3 ms·

Yeah, but you'd be given room and board rather than a wage. It's indentured servitude with extra steps.

by Mizza 5y ago

gruez 5y ago
Is all employment "indentured servitude with extra step" since the wages from your employment is used to pay for "room and board"?
- Mizza 5y ago
  Heyy, would you look at that! Now we're getting somewhere.
- sangnoir 5y ago
  I'd argue if you don't have any money left over after paying food and board (and need food stamps), it's functionally the same as indentured servitude. So, not all employment is like this; but only those jobs that do not pay a living wage.
  - gruez 5y ago
    The difference is that you can't decide to fuck off (eg. go backpacking or live with your parents) whenever you feel like it if you're an indentured servant. Furthermore, "food and board" is an imperfect metric, because even though it may seem essential, it has a lot of discretionary components built in. For instance, buying organic or ordering takeout for "food", or getting a luxury condo or a nice school district for "housing". I'm not saying everyone working on amazon living paycheck to paycheck is because they ordered ubereats every night and live in a luxury condo, but it's something to keep in mind when we're narrowing down what exactly "indentured servitude with extra steps" means.
    - sangnoir 5y ago
      > The difference is that you can't decide to fuck off (eg. go backpacking or live with your parents) whenever you feel like it if you're an indentured servant. Do you honestly think people willingly work at McJobs that still require them to live on food stamps when they have better options available to them, like living with their parents?! Amazon's warehouse workers are not buying organic takeout or getting luxury condominiums, they are buying the cheapest (unhealthy) food and living in the cheapest parts of town. What you asking to keep in mind sounds a lot like a rehash of Reagan's incorrect "welfare queen" characterization from the 70's. Or more recently: "Why do poor people need a smartphone for?"
      - BeetleB 5y ago
        > Do you honestly think people willingly work at McJobs that still require them to live on food stamps when they have better options available to them, like living with their parents?! Just less than an hour ago I was listening to the radio and they were interviewing someone who literally fits this description: They voluntarily left their parent's house and worked at McDonalds for a bunch of years. Not going to school or anything. Living their own life. I also personally know someone who did this. Comes from an upper middle class family. Not kicked out of the house or anything. Just didn't like the small town he was in. Moved to another state and worked at McDonald's while doing some art projects when not working. People do this. All. The. Time. People here on HN (and especially in the comments for this submission) are showing how way out of touch their world view is from reality. How many of you here even know any Amazon warehouse workers? I know two, and talking to them has impacted my view of Amazon. Anti-disclaimer: I don't work for Amazon and prefer not to buy from them.
      - gruez 5y ago
        >Do you honestly think people willingly work at McJobs that still require them to live on food stamps when they have better options available to them, like living with their parents?! Living with their parents is an alternate option, that may or may not be the better option. Maybe it is cheaper and has comparable living standards, but at the same time it might also be in the middle of nowhere. The point is that there's a choice available, which isn't the case for indentured servitude. >Amazon's warehouse workers are not buying organic takeout or getting luxury condominiums [...] I specifically said they're not all doing it. I brought that up not to disparage the plight of the average amazon worker, but to point out just factoring in room and board fails to account for certain cases.
- fwip 5y ago
  You've almost re-discovered the term "wage slavery," keep going, you're almost there!
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

Yeah, but you'd be given room and board rather than a wage. It's indentured servitude with extra steps.

by Mizza 5y ago

Yeah, but you'd be given room and board rather than a wage. It's indentured servitude with extra steps.

Is all employment "indentured servitude with extra step" since the wages from your employment is used to pay for "room and board"?

Mizza 5y ago
Heyy, would you look at that! Now we're getting somewhere.
sangnoir 5y ago
I'd argue if you don't have any money left over after paying food and board (and need food stamps), it's functionally the same as indentured servitude. So, not all employment is like this; but only those jobs that do not pay a living wage.
- gruez 5y ago
  The difference is that you can't decide to fuck off (eg. go backpacking or live with your parents) whenever you feel like it if you're an indentured servant. Furthermore, "food and board" is an imperfect metric, because even though it may seem essential, it has a lot of discretionary components built in. For instance, buying organic or ordering takeout for "food", or getting a luxury condo or a nice school district for "housing". I'm not saying everyone working on amazon living paycheck to paycheck is because they ordered ubereats every night and live in a luxury condo, but it's something to keep in mind when we're narrowing down what exactly "indentured servitude with extra steps" means.
  - sangnoir 5y ago
    > The difference is that you can't decide to fuck off (eg. go backpacking or live with your parents) whenever you feel like it if you're an indentured servant. Do you honestly think people willingly work at McJobs that still require them to live on food stamps when they have better options available to them, like living with their parents?! Amazon's warehouse workers are not buying organic takeout or getting luxury condominiums, they are buying the cheapest (unhealthy) food and living in the cheapest parts of town. What you asking to keep in mind sounds a lot like a rehash of Reagan's incorrect "welfare queen" characterization from the 70's. Or more recently: "Why do poor people need a smartphone for?"
    - BeetleB 5y ago
      > Do you honestly think people willingly work at McJobs that still require them to live on food stamps when they have better options available to them, like living with their parents?! Just less than an hour ago I was listening to the radio and they were interviewing someone who literally fits this description: They voluntarily left their parent's house and worked at McDonalds for a bunch of years. Not going to school or anything. Living their own life. I also personally know someone who did this. Comes from an upper middle class family. Not kicked out of the house or anything. Just didn't like the small town he was in. Moved to another state and worked at McDonald's while doing some art projects when not working. People do this. All. The. Time. People here on HN (and especially in the comments for this submission) are showing how way out of touch their world view is from reality. How many of you here even know any Amazon warehouse workers? I know two, and talking to them has impacted my view of Amazon. Anti-disclaimer: I don't work for Amazon and prefer not to buy from them.
    - gruez 5y ago
      >Do you honestly think people willingly work at McJobs that still require them to live on food stamps when they have better options available to them, like living with their parents?! Living with their parents is an alternate option, that may or may not be the better option. Maybe it is cheaper and has comparable living standards, but at the same time it might also be in the middle of nowhere. The point is that there's a choice available, which isn't the case for indentured servitude. >Amazon's warehouse workers are not buying organic takeout or getting luxury condominiums [...] I specifically said they're not all doing it. I brought that up not to disparage the plight of the average amazon worker, but to point out just factoring in room and board fails to account for certain cases.
fwip 5y ago
You've almost re-discovered the term "wage slavery," keep going, you're almost there!
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]