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Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

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Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#121

Post by darepublic »

piva00 wrote: post #115
austincheney wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In short, yes. If a person does not like that amount of money, which is well below a skilled profession, then they should feel sufficiently motivated to devote time to developing a skill. I know that may sound cold, but it is just a reflection of basic economics.

And that is your problem, your basic economics doesn't necessarily need to be the only way that the world works. Marketable skills should be better paid? Of course. Should it pay 10~15x more to be writing scripts at Google than to be frying burgers at some place? I don't think so. If you care about people you should care that everyone has a minimum liveable wage, not that some should suffer because they can't/won't l…

What if minimum wage causes less people to be hired.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#122

Post by ndespres »

randyrand wrote: post #55
colek42 wrote: post #39

There is this false assumption that people are paid what they are worth. People are paid what the market will bear. $28k is about 13/hour. For places like East TN this is not a horrible wage, and you can live on it. As a comparison, an entry-level position in the military, E1, makes less even when you account for allowances.

Here's the thing, people are worth what the market will bear.

I wish I could believe that you're being rhetorical, but it's evident by your other comments on this thread, and your handle, that your views are indeed as undistinguished and juvenile as they appear to be.

It's true that under capitalism, a laborer is only valued to the extent that their labor can be exploited to further the interest of capital, but it is incorrect to believe that this is the only possible system (it is not), or that it is somehow natural and correct (it is neither), or that the inherent value of Amazon's serfs is truly set by market forces (it is not) rather than the value of their own humanity.

Applauding Amazon or any multinational corporation for squeezing the maximum value out of workers is rather disgusting.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#123

Post by rinchik »

scarface74 wrote: post #118
rinchik wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. That's the ultimate goal of the far left. Pure utopian Communism. Sad part is that they don't even realize it. The equality of outcome controlled by the Government -- to even think about this concept is scary. This shit will def end with totalitarianism.

I consider myself to be a "bleeding heart capitalist". I don't believe that we should be increasing the minimum wage because history shows anytime you interfere with the free market, there are unintended consequences. It's also not the role of private businesses to manage social policy. On the other hand, I think the richest country in the world shouldn't have people starving on the street and without basic healthcar…

Great points, except child care. With subsidized childcare, I’m afraid, you will def be promoting all the wrong (and quite selfish, to be honest) goals and values.

Richest country in the world? That’s quite arguable and very common mistake. It’s not fair to compare US to countries with negative GPD (this sentence is sarcastic, not literal).

I have been unfortunate enough to to leave in a state built on top of socialist agenda. Where the concept is extremely fragile. Once you increase the government’s role in lives of ordinary people (which sounds great in theory! As per Marx’s and Lenin’s paperwork) you are risking of turning the whole country into the ordinary DMV Office (one we all hate an avoid) wherever you go. That’s a nightmare that’s not that far from reality if we jump collectively on this socialist bandwagon.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#124

Post by scarface74 »

rinchik wrote: post #123
scarface74 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I consider myself to be a "bleeding heart capitalist". I don't believe that we should be increasing the minimum wage because history shows anytime you interfere with the free market, there are unintended consequences. It's also not the role of private businesses to manage social policy. On the other hand, I think the richest country in the world shouldn't have people starving on the street and without basic healthcar…

Great points, except child care. With subsidized childcare, I’m afraid, you will def be promoting all the wrong (and quite selfish, to be honest) goals and values. Richest country in the world? That’s quite arguable and very common mistake. It’s not fair to compare US to countries with negative GPD (this sentence is sarcastic, not literal). I have been unfortunate enough to to leave in a state built on top of sociali…

People are going to have children. By "subsidize childcare" I mean childcare during the day so people can work.

As far as the DMV office that seems like one of the better run places. You go in, fill out paperwork, they give you a ticket, and you sit in the waiting room and when your number is called, you do an eye test, take a picture, swipe your card and you are in an out.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#125

Post by nathanaldensr »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #2

This is a great article for demonstrating how mean and median can be used to manipulate perception.

