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That's why labor policy is so important. The guy digging proverbial ditches does indeed deserve more, but the market has been distorted by large corporations w

That's why labor policy is so important. The guy digging proverbial ditches does indeed deserve more, but the market has been distorted by large corporations who lobby for lax enforcement of immigration law. On the other end of the spectrum engineers and programmers probably deserve more but the market has been distorted by large corporations who have lobbied for massive numbers of H1Bs or colluded with each other to keep poaching/salaries down in the valley.

twblalock 10y ago
> The guy digging proverbial ditches does indeed deserve more How do you know? Do you have some kind of special formula to determine what people deserve to be paid? Otherwise, it's just subjective.
- Consultant32452 10y ago
  Because I have a basic understanding of supply and demand. I even explained how supply of labor was being distorted in my post at both the higher and lower ends of the job market. I think the more appropriate question is how do you not know?
  - twblalock 10y ago
    Ok, then what does a ditch digger deserve to be paid? The answer is a number.
    - Consultant32452 10y ago
      The cumulative impact to low wage native workers is estimated between $99-118 Billion per year. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/gborjas/publications/popular/CIS2013.pdf https://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/gborjas/publications/popular/... (page 2)
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
    - Consultant32452 10y ago
      http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/do-illegal-immigrants-actually-hurt-the-us-economy.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/do-illegal-immigr... Labor economists have concluded that undocumented workers have lowered the wages of U.S. adults without a high-school diploma — 25 million of them — by anywhere between 0.4 to 7.4 percent.
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      - stickfigure 10y ago
        ...and increased the wages of otherwise poor Guatemalans, Mexicans, and their families by thousands of percent. Why exactly should I be opposed to this?
        Consultant32452 10y ago
        I don't think it's noble to be charitable with someone else's money, especially when that someone else is already at the poverty level.
        twblalock 10y ago
        Poverty is relative. What we call poverty is a lot more comfortable, and safer, than the conditions the immigrants came from. We haven't eliminated poverty in this country because we keep moving the goalposts.
        Consultant32452 10y ago
        If you're concerned then send your own money, don't advocate policies that take it from our poorest.
        twblalock 10y ago
        I never advocated a policy. Why do you think I did? You are reading a lot into my comments that isn't there.
alasdair_ 10y ago
>The guy digging proverbial ditches does indeed deserve more, but the market has been distorted by large corporations who lobby for lax enforcement of immigration law. Do gravediggers get paid relatively more than other kinds of jobs in countries where there is essentially no immigration for economic reasons? I doubt it.

twblalock 10y ago

> The guy digging proverbial ditches does indeed deserve more How do you know? Do you have some kind of special formula to determine what people deserve to be paid? Otherwise, it's just subjective.

Consultant32452 10y ago
Because I have a basic understanding of supply and demand. I even explained how supply of labor was being distorted in my post at both the higher and lower ends of the job market. I think the more appropriate question is how do you not know?
- twblalock 10y ago
  Ok, then what does a ditch digger deserve to be paid? The answer is a number.
  - Consultant32452 10y ago
    The cumulative impact to low wage native workers is estimated between $99-118 Billion per year. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/gborjas/publications/popular/CIS2013.pdf https://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/gborjas/publications/popular/... (page 2)
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  - Consultant32452 10y ago
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/do-illegal-immigrants-actually-hurt-the-us-economy.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/do-illegal-immigr... Labor economists have concluded that undocumented workers have lowered the wages of U.S. adults without a high-school diploma — 25 million of them — by anywhere between 0.4 to 7.4 percent.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - stickfigure 10y ago
      ...and increased the wages of otherwise poor Guatemalans, Mexicans, and their families by thousands of percent. Why exactly should I be opposed to this?
      - Consultant32452 10y ago
        I don't think it's noble to be charitable with someone else's money, especially when that someone else is already at the poverty level.
        twblalock 10y ago
        Poverty is relative. What we call poverty is a lot more comfortable, and safer, than the conditions the immigrants came from. We haven't eliminated poverty in this country because we keep moving the goalposts.
        Consultant32452 10y ago
        If you're concerned then send your own money, don't advocate policies that take it from our poorest.
        twblalock 10y ago
        I never advocated a policy. Why do you think I did? You are reading a lot into my comments that isn't there.

alasdair_ 10y ago

>The guy digging proverbial ditches does indeed deserve more, but the market has been distorted by large corporations who lobby for lax enforcement of immigration law. Do gravediggers get paid relatively more than other kinds of jobs in countries where there is essentially no immigration for economic reasons? I doubt it.