Bzzz wrong. Gross generalization. Many are pasteurized even in the keg.

My family insurance rates went from ~$400/mo for a PPO plan in 2012, to ~$750/mo in 2013, and now just under $1000/mo in 2014, all with declining levels of coverage. Thank you 'Affordable' Care Act. Even a modest 6-figure household income can't realistically afford $1000/mo for health insurance so we dropped it. It doesn't end there either. After $12k in premiums, i have exposure for another $6000 per year. So now we have a bare bones plan and contribute less to the system overall. Worst law in the history of the United States.

someone needs to write the manual, just saying! don't need to waste my time doing it.

This is what's wrong with the world. No personal responsibility.

Kids are a CHOICE. Their clothes are cheap. Their food is cheap. Toys are a CHOICE. I sure didn't have many toys when I was a kid... didn't have an i{Pad,Pod,Phone} for sure.

Fixing an infected tooth is a TOUGH CHOICE, but still a CHOICE. Plan ahead for the unexpected and you'll have the money ready when life happens.

A kidney stone is a TOUGH CHOICE, but still a CHOICE. Plan ahead for the unexpected and you'll have the money ready when life happens.

Life is all about choices. Make good choices early on and life is easier in the long haul. Make bad choices and then you whine about how much is wrong with the world.

...replaced my watch Unless there is some new killer app that hasn't been announced yet I can't see why this is better than what we have today.

I wish i had mod points for you on this one... clients typically don't know exactly what they need, that's why they're paying you to do it. It's your job as the expert to tell them what they need, not just give them what they ask for.

Nevada is a poor example. Their taxes are low because the tourism industry heavily subsidizes the entire state budget. Tax collection is quite high, but it's not coming out of the pockets of the residents of the state. Sales tax and vehicle registration taxes are also quite high. As far as unemployment, Nevada (especially Las Vegas), has a very uneducated, unhealthy, and transient population. Many people moved there during the construction boom, and the economy of the state is not diverse enough to accommodate the bust.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772

American laborers can't compete with labor from China, India, Vietnam, etc. The only way for American manufacturers to keep their doors open at all is to replace unskilled laborers with automated machinery. If they didn't do that then all of the jobs (including the higher end jobs) would be gone. This has greatly reduced the need for unskilled labor and greatly increases demand for people who can design and maintain this type of equipment. Fortunately my job is to program these types of machines, integrate different machine into production lines, and design the underlying infrastructure that supports them. So far it's been a fun unintentional career path.

I doubt it's 'one fell swoop'. Companies don't just eliminate positions for the sake of it. It's not in their benefit to eliminate useful people and positions. There is careful thought given to each cut to see whether or not it is aligned with current needs. Quite often with acquisitions there is overlap in basic roles such as HR. You don't need 1 HR person from each company. That role can typically be filled by one to a few people in corporate. Even if they have familiarity with the company it doesn't make sense to keep them on because their expertise is in HR and they can better be utilized by someone else. Often times these 'cuts' are unfilled open positions too. So they close the job and someone really isn't losing it.

It is quite normal that after a company has grown and hired more and more employees, that the time comes to get rid of those employees who didn't contribute the value that they are paid for. As uncomfortable as it is for someone to lose their job, most of the times it's not the productive people who are being let go - it's the dead weight. Truly good employees are hard to come by so if you happen to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time then it sucks, but you won't have a hard time finding a new job. Even in a less than stellar economy really good talent is always in strong demand. If you are incompetent, all bets are off and good luck to you.

That is some crazy expensive home brew! My brew buddy and I made 20+ gallons (~200 bottles) this weekend for less than $100, and one of those beers was a boozy hop bomb.