The “Gig” Economy is A Rigged Economy

“If I don’t have gas, I don’t work,” said Ronald Ross, 47, a DoorDash driver in Atlanta, as he fueled up his Chevy sedan.

Asked about government requests to avoid hoarding, he said:
“Forget that. It’s first come first serve. People have to look out for themselves. As long as they’re peaceful and all.”

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/panicked-drivers-southeast-us-swarm-pumps-ignore-pleas-stop-hoarding-2021-05-12/

---

I ordered pizza recently from Little Caesars – they use DoorDash. They don’t have their own delivery driver employees like most other pizza companies do – even small ones. And unlike other standard traditional transactions in which one pays the vendor for their product, in the DoorDash model, you pay them EVERYTHING. The merchant does not bill.

DoorDash charged very handsomely for the service (various “fees” and such), and their total was about $10 – almost ½ the pizza price – most of which ($9) went to them.

There was a space for a tip. I purposely left it blank because

Herman Cain Died Today from COVID-19

Herman Cain, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO & GOP presidential candidate, has died from COVID-19.

So in memory of him, let’s pause from our pizzas for a moment to remember and reflect upon what he said shortly before he died — “famous last words,” if you will.

Deep Dish Pizza: A How-To Guide

Who doesn‘t like pizza?

Why, it’s practically unAmerican to not like pizza! Have you ever made your own pizza at home? Ever wanted to make a Deep Dish Pizza at home? Good news – you can! And I’ll share images and a recipe which will help get you started.

This may come as a complete surprise to some, but pizza is BIG BUSINESS in the United States.

Top 50 Pizza Chains’ Annual Sales by State (Click to enlarge)

And as Marketplace Host and Senior Editor Kai Ryssdal says, “but first, let’s do the numbers…”

According to CHD Expert, a foodservice industry marketing trends & data organization, at the end of September 2016, there were 76,723 pizza restaurants in operation in the United States.

In their 2016 Pizza Consumer Trend Report, foodservice industry researcher Technomic found that 41% of consumers polled say they eat pizza once a week, a 55% increase from the 26% reported only 2 years ago.

And a 2016 Morgan Stanley report found that pizza delivery is a $30 billion industry, but could be be worth over $210 billion — which is the total amount Americans currently spent on off-premise dining. And of that $30 billion figure, over 1/3 – $11 billion – are delivery orders which are placed online, and nearly 2/3 of those online orders are… pizza.

So with impressive data like that, it should come as no surprise that a Harris Poll found that Americans’ No. 1 favorite comfort food is pizza, which also had twice as many votes as any other dish… including chocolate.

Now, for a recipe, and the how-to.

There are many seemingly innumerable styles of pizza, which vary with stuffed crusts, in shape, size, ingredients, and any other number of variations in pizza, and fortunately, this one will be simple enough to make at home.

We’re going to make the entire thing, including the crust.

What you’ll need is

Will That Be Cash, Pizza, Praise, Or Nothing?

Decades ago, Dale Carnegie expounded on the power of praise in his classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People.

In it, he wrote in part that, “…there is one longing – almost as deep, almost as imperious, as the desire for food or sleep – which is seldom gratified. It is what Dewey calls

Dumb Dog Owner Blames Dog For Her Mistakes… Hopes You’ll Believe Her

Sure, you’ve seen ’em… the dog owner places a card around the dog’s neck which tells of the dog’s alleged bad deeds.

Some are hilarious, while others…

Well, let’s just say that others are not so bright.

TRANSLATION:

My owner was TOO STUPID to

Smithfield Foods Chinese Pork Project is a Wall Street Happy Meal Deal: American Prices Will Increase

If you like bacon, ham, pork sausage, barbecue, ribs, or any other pork product – including cold cuts & pizza – get ready to pay at least 2 – 4 times more, and for shortages.

Why?

Wall Street minions – who manage Smithfield, an American company no more – have no patriotic qualms about taking food off your table and out of your mouth to feed the mouths of the people who steal our nation’s military secrets, defraud our motion picture & music copyrights, and have an historical track record of Shanghai-ing anyone & everyone who gets in their way.

You think I’m kidding, or that I don’t know what I’m writing about?

Just recollect back a few months – oh, say about 7 – to Thanksgiving in November 2012 when pecans were 2x – 3x the price they were usually.

And why was that?

After all, pecan farmers had a record bumper crop… and that typically translates into lower prices for consumers.

It’s because the Chinese suddenly discovered they liked pecans, and were willing to pay premium prices (translate: much MORE then you’re willing to pay), and so the growers shipped pecans over to China.

As I continue to contend, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.

Okay… so it may cost more. So what?

How about this?

Were you aware that the Chinese company that bought Smithfield sold pigs that had been fed a substance banned in the USA & England & other nations?

Yup.

Shuanghui Group, China’s largest meat processor, sold pigs fed Clenbuterol in 2011. Here are three links about the ordeal.

And, would it surprise you to find out that Goldman Sachs is one of the top investors?

