4 ms·

People are worth what most companies are willing to pay them.

msbarnett 7y ago
That doesn’t follow. Like this blog post points out, there’s a ton of postings out there with these absurdly low pay expectations. And yet, companies can, and do, struggle to fill $120,000 a year jobs. It can simultaneously be the case that the majority of the market is willing to pay peanuts AND the average developer routinely signs for far, far more than that. The majority of the market simply never finds any takers whatsoever for their “genius social media idea I own it you have to sign an NDA for, you do all the work, $15/hr”.
- gnulinux 7y ago
  Yes I don't disagree with that. I must correct myself, for my wording wasn't precise. People are worth what most employees' employers are willing to pay.
  - ABCLAW 7y ago
    >People are worth what most employees' employers are willing to pay. Companies must transact for labour at a rate that transfers wealth to them. On average, employees must be able generate more value to a firm than their wages, otherwise employing people would be a net negative to a firm.
    - fiter 7y ago
      You say transfer like it's coming from the employee. Adam Smith would say the wealth is being created by the resources that the company brings along with the labor that the employee brings.
      - ABCLAW 7y ago
        >You say transfer like it's coming from the employee. That's not what I said at all. The first sentence is a constraint on firm survival, not a statement about where wealth is derived.
adrusi 7y ago
No, people are worth whatever is the most any company is willing to pay them.
- john-radio 7y ago
  Almost - it's that, or the value they can create on their own, whichever is greater, as valued by that person.
dinkudunk 7y ago
People are worth the use value they can produce. If they can produce a commodity faster than the socially necessary labor time they're worth more than average. If not they're worth less than average.

That doesn’t follow. Like this blog post points out, there’s a ton of postings out there with these absurdly low pay expectations. And yet, companies can, and do, struggle to fill $120,000 a year jobs. It can simultaneously be the case that the majority of the market is willing to pay peanuts AND the average developer routinely signs for far, far more than that. The majority of the market simply never finds any takers whatsoever for their “genius social media idea I own it you have to sign an NDA for, you do all the work, $15/hr”.

gnulinux 7y ago
Yes I don't disagree with that. I must correct myself, for my wording wasn't precise. People are worth what most employees' employers are willing to pay.
- ABCLAW 7y ago
  >People are worth what most employees' employers are willing to pay. Companies must transact for labour at a rate that transfers wealth to them. On average, employees must be able generate more value to a firm than their wages, otherwise employing people would be a net negative to a firm.
  - fiter 7y ago
    You say transfer like it's coming from the employee. Adam Smith would say the wealth is being created by the resources that the company brings along with the labor that the employee brings.
    - ABCLAW 7y ago
      >You say transfer like it's coming from the employee. That's not what I said at all. The first sentence is a constraint on firm survival, not a statement about where wealth is derived.

adrusi 7y ago

No, people are worth whatever is the most any company is willing to pay them.

john-radio 7y ago
Almost - it's that, or the value they can create on their own, whichever is greater, as valued by that person.

dinkudunk 7y ago

People are worth the use value they can produce. If they can produce a commodity faster than the socially necessary labor time they're worth more than average. If not they're worth less than average.