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I actually don’t think UBI will help much either. Minimum wage hikes are counterproductive - it’s a ban on jobs for people whose skills are worth less than the

I actually don’t think UBI will help much either. Minimum wage hikes are counterproductive - it’s a ban on jobs for people whose skills are worth less than the minimum wage, which are the poorest people who need the jobs most. It’s a terrible thing to say to someone - “The best you can do is $6/hr, so we as a society have decided you’re not allowed to work to support or feed yourself.” But we can make our society more functional to penalise poor people less. The people who can only run a 10 minute mile shouldn’t be forced to do it with a weighted vest. The people who can only run a 15 minute mile shouldn’t be banned from running at all.

rini17 5y ago
Is it actually possible to support and feed oneself for $5/hr and less? If it's too hard, plus considering people unable to do better jobs also have harder time saving money - why would you want to inflict that to anyone?
- sfblah 5y ago
  It probably isn't possible, but maybe if you combined that wage with various assistance programs, it could provide a path out of poverty for those who want to try. I'd much rather be able to get a job and start my journey than be prohibited from working.
- caffeine 5y ago
  The proposed minimum wage hike was $15/hr. If a job is worth $10/hr to get done, nobody will ever pay anyone $15 to do it. They will just not do it at all - so that’s 10/hr somebody could’ve earned that is just burned. You have to think of it like that: congressman standing in front of poor single mother, telling her “you’re not allowed to have this job, it’s for your own good”, and then lighting 60% of her desired salary on fire as she looks on in dismay. Eventually somebody will invent a robot or outsourcing solution that gets the job done for $10/hr. At no point was any of this ever helpful to that person who was willing to do the job.
  - rini17 5y ago
    Why must we paint everythign in terms of "evil politicians want to forbid people doing things"? You deny there's some underlying logic why democracies decided to implement minimal wages, why? So you assert labor demand is completely inflexible. Is this supported by evidence? Perhaps $15 is really too much, I don't know, but to help decide by now we should have hundred year worth of data no? We should want mothers to have some time and energy left to care for children when they come home. Are there any such $5-$10/hour jobs?
deleted 5y ago
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rini17 5y ago

Is it actually possible to support and feed oneself for $5/hr and less? If it's too hard, plus considering people unable to do better jobs also have harder time saving money - why would you want to inflict that to anyone?

sfblah 5y ago
It probably isn't possible, but maybe if you combined that wage with various assistance programs, it could provide a path out of poverty for those who want to try. I'd much rather be able to get a job and start my journey than be prohibited from working.
caffeine 5y ago
The proposed minimum wage hike was $15/hr. If a job is worth $10/hr to get done, nobody will ever pay anyone $15 to do it. They will just not do it at all - so that’s 10/hr somebody could’ve earned that is just burned. You have to think of it like that: congressman standing in front of poor single mother, telling her “you’re not allowed to have this job, it’s for your own good”, and then lighting 60% of her desired salary on fire as she looks on in dismay. Eventually somebody will invent a robot or outsourcing solution that gets the job done for $10/hr. At no point was any of this ever helpful to that person who was willing to do the job.
- rini17 5y ago
  Why must we paint everythign in terms of "evil politicians want to forbid people doing things"? You deny there's some underlying logic why democracies decided to implement minimal wages, why? So you assert labor demand is completely inflexible. Is this supported by evidence? Perhaps $15 is really too much, I don't know, but to help decide by now we should have hundred year worth of data no? We should want mothers to have some time and energy left to care for children when they come home. Are there any such $5-$10/hour jobs?

deleted 5y ago

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