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Yes that's what the robber barons keep repeating, but why not think of businesses and employee wages in terms of percentage of the profits generated? Fast food

Yes that's what the robber barons keep repeating, but why not think of businesses and employee wages in terms of percentage of the profits generated? Fast food employees earning $15 an hour can still be profitable [ http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/28/pf/north_dakota_jobs/ http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/28/pf/north_dakota_jobs/ ]

fennecfoxen 11y ago
> Yes that's what the robber barons keep repeating, Screw the robber barons - and, while you're at it, screw the progressive politicians and labor unions too. This is what the goddamn labor economists keep repeating.
- warfangle 11y ago
  Except the ones that are well regarded, as pointed out by a reply to your post by mattybrennan ....
bluedino 11y ago
Don't forget in the oil towns that pay $11+/hour for fast food workers, the menu prices are 30% higher as well
- s73v3r 11y ago
  Yeah, and in those towns, rent is insanely high for the area as well. Is that because fast food workers are being paid $11+/hour? Or is it possibly that the managers know that the oil people have crazy amounts of money, and they're trying to squeeze as much of it out of the oil people as they can?
brianwawok 11y ago
True, but what happens if $15 is the break even point between having a robot do the job vs a human? Did we just help the minimum wage works by dumping all of their jobs and replacing with a fleet of robots and 1 high paid robot fixer? I am all for the end goal of let the robots do the work, give everyone goods, ala Star Trek.. but not sure on the way to get there. Something has to fundamentally change. Is it the 40 hour workweek? Is it living wage?
- nosuchthing 11y ago
  Structure to economic systems — segment basic needs (food, housing, education, transportation) as provided with "basic income credit", separate from the normal cash economy of WANTs and luxuries.
- prawn 11y ago
  Maybe a combination? I wonder if the privatisation of utilities might come back to bite countries (further) in that it removes an angle to solving these problems. Perhaps the risk of a living wage (influx of freeloaders for one thing) is reduced if the provision is more in terms of basic rights like power for heating, cooling and cooking, water for drinking, washing and cleaning, and communication (base-level internet/wi-fi). Ideally extend it to basic food rights. I would like to see far more done to reduce costs of sourcing/cooking healthy food as a base-level option for people. Might be achieved through density (compactus-style growing sleeves), layering (underground growing), robotics, automated transport (self-driving trucks), etc.

fennecfoxen 11y ago

> Yes that's what the robber barons keep repeating, Screw the robber barons - and, while you're at it, screw the progressive politicians and labor unions too. This is what the goddamn labor economists keep repeating.

warfangle 11y ago
Except the ones that are well regarded, as pointed out by a reply to your post by mattybrennan ....

bluedino 11y ago

Don't forget in the oil towns that pay $11+/hour for fast food workers, the menu prices are 30% higher as well

s73v3r 11y ago
Yeah, and in those towns, rent is insanely high for the area as well. Is that because fast food workers are being paid $11+/hour? Or is it possibly that the managers know that the oil people have crazy amounts of money, and they're trying to squeeze as much of it out of the oil people as they can?

brianwawok 11y ago

True, but what happens if $15 is the break even point between having a robot do the job vs a human? Did we just help the minimum wage works by dumping all of their jobs and replacing with a fleet of robots and 1 high paid robot fixer? I am all for the end goal of let the robots do the work, give everyone goods, ala Star Trek.. but not sure on the way to get there. Something has to fundamentally change. Is it the 40 hour workweek? Is it living wage?

nosuchthing 11y ago
Structure to economic systems — segment basic needs (food, housing, education, transportation) as provided with "basic income credit", separate from the normal cash economy of WANTs and luxuries.
prawn 11y ago
Maybe a combination? I wonder if the privatisation of utilities might come back to bite countries (further) in that it removes an angle to solving these problems. Perhaps the risk of a living wage (influx of freeloaders for one thing) is reduced if the provision is more in terms of basic rights like power for heating, cooling and cooking, water for drinking, washing and cleaning, and communication (base-level internet/wi-fi). Ideally extend it to basic food rights. I would like to see far more done to reduce costs of sourcing/cooking healthy food as a base-level option for people. Might be achieved through density (compactus-style growing sleeves), layering (underground growing), robotics, automated transport (self-driving trucks), etc.