Everyone glorifies the independent/contractor but you actually can take home less than an employee because you have to cover your own healthcare, retirement, liability insurance, extra taxes, etcetera. The only thing an independent can do that an employee cannot is support multiple clients at the same time by building an organization to manage the work. The peons still get shafted though.
If you want to become wealthy you need to sell something with low overhead and or reoccurring costs. That’s why software, or Support Services are so lucrative.
2
David
Not always true, the independent contractor may still make more because they aren’t as likely to be wasting resources on stupidity because that will affect their paycheck negatively.
However the employee of the big unyielding organisation can make more exploiting the system for personal benefit. Eg if you waste money you may get a small kickback bribe reward. If you take risks to improve efficiency you may get little reward for success but lose job if failure, and a whole lot of hostility either way “we’ve done it this way for 6 years and its always worked, and you idiot risk things by change!” (There is a reason for example that even with modern tech like GPS that could make it impossible we still have trains that crash into each other)
“If you want to become wealthy you need to sell something with low overhead and or reoccurring costs” walmart disagrees. Sometimes large volume, low profits can work.
“Extra taxes” sometimes the independent contractor can pay much less because they have more deductions from income tax including own house and vehicle.
Kind of hard to tell \’perky\’ through plate armour but I\’d say her perquisites are exquisite and as a politician once said she\’s \’entitled to her entitlements\’
Eh, she gets armor with her preferred stats and a complimentary office as a “liaison” to the Templars. The Templars are fine with letting her keep the kit and the office because she *is* a director of Argent, which likely means they’re also reaping some very nice benefits for having connections to the most prominent guild in Sylarend, A and B, she walks down the street in Cyan Cross gear and a line of new applicants follow her into the building. It’s the kind of free publicity you wish you could pay for.
Nah, she was just talking about his current party in glowing terms regarding, among other things, their marketability. She’s definitely looking to recruit them all rather than separate them.
Maybe, maybe not. We haven’t seen the rest of the Argent folks, and while there’s a decidedly profiteering bent in Ysteena’s thinking (not necessarily a bad thing in a CEO of sorts), his place in this guild may be relatively okay, or at least not any worse than it was in the other one. He has a patron now, who at least has a vested interest in his continued survival/advancement. She may be a conniving exploiter, but I think he could’ve done worse. And who knows, maybe she’ll even let him finger comb those lovely, wayward locks, hmm? =)
I get David G’s point, but I still think that her smile following her sad look is more about the validation his choice gives her own move away from a noble cause, however clumsily pursued, than it is from liking him for himself. As Luke Skywalker said to Han Solo, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Chewie smelled it too.
I bet she also keeps the office so she can skim prominent Templars from order castoffs. I mean location location location. Cyan Cross may even tacitly approve, since Silverdawn retains a greater number of able fighters through this shifting of resources, even if one of their Director’s wasn’t trying to get into Yestena’s platemail.
I’m not forgetting that her quest likely lead to those other real deaths, but this society rewards recklessness rarely, and neither does our own above a certain threshold. Just ask anyone who had an unintentional open mic event which cost them a promising career path, though it could be as simple as saying the wrong thing to a coworker who is backstabby.
Amen, though to me she wasn’t skimming our boy because he’s prominent, but because he was easy to spend on a low survivability mission without being missed, and there was a significant upside should he prevail, which he actually did.
Did anyone else notice that as Ysteena’s relaying all this, her assistant is making like a piece of office furniture? What with that blank expression and her clipboard held up close in her criss-crossed arms like that, I’d say she knows a whole bunch that she doesn’t dare say. Watch yourself Cyprien. Your new boss may be hazardous to your health.
26 thoughts on “Elven 00158 | Return Of The Templar”
Lloyd
“heh” That made me laugh.
Thank you for creating Elven and sharing it with us. I vote on TWC as often as allowed.
M.Eugene Tillory
.
. . . SOMEONE’S got a Boy-Toy! Guess that explains the ‘And now . . . You’re MINE!’ look on her face in panel #2 . . .
MateKiddleton
Thank you for your support! n_n
willy
I see a bright future for him.
Pilgrim
He sees a bright future, now that he finally has eyes. Maybe that’s part of Argent’s vision benefits package.
Red Blacktree
Director of a guild but sits in an office with an outfit left years ago? Er.
Llywenna
She went from employee to \’private contractor\’ and got a pay raise and better office, just like a gov\’t manager or politician.
