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John Eidel

St Paul, MN
Commenter for
4 years 37 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 06/03/13 at 09:56 am in response to 70% of state residents able to access high-speed Internet

To me, the zipper merge SHOULD work, but I don't think that it ever will. It seems that it is in the very nature of MN drivers to A.) stay no less than 5 feet from the back bumper of the car in front of them, and B.) fight with every inch of space their car provides to block cars merging into their lane ahead of them. After all, I waited in the right lane for 10 minutes and this guy thinks he can zip ahead of me without paying his dues? Psah!

What MAY help, in my opinion, would be...

Posted on 02/11/13 at 04:23 pm in response to Car insurance scams triple in Minnesota

Margins at restaurants are generally in the 2-5% range. An increase in labor costs of over 20% would be pretty devestating, especially for employees that don't need the raise. If you want to raise the minimum wage for busboys and other kitchen staff that is one thing, but servers and bartenders make a pretty good living off of tips. I know from experience that it is not uncommon for servers at busy restaurants to make over $70,000 per year part time. Raising the minimum wage will hardly...

Posted on 02/12/13 at 04:45 pm in response to Car insurance scams triple in Minnesota

A link that illustrates my point regarding margins can be found here:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/average-profit-margin-restaurant-13477.html

This study shows that the national average net margin is around 4%. Tons of caveats on that data (from 2010, from the National Restaurant Association, etc) but I...

Posted on 01/18/13 at 04:11 pm in response to Minimum wage: Minnesota falls behind other states

I am entirely in favor of raising the minimum wage for people trying to raise children or otherwise earn a living wage. I would however suggest a couple of exceptions. 1. Wait staff. With tips, waiters routinely earn wages that might not be lavish but would definately be considered a living wage. I know, at least anecdotally, that waiters and bartenders at higher end restaurants make $70,000-$80,000 or more annually working part-time. Exception 2. A seperate minimum wage for workers...

Posted on 11/21/12 at 04:47 pm in response to DFL legislative ‘unity’ may be hard to keep with likely tax and spending fights

"So what about services? Who would protest if sales taxes were applied to services rendered by lawyers and accountants and advertising agencies?

Weaver would, saying that would be “a job killer … Suddenly that work would be done in another state.”

I shudder when I envision this dystopic, lawyerless hellscape.

Posted on 09/19/12 at 11:36 am in response to What’s wrong with what Romney said: from Thurston Howell to pandering

The 47% number is itself derived from the same analysis by the tax policy center that you are saying is partisan. The entire discussion around this issue is based upon the tax policy center's analysis of the percentage of Americans who don't pay federal income tax. If their breakdown of those who do not pay is partisan, how we can we trust the 47% number in the first place? Please provide another source that proves that 47% of Americans don't pay federal income tax.

Posted on 07/26/12 at 12:03 pm in response to Chick-fil-A, politics and social media: A cautionary tale

Or as Glenn Greewald said at Salon today:

"If you support what Emanuel is doing here, then you should be equally supportive of a Mayor in Texas or a Governor in Idaho who blocks businesses from opening if they are run by those who support same-sex marriage — or who oppose American wars, or who support reproductive rights, or who favor single-payer health care, or which donates to LGBT groups and Planned Parenthood, on the ground that such views are offensive to Christian or...

Posted on 07/12/12 at 04:04 pm in response to Minnesota amendment wording can affect votes, experts say

I'm not sure what the amendment proponents are trying to accomplish with this lawsuit. The law clearly states that the Secretary of State gets to title constitutional amendments. Althought the wording chosen by Ritchie is gently leading towards his (assumed) preferred outcome, is there anything that is completely incorrect about it? I would guess that outright misinformation would be the only grounds for the court to strike this down. On a side note, it's about time that the Democrats...

Posted on 07/17/12 at 02:28 pm in response to Former priests against marriage amendment near 100 signatory mark

I want to be able to sell my daughter to the highest bidding bachelor as a way to promote my personal and professional interests! Honestly, marriage (at least as recognized by the state) is not a rigid institution handed down from Mt. Olympus. Secular marriage rights are constantly evolving, as evidenced by my inability to involuntarily pawn my daughter off on the richest or most powerful guy (or gal) I can find for her, or the ability of my wife to enter into contracts without my consent...

Posted on 04/27/12 at 03:20 pm in response to Franken, other lawmakers scramble to keep post offices open

I cannot understand why Congress will not allow the postal service to raise rates. The price of a stamp is 75 cents in Germany, 72 cents in England, 98 cents in Switzerland and 82 cents in France. Us? 45 cents. Raising rates would completely stabilize the postal service, yet it is apparently even more taboo than closing post offices. Is it any wonder that the only two groups that use the mail with any frequency, the elderly and direct marketers, happen to have two of the biggest...