Koyote

All helmets that pass the CPSC standard have met a minimum requirement. That does NOT mean that they are "equally good."

All of the helmets tested by Virginia Tech pass CPSC standards, and they are NOT "equally protective." Anyone who has ever simply picked up two different helmets and examined them will understand that they do not all provide the same protection.

GlennR

If he gets used to riding and not wearing a helmet, he won't want to wear one when he gets a pedal bike.

Start them doing things "day one" and they won't question doing it. My grand daughter wear a helmet on her scooter, balance bike and skates. If you tell her you're going for a walk and does she want to ride her bike, she'll run to the helmet first and put it on.

Same for seat belts.

BTW, parents that set a good example have kids that do the same.

Iride01 

Certainly there is always better. DuraAce is better than Claris. If you can't afford the cost of DuraAce then what ever you can afford is better than nothing. Same for helmets. Whether or not you don't care to look for better, you don't know that better is out there, or don't have the ability to pay for better, at least you have some measure of protection. Why are we being helmet snobs?

fooferdoggie 

you could try this helmet the design is new.

downhillmaster

So you don’t like the fact that Walmart gainfully employs over 2 million people at around $15 per hour on average in the US.
And that all of those people have resources and opportunities close to home because of Walmart.
That’s weird.
You did reference small businesses though so I’m sure that you realize that pre-COVID, any small business doing things the right way had plenty of opportunity to thrive. They certainly still do in my area which is the highly competitive NE United States.

Koyote

They float that $15/hr wage, but don't really explain the calculation; if it is a mean, then it is dragged upwards by the wages/salaries of managers and such, and is less indicative of the wage paid to regular floor employees. It would be much more helpful to know the median wage.

And Wal-Mart's starting wage is still $11, which is lower than some other big box stores and etailers.

I'm not ragging Wal Mart -- we spend plenty of money there. Just pointing out that the number may not be very meaningful. And if those workers get no benefits, it means even less-- health insurance is expensive.

phughes

downhillmaster

As I had stated, that is right around the average salary.
And that is the correct way to judge what a large company pays its employees.
It ofc takes into account what both low and high level employees earn.
To that point, I believe around 75% of Walmart’s management is promoted from within so it’s all good.
I believe they also offer a matching 401k plan and they certainly offer medical benefits.

Koyote

I’ve got a PhD in economics with a field in labor market analysis, and I’ve never heard of a definitively “correct way“ to judge an employer’s wage policies. It all depends on precisely what you’re trying to measure.

I’m just trying to point out that a mean wage can be misleading… I’m not saying that it is misleading in this case because we don’t know the details.

Think of it this way: you and all of your friends get together at a party, add up all of your incomes, then divide by the number of people present – you’ll have the mean income. If Jeff Bezos walks into the party, now the mean income makes you and your friends all look like billionaires – even though you’re not. The median wage would barely change though… Which is why it is often a better indicator of how the typical person in the group is being paid.

Unless we know precisely which (or whose) salaries are included in Wal Mart’s measure, we don’t know whether the mean is a good indicator of the typical employee’s earnings.

veganbikes

I don't like the fact that employees have had to use donations for themselves to feed their families, are heavily anti-union, have not provided health care and decent working conditions to employees. Plenty of wrongful terminations as well to good decent employees. They have also had many sexist and homophobic practices in place and in some cases still do. Amongst many other things. Most employees are not making $15 and that isn't always a minimum wage.

I did reference small business. It is hard to compete with a big box store that comes into town with subsidies drives down the prices and doesn't give a lick for the community. It has nothing to do with opportunity to thrive plenty of businesses were thriving before Wal Mart sunk their claws in.

I don't feel the need to be an apologist for a multi-billion dollar company. It is a shame when employees have to have a canned food drive for themselves while the owners are multi billionaires. One can make money and a lot of it but also treat employees as human beings and respect them and pay them a decent living wage and not screw them over at every opportunity just to squeeze that extra cent.

downhillmaster

Good stuff.
You apparently dislike all large retail companies then because some of the things you described happen at all of them.
And your disdain is understandable because as an unskilled hourly worker almost all of them are lousy to work at if you are supporting anyone other than yourself.
Pretty simple solution though.
Get a skill or don’t work there if you are trying to support a family.

Koyote

If you think that is a “simple solution,“ you are woefully, almost comically, uninformed about the economic conditions of a substantial number of people in the United States.

veganbikes

You are quite lucky. You don't have to worry about that. Some people do and sometimes people cannot just go out and get magical skills and make more money. Everyone's life is different they have different problems and different economic situations based on various factors.

The whole HTFU thing applied to economics just doesn't work. Yes people should try to achieve more but that is sometimes quite hard for people and in some cases based on innate characteristics about themselves that cannot be changed. Not always but it isn't just a snap your fingers and magically your family is supported and bills are paid and all of that. I know people who are working their hardest and still struggling they aren't slacking off or spending money and drugs and booze they are just having a rough go at things.

It is always nice when you don't have to do that and I am so glad that you don't have to experience those problems. I have been relatively lucky as well, I have had some hard times but I had great support and people to help me. Not everyone gets that in life. Trickle down sounds like it belongs in pee fetish pornography video not a solid economic theory that we should base our life around.

Keep in mind you can be a multi-billionaire and not be terrible to your employees and use sweatshop labor and low wages and other things to keep people down. You don't have to screw people over to be successful and one shouldn't need to be screwed over so some guy can make a few extra bucks.