Queercents

Guest blogger Dr. Jillian Weiss has a J.D. and a Ph.D. in Law, Policy & Society. Currently Associate Professor of Law and Society at Ramapo College of New Jersey, she has conducted research involving hundreds of companies and public agencies that have adopted “gender identity” policies. She publishes a popular blog on the subject of Transgender Workplace Diversity, and has numerous research publications on the subject of gender identity. She is the coordinator of the Inclusive ENDA group on Facebook. These are her words. . .

ENDA has an excellent chance of becoming US law this year, if the grassroots gets smart and gets targeted. The House is almost there, with 200 Representatives having taken a public position in favor, and 60 more likely yeses out there, bringing us well over the 218 needed for passage. The Senate is going to be more of a firefight because of the larger and more split constituencies that they represent, but there are probably (I emphasize probably) more than the 60 needed to preclude a filibuster. ENDA is also the greatest good for the most people, for it will have a direct impact on a larger segment of the LGBT community than any of the issues on our plate. Most of us work, and far fewer are hate crime victims, serve in the military, or want to get married.

The right to discriminate against us is the right to keep us unemployed and underemployed and marginalize both our economic and personal lives. Furthermore, the House is very, very close to a clear and public majority on ENDA, and the Senate now has the power to shut down any filibuster after the seating of Senator Franken, with probably enough votes to do it. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing totally coherent today folks… just some rambling thoughts that I’d like to hear your responses to!

Everyone I’m sure has been reading about how many governments and businesses are cutting pay and giving unpaid furloughs to employees in order to save money and avoid layoffs.

California… the drunken sailor with the migraine hangover and empty wallet… seems to be the one most in the news about this.

Pay cuts and furloughs. Admirable? To a point. But only if the pain is shared by everyone including the bosses… which doesn’t happen all that often.

Most people will accept a lower paycheck in lieu of no paycheck when they still have mouths to fee and bills to pay but if they don’t see everyone sharing the pain it devastates morale and will send the brightest on a search for a more “equitable” employer.

Has anyone here been subject to pay cuts or furloughs?

If so have your bosses “shared the pain” or just ordered in lunch instead of going out? Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a dreary piece of economic news: sex workers, who are normally recession proof, are feeling the pinch of the economic decline.

Kim Capozziello, owner of Scruples Lounge in Bridgeport, has not seen much change in her bottom line. Her dancers have.

“People will continue to drink regardless of the economy,” says Capozziello. “When given the choice between a $20 lap dance or $20 on drinks, many of the patrons are opting to drink.” . . .

Adult spas reported a huge decline in appointments. Marilyn, a spa manager, says her spa is now open by appointment only. “We couldn’t justify being open all the time,” she says. “Keeping the spas and saunas operating costs money.” Read the rest of this entry »

For J.

I was ready to ignore Father’s Day. I find such commercialised holidays tiresome and problematic, given that they are both hypercommercialised and overly sentimental (and perhaps those two traits are never too far apart). They hearken to the days when gender roles were more prescriptive. Mother’s Day, for instance, allows both card companies and politicians to wax on about the nurturing and caring roles of women in the lives of their children, as if their lives are to be defined entirely by the extent to which they tend to every sneeze and bruised knee.

But this year’s Father’s Day was different in one respect. For the first time, we have a Black President, who happens to be the son of a man who left his wife and child. Obama’s life story, of being raised by a white mother and grandparents from Kansas in Hawaii, and of making his way through University via scholarships, is held up as both an example and a deviation from the conventional narrative about growing up as a Black man in the United States. The discourse around young Black men and women in particular is both intensely racialised and racist. On the one hand, we have the bald presentation of statistics like: “An estimated 24 million American children are growing up with absent fathers, and a disproportionate number of them are African-American. Those children are at higher risk of falling into lives of poverty and crime and becoming parents themselves in their teenage years.” On the other hand, it’s also clear that we’ve internalised the logic of such statements to also mean that Black men and women (and the emphasis is often on the men) are inherently incapable of becoming successful and productive members of society (however we choose to define that) and also inherently incapable of being good fathers. At the end of the day, we diagnose this issue to mean that Black youth are a drain on the economy and our collective resources. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night, we watched an independent film called Outsourced. I thought it was a documentary when Jeanine first put it in our Netflix queue, but the Seattle Times review explained that it was, “a thoughtful satire that looks at the human face beyond contemporary frustrations associated with the global economy.”

With the backdrop of a Mumbai call center, it ended up being a light, romantic comedy. The call center manager (an American) tries to explain our business practices and consumerism to the confused new employees. As he falls in love with one of them, there are lessons to be learned about globalization, work and life. It’s a pleasant and warm surprise of a story.

Jeanine thought I would like it because it had something to do with “business.” For some reason she thinks I only see the world through the eyes of capitalism. For example: whenever we’re at a locally-owned restaurant, I’m always pointing out who I think is the likely proprietor. She wonders why I feel the urge to observe and make a guess. I find it interesting when you see people doing their “work” in a different way than those around them. You can typically spot owner/operators because they treat work differently and it shows.

In an article at The Ingenesist Project, the author explains why a person’s work has psychological and spiritual value that must be respected. He references Buddhist Economics, a theory by E.F. Schumacher, an Oxford economist and protégé of John Maynard Keynes.