Just_IDD
Everyone glorifies the independent/contractor but you actually can take home less than an employee because you have to cover your own healthcare, retirement, liability insurance, extra taxes, etcetera. The only thing an independent can do that an employee cannot is support multiple clients at the same time by building an organization to manage the work. The peons still get shafted though.
If you want to become wealthy you need to sell something with low overhead and or reoccurring costs. That’s why software, or Support Services are so lucrative.
David
Not always true, the independent contractor may still make more because they aren’t as likely to be wasting resources on stupidity because that will affect their paycheck negatively.
However the employee of the big unyielding organisation can make more exploiting the system for personal benefit. Eg if you waste money you may get a small kickback bribe reward. If you take risks to improve efficiency you may get little reward for success but lose job if failure, and a whole lot of hostility either way “we’ve done it this way for 6 years and its always worked, and you idiot risk things by change!” (There is a reason for example that even with modern tech like GPS that could make it impossible we still have trains that crash into each other)
“If you want to become wealthy you need to sell something with low overhead and or reoccurring costs” walmart disagrees. Sometimes large volume, low profits can work.
“Extra taxes” sometimes the independent contractor can pay much less because they have more deductions from income tax including own house and vehicle.
David G
But it looks good on her. =) Besides, given her position, not to mention her skills, I reckon she can wear whatever she wants. Perks, don’tcha know.
Llywenna
Kind of hard to tell \’perky\’ through plate armour but I\’d say her perquisites are exquisite and as a politician once said she\’s \’entitled to her entitlements\’
JFinch
Eh, she gets armor with her preferred stats and a complimentary office as a “liaison” to the Templars. The Templars are fine with letting her keep the kit and the office because she *is* a director of Argent, which likely means they’re also reaping some very nice benefits for having connections to the most prominent guild in Sylarend, A and B, she walks down the street in Cyan Cross gear and a line of new applicants follow her into the building. It’s the kind of free publicity you wish you could pay for.
Khenan
Not total idiot, just mostly idiot?
Ebonbolt
Well, he did just sign up without looking at the contract…
Urazz
To be fair, it’s probably still better than what he gets from the Cyan Cross
Llywenna
You\’ll have to join a new party of course, guild members only…
Deadmanwalking
Nah, she was just talking about his current party in glowing terms regarding, among other things, their marketability. She’s definitely looking to recruit them all rather than separate them.
Lisekmaly
Seems like the days of our boi killing roaches are over… Or are they?
Plehnard
She kind of looks sad in the mid panel. Like thinking of a distant nostalgic past.
Honzinator
Dude … she’s wicked now, and values you only for her own ends … bad move.
David G
Maybe, maybe not. We haven’t seen the rest of the Argent folks, and while there’s a decidedly profiteering bent in Ysteena’s thinking (not necessarily a bad thing in a CEO of sorts), his place in this guild may be relatively okay, or at least not any worse than it was in the other one. He has a patron now, who at least has a vested interest in his continued survival/advancement. She may be a conniving exploiter, but I think he could’ve done worse. And who knows, maybe she’ll even let him finger comb those lovely, wayward locks, hmm? =)
Honzinator
I get David G’s point, but I still think that her smile following her sad look is more about the validation his choice gives her own move away from a noble cause, however clumsily pursued, than it is from liking him for himself. As Luke Skywalker said to Han Solo, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Chewie smelled it too.
Just_IDD
I bet she also keeps the office so she can skim prominent Templars from order castoffs. I mean location location location. Cyan Cross may even tacitly approve, since Silverdawn retains a greater number of able fighters through this shifting of resources, even if one of their Director’s wasn’t trying to get into Yestena’s platemail.
I’m not forgetting that her quest likely lead to those other real deaths, but this society rewards recklessness rarely, and neither does our own above a certain threshold. Just ask anyone who had an unintentional open mic event which cost them a promising career path, though it could be as simple as saying the wrong thing to a coworker who is backstabby.
Honzinator
Amen, though to me she wasn’t skimming our boy because he’s prominent, but because he was easy to spend on a low survivability mission without being missed, and there was a significant upside should he prevail, which he actually did.
David G
Did anyone else notice that as Ysteena’s relaying all this, her assistant is making like a piece of office furniture? What with that blank expression and her clipboard held up close in her criss-crossed arms like that, I’d say she knows a whole bunch that she doesn’t dare say. Watch yourself Cyprien. Your new boss may be hazardous to your health.
ChrisH
“Career trajectory”?! What is he, a rocket? ;p