• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    53 hours ago

    People are scared of less jobs but that should be the goal.

    We already reached the threshold that allows everybody to work only a fraction of what is considered normal, and still have everything we could ever want.

    “Everybody needs a job” is a mindset that should have been obsolete for a long time.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    249 hours ago

    Corporations were bragging about record profits not that long ago, and then basically admitted to price gouging. Folks are extremely underpaid in most areas. Not shocked at all.

  • Maple Engineer
    link
    fedilink
    5522 hours ago

    Increasing minimum wage puts more money in the economy which people will spend which puts more money in businesses so they can pay their people more putting more money in the economy.

    The only reason the wealthy don’t like this is because their money passes through the hands of the unclean masses instead of going directly into their offshore tax haven accounts.

    • Maeve
      link
      fedilink
      2118 hours ago

      The only reason the wealthy don’t like this is because their our money passes through the hands of the unclean masses instead of going directly into their offshore tax haven accounts.

      Ftfy

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      2620 hours ago

      Yep.

      Give a rich man a dollar and all you’ve done societally is remove a dollar from the economy. If you instead make him give that money to his employees things change, but cause poor people actually need money and will spend it.

      You give a poor person that dollar through increased minimum wage and they spend it at a business. That business now makes more money, which is passed on to its employees through the increased minimum wage, and they spend that dollar again.

      And again.

      And again.

      That dollar you took from the rich and gave to the poor drove a lot more than a dollar’s economic activity.

      OH - and it’s also taxed every time it changes hands, so it also brings in more than its initial value in tax revenue.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        13 hours ago

        In Brazil, a LinkedIn “influencer” was roasted because he said the if you a 100 to a rich person they would invest it and “make it” into 120 in a year, while of you give the same 100 to a poor person, that money is “lost” immediately.

      • bufalo1973
        link
        fedilink
        49 hours ago

        Maybe an analogy makes it clearer: the economy is the blood flow, formed by services and products. Money if the fat in the blood. It’s necessary for the system and without it it doesn’t work right. But if it forms a clot then there a problem.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        -313 hours ago

        I’m not sure how true this is, the rich still invest huge amounts of their money in businesses, while they shouldn’t have that much to begin with it’s still in the economy for the most part

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          5
          edit-2
          11 hours ago

          Well, there are three points on that:

          • Business investment doesn’t need money from the rich, it just needs any money, resources and manpower. Shareholding means lots of non-rich can supply the money (it’s not the rich that are needed, it’s the money) and structures like Cooperatives mean that many businesses can be made by people just pooling their work and resources. Theoretically at least mass Shareholding should make for a more robust business environments because many people investing should have a lot more variety (hence making the whole more resilience to the kind of unforeseen changes that cause Crashes) in terms of what’s invested in and the investment objectives than just a few people.
          • The money being too concentrated together with the current Ownership Laws (mainly Land Ownership, though in some areas also Intelectual Property) actually crowd out most news businesses because of how expensive it is to launch most business ventures, not just directly but even in terms of the founders themselves being able to afford being out of work whilst they launch a business. Notice how even in big cities but especially in smaller cities and even towns, stores are closing and those spaces remain closed for months or even years. The money and property concentrated in fewer hand has the leverage to demand huge rents from the rest of Society to be able to use those thing they’ve locked-in through ownership and that’s killing lots of business at the start stage and even stopping the business ideas themselves from ever being put in practice. It’s “funny” that the rich having all the money creates a situation were so much money is needed to launch a successful business that it can only work with funding from the rich - nobody is going to create, say, a large restaurant chain from the humble beginning of a single venue in a small town when the necessary realestate to expand or even just start costs many times more to rent or buy than it did back in the 60s and 70s when so many of todays big name such chains started just like that.
          • The actual value of more investment depends on were the bottleneck is in the Economy: supply side or consumer side. There is no point in adding more businesses (i.e. Production) if there’s a lack of demand (i.e. Consumption) because median incomes are too low. If you look around (just notice companies nickel & diming customers) we currently have a lack of demand, not of supply, so money going into investment just makes the problem worse whilst money going (via better wages) into consumption would help.
    • @explodicle
      link
      English
      2221 hours ago

      I’ve always used it as an example of when oversimplified chalkboard economics don’t match experimental reality.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        1220 hours ago

        Are the “oversimplified chalkboard economics” basically the businesses winging about having to pay people more?

