Taj Mahal

[BillyJoe]

Mother of mercy, is this the end of Nucky?

re: unions, all i know is there was a time between about the end of WW2 and the early 1980s when workers' wages increased at about the same pace as increases in productivity. since then, productivity has continued to increase, while workers' wages have stagnated. coincidentally the early 80s marked the beginning of the decline of unions in the US. draw your own conclusions i guess.
Most companies increased productivity in recent years through advances in technology - not through their workers getting better, faster, smarter. To reward workers for that, instead of using those funds to re-invest in their business/technology, would not make a lot of sense for a company.

Taking this to the casino floor level, when TITO came in, casinos no longer needed the coin girls. Should they have increased the pay of the blackjack dealers with any savings?   

[notes1]

 I started going to the TAJ in 2006 and went nearly every month, until 2012, when the cost of gambling in AC got too high.  I have a lot of fond memories of the TAJ. Normally would lose, but it was reasonable. The place was very busy, pre 2009. The buses would pull in/out seemingly non stop. The rooms were clean, there was decent security, they treated me fine. The chairmans lounge was fine and i would get comps, that allowed me to bring something home, nearly every trip.  Then, everything changed. The comps were geatly reduced, free slot play cut, it got very dirty and the lack of security bothered me. I would find myself playing at a machine and look at the next machine and a 'street' person was asleep.The one thing i never liked there or any other casino, were the seats that are bolted to the floor. At 6'3" i never liked chairs that one could not move.   It is too bad, i really enjoyed the place. 

[DaBurglar]

Regarding Billyjoe's point  and notes1:Billyjoe essentially hits the head on the nail, er, nail on the head......Beginning in the early 1980s, advances in automation and technology (i.e. computers) heralded a gigantic increase in productivity and efficiency at most manufacturing and related industries, such that FEWER and FEWER human beings were needed to get the same, if not more, production of widgets & whatever.....    Hence, since the 1984 presidential campaign, whenever a politician or political party seemingly asks with varied levels of exasperation "WHERE are the JOBS???!?!?"   I have always shook my head in despair and contempt.....the "jobs" are gone, literally......replaced with ever increasing levels of computerized automation and efficiency.  It really is that simple.     Hence, the only real area of manufacturing that continues to afford workers consistent areas of opportunity is computers and information technology,This spilled into other industries, like services, leisure, entertainment, and etc etc etc.   Computers and automation replaced people, all the while the general population (while obviously getting older) continued to grow and grow and get bigger and bigger......you do the math and draw the conclusions.      And no matter how blustery or eloquent  UNIONS and the men who ran them talked and argued, they NEVER really acknowledged or addressed this continued trend or its ramifications.   Neither have politicians......and the reason(s) they do not address it are simple:  there is NO real cure or solution to this conundrum other than to tell people the cold truth, and that usually is the kiss of death for a politician or business leader/exec who is worried about job security or retaining his position.       Now, other factors enter this picture too, such as jobs being shipped overseas due to costs of labor (usually DRIVEN by intransigent and antiquated UNIONS), and taxes and costs of regulatory statutes, etc.   But by and large, the point Billyjoe (and now myself) makes is the cold truth.As for notes1 and his take on WHAT the TAJ used to be, I concur.   My first trip to the Taj in July 2009 saw a (still) vibrant and "happening" hotel casino with good rooms, games, food etc.   And then a rapid, extensive DECLINE started and by 2012, the place was a dump, staffed by disgruntled workers who clearly wanted to be somewhere else.  The rest is history.....

[DaBurglar]

FYI:   On the TAJ/trump website, I am still getting offers and rooms and all that through the month of December into January......so obviously, whatever else is being said or reported in the papers. they are holding out HOPE the place may still be in business after the new year.   I remain hopeful too......

