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The vaccine is all the stimulus I needed to get out and spend, contributing to inflation. The direct payments were means-tested and the vaccine is not. Imagine

by fundad 5y ago

The vaccine is all the stimulus I needed to get out and spend, contributing to inflation. The direct payments were means-tested and the vaccine is not. Imagine the millions of people, who took COVID seriously, ready to spend money on experiences and paying resort prices even on a visit to family in depopulated parts. Housing costs went up over pandemic, do you think restaurant workers aren’t the FIRST ones prices out of the expensive Berkeley-adjacent areas? This has been the primary warning about unaffordable housing. For 10 years people have been asking how you’re going to find good help where working people can’t afford to live. Also sexual harassment and sub-$4/hr tipped min wage didn’t stop for people who were able to keep restaurants jobs over pandemic and workers talk. I know, the nerve. Next they’ll organize…

throwaway7492 5y ago
I appreciate your analysis of Berkeley housing prices possibly driving out low wage workers. That's the kind of discussion and analysis I was asking for, as opposed to the strawman in the article. That said, Berkeley has ~$16 minimum wage, which applies to restaurant workers before tips. Additionally, housing prices plummeted in Berkeley during the pandemic. My apartment dropped 16.9% in price during the pandemic, although prices are now returning. I believe the average for San Francisco was closer to a 7% drop. I do not have data for Berkeley specifically. Couple that with an eviction moratorium followed by rent forgiveness, and I don't believe that your argument holds. Again, I appreciate the further discussion and analysis, as this is an interesting and far from simple economic phenomenon.
- runnerup 5y ago
  As I noted above, I'm not seeing the unemployment. I believe restaurants are truthful when they say they can't find labor. But I don't think that's because the labor market is smaller. It seems there are normal amounts of unemployed people and if anything, the size of the US "labor pool" has gone up by a few million people since the pandemic started.

by fundad 5y ago

throwaway7492 5y ago

I appreciate your analysis of Berkeley housing prices possibly driving out low wage workers. That's the kind of discussion and analysis I was asking for, as opposed to the strawman in the article. That said, Berkeley has ~$16 minimum wage, which applies to restaurant workers before tips. Additionally, housing prices plummeted in Berkeley during the pandemic. My apartment dropped 16.9% in price during the pandemic, although prices are now returning. I believe the average for San Francisco was closer to a 7% drop. I do not have data for Berkeley specifically. Couple that with an eviction moratorium followed by rent forgiveness, and I don't believe that your argument holds. Again, I appreciate the further discussion and analysis, as this is an interesting and far from simple economic phenomenon.

runnerup 5y ago
As I noted above, I'm not seeing the unemployment. I believe restaurants are truthful when they say they can't find labor. But I don't think that's because the labor market is smaller. It seems there are normal amounts of unemployed people and if anything, the size of the US "labor pool" has gone up by a few million people since the pandemic started.