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At the core of the economic problem is the mismatch between the price of basis necessities (which include healthcare, shelter, energy, mobility, education, clot

by gmlk 16y ago

At the core of the economic problem is the mismatch between the price of basis necessities (which include healthcare, shelter, energy, mobility, education, clothes, food and water, etc) and a normal income: The last century wages haven't increased at the same rate as the real cost of living. The only way to get out of this mess is that either the incomes at the bottom must rise or basis necessities must come down. At the sometime jobs have become more mobile then people, moving to places where the labor force is even less expensive. Failing that, there is automation which increases productivity per worker, which also will result in less jobs overall. So we get to a point where a large part of the population will be permanently unemployed because there are not enough jobs for everyone. These people will need to be able to pay for basic necessities just like anyone else. Even the people who do have a job will find that their wage is not enough: Giving the surplus in workers the wages will go way down. The only way to solve this is to introduce an unconditional livable basic income for every individual citizen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income_guarantee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income_guarantee

dantheman 16y ago
This is a completely ridiculous statement -- there will always be more work than can be completed. The problem is in identifying what it is. The more the government manipulates the market they more difficult this is. The problems with healthcare a largely government created - why is health insurance tied to employment? The large population that is unemployed needs to change jobs , or what their expectation of compensation should be. The wage is directly correlated to the value that they produce, the more value the higher the wage.
- gmlk 16y ago
  At which price is doing the work still viable? What if the added value of the work being done is lower then the minimum wage? Then no employer will pay you to do it. Or consider a machine which can do the same job cheaper then some employees earning minimum wage: How long before the job will be automated? In a world where much physical work is automated away there might not be enough remaining work left for everyone. And the simple law of supply and demand a labor surplus will lead to increasingly lower wages. As soon as this hits minimum wage the work will either move to a place with a lower minimum wage or none at all, or the work is just eliminated (not done) if one can get away with it. It all ends up the same… With a surplus of (some kinds of) labor, wages will decrease so that some people are unable to earn a livable income. At the same time a shortage of (some kinds of) labor will lead to higher wages, which means that automation becomes viable at higher prices. In either case, given enough time most people will end up without a job, without an income: Only the owners of businesses will share in the profits.
  - dantheman 16y ago
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite_fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite_fallacy
erikstarck 16y ago
"The last century wages haven't increased at the same rate as the real cost of living." Are you sure? "In 1901, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in major industrial expenditure item for families was food — half of spending in low-income third in more affluent ones. In 1999, food took only 15 percent of household more than a third of that spending was for food prepared away from home." Source: http://bit.ly/dkLEux http://bit.ly/dkLEux

by gmlk 16y ago

dantheman 16y ago

This is a completely ridiculous statement -- there will always be more work than can be completed. The problem is in identifying what it is. The more the government manipulates the market they more difficult this is. The problems with healthcare a largely government created - why is health insurance tied to employment? The large population that is unemployed needs to change jobs , or what their expectation of compensation should be. The wage is directly correlated to the value that they produce, the more value the higher the wage.

gmlk 16y ago
At which price is doing the work still viable? What if the added value of the work being done is lower then the minimum wage? Then no employer will pay you to do it. Or consider a machine which can do the same job cheaper then some employees earning minimum wage: How long before the job will be automated? In a world where much physical work is automated away there might not be enough remaining work left for everyone. And the simple law of supply and demand a labor surplus will lead to increasingly lower wages. As soon as this hits minimum wage the work will either move to a place with a lower minimum wage or none at all, or the work is just eliminated (not done) if one can get away with it. It all ends up the same… With a surplus of (some kinds of) labor, wages will decrease so that some people are unable to earn a livable income. At the same time a shortage of (some kinds of) labor will lead to higher wages, which means that automation becomes viable at higher prices. In either case, given enough time most people will end up without a job, without an income: Only the owners of businesses will share in the profits.
- dantheman 16y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite_fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite_fallacy

erikstarck 16y ago

"The last century wages haven't increased at the same rate as the real cost of living." Are you sure? "In 1901, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in major industrial expenditure item for families was food — half of spending in low-income third in more affluent ones. In 1999, food took only 15 percent of household more than a third of that spending was for food prepared away from home." Source: http://bit.ly/dkLEux http://bit.ly/dkLEux