        • @explodicle
          link
          English
          10
          edit-2
          20 hours ago

          What follows is incorrect

          It’s a price floor, which creates a deadweight loss.

          Since we’re also consumers, it’s a net loss.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            38 hours ago

            Tbf, economics has to presume inequality to be non existent. If they dont, inequality is the overriding factor that makes all the other forces at play pale in comparison. So, they remove inequality.

            Again, tbf, in a world with no inequality, where only the very best and brightest rise to the top and not just a endless stream of nepo babies, with whole institutions in place to ensure a lack of social mobility, a national minimum wage would be a bad idea. Just like tax breaks for the rich would fix any problem you had, in that fake - made up world that could never exist.

            But, as you allude to, in the real world, things are very different.

            • @explodicle
              link
              English
              18 hours ago

              Yes, but how exactly that distorts the market is counterintuitive.

  • @[email protected]M
    link
    fedilink
    1571 day ago

    This has been studied over and over and always with the same results. The economy isn’t hampered, jobs aren’t replaced by machines and overseas workers, the cost of goods doesn’t go up, and factories don’t close. The main impact is that quality of life increases, health spending increases (now that people can afford to take their kids to the doctor), and corporate profits decrease very slightly.

    Especially in this economy of runaway corporate greed, we need a meaningful increase in wages

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      751 day ago

      corporate profits decrease very slightly

      This is the thing that people will reflexively point to, but this:

      quality of life increases

      This is the real issue. If quality of life increases, workers are less desperate, and are less willing to put up with their employers BS. Moreover, if other jobs are also paying a living wage, it’s much easier to quit.

      We have seen, over and over, that businesses are willing to spend money to exert control over workers. They’ll do it even if it means a decline in profits, or even in revenue. Because at the end of the day, if you have your needs met, any money left over is just power, and power is meant to be used to control others.

    • @ShareMySims
      link
      English
      171 day ago

      Especially in this economy of runaway corporate greed, we need a meaningful increase in wages revolution to eliminate those corporations and the systemic rewarding of greed.

      The fact that they could increase wages and still make money while improving society but don’t, is why they don’t deserve any more benefit of the doubt, or room to continue hoarding wealth and power as they are, because a system that craves constant growth at any cost will never stop on its own (nor provide paths for reform).

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      121 day ago

      Oh jobs are replaced by machines, it just has almost nothing to do with minimum wage. Machines cost pennies on the dollar for production value compared to humans. The human wage is pretty meaningless at that point, even forced labor is less profitable.

      • davad
        link
        fedilink
        14 hours ago

        I think part of the issue is how business accounting practices work. When you buy a machine, you can call it a capital investment and count its value as an asset. When you hire a person and cultivate them for years, from an accounting perspective their salary is strictly a liability / expense. Even though that person is an asset in every other way, our standard accounting practices don’t reflect that.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          11 hour ago

          Accounting practices reflect exactly what is relevant to profits within the desired time frame. There are no laws that make employee seniority valuable within the business cycle, so it has no value to account for.

          The investment that business sees is like you spending a thousand dollars a year for a century in order to make a million dollars. Sure it’s a 10 to 1 return on investment, but you’ll be dead, so is it really worth it?

    • @iAmTheTot
      link
      -11 day ago

      All of those things do happen, they just happen irregardless of minimum wage being raised. Like, the machines are coming for all jobs eventually, that’s not a reason to not raise the wage for living workers.

  • Doug Holland
    link
    fedilink
    English
    551 day ago

    Where I live, Washington, the minimum wage is $16.28 p/hour. Across the border in Idaho, the federal minimum applies — $7.25.

    Businesses on the higher-wage side of the border are doing fine, and Spokaners do not drive across the border into Coeur d’Alene for cheaper groceries or a half-price Big Mac.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      401 day ago

      Spokaners do not drive across the border into Coeur d’Alene for cheaper groceries or a half-price Big Mac.

      I actively boycott any and all ID businesses, because of the state’s shitty labor and reproductive-rights laws and its nurture of Christofascism. They can Gilead all they want but it won’t be with my financial support.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        21 day ago

        They just come into WA for the medical center and clog up the system. ID residents should be banned from receiving medical care in WA.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            221 day ago

            I think Idaho should have to cover those fees as a penalty for not providing healthcare. Spokane’s hospital is over capacity pretty often, and a good portion of them are from Idaho.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          151 day ago

          ID residents should be banned from receiving medical care in WA.

