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I think it would be unusual to see wage gains. Wage gains at this point would occur when labor pressures / basically existentially threatens capital, and proba

I think it would be unusual to see wage gains. Wage gains at this point would occur when labor pressures / basically existentially threatens capital, and probably nothing else. We don’t see a lot of labor pressure; there is no organized labor movement left anymore. There has been more and more talk about developers unionizing, although less about money and more about ethics (e.g. the AI stuff with Google). I say that to suggest we might see other areas unionize, and obviously they will demand more money, and then wages will rise. Unfortunately, the catalyst for pressure on capital / resurrection of labor power might be a “more-severe-than-2008” style depression. Because even if wages aren’t rising now, things are kind-of-sort-of good / not terrible for a lot of people. I think most people would be scared to risk it if life is bearable. Such a recession (if it occurs) would undoubtedly strip away any of the defenses of the ruling classes that remained after 2008 (and have slowly been hammered at ever since), so the ppl with the power will be weak and those with the demands will be extraordinarily motivated and with nothing to lose.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
arkades 8y ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/13/a-minimum-wage-worker-cant-afford-a-2-bedroom-apartment-anywhere-in-the-u-s/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/13/a-min... Most minimum wage workers can’t afford a 1br apartment in most of the country. “Kind of sort of not terrible” may actually be a high target to aim for.
- Eridrus 8y ago
  One of the surprising things about poverty statistics is that you find that most people classified as living in poverty are families, because your expenses go up drastically. Many young people - eg those making minimum wage - live with roommates or in studio apartments and don't really feel significantly disadvantaged by the fact that they can't afford a 1br apartment. I say this not to say that everyone is doing fine, but that the details can matter a lot. On a different note, for a fixed amount of housing stock, it is a purely positional good, you can't improve the number of people who can afford a 1br by simply paying people more, you have to build more, or enforce strict rent controls which makes it not a problem of income, but one of luck and inevitably corruption.
  - killjoywashere 8y ago
    I recall an interview with E.B White who just, incidentally, as part of a larger answer, mentioned he roomed with, I want to say three, other guys when he first graduated college and moved west (to SF if I recall). That he had roommates at that agr seemed to be stated with nonchalance that he would use to set the stage, like, to mention he was eating lunch with friends when something interesting happened.
    - toomanybeersies 8y ago
      Is it unusual to have roommates after you graduate university in the USA? In New Zealand it's considered normal to share a house until you have a long term partner who you move in with, then you find your own house. I know people in their 30's who still share a house or apartment. It's a social thing as much as a financial thing, your roommates are like platonic partners.
      - edraferi 8y ago
        This is common in the US.
      - killjoywashere 8y ago
        I personally spent the following six months with 2 roommates and the next six months on a ship with 6 roommates in a room slightly larger that my parents' closet.
        toomanybeersies 8y ago
        Since we're comparing stories, I spent 16 months living in backpacker hostels, including 12 months in the same one. People always ask me how I managed to live like that, but they don't realise that you tend to adapt to your living conditions fairly quickly. If you can manage a couple of months, you can manage a year. It's actually weird for me to live in a house with only a couple of other people now. I got so used to having people to hang out with practically on tap. There's always somebody to drink with, or watch a movie with, or snuggle up next to. It's strange for me to come home from work to an empty house.
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  Is it normal or expected that a minimum wage worker could afford to live on their own in a 1br apartment? Maybe it's a cultural thing, but in New Zealand it would be expected that in that situation you share a house/apartment with other people.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

arkades 8y ago

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/13/a-minimum-wage-worker-cant-afford-a-2-bedroom-apartment-anywhere-in-the-u-s/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/13/a-min... Most minimum wage workers can’t afford a 1br apartment in most of the country. “Kind of sort of not terrible” may actually be a high target to aim for.

Eridrus 8y ago
One of the surprising things about poverty statistics is that you find that most people classified as living in poverty are families, because your expenses go up drastically. Many young people - eg those making minimum wage - live with roommates or in studio apartments and don't really feel significantly disadvantaged by the fact that they can't afford a 1br apartment. I say this not to say that everyone is doing fine, but that the details can matter a lot. On a different note, for a fixed amount of housing stock, it is a purely positional good, you can't improve the number of people who can afford a 1br by simply paying people more, you have to build more, or enforce strict rent controls which makes it not a problem of income, but one of luck and inevitably corruption.
- killjoywashere 8y ago
  I recall an interview with E.B White who just, incidentally, as part of a larger answer, mentioned he roomed with, I want to say three, other guys when he first graduated college and moved west (to SF if I recall). That he had roommates at that agr seemed to be stated with nonchalance that he would use to set the stage, like, to mention he was eating lunch with friends when something interesting happened.
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    Is it unusual to have roommates after you graduate university in the USA? In New Zealand it's considered normal to share a house until you have a long term partner who you move in with, then you find your own house. I know people in their 30's who still share a house or apartment. It's a social thing as much as a financial thing, your roommates are like platonic partners.
    - edraferi 8y ago
      This is common in the US.
    - killjoywashere 8y ago
      I personally spent the following six months with 2 roommates and the next six months on a ship with 6 roommates in a room slightly larger that my parents' closet.
      - toomanybeersies 8y ago
        Since we're comparing stories, I spent 16 months living in backpacker hostels, including 12 months in the same one. People always ask me how I managed to live like that, but they don't realise that you tend to adapt to your living conditions fairly quickly. If you can manage a couple of months, you can manage a year. It's actually weird for me to live in a house with only a couple of other people now. I got so used to having people to hang out with practically on tap. There's always somebody to drink with, or watch a movie with, or snuggle up next to. It's strange for me to come home from work to an empty house.
toomanybeersies 8y ago
Is it normal or expected that a minimum wage worker could afford to live on their own in a 1br apartment? Maybe it's a cultural thing, but in New Zealand it would be expected that in that situation you share a house/apartment with other people.