President Joe Biden goes into next year's election with a vexing challenge: Just as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, people are still feeling horrible about it.
Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. The divergence could be a decisive factor in whether the Democrat secures a second term next year. Republicans are seizing on the dissatisfaction to skewer Biden, while the White House is finding less success as it tries to highlight economic progress.
“Things are getting better and people think things are going to get worse — and that’s the most dangerous piece of this," said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who has worked with Biden. Lake said voters no longer want to just see inflation rates fall — rather, they want an outright decline in prices, something that last happened on a large scale during the Great Depression.
“Honestly, I’m kind of mystified by it,” she said.
Ok so you've never done it. That's OK, I understand that you're describing how it's supposed to work, and it's easier to blame the victims of theft for not fighting back hard enough.
But that's not what happens next.
What happens next is usually nothing. Maybe the restaurant gets a warning, or maybe the restaurant shuts down and the owners invest in a different location. If you're very lucky, there will be enough evidence for several employees to go to court as a group, and the lawyer will make a bit of money while everyone who worked there will eventually get a check for half a month's rent. If you're unlucky, the employer figures out you reported them and retaliates.
The department of labor doesn't have the resources to go after every employer stealing wages, much less investigate every report of retaliation. Employees have extremely slim chances of ever seeing a fraction of what is owed, and restaurant owners almost never have to pay what they owe. 60% of restaurants fail within a year, and that number is 80% by year five. When they fold, they don't leave behind a fund to pay out pending litigation liabilities.