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> If your job can't provide minimum wage then either your business in not productive enough to deserve place in the market or you are exploiting your employees

> If your job can't provide minimum wage then either your business in not productive enough to deserve place in the market or you are exploiting your employees. There are employees who can provide enough value to be worth hiring at a cost below minimum wage but not above it. A minimum wage is effectively a statement that they don't deserve a place in the market. The notion that everyone is worth at least minimum wage to whoever is paying them comes from ability privilege. Such people are real. I hired one last weekend to help paint my house. Perfectly lovely guy but slow of thought and slower of motion. There is no little damage in dignity done by choosing to subsidize such people rather than allowing them to exchange their real work for real value.

grecy 2y ago
> There is no little damage in dignity done by choosing to subsidize such people rather than allowing them to exchange their real work for real value. But the damage is being done to society at large. By subsidizing that worker, taxpayer dollars are being used to prop up a business that should not exist instead of being spent on productive things like healthcare, education and infrastructure. Imagine if I wanted to buy a Porsche, but decided it wasn’t worth the asking price, so I just pay less and make the government pay the rest like I have some right to have one just because. That is exactly what businesses are doing when they pay employees so little they require government assistance to live.
CuriouslyC 2y ago
You can't survive on sub-minimum wage. If that person worked every hour they were capable of for you, they'd still need social benefits just to keep from being homeless. Working for less than you need to survive isn't dignity, it's desperation.
- Jensson 2y ago
  > Working for less than you need to survive isn't dignity Are you saying some people don't deserve respect just because they can't support themselves? I think they should be able to work and contribute as well, saying we don't need them just because they can't provide for themselves isn't respectful.
  - CuriouslyC 2y ago
    I highly doubt that the most productive use these people can be put to in society is painting your house for sub minimum wage. Furthermore, I resent that I'm paying their social services for no benefit while you reap the rewards of them being able to accept sub-survival work because of my contribution.

grecy 2y ago

> There is no little damage in dignity done by choosing to subsidize such people rather than allowing them to exchange their real work for real value. But the damage is being done to society at large. By subsidizing that worker, taxpayer dollars are being used to prop up a business that should not exist instead of being spent on productive things like healthcare, education and infrastructure. Imagine if I wanted to buy a Porsche, but decided it wasn’t worth the asking price, so I just pay less and make the government pay the rest like I have some right to have one just because. That is exactly what businesses are doing when they pay employees so little they require government assistance to live.

CuriouslyC 2y ago

You can't survive on sub-minimum wage. If that person worked every hour they were capable of for you, they'd still need social benefits just to keep from being homeless. Working for less than you need to survive isn't dignity, it's desperation.

Jensson 2y ago
> Working for less than you need to survive isn't dignity Are you saying some people don't deserve respect just because they can't support themselves? I think they should be able to work and contribute as well, saying we don't need them just because they can't provide for themselves isn't respectful.
- CuriouslyC 2y ago
  I highly doubt that the most productive use these people can be put to in society is painting your house for sub minimum wage. Furthermore, I resent that I'm paying their social services for no benefit while you reap the rewards of them being able to accept sub-survival work because of my contribution.