Schumacher was among the first to argue that economic production was too wasteful of the environment and non-renewable resources. But even more than that, he saw decades ago that ever-increasing production and consumption — the foundation of the modern economy — is unsustainable. Read the rest of this entry »

In times past, my answer to this question was always an unqualified “yes”, whether that vacation was a trip to Europe or a camping/hiking excursion in Michigan. According to a recent poll, fewer Americans are planning a summer getaway this year.

“Overall, the survey found only 42 percent of Americans plan a leisure trip this summer, down from the 49 percent who said they planned to take a summer trip in an AP-Ipsos poll conducted in May 2005.”

We just returned from a 5 day trip to the Caribbean. The only cost to us was airfare and incidentals (read expensive airport food) as the stay at the all-inclusive was a gift from a friend hosting a big birthday bash. It was fun but even given the relatively small cash outlay, I had to be convinced to go. I understand the rejuvenating value of vacations but it just feels unseemly to be spending money on a vacation with jobs and self-employment revenue streams so tenuous.

Overall we spent less than $800 on the trip. That does not include the opportunity cost of potential income had we been home. Neither of us are conventionally employed so we have no vacation days. We did make the most of our time away but I realize that I made the decision to go so as not to disappoint a really good friend and not because I needed or wanted to make the trip. Was it $800 well spent? Probably. I’m not one to harbor regrets but even though the vacation was a relative bargain, that’s still a few months worth of groceries and I might be a little harder to convince next time.

How about you? Are you vacationing? Staycationing? Buying groceries instead?

Photo credit: stock.xchng

Two of my favorite local small businesses have signed on as supporters of the “3/50” movement. The point is to save local small businesses by spending $50.00 at three different independent stores each month. That’s a total of $150/month to make a huge impact on your local economic recovery. The 3/50 website reminds us:

“If half the population spent $50 a month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than 42.6 billion in revenue. For every $100 spend in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.”

Of course I then wondered if we gays can find $150/month in LGBT–owned storefronts.

This does not mean we have to buy “new retail items.”  It can include used, consignment and antique items. It could include store-front businesses which provide a service like dog washing and grooming. This is the way I go since I am still on my “Buy Nothing New in 2009” kick. Read the rest of this entry »

The following article represents the views of the author and is not representative of Queercents, the site owner or its other writers.

We’ve been talking about the pros and cons of marijuana legalization all week. On Monday I talked about the potential tax benefits of marijuana legalization, and on Tuesday I talked about the potential for job creation. Yesterday I summed up the major economic pros and cons of marijuana legalization, and today I want to wrap up the discussion with some of the medical pros and cons of marijuana legalization, specifically as it applies to HIV patients. Who knew that talking about pot could be so intellectual?

Medical marijuana has a number of benefits for patients with HIV/AIDS. According to medical studies:

Cannabis is used by as many one in three North American patients with HIV/AIDS to treat symptoms of the disease as well as the side-effects of various antiretroviral medications, with one recent study reporting that more than 60 percent of HIV/AIDS patients self-identify as “medical cannabis users.” Patients living with HIV/AIDS most frequently report using cannabis to counter symptoms of anxiety, appetite loss, and nausea, and at least one study has reported that patients who use cannabis therapeutically are 3.3 times more likely to adhere to their antiretroviral therapy regimens than non-cannabis users. Read the rest of this entry »

The following article represents the views of the author and is not representative of Queercents, the site owner or its other writers.

This week I’ve been examining the possible economic implications of marijuana legalization. Monday I talked about the tax benefits, and Tuesday I talked about the potential for job creation if marijuana is legalized. Today and tomorrow, I will be addressing some of the pros and cons of marijuana legalization.

The strongest argument in favor of marijuana legalization is economic. Marijuana is a $113 billion a year industry. Legalizing marijuana could generate $12 billion in taxes each year. However, the cost of marijuana-related arrests is grossly out of proportion to the impact of the “crime” of consumption. According to a study published by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in 2005, approximately 900,000 people are arrested on marijuana charges every year, and 90% of those arrests are for possession only. In California and New York alone, marijuana arrests cost the state government $1 billion annually. This makes no sense. In this time of economic recession, it makes more sense to be generating revenue, rather than expending money on marijuana-related arrests. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve succumbed to the recession. I had a sign on a corkboard in my office for seven months that said “I will not participate in the recession” and I just took it down. I finally have admitted to my little femme-housewife-wannabe self that the recession has affected my wife and I in these ways:

1. Less income for both of us.
2. Can’t sell the little house, so we can’t buy a bigger one- which means…
3. Have to put our baby plans on hold which is also because we can’t afford sperm! (more on sperm in my next  blog).
4.   Can’t afford a two-seater kayak for summer fun. Not even a used one.

My optimism, however, got me through our gorgeous wedding this month, that although decidedly frugal has left us with a little bit of debt which makes our skin crawl and makes us even further aware of the recession. My optimism about finances and the economy meant that I didn’t drive myself crazy with worry all the way through wedding planning, I didn’t skimp on any of the details which were important to us, and those are memories that last a lifetime. Read the rest of this entry »