I wrote a book.

Repost of a rant because rehosting doesn't show in the tag feeds.

We learn about this in high school when we're too stupid to question the higher levels of logic.

Profit is revenue minus expenses. So if you want profit then you charge more than your expenses.

A fairly fair model so far, but this gets tricky as the complexity increases. You can always up prices, but if your expenses aren't going up then you have no reason pass just wanting more money, and if the people pay, then who can blame you? Answer: ME! because that's literally just exploiting your customers. Whether you're exploiting their ignorance or compliance it is exploitation.

But here, we are seeing the other side of the coin. Reducing cost. When you "reduce cost" what you are doing is ensuring someone somewhere at some time is getting paid less. Someone is earning less, or is worked more. AI tools are the final frother in worker exploitation.

Mathematically, if you charge 100 cash units for 1 product and pay 80 cash units in expenses then that's 20 cash in profits. But someone comes along and says they can make the product for 50 cash, and with that, the product sells now for 80 cash! A 20 cash price reduction! Except now the profit is 30 cash, and only until the price is kicked back up, because they brought at 100 before so why not?

But there is one more thing about this. See, in the original setup, the product needed 80 cash to cover expenses for each product, but that also was done across dozens of workers each making a product, each with their own expense, gauging their own prices/wages/whatever.

The new setup has one guy, producing the same rate of production. As a dozen of supply chains! So now instead of (let's say 12 lines, with 4 links, each costing 20 cash for nice simple math) 48 workers making 20 cash each and an owner making 240 cash, is it now one "worker" making 600 cash and the owner making 360 cash! At least until they bump the price back up! And the rest of the workers make nothing!

This is the compounding effect of technological progression. We thought new technology would always create new jobs completely forgetting the dream of a workless society. Or rather, actively ignoring it. And it wouldn't be that much of a problem if the exploitation wasn't so out of control. If it wasn't for the fact that every business is trying to maximize revenue(customer exploitation) and minimize expenses(which is done through worker exploitation) then we could live happily and fine.

But no. Sustainability can not be. The Machine Must Grow.
The Line!
Must!
Go!
Up!

Mad Scientists: A strongly written proposal submitted to an academic journal, regarding the validity of destroying the president's house with a nuclear powered moon based laser canon. Proposal is sent to Mad Engineers.

Mad Engineers: It will have to be a satellite, but I can't get the power supply small enough to make it into high orbit without it being an absolute bitch and a half. Maybe the Mad Machinists can get creative.

Mad Machinists: YOU WANT ME TO PUT THE SCREWS IN AT WHAT FUCKING ANGLE!?

She really did help put a laser in space. Though mostly she fires them from airplanes, at glaciers and rainforests.

I'm down right angry!

Angry at how every institution that shows interest in my brilliance just wants to capitalize on it for profit.

I've tried going to governments, but they either point me to private corporations, report me to other nations, or are just the equivalent of a private corporation with a tax system.

And I can't get my hands on nuclear materials or a viral gene editor because that's "terrorism" so I can't be an independent developer.

So you know what. Fuck it! They all want tlme to participate in capitalism so much! Then I will!

I will seize the means of production for myself. Manually!

I have a mantra in my writing and for my life: The Smallest Details Have The Greatest Effect.

Also called The Splinter Effect, by me and now you, because a simple splinter can cause more problems than say a swallow cut despite the cut doing more damage and drawing more blood. A cut just needs a rag on it for five minutes and you're good 9 times out of 10, but a splinter will drive you crazy with the constant pain and cause a deadly infestation if you don't remove it AZAP. Of course, they both get outranked by like.. an actual stabbing, but that's another metaphor.

Bi-weekly pay started in an age before The Super Information Revolution. Back when the beans were counted by hand, and computers were just the new cool-ass spreadsheets. Errors needed a bit of time to fix and did double checking. A company switching over from weekly pay to bi-weekly as the company grew made some sense. There were downsides. Dozens, but they were metaphorical paper cuts compared to the metaphorical stabbings that could happen without the extra time to review the records.

But things have changed. Now we have robot bean counters who even sort black from white from red and even pinto. Faster than any human and with no pay. The errors are also easier to fix. There are no reasons for keeping bi-weekly pay and a lot of reasons to get rid of it.

First, it keeps your money out of your pocket for longer, so you go longer without your compensation. Which is bad for your sense of work-reward feedback.

Second, it breaks your weekly schedule cycle sync with society. Friday no longer becomes bar night with da boyz, but rather every other Friday you talk to see who's available because nobody has a set schedule anymore because no one can get a solid routine anymore.

Lastly, it fucks your sense of budgeting. You no longer think about what to pay each week and instead just get your check and think "I can afford this and that" and before you know it, you're broke again and you just need a few more days before your next check. I've actually heard people say they prefer bi-weekly because they "get a bigger check for my budget" and it's just like... I don't know. I don't have a metaphor for this. That picture with the beakers? Maybe?

So yeah. Fuck bi-weekly. Remember: The Smallest Details Have The Greatest Effect.
Call Congress to ban bi-weekly pay.