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> But at SeaTac, many ramp agents scraped by. The airport, which is also a local city jurisdiction, made history by passing the nation’s first $15 minimum wage

> But at SeaTac, many ramp agents scraped by. The airport, which is also a local city jurisdiction, made history by passing the nation’s first $15 minimum wage in 2013. But the law had loopholes, and while the cashier at the Sbarro inside the terminal was making $15, some ramp agents at Horizon were reportedly making as much as $3 an hour less. (Alaska Air did not answer specific questions about its compensation practices.) > Russell didn’t leave a manifesto. But during his ill-fated flight, without an obvious prompt, he told air-traffic control: “Minimum wage. We’ll chalk it up to that.” He added, “Maybe that will grease the gears a little bit with the higher-ups.” Don't exploit people in sensitive jobs. Give them a livable wage, health care (including mental health) and rest. Have an HR department that is explicitly told not to fuck people over and make them desperate. It's a whole lot cheaper than implementing whatever nonsense security procedures these clowns invariably came up with. AI software and more cameras would be my guess.

gwern 4y ago
From the rest of the article, it's pretty obvious that minimum wage had nothing to do with it, any more than a desire to see orcas was also the real reason, as opposed to yet another idle talk throwaway done on poor impulse. Which is why they point to TBIs, because one of the hallmarks of TBIs is poor impulse control and directionless anomie.
- worik 4y ago
  > it's pretty obvious that minimum wage had nothing to do with it, That is not my take on it. I see a poor, board, hard working man who lost his mind a bit with tragic consequence. The minimum wage part, the gross under pay of people who work very hard, is in the "poor".
astrange 4y ago
I feel like the claim we should raise wages to prevent crimes comes from the same people that claim all billionaires are criminals, and that these claims conflict. Also, this guy seems like in addition to crashing a plane he could be an unreliable narrator, and his previous jobs would've given him both CTEs and lead poisoning, neither of which are good for prosocial behavior.
- worik 4y ago
  > [you] feel like the claim we should raise wages to prevent crimes comes from the same people that claim all billionaires are criminals You are wrong, I know. Because we should raise incomes (not just wages) as part of a crime prevention strategy. I do not assert that "all billionaires are criminals" I think that is an absurd claim. So you are wrong about that!
nl 4y ago
If you read he story, it seems like he chose the job because of the additional benefits: > But for Russell, the job literally offered a ticket out. Free-flight benefits opened up the world — a jaunt to the Yucatan with the boys, trips to Ireland and France with Hannah, and most important, tickets to Alaska, which still felt most like home. “Flight benefits,” Russell wrote, “were my last hope of seeing my beloved family and state on a regular basis.” And it seems like he previously had ambitions and talent: > In December 2017, he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Washington State. His blog entries, written for a communications class, described aspirations to join the military, law enforcement, or even management at Horizon. [and] In an online profile, Russell wrote he was passionate about “mountains, pastries, and craft beer.” He aspired to visit every national park, and friends from work recalled him often having a book in hand. I think putting this down to a simple "exploited worker cracks" story is simplistic. He certainly didn't seem particularly resentful: > A video project for that class contrasted the drudgery of his work life in the soggy Pacific Northwest to the global travel it enabled. “I’m Beebo Russell,” he said, “and I’m a ground-service agent.” Continuing in a chipper voice-over as bags descended from a plane on a conveyor belt, he added with crisp comic timing, “That means I lift a lot of bags. Like, a lot of bags — soooooooo many bags.” Over a selfie in the rain, Russell said, “I usually have to work outside in this. But it allows me to do some pretty cool things too. . . . It evens out in the end.” His comment about “Minimum wage. We’ll chalk it up to that.” He added, “Maybe that will grease the gears a little bit with the higher-ups.” seems to not capture fully what his motivation was. > But Matt Scott, the FBI agent, insists “there was never really a clear cut, definitive ‘This is why.’ ” The FBI agent discloses that Russell did text his wife during the incident: “The gist of it is that he’s telling her that she deserved better.” Sounds like depression in my non-professional opinion (also based on a number of his other comments during the flight)
- worik 4y ago
  > Sounds like depression in my non-professional opinion (also based on a number of his other comments during the flight) Yes Having a decent wage, and feeling respected at work, helps with depression.

gwern 4y ago

From the rest of the article, it's pretty obvious that minimum wage had nothing to do with it, any more than a desire to see orcas was also the real reason, as opposed to yet another idle talk throwaway done on poor impulse. Which is why they point to TBIs, because one of the hallmarks of TBIs is poor impulse control and directionless anomie.

worik 4y ago
> it's pretty obvious that minimum wage had nothing to do with it, That is not my take on it. I see a poor, board, hard working man who lost his mind a bit with tragic consequence. The minimum wage part, the gross under pay of people who work very hard, is in the "poor".

astrange 4y ago

I feel like the claim we should raise wages to prevent crimes comes from the same people that claim all billionaires are criminals, and that these claims conflict. Also, this guy seems like in addition to crashing a plane he could be an unreliable narrator, and his previous jobs would've given him both CTEs and lead poisoning, neither of which are good for prosocial behavior.

worik 4y ago
> [you] feel like the claim we should raise wages to prevent crimes comes from the same people that claim all billionaires are criminals You are wrong, I know. Because we should raise incomes (not just wages) as part of a crime prevention strategy. I do not assert that "all billionaires are criminals" I think that is an absurd claim. So you are wrong about that!

nl 4y ago

If you read he story, it seems like he chose the job because of the additional benefits: > But for Russell, the job literally offered a ticket out. Free-flight benefits opened up the world — a jaunt to the Yucatan with the boys, trips to Ireland and France with Hannah, and most important, tickets to Alaska, which still felt most like home. “Flight benefits,” Russell wrote, “were my last hope of seeing my beloved family and state on a regular basis.” And it seems like he previously had ambitions and talent: > In December 2017, he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Washington State. His blog entries, written for a communications class, described aspirations to join the military, law enforcement, or even management at Horizon. [and] In an online profile, Russell wrote he was passionate about “mountains, pastries, and craft beer.” He aspired to visit every national park, and friends from work recalled him often having a book in hand. I think putting this down to a simple "exploited worker cracks" story is simplistic. He certainly didn't seem particularly resentful: > A video project for that class contrasted the drudgery of his work life in the soggy Pacific Northwest to the global travel it enabled. “I’m Beebo Russell,” he said, “and I’m a ground-service agent.” Continuing in a chipper voice-over as bags descended from a plane on a conveyor belt, he added with crisp comic timing, “That means I lift a lot of bags. Like, a lot of bags — soooooooo many bags.” Over a selfie in the rain, Russell said, “I usually have to work outside in this. But it allows me to do some pretty cool things too. . . . It evens out in the end.” His comment about “Minimum wage. We’ll chalk it up to that.” He added, “Maybe that will grease the gears a little bit with the higher-ups.” seems to not capture fully what his motivation was. > But Matt Scott, the FBI agent, insists “there was never really a clear cut, definitive ‘This is why.’ ” The FBI agent discloses that Russell did text his wife during the incident: “The gist of it is that he’s telling her that she deserved better.” Sounds like depression in my non-professional opinion (also based on a number of his other comments during the flight)

worik 4y ago
> Sounds like depression in my non-professional opinion (also based on a number of his other comments during the flight) Yes Having a decent wage, and feeling respected at work, helps with depression.