Pennsylvania
2022 election
Fig. 1. John Fetterman as mayor of Braddock, photograph uncredited and undated, via Next Pittsburgh,[1] fair use.
Shortly after Democrats won 102 of the House’s 203 seats, it became clear that control of the chamber would be complicated: One Democratic incumbent died shortly before winning reelection, and two others were also elected to higher office. That left Democrats with only 99 seated members when the session began this month — fewer than Republicans’ 101-member caucus.[2]
The battle has implications for Republican efforts to restrict abortion and voting rights. With a February 7 election, and with expected Democratic Party victories in that election, the Republicans have less, and probably not enough time to complete a two-year process of putting these constitutional amendments on the ballot,[3] though one might doubt that these amendments would advance anyway under Mark Rozzi, whom the chamber elected as speaker in a bipartisan deal.[4]
Jonathan Lai, “Special elections for two Pa. state House vacancies will be held Feb. 7, court rules,” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 13, 2023, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-house-vacancies-special-election-feb-7-20230113.html
So-called ‘ridesharing’
Drivers
Fig. 1. “Clarkdale Classic Gas Station, Clarkdale, Arizona,” Photograph by Alan Levine, October 28, 2016, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
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A New York Times article focuses on New York City Uber drivers, who enjoy some wage protection but are nonetheless drowning in operational costs, as I am. A court recently reversed an increase in those wages saying the Taxi and Limousine Commission needs to actually justify the increase. The article suggests to me that when Uber claims driver earnings are rising,[5] they include the commission that they take out of those earnings and that drivers in fact never see.
We don’t know how large that commission really is because, unless passengers tell us, we have no way of knowing how much Uber charges them. Uber’s cut has often been larger than what the company claims.[6] Even as tax time approaches, I’ll only know what Uber claims to have charged me in commissions and includes in my gross income; we know little of how this might be manipulated for the company’s own tax purposes.
It’s worse in most other places, where drivers enjoy no labor protection whatsoever, including in Pittsburgh, where drivers have seen what feels to me like a 40 percent cut in pay. This cut is existential for me, leaving me nothing to live on.[7] It means I must decline many rides because by the time I get to the pickup location, pick the passenger up, and take them where they’re going, I’ll have spent every penny I’d have earned on the trip.[8]
As cruel as Uber is, the bigots who have refused to consider my job applications for 22 years enable that cruelty and are therefore every bit as responsible.[9]
The New York Times article is additionally useful in showing how drivers take on costs they can’t easily back out from, including car purchases and debt that accumulates from a low and uncertain income,[10] even as drivers still have rent to pay, groceries to buy, and, crucially, cars to keep running. To give an idea, my own car, now a year and a half old, is just about to hit 100,000 miles. I still have about four and a half years of payments, which themselves are on the order of rent, to go on it.
But, we are to believe, it is the investor class that is oppressed by the working class. Don’t believe me? Ask Tom Perkins, a founder of the Silicon Valley venture capital firm[11] that ran the company (Linuxcare) where I had my last real job (that ended 22 years ago) into the ground.
Winnie Hu and Ana Ley, “Uber Drivers Say They Are Struggling: ‘This Is Not Sustainable,’” New York Times, January 12, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/nyregion/cab-uber-lyft-drivers.html
Gas stoves
When I was a kid, a lot of folks swore by gas stoves. The alternative was electric with clumsy temperature settings and elements that were slow to heat.
So guess what? There’s a problem with gas stoves. The health risks are by no means negligible and, of course, you’re burning a fossil fuel which isn’t a great idea if you’re worried about the climate crisis.[12]
The good news, and I can attest to this from personal experience, is that modern electric stoves, even the “traditional ranges,” are a lot better than what I remember from my childhood.
Shannon Osaka, “U.S. agency examines secret pollution source in 40 million homes: Gas stoves,” Washington Post, January 11, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/10/gas-stoves-ban-consumer-safety/
- [1]Kim Lyons, “Braddock Mayor John Fetterman keeps on truckin’ in his quest for the Senate,” Next Pittsburgh, March 11, 2016, https://nextpittsburgh.com/features/the-challengers-braddock-mayor-john-fetterman-keeps-on-truckin/↩
- [2]Jonathan Lai, “Special elections for two Pa. state House vacancies will be held Feb. 7, court rules,” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 13, 2023, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-house-vacancies-special-election-feb-7-20230113.html↩
- [3]Stephen Caruso, “Pa. Republicans fight to prolong House majority and pass far-reaching constitutional amendments,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 17, 2022, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pa-republicans-fight-to-prolong-house-majority-and-pass-far-reaching-constitutional-amendments/↩
- [4]Stephen Caruso, Kate Huangpu, and Katie Meyer, “Democrats and a handful of Republicans picked the Pennsylvania House’s new speaker,” Spotlight PA, January 3, 2023, https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2023/01/pa-midterm-election-2022-house-majority-democrats-speaker-election/; Andrew Seidman and Gillian McGoldrick, “Mark Rozzi, a Democrat-turned-independent, is now speaker of the Pa. House after a surprise vote,” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 3, 2023, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/mark-rozzi-democrat-elected-speaker-pennsylvania-house-20230103.html↩
- [5]Winnie Hu and Ana Ley, “Uber Drivers Say They Are Struggling: ‘This Is Not Sustainable,’” New York Times, January 12, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/nyregion/cab-uber-lyft-drivers.html↩
- [6]Dhruv Mehrotra and Aaron Gordon, “Uber And Lyft Take A Lot More From Drivers Than They Say,” Jalopnik, August 26, 2019, https://jalopnik.com/uber-and-lyft-take-a-lot-more-from-drivers-than-they-sa-1837450373; Yujie Zhou, “Uber is hiding customer payments from drivers. Again,” Mission Local, November 16, 2022, https://missionlocal.org/2022/11/uber-hiding-customer-payments-from-drivers/↩
- [7]David Benfell, “About my job hunt,” Not Housebroken, n.d., https://disunitedstates.org/about-my-job-hunt/; David Benfell, “A life worth living,” Not Housebroken, January 13, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/27/a-life-worth-living/↩
- [8]In practice, I have almost no time to decide which rides will be unprofitable, so I’m just refusing all rides for which my pay will be under $10.00. I’m not happy about this. Pittsburgh has steep hills, harsh weather, and crappy bus service; people need these rides whether they’ll be profitable or not. But I need to be earning money.↩
- [9]David Benfell, “About my job hunt,” Not Housebroken, n.d., https://disunitedstates.org/about-my-job-hunt/↩
- [10]Winnie Hu and Ana Ley, “Uber Drivers Say They Are Struggling: ‘This Is Not Sustainable,’” New York Times, January 12, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/nyregion/cab-uber-lyft-drivers.html↩
- [11]Tom Perkins, “Progressive Kristallnacht Coming?” Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2014, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304549504579316913982034286↩
- [12]Shannon Osaka, “U.S. agency examines secret pollution source in 40 million homes: Gas stoves,” Washington Post, January 11, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/10/gas-stoves-ban-consumer-safety/↩