8 ms·

> A $10/hr job with no benefits is tremendously different than a $60K/yr job with health care. It's also tremendously different than not having a job at all.

> A $10/hr job with no benefits is tremendously different than a $60K/yr job with health care. It's also tremendously different than not having a job at all. We need to be at "okay" before we can be at "good". And $10/hr is a living wage in most of the US. It ain't comfortable by any means, and doesn't leave room for savings, but it's doable in areas that have a reasonable cost of living (namely: not SF or NYC). That's not to say we can't or shouldn't do better, but it's a start.

hckr_news 6y ago
> And $10/hr is a living wage in most of the US Terribly disconnected comment. Most single bedroom apartments even in BFE would eat your paycheck.
- xwdv 6y ago
  That’s why you get a roommate. Case closed.
  - dunce2020 6y ago
    It's not a loving wage if you need roommates
    - missedthecue 6y ago
      I think that's an opinion, not a fact. There is no objective standard for what a "living wage" is.
    - xwdv 6y ago
      It absolutely is. Most people live with someone else. Living by yourself is a luxury.
      - dunce2020 6y ago
        If you need a second persons wages for shelter, its not a living wage.
- yellowapple 6y ago
  > Terribly disconnected comment My comment comes from direct first-hand experience earning only slightly more than that in a high-cost-of-living area with no roommates (albeit 8-ish years ago). EDIT: and also comes from having been unemployed twice and living on unemployment, which - again - only paid slightly more than that (in the same highish-cost-of-living area).
pphysch 6y ago
$10/hr is not "okay". $20/hr is where things start to get "okay" for a young single American living with roommates. As in, not constantly stressing about trying to make ends meet and your future. Being able to pay off student loans or slowly build savings.
- ChrisLomont 6y ago
  What do you do with the people that don't produce $20 an hour in value. Throw them out? Low wages are supposed to be entry level, meaning a person with no skills can get employed and start learning work skills to move up. >pay off student loans The average college grad starts at $25 an hour.
  - pphysch 6y ago
    Humans are more than the dollars they "produce", in my opinion. > a person with no skills can get employed and start learning work skills to move up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead-end_job https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead-end_job > The average college grad starts at $25 an hour Should be closer to "minimum" in an ideal world, but at least it's something.
    - missedthecue 6y ago
      "Humans are more than the dollars they "produce", in my opinion." You can believe this with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, but it will not change the inescapable law of economics that hiring someone at a wage which is higher than the value they produce is called charity. This is, of course, unsustainable for the sector from which nearly all demand for labour is derived (business) and therefore it would be an axiomatic truth that this situation will not result in net benefits for those with skills that do not justify a wage equal or higher than a legal minimum wage.
      - pphysch 6y ago
        > You can believe this with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, but it will not change the inescapable law of economics that hiring someone at a wage which is higher than the value they produce is called charity. So mega-charity for boardroom vampires and Big Finance thumb-twiddlers is acceptable, but not for workers? I don't follow your reasoning as it relates to reality. It is possible to govern a society that doesn't worship money above all else. It's okay to be charitable.

hckr_news 6y ago

> And $10/hr is a living wage in most of the US Terribly disconnected comment. Most single bedroom apartments even in BFE would eat your paycheck.

xwdv 6y ago
That’s why you get a roommate. Case closed.
- dunce2020 6y ago
  It's not a loving wage if you need roommates
  - missedthecue 6y ago
    I think that's an opinion, not a fact. There is no objective standard for what a "living wage" is.
  - xwdv 6y ago
    It absolutely is. Most people live with someone else. Living by yourself is a luxury.
    - dunce2020 6y ago
      If you need a second persons wages for shelter, its not a living wage.
yellowapple 6y ago
> Terribly disconnected comment My comment comes from direct first-hand experience earning only slightly more than that in a high-cost-of-living area with no roommates (albeit 8-ish years ago). EDIT: and also comes from having been unemployed twice and living on unemployment, which - again - only paid slightly more than that (in the same highish-cost-of-living area).

pphysch 6y ago

$10/hr is not "okay". $20/hr is where things start to get "okay" for a young single American living with roommates. As in, not constantly stressing about trying to make ends meet and your future. Being able to pay off student loans or slowly build savings.

ChrisLomont 6y ago
What do you do with the people that don't produce $20 an hour in value. Throw them out? Low wages are supposed to be entry level, meaning a person with no skills can get employed and start learning work skills to move up. >pay off student loans The average college grad starts at $25 an hour.
- pphysch 6y ago
  Humans are more than the dollars they "produce", in my opinion. > a person with no skills can get employed and start learning work skills to move up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead-end_job https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead-end_job > The average college grad starts at $25 an hour Should be closer to "minimum" in an ideal world, but at least it's something.
  - missedthecue 6y ago
    "Humans are more than the dollars they "produce", in my opinion." You can believe this with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, but it will not change the inescapable law of economics that hiring someone at a wage which is higher than the value they produce is called charity. This is, of course, unsustainable for the sector from which nearly all demand for labour is derived (business) and therefore it would be an axiomatic truth that this situation will not result in net benefits for those with skills that do not justify a wage equal or higher than a legal minimum wage.
    - pphysch 6y ago
      > You can believe this with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, but it will not change the inescapable law of economics that hiring someone at a wage which is higher than the value they produce is called charity. So mega-charity for boardroom vampires and Big Finance thumb-twiddlers is acceptable, but not for workers? I don't follow your reasoning as it relates to reality. It is possible to govern a society that doesn't worship money above all else. It's okay to be charitable.