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If the world really needs more escalator mechanics, then salaries for them will rise commensurate to demand and people will train to become escalator mechanics.

If the world really needs more escalator mechanics, then salaries for them will rise commensurate to demand and people will train to become escalator mechanics. Until then, they'll continue with other pursuits that are more profitable to them. This is how things have always been, unless you want to reinstitute medieval guilds, and I don't see a problem with it. Generally, campaigning to make people to do something out of a sense of moral propriety is the wrong approach to creating change.

nostrebored 8y ago
That assumes perfect knowledge. How many of you have ever stopped to check what an escalator mechanic makes?
- dbcurtis 8y ago
  I know several elevator mechanics. It pays well, very well. Also is a very dangerous job. Its a special kind of personality. You need to be mechanically handy, and have some electronics and software sense as well. I suspect if more people were aware of what it paid, they would go for it, if they were willing to put up with hazards.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - Cacti 8y ago
    So what does it pay then?
  - syedkarim 8y ago
    How much dues it pay?
    - nostrademons 8y ago
      BLS says $80K/year. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/mobile/elevator-installers-and-repairers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/mobile/e... Not bad for a high-school education only, but when other people are millionaires because they happened to get into Bitcoin in 2011 or because they picked the right tech startup, I see why folks would rather put their efforts into getting lucky.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  You don’t need to assume perfect knowledge. There’s a reason the rich areas in town are all filled with doctors/lawyers/financiers/tech workers/engineers. They’re healthier, have better work hours, have more time and opportunity to move up the system. Anyone can see this, they would be stupid not to wish the same for their children. And to to put one’s body in the way of significant harm, and work late night hours and give up your social life, anyone who has the option of doing something else is going to want quite a bit of premium. Not just $80k/year. Same goes for needing someone in rural areas.
BucketSort 8y ago
You are assuming that the world is well ordered and that all things will balance like that, but it isn't. People don't see those jobs as options, they aren't even aware of the opportunities, and there is social stigma against being in the trades. Even if you make a nice living in the trades, you will take a hit to your social identity, making you less attractive to others. That's how toxic our culture is right now. People don't value good work anymore, they value branding and image. And we are going to collapse because of it.
- twblalock 8y ago
  > And we are going to collapse because of it. It's not that bad.
  - BucketSort 8y ago
    When we are electing the president by the same principle, I assure you that it is even worse than you can imagine. Societal collapse is imminent. Those who are comforted by their station in life always think they are living in a utopia. You are surrounded by fake smiles adorning people forced into subservience. At one time the myth that hard work and dedication would pay off in the end kept people in line, the "american dream" they called it. Now that myth has been tempered by reality, watching the last generation work all their lives with many having little to their names and no security is what looms over the current generation. We know it's a lie. That lie was keeping things together. We are heading into an age of great civil brawling fueled by immense economic pressure caused by corruption on all fronts.
    - eanzenberg 8y ago
      well that escalated quickly
    - unimpressive 8y ago
      Your narrative is not actually evidence (even if I suspect you may in fact be right).
Mizza 8y ago
This is such a shockingly naive worldview, but I see it almost every day. Solving needs and reaping rewards have become disconnected - this is the exact problem we're discussing here. In fact, solutions and rewards have become opposites in some cases, so it is more profitable to create problems than to solve them. This has become a significant portion of the economy across many sectors, but especially in advertising.
pessimizer 8y ago
What a beautiful, efficient world. Sadly, what one can do instead is not budget enough for escalator mechanics, complain that the escalator mechanic union is unreasonable or that there is a skills shortage, then let the escalators break down.
ehnto 8y ago
It's about more than profit. People have been encouraged to seek fullfilment in their work and so chase their dreams through university and plonk out the end with a piece of paper that doesn't make them money. It wouldn't occur to many people to do work outside of their degree because otherwise what was the point of the degree? If it were about profit everyone would work in remote mines or offshore drilling platforms from 18 until they couldn't anymore.

nostrebored 8y ago

That assumes perfect knowledge. How many of you have ever stopped to check what an escalator mechanic makes?

dbcurtis 8y ago
I know several elevator mechanics. It pays well, very well. Also is a very dangerous job. Its a special kind of personality. You need to be mechanically handy, and have some electronics and software sense as well. I suspect if more people were aware of what it paid, they would go for it, if they were willing to put up with hazards.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- Cacti 8y ago
  So what does it pay then?
- syedkarim 8y ago
  How much dues it pay?
  - nostrademons 8y ago
    BLS says $80K/year. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/mobile/elevator-installers-and-repairers.htm https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/mobile/e... Not bad for a high-school education only, but when other people are millionaires because they happened to get into Bitcoin in 2011 or because they picked the right tech startup, I see why folks would rather put their efforts into getting lucky.
lotsofpulp 8y ago
You don’t need to assume perfect knowledge. There’s a reason the rich areas in town are all filled with doctors/lawyers/financiers/tech workers/engineers. They’re healthier, have better work hours, have more time and opportunity to move up the system. Anyone can see this, they would be stupid not to wish the same for their children. And to to put one’s body in the way of significant harm, and work late night hours and give up your social life, anyone who has the option of doing something else is going to want quite a bit of premium. Not just $80k/year. Same goes for needing someone in rural areas.

BucketSort 8y ago

You are assuming that the world is well ordered and that all things will balance like that, but it isn't. People don't see those jobs as options, they aren't even aware of the opportunities, and there is social stigma against being in the trades. Even if you make a nice living in the trades, you will take a hit to your social identity, making you less attractive to others. That's how toxic our culture is right now. People don't value good work anymore, they value branding and image. And we are going to collapse because of it.

twblalock 8y ago
> And we are going to collapse because of it. It's not that bad.
- BucketSort 8y ago
  When we are electing the president by the same principle, I assure you that it is even worse than you can imagine. Societal collapse is imminent. Those who are comforted by their station in life always think they are living in a utopia. You are surrounded by fake smiles adorning people forced into subservience. At one time the myth that hard work and dedication would pay off in the end kept people in line, the "american dream" they called it. Now that myth has been tempered by reality, watching the last generation work all their lives with many having little to their names and no security is what looms over the current generation. We know it's a lie. That lie was keeping things together. We are heading into an age of great civil brawling fueled by immense economic pressure caused by corruption on all fronts.
  - eanzenberg 8y ago
    well that escalated quickly
  - unimpressive 8y ago
    Your narrative is not actually evidence (even if I suspect you may in fact be right).

Mizza 8y ago

This is such a shockingly naive worldview, but I see it almost every day. Solving needs and reaping rewards have become disconnected - this is the exact problem we're discussing here. In fact, solutions and rewards have become opposites in some cases, so it is more profitable to create problems than to solve them. This has become a significant portion of the economy across many sectors, but especially in advertising.

pessimizer 8y ago

What a beautiful, efficient world. Sadly, what one can do instead is not budget enough for escalator mechanics, complain that the escalator mechanic union is unreasonable or that there is a skills shortage, then let the escalators break down.

ehnto 8y ago

It's about more than profit. People have been encouraged to seek fullfilment in their work and so chase their dreams through university and plonk out the end with a piece of paper that doesn't make them money. It wouldn't occur to many people to do work outside of their degree because otherwise what was the point of the degree? If it were about profit everyone would work in remote mines or offshore drilling platforms from 18 until they couldn't anymore.