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That's odd. I live in Geneva, Switzerland, where everything is expensive. College-educated people have huge salaries here, but it rises the cost of labor accord

That's odd. I live in Geneva, Switzerland, where everything is expensive. College-educated people have huge salaries here, but it rises the cost of labor accordingly. Dishwasher installation was about $400 cash, babysitters take $20/hour. Nobody here will work for less. Why it isn't the case in SV?

ok_coo 7y ago
Because in America the free market applies to everything except for labor. /s Seriously though, in the US practically every other option is considered before wages are raised. Wage suppression is real even if people don't want to admit it.
- atemerev 7y ago
  Well, it's not only wages. Even if you pay cash to illegal immigrants here, it still will be quite expensive, they need money too (If you are not that rich, you can find cheap food here, cheap clothing, etc — but certainly not cheap labor). Perhaps it is the culture — the Swiss expect to pay a lot for everything, and prefer local-sourced products and services.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    It's supply. We have a lot of supply of labor. As the supply of [competent] labor goes down, the wages will rise, as they are right now in the US.
marcosdumay 7y ago
Because people in Switzerland are richer than in the US.
- atemerev 7y ago
  Comparing the general population, perhaps. Comparing professionals — maybe not, I am a software engineer here, and I earn less than somebody of my qualifications would earn in Silicon Valley.
- eloisant 7y ago
  I don't think tech workers in Silicon Valley are poorer than the Swiss. They can afford $20/h daycare. As far as the rest of the population... Well they'd be richer if they were paid decent wages!
  - atemerev 7y ago
    We don’t have legal “minimal wage” here in Geneva (there are some other cantons, which have it, but not us). There are certainly not enough jobs for everybody here, and many other issues, but low wages somehow isn’t one of the problems. I wonder how that works.

ok_coo 7y ago

Because in America the free market applies to everything except for labor. /s Seriously though, in the US practically every other option is considered before wages are raised. Wage suppression is real even if people don't want to admit it.

atemerev 7y ago
Well, it's not only wages. Even if you pay cash to illegal immigrants here, it still will be quite expensive, they need money too (If you are not that rich, you can find cheap food here, cheap clothing, etc — but certainly not cheap labor). Perhaps it is the culture — the Swiss expect to pay a lot for everything, and prefer local-sourced products and services.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  It's supply. We have a lot of supply of labor. As the supply of [competent] labor goes down, the wages will rise, as they are right now in the US.

marcosdumay 7y ago

Because people in Switzerland are richer than in the US.

atemerev 7y ago
Comparing the general population, perhaps. Comparing professionals — maybe not, I am a software engineer here, and I earn less than somebody of my qualifications would earn in Silicon Valley.
eloisant 7y ago
I don't think tech workers in Silicon Valley are poorer than the Swiss. They can afford $20/h daycare. As far as the rest of the population... Well they'd be richer if they were paid decent wages!
- atemerev 7y ago
  We don’t have legal “minimal wage” here in Geneva (there are some other cantons, which have it, but not us). There are certainly not enough jobs for everybody here, and many other issues, but low wages somehow isn’t one of the problems. I wonder how that works.