Replying to myself: I didn't mean to imply that the article or its contents are manipulative; I merely meant that it's a good example of how different numbers can be, and how that is often used to manipulate perception.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#126

Post by pg_bot »

elicash wrote: post #94
pg_bot wrote: post #68

The headline falls into what I would characterize as a "useless fact". The number is meant to manipulate you into clicking the article based on the belief that Amazon is unfairly compensating its employees. While I'm not an advocate for Amazon's work practices, this article provides no further analysis than a copy pasted line from a financial report. We need more context and analysis if you actually want to understan…

> The number is meant to manipulate you into clicking the article based on the belief that Amazon is unfairly compensating its employees. How is it manipulative to report on median pay for a company? This is as straightforwardly reported as possible, and not at all click-baity or manipulative. We shouldn't be afraid of basic facts that actually capture important information in an objective way. It's not a misleading…

The number itself is not misleading or incorrect, it is just useless. If I wrote an article with the lede "Amazon pays market rates for labor" no one would be interested in reading it. The manipulation is leading you to believe that this information is important or of any use in judging their employment practices, which it is not.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#127

Post by thirdsun »

sol_remmy wrote: post #46
frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can we please end this charade of pretending a $14 wage is kingly anywhere? I mean even the whole idea of 'banjo-playing areas'? Come on. I find it really gross the way people that have good jobs and have never left urban/suburban environments typecast the rest of the country.

> I find it gross that.. Can you leave the mock disgust behind? You probably live in an urban/suburban area just like the rest of us, yet your lecturing us. $14 an hour is not as bad as you think. Median nursing salary in England = 23000 pounds = 32300 usd. So the median amazon warehouse worker makes 82.5% of what the median nurse makes in the U.K. Is that really so bad?

You can't compare absolute wages between the US and europe. This kind of money will buy you a way better life in europe if you consider health care, social security and overall working conditions.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#128

Post by elgenie »

krapp wrote: post #30
elgenie wrote: post #17

Amazon employs significantly more workers that are stocking warehouses and filling boxes than are writing code. So the median Amazon worker by pay is working in a warehouse, probably entry-level or thereabouts, and is making about $14 an hour.

>So the median Amazon worker by pay is working in a warehouse, probably entry-level or thereabouts, and is making about $14 an hour. Many are not even making that much.

That's how a median works, yes.

I got the $14 per hour figure from the annual income reported as the median assuming 2080 work hours per year.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#129

Post by smt88 »

randyrand wrote: post #69
smt88 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is this false assumption that people are paid what they are worth. Who thinks this? I don't know any adult who is that naive. > People are paid what the market will bear. In many industries, the employer side of the market is vastly more powerful than the employee. The employer can just pass on an employee asking for too much money; an employee may be facing weeks without a job, which is difficult for most pe…

Take an economics course. It should be eye opening. Honestly, it should be required reading for anyone that debates politics and economics. https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/microec...

Took them up to the graduate level. They were certainly eye-opening, and probably not in the way you think.

If you have an argument against anything I've said (rather than condescension and a veiled insult), I'd be genuinely interested to know what it is.

Re: Amazon worker’s median pay in 2017: $28,446

#130

Post by Bromskloss »

piva00 wrote: post #115
austincheney wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In short, yes. If a person does not like that amount of money, which is well below a skilled profession, then they should feel sufficiently motivated to devote time to developing a skill. I know that may sound cold, but it is just a reflection of basic economics.

And that is your problem, your basic economics doesn't necessarily need to be the only way that the world works. Marketable skills should be better paid? Of course. Should it pay 10~15x more to be writing scripts at Google than to be frying burgers at some place? I don't think so. If you care about people you should care that everyone has a minimum liveable wage, not that some should suffer because they can't/won't l…

> Should it pay 10~15x more to be writing scripts at Google than to be frying burgers at some place?

What is this "should" you speak of?

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