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Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

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Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#31
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a minimum wage of $15 in many of the cities, but the high cost of living makes that hardly enough.

> There is a minimum wage of $15 in many of the cities “Many” may be an exaggeration: Berkeley, Emeryville, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and San Francisco.

They are offering jobs starting at $15 either way. I walked by a fast food shop that is not in those cities offering $15-$21/hour jobs recently.

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#32
post #28

Isn’t it ironic that the rates of poverty are increasing in possibly the wealthiest region in the world?

That's because creation of new housing is highly restricted in Silicon Valley because of high regulation and very restrictive zoning laws. And additionally all the money that would be going to the low income is getting sucked out by the continuous raising of the minimum wage, greatly restricting the size of the labor market at the low end resulting in higher unemployment.

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#33

Meanwhile Nancy Pelosi and company keep on taxing to support inefficient bureaucracy

A little trollish, but now that Democrats have a veto-proof majority (meaning Gavin Newsom is really just a spokesperson, his opinion is irrelevant, he cannot veto legislation), Californians only have one party to ask why the State is the way it is....the #1 poverty State. Not only can Californians no longer blame Republicans (there basically aren't any left in the State), they can't even blame the Governor...he is t…

Some of us judge the policies of the people in office, regardless of their ostensible party association. In a state where you have to register as a Democrat in order to have a chance at winning in many districts, the label doesn't mean much.

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#34
I started a nonprofit 2 years ago (garagescript.org) that hires low income people in San Jose and their full time job is to learn how to code and teach new students.

Our nonprofit started off with 20 students, most were making about 25k/year and had no coding experience. I paid each of them 2k / month to quit their jobs and focus on coding full time.

From the original 20 students, 6 are left. The other 14 are all full-stack software engineers.

If anyone wants to help out, send me an email to song at garagescript.org. I believe the real long term solution is to train under-served communities better and help them acquire technical skills.

edit remove donation link.

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#35
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not only can Californians no longer blame Republicans Assuming republicans are at fault (I know nothing of California state politics, so not taking a side here) it will take years to decades to move beyond any damage their policies caused. Politicians aren't free of blame they day they're voted out.

Well, you are right about one thing - you know nothing of the State politics Democrats have had a virtual lock on this State for at least five years. So much so that their primary nemesis was their own moderate Governor, Jerry Brown. Think about that - conservatives had been so utterly decimated that the only thing standing in the way of the State legislature was a Governor from their own party. They have a pliant Go…

Honestly, I'm a democrat, and what he says makes a lot of sense.

It really worries me that they have a super majority now - my hope is that they use it to invest in infrastructure, like public transit, that is sorely lacking in the state.

But I am not holding my breath. I fully expect they will squander it on the public unions and double pensions.

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#36
post #6

The author almost noticed Simpson's paradox: > Surprisingly, the UC Santa Cruz study suggests that employment in low wage industries is growing. The share of worker in jobs considered low-wage in 1997 grew 25 percent over the next 20 years, while the percent working in middle- and high-wage jobs declined. The problem isn't that wages are dropping for certain work; the problem is that middle-wage jobs are being automa…

the jobs that are mentioned in the article that are being hit the hardest are teachers, firefighters, caretakers and so forth. How many of those have been automated away? It seems that tech workers in the valley have found their own analog to blaming immigrants for downward wage pressure, their particular boogeyman seems to be the robots. No, the answer is much more trivial. As the article points out, the huge influx…

I think there’s a step missing in the analysis there. If tech workers are spending all this money — what are they spending it _on_? If they’re spending it locally shouldn’t that increase wages locally?

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#37
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure you'll get downvoted to kingdom come, but I actually checked out the included links - interesting stuff

> I'm sure you'll get downvoted to kingdom come, but I actually checked out the included links - interesting stuff Oh, indeed I shall. Still, we're sold a bundle of goods by the capitalists that "unions are evil" and et cetera, yet when when it is advantageous to the very capitalists, they form unions of their own to hold down the very workers' wages. Now, some unions do indeed suck. They were ineffective and only la…

They are not out to get you. They’re just doing what makes most sense for them.

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#38
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're trapped - probably unable to even scrape together the money to move. Moving is expensive! You need the money not only to relocate, but also to tide you over until you find work. Casual mobility is for the wealthy.

It isn't just that, many low wage people have their families there. Sometimes extended family. Moving would mean moving the whole clan away from friends and their connections and where they grew up. Moving is not a small thing.

Exactly this. Moving elsewhere when your extended family has lived in one place for multiple generations is probably one of the largest risks a person can take. You’re essentially trading most or all of your network for the possibility of a better life. If the possibility doesn’t work out, the person is usually worse off than if had they stayed in their original location.

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#39
post #6

The author almost noticed Simpson's paradox: > Surprisingly, the UC Santa Cruz study suggests that employment in low wage industries is growing. The share of worker in jobs considered low-wage in 1997 grew 25 percent over the next 20 years, while the percent working in middle- and high-wage jobs declined. The problem isn't that wages are dropping for certain work; the problem is that middle-wage jobs are being automa…

the jobs that are mentioned in the article that are being hit the hardest are teachers, firefighters, caretakers and so forth. How many of those have been automated away? It seems that tech workers in the valley have found their own analog to blaming immigrants for downward wage pressure, their particular boogeyman seems to be the robots. No, the answer is much more trivial. As the article points out, the huge influx…

Right there are no immigrants to speak of in silicon valley

Re: Silicon Valley wages have dropped for non-tech jobs

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the jobs that are mentioned in the article that are being hit the hardest are teachers, firefighters, caretakers and so forth. How many of those have been automated away? It seems that tech workers in the valley have found their own analog to blaming immigrants for downward wage pressure, their particular boogeyman seems to be the robots. No, the answer is much more trivial. As the article points out, the huge influx…

I think there’s a step missing in the analysis there. If tech workers are spending all this money — what are they spending it _on_? If they’re spending it locally shouldn’t that increase wages locally?

Shelter and avocado toast.
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