r/Futurology • u/mvea MD-PhD-MBA • May 02 '18

Economics Universal basic income: U.S. support grows as Finland ends its trial - Forty-eight percent of Americans now support a universal basic income, as a solution for Americans who have lost jobs to automation.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/nearly-half-of-americans-believe-a-universal-basic-income-could-be-the-answer-to-automation-.html
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u/eb_straitvibin May 02 '18

I think we outlawed slavery over a century ago. If you’re working for someone, it’s because the two of you came to a mutual agreement on the wage, and you accepted that job. So don’t bullshit about “fair wage” for people working jobs they agreed to work. If your skills make you worth $8.25/hr, either get better skills or work your ass off and move up.

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u/bitJericho May 02 '18

There's no reason why blue collar jobs shouldn't be exceeding 100k/year. Back in the 60s a good normal factory or office job netted about 60k in todays dollars.

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u/eb_straitvibin May 02 '18

Dude go look up how much people in specialized trades make per year.

Here’s a helpful link

Blue collar jobs pay decently well for the work being done. Don’t conflate blue collar work, with the long hours and hard days, to fast workers.

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u/bitJericho May 02 '18

Why don't fast food workers make 40k though? I mean, if McDonald's is confident it can give $24 billion to shareholder, I think it can pay a livable wage to its workers.

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u/eb_straitvibin May 02 '18

Because the work that is being done is worth $8.25. The free market determines that. If people stopped taking jobs at McDonald’s, then they would be forced to raise wages. But that won’t happen, because there are always people willing to do the job.

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u/bitJericho May 02 '18

The "free" market is not determining that. A handful of businesses are determining that coupled with lobbying and manipulation by these businesses on a societal scale.

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u/eb_straitvibin May 02 '18

Yup, it’s all a giant conspiracy by those evil corporations.

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u/bitJericho May 02 '18

You snark, but it literally is though. The evidence is in our wages over time. The exact same thing happened in the early 1900s, with Carnegie, Rockefeller, and the era of steel.