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Originally Posted by MattyC
So what about the people between these things? People more or less stuck in menial jobs because they can't afford to go to school; have to try and support their family so can't put themselves into debt and abandon what job(s) they do have to pursue something better; can't get better employment because they need a car or a phone or a computer for email, or some other type of thing they can't afford; can't work the hours for their new "better" job because they still need two and it conflicts with their other one; etc...
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You are arguing examples of people who are not capable of improving, in this case due to external circumstance. As I said, our social safety net should be offering ways to help them move forward.
As to the rest of your post, technology has been replacing jobs for centuries. New jobs take their place. Just another reason why one should never be satisfied with low value "careers" - technology picks low hanging fruit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jammies
Is it nonsensical though? It can be a societal goal or not, but calling it "nonsensical" because you don't agree with it seems overly dismissive. Again, the issue is a little more complex than the (somewhat dubious) economic arguments against such policies - similar arguments were raised against having a minimum wage in the first place, and yet somehow the implementation of such didn't cause economic ruin and factory owners forced onto the streets.
As more and more marginal jobs become obsolete due to technology, we will have to deal with social unrest if solutions aren't found to bring the marginalized and under-employed into the mainstream and middle-class. Avoiding a dystopia of an underclass permanently on the dole and in conflict with the privileged will take more than just telling people that education and hard work is the solution - some people are not educable, and they can work as hard as is humanly possible and still never get beyond entry-level and menial work.
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Yes, it is dismissive. And I won't apologize for that. Not every task has value. Arbitrarily dictating that doing said task for 40 hours warrants a living wage is nonsensical. The back half of your post is on point though. I hate repeating myself, but as I stated, the social safety net should exist for the people you mention who just can't advance. But for the rest, raising the minimum wage is not going to solve the problem of technology making low value jobs obsolete. So while you have identified the problem, I don't believe that the solution offered is actually a solution.