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That is messed up. These dudes have to work so hard to afford scraps they're literally falling asleep at the wheel and gaming the system to get more time behind

That is messed up. These dudes have to work so hard to afford scraps they're literally falling asleep at the wheel and gaming the system to get more time behind the wheel so they can get more cash to afford to live in this country. We need to address wage inequality folks.

anonym29 2y ago
Wage inequality is not a problem because the gini coefficient does not measure how great or terrible your life is, how financially constrained you are, how much money limits your freedom, etc. Forget about PPP for a moment and just pretend goods cost the same everywhere for the sake of this example. A country where everyone has $0 and makes $1/year has a "perfect" gini coefficient, indicating perfect wealth and income distributions. A country where everyone's a millionaire, but where some people make a million a year and others make a billion a year has a much worse gini coefficient, and yet is still the place you'd rather live in, out of these two examples. The suffering by the people of the former is not mitigated by their high gini coefficient, because their suffering is a result of poverty, not a result of inequality. The celebrations of prosperity by the latter occur in spite of inequality. The takeaway is clear - equality or inequality have a completely non-causal relationship with the quality of life of the people in the region being measured. Further, adviocacy for combatting inequality sounds laudable at face value, but underneath the surface, what does it look like? After all, here in the west we're all the rich oppressors who benefit from economic exploitation of the global south. Accordingly, are we all going to have our assets seized and income garnished to reduce the inequality of the global poor? Remember, the average American public school teacher is in the top decile globally by both income and wealth. The actual problem that you're unhappy about is that average wages have not been keeping up with the rising cost of living over the last 50 years. That's a complex problem with a lot of variables, including quite a few that violate what popular social consesus dictates you are allowed to even think about or question, and is beyond the scope of my response to enumerate. That said, calls to "reduce inequality" aren't it - those are just calls for most of the people on HN to have wages and assets seized involuntarily - at gunpoint and under threat of imprisonment by a SWAT team that will shoot your dog and throw a flashbang grenade in your infant's crib if you resist...
bluGill 2y ago
While they work hard, the problem isn't the work. The problem is a few of them after work go out and don't get a full night's sleep. In my office I work with people who after their 8 hours of work go party all night and so are tired the next day - but programming when tired is not potentially fatal unlike operating heavy equipment when tired.
- Ylpertnodi 2y ago
  >The problem is a few of them after work go out and don't get a full night's sleep. ...unlike car drivers, cyclists, doctors, other humans.
  - bluGill 2y ago
    I did not mean to imply that. Humans should not be driving. Even a bicycle is wrong for how humans reactions. But in the world we live in...

anonym29 2y ago

Wage inequality is not a problem because the gini coefficient does not measure how great or terrible your life is, how financially constrained you are, how much money limits your freedom, etc. Forget about PPP for a moment and just pretend goods cost the same everywhere for the sake of this example. A country where everyone has $0 and makes $1/year has a "perfect" gini coefficient, indicating perfect wealth and income distributions. A country where everyone's a millionaire, but where some people make a million a year and others make a billion a year has a much worse gini coefficient, and yet is still the place you'd rather live in, out of these two examples. The suffering by the people of the former is not mitigated by their high gini coefficient, because their suffering is a result of poverty, not a result of inequality. The celebrations of prosperity by the latter occur in spite of inequality. The takeaway is clear - equality or inequality have a completely non-causal relationship with the quality of life of the people in the region being measured. Further, adviocacy for combatting inequality sounds laudable at face value, but underneath the surface, what does it look like? After all, here in the west we're all the rich oppressors who benefit from economic exploitation of the global south. Accordingly, are we all going to have our assets seized and income garnished to reduce the inequality of the global poor? Remember, the average American public school teacher is in the top decile globally by both income and wealth. The actual problem that you're unhappy about is that average wages have not been keeping up with the rising cost of living over the last 50 years. That's a complex problem with a lot of variables, including quite a few that violate what popular social consesus dictates you are allowed to even think about or question, and is beyond the scope of my response to enumerate. That said, calls to "reduce inequality" aren't it - those are just calls for most of the people on HN to have wages and assets seized involuntarily - at gunpoint and under threat of imprisonment by a SWAT team that will shoot your dog and throw a flashbang grenade in your infant's crib if you resist...

bluGill 2y ago

While they work hard, the problem isn't the work. The problem is a few of them after work go out and don't get a full night's sleep. In my office I work with people who after their 8 hours of work go party all night and so are tired the next day - but programming when tired is not potentially fatal unlike operating heavy equipment when tired.

Ylpertnodi 2y ago
>The problem is a few of them after work go out and don't get a full night's sleep. ...unlike car drivers, cyclists, doctors, other humans.
- bluGill 2y ago
  I did not mean to imply that. Humans should not be driving. Even a bicycle is wrong for how humans reactions. But in the world we live in...