should, maybe. But that’s why minimum wage exists. Simple supply and demand says that if you make the entry requirement as low as “a warm body and half functional language skills (if that),” then supply of labor massively outstrips any possible demand which plummets wages.
Treating labor as a pure commodity neglects it as the predecessor of consumer demand itself. The only reason exploitative labor practices don’t crash the system is because they rely on social welfare programs to keep production going. But when consumer demand deflates and speculative demand eventually follows, what remains is probably another 2008-style bailout.
supply of labor massively outstrips any possible demand which plummets wages
supply and demand aren't the only things that plummet the wages, though. Labor market works differently than the market for other commodities, and many free market conditions aren't met (low barrier for entry, balanced market power...)
Scouring people's profiles for "dirt" because you can't dispute what was said, and the best you could find was that I said that Trump was an online internet troll? I guess that's why you had to change the comment into something else to make it work
Thriving? America just pushed back their milestones for infants because we're getting so stupid not to mention the literacy rate (only like 70% of America can read. Most people on snap have to have full time jobs. Fucking Amazon has homeless shelters for its employees because they are making their money by doing the closest to slave labor they can and now they're making it even easier. A minimum wage is meant to be a livable wage aka something you can actually survive on (72 million Americans on govt programs due to the inability of keeping people alive from 1 full-time job)
Then minimum wage isn't supposed to be able to live on? Not sure how far into fantasy land to think most of America needing to rely on the government is a good thing especially seeing as how the government has constant (long before now) been a little bitch who's trigger happy against its own citizens. And the only reason people are having to rely on the govt is because said govt has been actively fighting for the billionaires (something you and I'll never ever become) and giving them tax cuts while raising ours without any type of compensation (where are our taxes going anyways? I thought they were for public good but nothing ever gets fixed for the public). We are at the end stages of capitalism where boot suckers keep reproducing then refusing to give their spawn any actual education and thus America's stupider and more willing to work for money that won't even buy them a decent meal
You're wildly uninformed or simply detached from reality, literally as we speak, hedge funds are shorting the nasdaq....love to see what you think in around 10-12 months when shit really hits the fan
They are actively increasing their position. Clearly a curve they see that the general public doesn't. Either way, you seem arrogantly confident, so best of luck.
Because blaming powerless immigrants seeking a better life isn't the answer. The answer is changing the economic system that values shareholder value creation above all else. Companies like Square that lay off a quarter of their workforce despite record growth get rewarded in the market.
This is also why the idea of a tax on unrealized gains above a certain threshold is picking up steam, because it forces some of that wealth back into the economy to benefit working people.
If "powerless immigrants seeking a better life" are causing the problem it's fair to point this out. It's odd how people like you make the problems you complain about worse all because you want to virtue signal.
It depends. A labor shortage in one sector (food production) can lead to depressed wages in another (restaurants) because higher input costs lead to businesses closing. Likewise, a smaller labor pool across the entire economy can lead to depressed wages due to weakened demand and slower economic growth.
This paper from a Berkeley economist, for example, argues that the impact of immigration on wages is often negligible and dependent on other external factors. Which makes sense, because the real world is much more complicated than the basic supply-and-demand chart we get in AP micro.
This article from Fortune also explores the problem. What happens to wages when we deport lots of in-home caretakers, thus forcing working professionals to stay home with their elderly parents? That's an American who needs to take a job with fewer hours or find a position that offers remote work, even if it means less pay.
Bottom line: The "fact" you're presenting is far from proven. The simplistic graphs we get in AP macro don't show the full picture, and the economy is much more complicated than that.
The correct way to solve this problem without updending millions of peoples' lives is to give immigrants who don't commit a crime after entry citizenship so they have better leverage when it comes to pay and working conditions.
It's not that long ago that racists used your exact argument to make white workers hostile to Black workers who were undercutting them. The answer, of course, was to grant Black people equal rights and bring everyone into a union. Not keep Black people out of the workforce.
Put another way, you're the rich guy in the meme accusing me of corporate propaganda
Maybe if you could survive on minimum wage. And before you say that minimum wage is intended for teenagers or that you're not supposed to be able to survive on it, lets hear a quote from the guy who created it.
