3 ms·

You will go to great lengths to give a reactionary "it's actually not that bad" or "this is actually good!" to every suggestion that the status quo may not be t

by jahaja 6y ago

You will go to great lengths to give a reactionary "it's actually not that bad" or "this is actually good!" to every suggestion that the status quo may not be that good for a lot of people, won't you? On a broad variety of topics as well. Wild cherry-picking, leaving out relevant information in comparisons etc. Just in this post: * No mention of childcare costs. * Apparently the working class shouldn't bother too much with higher education. * No mention of all the pitfalls within US health insurances that causes costs a low-income earner just can't afford. * Some wild cherry-picking regarding housing costs in the US instead of acknowledging that in Europe these are much more general, in every city, albeit perhaps not in the city center.

rayiner 6y ago
My point isn’t “it’s not that bad” but rather “people are focusing on the wrong problems” or are enthralled by the wrong solutions. Just in this post: > No mention of childcare costs. That’s because I addressed it in my parent post: “No, $10/hour jobs won’t support a kid or pay for daycare. If that’s the concern, the government should pay people who have kids and provide free daycare.” The vast majority of people making $10/hour don’t have kids. If childcare costs are the concern, then let’s focus on childcare costs. It doesn’t make sense to talk about whether “$10 is a living wage” by including expenses that most people making that income don’t have. > Apparently the working class shouldn't bother too much with higher education. Yes. Just about 30% of young people in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy get a college degree. These are some of the most prosperous countries in the world. Most of the population doesn’t need to go to college. We should take the money that we would spend on free college (which will increase black-white wealth inequality) and use it for something worthwhile, like Corey Booker‘s baby bonds. Subsidizing a vast army of professors and administrators teaching kids underwater basket weaving is lighting public money on fire. > No mention of all the pitfalls within US health insurances that causes costs a low-income earner just can't afford. The ACA is a real game changer in this respect. People don’t really appreciate how much it does for folks in the $10/hour wage bracket. > Some wild cherry-picking regarding housing costs in the US instead of acknowledging that in Europe these are much more general, in every city, albeit perhaps not in the city center Americans spend among the lowest percentage of their income on housing in the OECD, but live in among the biggest houses: https://mises.org/power-market/americans-have-much-more-living-space-europeans https://mises.org/power-market/americans-have-much-more-livi... In fact, low-income American households have similar sized living spaces to average French households. The anecdotes about Memphis and Clear Lake aren’t “cherry picking.” I’m trying to show why America has such affordable housing. It’s because Memphis (or rather the suburbs) and places like it are where Americans live. Out of 315 million Americans, 260 million live somewhere other than the metro areas of New York, DC, LA, or SF. And whereas about half of Europeans in a metro area tend to live “in the city” in the United States 70-80% live outside the city. Even in DC, one of the most expensive cities in America, 85% of the metro area population lives in the cheaper areas outside the city. (And many of them are much cheaper.)
- jahaja 6y ago
  I've noticed that you've recently started using the US racial divide to peddle your reactionary thoughts. It's so cynically dishonest it pisses me off. What you're saying here for example is that the US should not make higher education available for the working class (and some random rabble about basket weaving) because that will increase the black-white wealth inequality? What the actual fuck? You have an disproportional poor black population and your take is that to withhold equal opportunity to higher education is in their interest? > It doesn’t make sense to talk about whether “$10 is a living wage” by including expenses that most people making that income don’t have. How much do all those folks in the gig economy make in the US? How about the immigrants from latin america? They doesn't seem to fit your age demographics. Furthermore, assuming that your stats are true, how many more dollars do we need to add to start creeping into people-with-kids territory? 1, 2, 3 dollars? Will that suddenly make it livable? > The ACA is a real game changer in this respect. So to make it clear, since you avoided the question. Is healthcare for people making $10/h free in the same sense as in EU because if ACA? > Out of 315 million Americans, 260 million live somewhere other than the metro areas of New York, DC, LA, or SF. Well obviously? They can't afford to live in a metro in the US.

by jahaja 6y ago

rayiner 6y ago

My point isn’t “it’s not that bad” but rather “people are focusing on the wrong problems” or are enthralled by the wrong solutions. Just in this post: > No mention of childcare costs. That’s because I addressed it in my parent post: “No, $10/hour jobs won’t support a kid or pay for daycare. If that’s the concern, the government should pay people who have kids and provide free daycare.” The vast majority of people making $10/hour don’t have kids. If childcare costs are the concern, then let’s focus on childcare costs. It doesn’t make sense to talk about whether “$10 is a living wage” by including expenses that most people making that income don’t have. > Apparently the working class shouldn't bother too much with higher education. Yes. Just about 30% of young people in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy get a college degree. These are some of the most prosperous countries in the world. Most of the population doesn’t need to go to college. We should take the money that we would spend on free college (which will increase black-white wealth inequality) and use it for something worthwhile, like Corey Booker‘s baby bonds. Subsidizing a vast army of professors and administrators teaching kids underwater basket weaving is lighting public money on fire. > No mention of all the pitfalls within US health insurances that causes costs a low-income earner just can't afford. The ACA is a real game changer in this respect. People don’t really appreciate how much it does for folks in the $10/hour wage bracket. > Some wild cherry-picking regarding housing costs in the US instead of acknowledging that in Europe these are much more general, in every city, albeit perhaps not in the city center Americans spend among the lowest percentage of their income on housing in the OECD, but live in among the biggest houses: https://mises.org/power-market/americans-have-much-more-living-space-europeans https://mises.org/power-market/americans-have-much-more-livi... In fact, low-income American households have similar sized living spaces to average French households. The anecdotes about Memphis and Clear Lake aren’t “cherry picking.” I’m trying to show why America has such affordable housing. It’s because Memphis (or rather the suburbs) and places like it are where Americans live. Out of 315 million Americans, 260 million live somewhere other than the metro areas of New York, DC, LA, or SF. And whereas about half of Europeans in a metro area tend to live “in the city” in the United States 70-80% live outside the city. Even in DC, one of the most expensive cities in America, 85% of the metro area population lives in the cheaper areas outside the city. (And many of them are much cheaper.)

jahaja 6y ago
I've noticed that you've recently started using the US racial divide to peddle your reactionary thoughts. It's so cynically dishonest it pisses me off. What you're saying here for example is that the US should not make higher education available for the working class (and some random rabble about basket weaving) because that will increase the black-white wealth inequality? What the actual fuck? You have an disproportional poor black population and your take is that to withhold equal opportunity to higher education is in their interest? > It doesn’t make sense to talk about whether “$10 is a living wage” by including expenses that most people making that income don’t have. How much do all those folks in the gig economy make in the US? How about the immigrants from latin america? They doesn't seem to fit your age demographics. Furthermore, assuming that your stats are true, how many more dollars do we need to add to start creeping into people-with-kids territory? 1, 2, 3 dollars? Will that suddenly make it livable? > The ACA is a real game changer in this respect. So to make it clear, since you avoided the question. Is healthcare for people making $10/h free in the same sense as in EU because if ACA? > Out of 315 million Americans, 260 million live somewhere other than the metro areas of New York, DC, LA, or SF. Well obviously? They can't afford to live in a metro in the US.