WTF?
State Worker Pay-cut
As a “good” Democrat, Newsom is promising that State workers will feel the pain of California’s economic shortfall as well but will they really? Will Newsom really cut State worker wages by ten percent?
The better question, is ten percent of what? What state workers make now or what they will make in the new fiscal year starting July first? Or something else?
First remember that a government budget cut has nothing to do with current expenditures. A cut is measured in terms of what fiscal planners wanted to spend next year versus what they actually got. For example if the boat patrol agency wanted to increase spending by ten percent and the legislature and governor gave then six percent, in budget language, the boat patrol agency had a four percent budget cut even though in real dollars they were given six percent more than last year.
Given the above, exactly what budget cut is the governor talking about? The only thing you know right off is that it wouldn’t really be as simple as paying workers 90 percent of what they got this year. Thus, we need to invoke the weasel way of budgeting. Only by invoking weasel logic can you divine the likely way Newsom gets to claim his ten percent salary cut without actually having to cut ten percent.
Given the above, how does he get to ten percent?
Here’s my best guess based on what I know combined with some early trial balloons for accounting gimmicks. Look for the plan to include these four points:
The following is based on SEIU contracts which cover over 90,000 State employees; other unions will vary.
First, the promised pay raise of 2.5 percent is gone.
Also, the promised healthcare stipend of $260 per month may go away also. It was set to start in the new fiscal year beginning July 1.
The CERBT may be suspended to backfill a cut in pay so workers won’t feel the pain as much. (Remember, weasel way.)
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration could offer some relief from potential pay cuts for state workers by temporarily eliminating one of the paycheck deductions workers see each month, according to an Association of California State Supervisors web post.
Newsom this week proposed reducing state workers’ pay by 10 percent on Thursday in a budget that aims to reckon with a projected $54 billion deficit.
Most state employees pay roughly $2,600 per year toward the benefit, although the amount varies by salary and bargaining unit, according to a State Controller’s Office report. Public safety workers, who typically retire earlier than other employees, pay much more.
The deduction shows up as “CERBT” on state worker pay checks, which stands for California Employers’ Retiree Benefit Trust Fund.
Back in 2016, the CERBT fund was implemented as a way to deal with unfunded liabilities related to healthcare of retirees.
The retiree health care contributions are intended to pay down an unfunded $74 billion liability that the state faces.
Other unions may have different arrangements with the State.
Oh, and look for a hiring freeze or similar gimmick.
Lastly, buried somewhere in the agreement will be something that backfills the money at some point in the future, either in the form of employee retirement being calculated on the basis of no cuts or something similar. Somehow, I think Gavin will make the unions whole at some point in the future or else…