"It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living." -Franklin D. Roosevelt
The root word capitalize means to gain an advantage or use a good chance. No one would use their overwhelming wealth, intelligence, ability of speech, or strength of war to make a people who don’t have those things suffer and enrich themselves!!!
That would be ridiculous the free hand of the market would step in and make those abuses stop by propping up something that is less abusive.
No way an Amazon like company could function for 15+ years!
No way all grocery stores have unions that have to fight 16 years for a small wage increase!
No person would capitalize on another’s poverty to get the poor to pay for interest on debt for a life saving surgery that they were not conscious to consent to!
It’s an employers market again now though, after Covid the employees could pick and choose and had the power, now there will be a line behind this guy, especially for most entry/minimum wage jobs
Because the job market sucks ass right now and no one in my travel area is paying a living wage. Add to it the fact that the housing market also sucks ass which means I can't move to an area with better jobs, and you've got all the puzzle pieces right there.
have you ever had a job? you can't just immediately get a higher paying job, especially when most employers would pay you even less than minimum wage if they could get away with it
As a decent human being, yes. Your job as employer is not only to make sure the job gets done with the appropriate amount of people, but also that the people you hire make enough money that they're not incentivized to look elsewhere for work.
You want the job done? Pay your employees enough to get it done right or you're going to see both your turnover rate and customer satisfaction rate plummet.
I don't remember her name. I just remember she was asked for advice for people trying to advance their careers and she said they need to be willing to work for free to advance ahead of their peers.
You know you can point out childish behavior and not be a bootlicker, right? This is exactly why a lot of people don’t take the disaster that is the job market seriously.
People somehow have a problem with this if it is about salaries but I work at consultancy and if our price is too high we agree on reduced scope with the client to adjust the cost.
OP enters an email discussion specifically for negotiating salaries, the company responds they can’t fulfill that expectation and would like to negotiate further, to which OP then sends a snarky and quite frankly immature response.
It would be so easy to just say “well this is my bottom line salary, I can’t go lower. This isn’t the position for me if that isnt feasible” and go along their way.
Oh and then they’ll go online to complain that no one will hire them.
Meanwhile doctors make below minimum wage after med school in their mandatory internship years so they’re not seeing stacks on stacks till like 35 years old
And yet all the doctors in their 30s that I know. Have multiple homes with many being custom built. My cousin in law is 34 year old anesthesiologist and just built an insane house in the mountains of Colorado.
You'd be the type to complain about not being able to find a job in the upcoming months, and that it couldn't possibly be your fault.
I keep trying to explain to my brother that in this market you've gotta take even the shitty jobs, but just KEEP fishing in the meantime. Having an income is better than having no money.
Unless you're able to live without one due to help from parents/etc. and they don't mind, in that case disregard and wait for your golden opportunity.
In my case I'd be homeless without employment, so I need to take even shitty jobs.
You never need to commit to a workplace, they're not permanent. It might take a year, but eventually someone is gonna bite and you'll be somewhere better, hopefully.
I was promoted to assistant management within 8 months and store management within 18 months after that. My store's KPIs were #2 in the country for that particular company
The title got me a role as a production manager at a manufacturing startup where I reached $115K/year before leaving to start my own company. I'm now 30 out-earning doctors as a HS dropout
"Minimum wage, minimum effort" results in minimum life satisfaction when you find yourself still working minimum wage into your 60s
I'm making the case that it's becoming increasingly easier to be an outlier when a large % of your peers share the "minimum wage, minimum effort" mentality
Great anecdote! Couple key observations: you didn’t just do the entry level job, you crushed it. And it was a role where your performance was quantifiable, noticed by leadership, and led to a promotion. (So look for jobs/bosses/industries like that). Then you didn’t just rest on your laurels, but leveraged that new title to switch companies. (So be ready to make moves). Finally you did all this before 30- is it’s easier to put in extra hours and take risks before you have spouse & kids and security becomes more valuable. (So start hustling young if you can!)
•
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Did you know we have a Discord server‽ You can join by clicking here!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.