1.) “According to Chinese government data, 18 outbreaks of food-related clenbuterol poisoning occurred between 1998 and 2007. The most recent report indicates one person died and more than 1,700 others fell ill.”

2.) “Meanwhile, at Jiyuan Shuanghui’s processing facilities, of the 689 pigs awaiting slaughter, 19 tested positive for clenbuterol. Shuanghui, which counts Goldman Sachs among its investors, has shut down the Jiyuan branch affected by the contamination so it can conduct its own inspection.”

3.) “And in recent months the additive has earned notoriety in China after a string of people got sick from eating pork products full of it. Hundreds took ill in one incident in March, and this week, 286 people in Hunan province after eating pork contaminated with ractopamine, a chemical very similar to clenbuterol. Chinese livestock farmers began using clenbuterol in pig feed in the late 1980s to boost growth and get animals to market faster, but it was banned in 2002 as the health risks of eating the meat became better understood. Clenbuterol-tainted meat dizziness, headaches, hand tremors, and other unpleasantness. It’s especially risky for people with heart troubles.”

—

Shuanghui Agrees to Acquire Smithfield Foods for $4.72B

By Shruti Date Singh and Jeffrey McCracken – May 29, 2013

Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., China’s biggest pork producer, agreed to acquire Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD) for about $4.72 billion to boost supplies for the nation that’s the biggest consumer of the meat.

Closely held Shuanghui, parent of Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co. (000895), will pay $34 a share for the Smithfield, Virginia-based producer, both companies said today in a statement. The offer is 31 percent more than yesterday’s closing share price.

China’s consumption of pork is rising with the expansion of its middle class while there are questions being asked about the safety of the country’s food supply. Smithfield’s livestock unit is the world’s largest hog producer, bringing about 15.8 million of the animals to market a year, according to the company’s website. It owns 460 farms and has contracts with 2,100 others across 12 U.S. states.

The takeover is valued at $7.1 billion including debt, which would make it the largest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company, according to

Why Herman Cain and the GOP can’t be taken seriously

First, forget the “vast right-wing conspiracy” to oust Hermie. Everyone wants to shoot the messenger.

Sometimes, it’s easier to let the “other side” do the talking – whatever side that is!

It’s not as if we can’t see it, it’s not as if we can’t identify it, and it’s not as if we have no name for it. For we can see, identify and name it – whatever it is.

Let’s just ask one reasonable question – and then, you can get to the heart of this matter. If you were in a position to hire an expert – at least someone with even limited ability or experience – would you hire someone whom has no experience? Again, if you were a restauranteur, would you hire someone whom has not even been to any cooking school to be executive chef? Would you expect Herman Cain – while CEO of Godfather’s Pizza – to have hired regional managers, who hired store managers, who hired folks with utterly no experience in the food service industry to manage a local Godfather’s Pizza store? If your answer is an obvious “no,” then why would you – or any rationale person – support, or take Herman Cain’s run for the GOP presidential nomination seriously? Why, he’s never even run for Dog Catcher… much less the county line!

Is it not sad, that one watches Fox News for humor, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on the Comedy Channel for news?

From: TheAmericanConservative.com

by Rod Dreher

Cain campaign as a sign of decadence

Rod Dreher     November 2nd, 2011

When Herman Cain sang at the National Press Club the other day, I thought it was absurd. There he goes again, the clown. Looking at the performance in greater context, I found it easier to smile at, and not in a hostile way. Still, if you think about it, it says something bad about America that here we are, facing the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, and looking at a future of crippling indebtedness unless our leaders take drastic action … and the top candidate for the Republican nomination a year from election day is a charming businessman with no political experience, who knows nothing about the world (and makes jokes about his own ignorance), and who is given over to camping it up on the campaign trail. If times were great, there would be serious reason to doubt whether America could afford a man like Herman Cain in the Oval Office. But times are terrible, and could easily get far worse. It’s really quite an indictment on the unseriousness of our country, or at least the conservative electorate, that Cain is at the top of the polls now. The media play their own role in perpetuating this circus. Conservative James Poulos writes in the Daily Caller:

Herman Cain admits fault, saying “This many white people can’t pretend that they like me!”

Troubled Republican presidential contender Herman Cain – former CEO and Chairman of Godfather’s Pizza – spoke today, October 31, 2011 12:30 PM, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Video of the event is available on the NPC.org website.

In addition to fending off questions about the private settlement with two as yet-unknown females whom leveled charges of sexual harassment against him while he was President of the National Restaurant Association, he fielded questions about other issues and topics concerning his candidacy and potential as the GOP presidential nominee. The website Politico broke the harassment story Sunday evening, October 30, 2011.

As others have noted, it’s highly unlikely that as President of the association, he was unaware of any settlement, as he has so far claimed.

Mr. Cain made some serious fax pas in his responses to questions from attendees, among which were his broad characterization as race/ethnic relations as being “class warfare.”

And in response to a question about race relations – found 51:28 into the video – he delivered a genuine zinger with this statement,