          But I think accelerationist policies often hurt vulnerable people…

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              111 day ago

              Sure. But this is kinda just accelerationism/xenophobia, no? For example, replace “Idaho” with “Mexico” in your argument, and it gets pretty ugly pretty fast IMHO.

              • @[email protected]
                link
                fedilink
                71 day ago

                Mexicans are sick and tired of Americans and their medical tourism coming down to Mexico for affordable health and dental care

                • zeekaran
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  11 day ago

                  Are they? They seem to be happy to take our money.

                • @[email protected]
                  link
                  fedilink
                  61 day ago

                  I’m seeing you being slapped in the face with their point and just refusing to acknowledge it. Cringe AF.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              4
              edit-2
              1 day ago

              And what, die? I think keeping people alive and preventing unnecessary deaths should be the priority first and foremost. Idaho should be made to improve their healthcare infrastructure, and then we can force them to stay in their state.

              But as of right now, the idea of turning someone down at the hospital because their ID says a different state does not sit well with me.

                • @Rekorse
                  link
                  114 hours ago

                  Make Idaho great again!

                • @[email protected]
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  024 hours ago

                  So… Nobody should work across state lines… In the “United” states… Doesn’t sound very United.

    • SeaJ
      link
      fedilink
      322 hours ago

      Yeah. I live in Seattle and had to travel a lot for work. Going out to eat was about the same price everywhere. The only thing that was really cheaper I could see was gas.

  • SeaJ
    link
    fedilink
    1222 hours ago

    Card and Kreuger found this out when they did a large study back in the 90s when each state could finally set its own minimum wage.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      261 day ago

      More than that, California (last I checked) had the fifth largest economy in the world when comparing to entire countries.

      I think they’ll do just fine.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    1423 hours ago

    From the abstract of the actual study

    We find that most studies to date suggest a fairly modest impact of minimum wages on jobs: the median OWE estimate of 72 studies published in academic journals is -0.13, which suggests that only around 13 percent of the potential earnings gains from minimum wage increases are offset due to associated job losses. Estimates published since 2010 tend to be closer to zero.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    422 hours ago

    That “Adobe Stock” photo from the article is just some generic AI crap.

    The door is wide open for a stock photo business right now, I guess.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      3
      edit-2
      19 hours ago

      Isn’t that kinda what AI images should be used for? Meaningless stock images? Like, if the article was about a specific person, or an interesting activity or place, then yea that’s not for AI. But a generic article about “jobs” seems fine.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        618 hours ago

        No?

        People are paying for those pictures, either as a subscription or per-use basis. They’re paying a rate to reflects work; photographers, models, rights - all kinds of different costs up front. None of that exists with AI.

        It’s sort of like sitting down to a restaurant, ordering and paying, and then getting served food from your own home. Some horseshit Kraft mac and cheese and fish sticks.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          0
          edit-2
          9 hours ago

          A better comparison would be if the menu at the restaurant had AI art on it. It doesn’t matter, I’m not there for the menu art. The menu is not the main product I’m there to consume. It’s the food. The menu art is there to give a quick visual and because it looks marginally better than a blank piece of paper, nothing more. Whether it was painted by an artist or created in 2 minutes by someone with Stable Diffusion makes no difference in the food quality.

          If people are really losing money because others no longer want to use their work for meaningless article headers, I don’t know what to say. Maybe get in line with phone operators and VCR repair men?

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            17 hours ago

            I wasn’t really arguing for the artist. I was arguing that Adobe is ripping people off by selling horseshit when the prices they’re charging are for a different product entirely. A more expensive one.

            If they want to make AI stock photos available they should have a different tier. It should be cheaper. They shouldn’t just mix it in with their regular stock photos. It’s a different product and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      422 hours ago

      Hop on Adobe stock right now and search for something. Half of the results will be AI-generated. There’s a search filter that can exclude them.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      27 hours ago

      I also repeat conservative talking points when I have no idea what I’m talking about.

      Wait wait, I’m wrong. I’m not an idiot.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      1013 hours ago

      Not everyone is min wage, so the price increase will never be as high as the wage increase. Unless a products entire supply chain is only min wage workers.

    • @Saledovil
      link
      513 hours ago

      Suppliers will charge whatever gives them the highest profit, and if their costs go up by x, said optimal pricepoint goes up by x/2, assuming a linear correlation between price and demand.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    9
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    If its a real business and not a grift or privtization of gains/socialization of losses, they will pay closer to the right wage to have the right people fill the chair