[olds442jetaway]

I retired 11 years ago partly due to the new computer age and the youngsters wizzing by me. Not that I couldn't keep up if I wanted to, I just didn't like the new stuff, constant emails, micromanagement, etc. All I know is they had to double the file cabinets in the office once computers were insatlled due to the extra paper that was generated. Just like today, they don't let teachers teach for the most part amd they don't let workers and staff work. They are too busy answering constant emails from on high most of them coming from senders who have no idea what they are talking about and have no common sense.

[Tedlark]

Well yes, some production jobs were lost and some production jobs turned into jobs for those with degrees in computer science; engineering, and the like. So some jobs were lost while others were created in emerging industries.

As for whether a company is better off reinvesting profits back into the company or giving these same profits to the workforce; that's a no-brainer. Reinvesting through capital expendatures and purchasing new equipment adds or increases the value of assets and that makes shareholders VERY happy instead of being made NOT happy when giving the workforce raises ore bonuses.

Unfortunately job loss because of technologiocal advancement is a very real issue.

I could go on and on here but I won't.

[DaBurglar]

I retired 11 years ago partly due to the new computer age and the youngsters wizzing by me. Not that I couldn't keep up if I wanted to, I just didn't like the new stuff, constant emails, micromanagement, etc. All I know is they had to double the file cabinets in the office once computers were insatlled due to the extra paper that was generated. Just like today, they don't let teachers teach for the most part amd they don't let workers and staff work. They are too busy answering constant emails from on high most of them coming from senders who have no idea what they are talking about and have no common sense. The only part of this statement I take issue with (it's otherwise very cogent and realistic) is the part where you talk about all the "paperwork" generated by the new computerized workplace, the need for cabinets, etc etc.....    When I did management consulting back during (what I refer to as) the ERA of "Paperless Tigers", a common, and worthwhile, efficiency & workflow goal of many business offices was to reduce as much as possible the need for actual 'paper' and replace it with computerized information storage/display.  it was called "going paperless" and quite often was a bit of a shock to most corporate cultures.  People, especially the older generation(s), just needed to have that HARD copy in their hands in order to grasp and utilize the info being considered!    So if I found a situation such as the one you described, Olds442, whereby a otherwise "computerized and automated" workplace STILL was utilizing that much paper and hard copies, I'd focus directly on questioning the company management's commitment to being a modern efficient business with an appropriate work flow and environment. But on MANY consulting jobs, I also found, Olds. during the period spanning 1997 thru 2011, that it was typically guys such as YOU who carried and possessed almost ALL of the "common (business) sense" that you reference above, and I would look to them to implement much of the improvements I'd suggest.....you are totally correct about there being a decided LACK of sense and logic when it comes to many typical management structures in any large corporate environment and it is usually the guys who are near (but not quite AT) retirement (like you) who held much of the respect within the office.....so, If I wanted to get anything accomplished on the average typical project I'd have to win people like you over first!

[DaBurglar]

Well yes, some production jobs were lost and some production jobs turned into jobs for those with degrees in computer science; engineering, and the like. So some jobs were lost while others were created in emerging industries.

As for whether a company is better off reinvesting profits back into the company or giving these same profits to the workforce; that's a no-brainer. Reinvesting through capital expendatures and purchasing new equipment adds or increases the value of assets and that makes shareholders VERY happy instead of being made NOT happy when giving the workforce raises ore bonuses.

Unfortunately job loss because of technologiocal advancement is a very real issue.

I could go on and on here but I won't. Begrudgingly, I agree with, and laud the clarity of, this post.   well said ted, well said.....Ted (hey that rhymes!)

[olds442jetaway]

Reason for all of that paper DB....It just may have been the government, . Also our first system was Unix based. It never crashed. Windows always did.

[BillyJoe]

Reason for all of that paper DB....It just may have been the government, . Also our first system was Unix based. It never crashed. Windows always did.
With all the data base breaches and Cloud intrusions, we may be going back to paper. Don't throw out all those file cabinets yet.