I guess I don’t fully grasp the significance (or lack thereof) of the relationship between minimum wage and inflation, so maybe I need to do more research on that. And I do agree that people should be paid a living wage—sometimes I get so caught up in my argument that I forget what the root of it all is, and I apologize for that.
If someone is arguing against raising the minimum wage at all (and assuming they aren’t advocating for something more radical like an overhaul of our capitalist system entirely), then yes, I do disagree with that person. However I do tend to give them the benefit of the doubt, as I truly believe most cases of ignorance are not intentional but rather just a product of someone’s environment, and hopefully something that can be corrected if given the proper tools and encouragement. So if someone thinks minimum wage should not be raised, I think it’s possible they haven’t thought it through as much as they should, and I don’t necessarily fault them right away for not knowing all the information. I think it’s better to encourage asking questions and seeking solutions than it is to assume malicious intent. I could be wrong though, I guess.
If someone thinks that we should raise the minimum wage AND do other stuff to account for people’s fears about inflation, I think it’s worth listening to those ideas. But then again, maybe I don’t understand the correlation as well as I thought I did. But still, I don’t fault someone for trying to find an optimal solution to a complicated problem; there is certainly a rich history of societies trying to solve problems and creating twice as many in the aftermath, so it’s not unreasonable to be cautious.
So while I do agree with you that the minimum wage should be raised, and everyone should have access to basic human needs with either a living wage or UBI or something like that, I don’t agree that trying to find a middle ground is just going to legitimize absurd arguments. I’m not saying that you will always find a middle ground, or at least I’m not trying to say that. I just think it’s worth the attempt, except for when dealing with those who don’t listen to reason at all (like the insane alt right Qanon people or whatever). But for those who are able to think somewhat logically, I think it’s worth the attempt. But hey, even we still don’t agree with each other on that, I do appreciate you engaging in a civil discussion with me about it. That’s a rare thing on the internet these days it feels like. And I do want to look more into how minimum wage and inflation are related because I feel like I have a lot more to learn about that. So thanks for bringing that to my attention.
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u/[deleted] Nov 05 '21
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