3 ms·

I dunno, I don't think it is an unreasonable aim of society that if you are supplying your labour to someone (why shouldn't this include McD's?), that you are a

I dunno, I don't think it is an unreasonable aim of society that if you are supplying your labour to someone (why shouldn't this include McD's?), that you are able to at least live a reasonable life. By that I mean secure accomodation (not large, but comfortable), food and transport.

rhino369 11y ago
The issue what is a reasonable life? We make our enlisted soldiers live in a barracks and eat cafeteria food. Minimum wage could afford that sort of lifestye. And I think it's fair to expect a job to provide for that. It could provide a dorm experience. But I don't think it's fair to expect it to support a family or a solo apartment. Because a lot of minimum wage workers do live with mom and dad or live in a bunch of buddies. Artificially increasing their salaries hurts families who have to pay more for products and services.
- panglott 11y ago
  Who is actually building these barracks-style accommodations for minimum wage workers? That is something that occurred in the early days of industrialization, and still occurs in factory towns in newly industrializing economies, but not in the contemporary US. Where everyone is expected to finance a car and a single-family detached house.
  - lotharbot 11y ago
    This is a deep problem -- but not one to solve by messing with the minimum wage. It's largely a zoning issue. High-density housing lowers nearby property values (for many reasons), which means people tend to vote against policies that would allow it. See also the recent HN discussion about trailer parks: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9592812 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9592812
    - rhino369 11y ago
      The problem is letting local people vote for it at all.
      - panglott 11y ago
        There are real external costs that impact the neighborhood, but what's needed is a more rational way of managing local real estate externalities. A bad solution is a solution of a kind, even if it's not a very good one.
    - panglott 11y ago
      Yes, the original other way to read the image in the OP is as "localities with an insufficient supply of housing". Barracks-style housing is just so much further than higher-density housing though. About the only time true barracks accommodations are built is for factories or similar institutions in specific circumstances.
  - rhino369 11y ago
    Nobody is now, but 7.50 an hour could provide for that based on current residential space costs and food costs.
- s73v3r 11y ago
  And a lot of minimum wage workers are trying to support families. And they got minimum wage work because that's all that was available. And they can't go back to school to get a better job because they have mouths to feed and rent to pay.

rhino369 11y ago

The issue what is a reasonable life? We make our enlisted soldiers live in a barracks and eat cafeteria food. Minimum wage could afford that sort of lifestye. And I think it's fair to expect a job to provide for that. It could provide a dorm experience. But I don't think it's fair to expect it to support a family or a solo apartment. Because a lot of minimum wage workers do live with mom and dad or live in a bunch of buddies. Artificially increasing their salaries hurts families who have to pay more for products and services.

panglott 11y ago
Who is actually building these barracks-style accommodations for minimum wage workers? That is something that occurred in the early days of industrialization, and still occurs in factory towns in newly industrializing economies, but not in the contemporary US. Where everyone is expected to finance a car and a single-family detached house.
- lotharbot 11y ago
  This is a deep problem -- but not one to solve by messing with the minimum wage. It's largely a zoning issue. High-density housing lowers nearby property values (for many reasons), which means people tend to vote against policies that would allow it. See also the recent HN discussion about trailer parks: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9592812 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9592812
  - rhino369 11y ago
    The problem is letting local people vote for it at all.
    - panglott 11y ago
      There are real external costs that impact the neighborhood, but what's needed is a more rational way of managing local real estate externalities. A bad solution is a solution of a kind, even if it's not a very good one.
  - panglott 11y ago
    Yes, the original other way to read the image in the OP is as "localities with an insufficient supply of housing". Barracks-style housing is just so much further than higher-density housing though. About the only time true barracks accommodations are built is for factories or similar institutions in specific circumstances.
- rhino369 11y ago
  Nobody is now, but 7.50 an hour could provide for that based on current residential space costs and food costs.
s73v3r 11y ago
And a lot of minimum wage workers are trying to support families. And they got minimum wage work because that's all that was available. And they can't go back to school to get a better job because they have mouths to feed and rent to pay.