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"Between 2010 and 2017, the number of manicurists and pedicurists doubled" Lots of middle class women get manicures and pedicures. Besides, as hourly pay at th
by Bostonian 7y ago
"Between 2010 and 2017, the number of manicurists and pedicurists doubled"
Lots of middle class women get manicures and pedicures. Besides, as hourly pay at the top rises, the rich are willing to pay more per hour for labor that saves them time. Economic growth is not a zero sum game.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoDo you honestly believe the rich tip more if their wealth moves from 100 to 125 million?
- vorpalhex 7y agoDo you honestly believe the rich wouldn't drop an extra $120 surcharge to have someone come to them and do their nails during a teleconference as opposed to taking an hour to go to the salon?
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoI think those services existed before, they would have been more rare and expensive, and as they grow more common the prices on those services will drop.
- knightofmars 7y agoI think you're forgetting that wealth trickles down. Extreme extra-strong emphasis on the "trickles".
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoI just don't know if that trickle rate increases as there's more to trickle. If you're already having all your desires fulfilled, why spend more?
- knightofmars 7y agoMy comment was tongue and cheek. I agree with you. Even if the trickle rate were to increase it's a joke. It's horse and sparrow theory, "If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows."
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoAh, ok - sorry. I seem to have said something unpopular, so I wasn't sure if people were actually defending trickle down or not.
- nybble41 7y agoSpending to satisfy your own desires directly benefits the buyer and the seller—that's the part people tend to focus on when discussing the "trickle down" effect—but what doesn't get spent on consumption ends up invested instead. That improves the productivity of labor, allows more goods to be produced at lower cost, and ultimately benefits everyone. Trade is good, but the greatest external benefit to society comes when one consumes less than one earns, thus leaving more for others. Even just stuffing the money in a mattress would benefit others by reducing the competition for goods and services; it's not as good as a profitable investment, but it's better than wasting resources on malinvestment.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y agoWouldn't that suggest that the interest rate should be something astronomical?
- nybble41 7y agoI'm not sure where you're getting a connection to high interest rates. I would expect just the opposite; if people have their desires satisfied and are looking to invest what's left over then their time preference will be lower (more willing to wait) and money should be easier to get (lower interest rates on loans).
- Bostonian 7y agoI got some downvotes, but it is true that wage levels for service jobs reflect the wealth of the people consuming those services. It is not more difficult to drive a taxi, cut hair, clean a house, or babysit in a rich country than a poor one, but those jobs pay better in real terms in a rich country, because the people paying for those services earn much more in rich countries and are willing to pay more to save time.