Saturday April 15th (aka Tax Day?)

[ecchi]

(Warning - Ecchi gets a bit serious here - borderline rant.)

In my youth I worked in retail for many years. It is the "lowest of the low". Pay is usually "minimum wage". And there are a lot of people wanting each job, so there is a lot of unemployment in the retail sector. In short life is shit for a shop assistant. Little money and if they loose their job probably a long period of unemployment before getting another one.

When I started in that business it was illegal to sell non perishable goods on a Sunday. By the time I left the business this law had been revoked. There were (and still are) a few restrictions on Sunday trading, but not many, and nearly all shops open Sundays nowadays.

When the law changed, the effect on us at the bottom end of the ladder was tremendous. It was a Godsend. More jobs were available, we could make more money by working more hours, and in some instances store even had to pay a higher hourly wage to attract more staff.

When I see posts like your two posts (and I know you don't mean it this way, but it is the way it is) I see relatively well off people protecting their "rich" lifestyle and comforts at the expense of the poor. After all, there are plenty of poor people, what does it matter if a few starve, as long as us "better off" people get a nice holiday.

Originally Posted by Pagan

American style diners with food seasoned to the milder Finnish palate,

Bloody hell, the Finnish people have a milder palate than the Americans? I did not think that was possible! America the country with beer so bland you don't know if it is beer or water from a rusty tap; the country with coffee so tasteless you wonder why the bothered with the bean; the country where "spicy" food is so "unspicy" you begin to think the only spice they have in America is salt. And the Finnish people like it milder than that? How do do make food that mild?