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The guys I meet who are pulling in good money are all union vocational workers. We're talking dump trucks, cement mixers, sometimes roll off (dumpsters/skips),

The guys I meet who are pulling in good money are all union vocational workers. We're talking dump trucks, cement mixers, sometimes roll off (dumpsters/skips), and the holy Grail: heavy haul. I know a guy in New Jersey who works for a well known hauling and rigging company. Makes 130k/yr. Small shop of a dozen guys, no one makes under a 100k, and home just about every night. But good luck getting into those shops. Cronyism and nepotism abound.

InfernalLogic 8y ago
I'm making way more money now as a dev contractor... but I do miss a lot of things about my 9-month stint in the IBEW. There were definitely dirt bags in the union, but there were more guys who had a real interest in taking care of their union brothers. That, and coming home tired with dirty hands felt way better than finally deciding to shut my computer off and go hang out with my family.
- corodra 8y ago
  Well yea, inspectors of any agency are terrified to fuck with the IBEW lol. They only do so when they have their shit squared away. I love how on big job sites, they would have their reps, banners and make sure all their guys have IBEW bling to ward off inspectors like garlic for vampires.
anoncoward111 8y ago
This is one of the main reasons I am so heavily in favor of UBI, even though I am quite the anarchist if we are talking about idealism and not pragmatism. There IS money being made out there by large firms and small firms alike, but it is absolutely NOT based on merit or skill at all. Whether a business is a failure or a success is 99% based on the relationships and contracts it forms. Typically, unskilled managers and executives will forge the deal FIRST, and then go get the expertise and skilled laborers after. Startups are an exception to this rule, since the technology is all so new. But rapidly, we all see the "money guys" and the "business guys" coming in to the profession day by day, buying up tech, creating bogus certifications and so on that just add the cruft and bureaucracy that monopolies need to survive. For every trucker making $130,000 a year, there's 100 truckers making $35,000 a year. For every trucker making $30,000 a year, there's probably 10,000 unemployed or underemployed people begging for the chance to make middle class money rather than $10 an hour at Burger King
- oconnor663 8y ago
  > There IS money being made out there by large firms and small firms alike, but it is absolutely NOT based on merit or skill at all. That's a pretty broad generalization. I'm not sure I know how to frame that question in an answerable way, much less that I know the answer off the top of my head.
- EGreg 8y ago
  You can be an anarchist and still be for UBI!
  - dimensi0nal 8y ago
    How can UBI exist without statism?
    - EGreg 8y ago
      Voluntary redistribution of wealth by a cryptocurrency. Look at groupcurrency.org
      - fiblye 8y ago
        People could voluntarily distribute their wealth today if they wanted to. Few do. The crypto meme won't be changing that.
        EGreg 8y ago
        And how would they airdrop money to everyone else in the community every day?
        corodra 8y ago
        Yea, but how do you airdrop electronic devices to utilize crypto for those that don't have electronic devices? If utilizing crypto and all it's blockchain glory to those who don't have access to computers/smartphones/internet has been answered, I'm all ears. Then cool. But I see that as an infrastructure issue that no one has directly answered.
kamaal 8y ago
>>But good luck getting into those shops. Cronyism and nepotism abound. Any job that pays $130k/yr will have these sort of dynamics. Precious opportunities don't come along unless you have some serious leverage up management. That's not just true with trucking but with any job on earth.

InfernalLogic 8y ago

I'm making way more money now as a dev contractor... but I do miss a lot of things about my 9-month stint in the IBEW. There were definitely dirt bags in the union, but there were more guys who had a real interest in taking care of their union brothers. That, and coming home tired with dirty hands felt way better than finally deciding to shut my computer off and go hang out with my family.

corodra 8y ago
Well yea, inspectors of any agency are terrified to fuck with the IBEW lol. They only do so when they have their shit squared away. I love how on big job sites, they would have their reps, banners and make sure all their guys have IBEW bling to ward off inspectors like garlic for vampires.

anoncoward111 8y ago

This is one of the main reasons I am so heavily in favor of UBI, even though I am quite the anarchist if we are talking about idealism and not pragmatism. There IS money being made out there by large firms and small firms alike, but it is absolutely NOT based on merit or skill at all. Whether a business is a failure or a success is 99% based on the relationships and contracts it forms. Typically, unskilled managers and executives will forge the deal FIRST, and then go get the expertise and skilled laborers after. Startups are an exception to this rule, since the technology is all so new. But rapidly, we all see the "money guys" and the "business guys" coming in to the profession day by day, buying up tech, creating bogus certifications and so on that just add the cruft and bureaucracy that monopolies need to survive. For every trucker making $130,000 a year, there's 100 truckers making $35,000 a year. For every trucker making $30,000 a year, there's probably 10,000 unemployed or underemployed people begging for the chance to make middle class money rather than $10 an hour at Burger King

oconnor663 8y ago
> There IS money being made out there by large firms and small firms alike, but it is absolutely NOT based on merit or skill at all. That's a pretty broad generalization. I'm not sure I know how to frame that question in an answerable way, much less that I know the answer off the top of my head.
EGreg 8y ago
You can be an anarchist and still be for UBI!
- dimensi0nal 8y ago
  How can UBI exist without statism?
  - EGreg 8y ago
    Voluntary redistribution of wealth by a cryptocurrency. Look at groupcurrency.org
    - fiblye 8y ago
      People could voluntarily distribute their wealth today if they wanted to. Few do. The crypto meme won't be changing that.
      - EGreg 8y ago
        And how would they airdrop money to everyone else in the community every day?
        corodra 8y ago
        Yea, but how do you airdrop electronic devices to utilize crypto for those that don't have electronic devices? If utilizing crypto and all it's blockchain glory to those who don't have access to computers/smartphones/internet has been answered, I'm all ears. Then cool. But I see that as an infrastructure issue that no one has directly answered.

kamaal 8y ago

>>But good luck getting into those shops. Cronyism and nepotism abound. Any job that pays $130k/yr will have these sort of dynamics. Precious opportunities don't come along unless you have some serious leverage up management. That's not just true with trucking but with any job on earth.