4 ms·

I think the thing we keep forgetting is if "everyone" makes more the only thing that is going to change is housing and food prices and you will gain 0.

by qaq 9y ago

nicktelford 9y ago
The issue here is not the exact value of earnings (which changes with inflation), but the income distribution, which has become massive. To cite the article, in the 50s and 60s, CEOs earned on average 20 times the average workers' salary; this is now 247 times the average workers' salary.
- djrogers 9y ago
  So what problems does this 247x gap cause for someone earning a median income?
onion2k 9y ago
If everyone makes $10,000 a year more then rich people will barely notice. Poor people would be able to afford to heat their homes and buy insurance. I think everyone who's poor would consider that much a gain.
- conductr 9y ago
  So the energy and insurance tycoons are the big winners? Also - What makes you think poor people will make such practical spending decisions? I hardly believe they will buy insurance. More likely to buy nicer food/dining out/entertainment and nicer cars/clothes/signals of wealth. Again, this materializes mostly as profit in companies owned by the rich.
- djrogers 9y ago
  If everyone earns an extra $10k, prices in the most basic consumption items will rise, including housing.
wu-ikkyu 9y ago
A reduction in housing and food prices would be a net gain for society, and would in turn reduce crime rates and healthcare costs
- TACIXAT 9y ago
  They are not saying those prices would reduce. There would be more people with more money competing for the same housing pool, landlords would raise their prices accordingly. I'm not sure if it would have the same effect on food, but it would likely increase housing prices.
  - JustSomeNobody 9y ago
    If you could afford to eat more than just what you could find in the dented can buggy, would you? I am pretty sure it will have an effect on food prices. Though, probably not as much as on housing.

I think the thing we keep forgetting is if "everyone" makes more the only thing that is going to change is housing and food prices and you will gain 0.

by qaq 9y ago

I think the thing we keep forgetting is if "everyone" makes more the only thing that is going to change is housing and food prices and you will gain 0.

nicktelford 9y ago

The issue here is not the exact value of earnings (which changes with inflation), but the income distribution, which has become massive. To cite the article, in the 50s and 60s, CEOs earned on average 20 times the average workers' salary; this is now 247 times the average workers' salary.

djrogers 9y ago
So what problems does this 247x gap cause for someone earning a median income?

onion2k 9y ago

If everyone makes $10,000 a year more then rich people will barely notice. Poor people would be able to afford to heat their homes and buy insurance. I think everyone who's poor would consider that much a gain.

conductr 9y ago
So the energy and insurance tycoons are the big winners? Also - What makes you think poor people will make such practical spending decisions? I hardly believe they will buy insurance. More likely to buy nicer food/dining out/entertainment and nicer cars/clothes/signals of wealth. Again, this materializes mostly as profit in companies owned by the rich.
djrogers 9y ago
If everyone earns an extra $10k, prices in the most basic consumption items will rise, including housing.

wu-ikkyu 9y ago

A reduction in housing and food prices would be a net gain for society, and would in turn reduce crime rates and healthcare costs

TACIXAT 9y ago
They are not saying those prices would reduce. There would be more people with more money competing for the same housing pool, landlords would raise their prices accordingly. I'm not sure if it would have the same effect on food, but it would likely increase housing prices.
- JustSomeNobody 9y ago
  If you could afford to eat more than just what you could find in the dented can buggy, would you? I am pretty sure it will have an effect on food prices. Though, probably not as much as on housing.