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The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

theguardian.com

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Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#11

Post by throwaway31231 »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #2

This seems to explain at least some of the UBI-love tech founders have. They live as billionaires in a community, that despite all their money and highfalutin ideas doesn't actually take care of its own, unless you have millions if not billions of dollars. Of course to them the only solution is more money, that's the only solution they seem to know. They'd be more believable if they fixed their own literal and metaph…

It's more than that. Money's value depends on everyone's collective attachment to it. The winners of a game remain so, only as long as a significant number of people are playing.

Ditto with USD, ditto with BTC.

UBI is one way to keep people playing; but I'm extremely wary of this idea. UBI without some sort of communal/anarchist/kibbutz-ian distributed structure binds society in yet another way.

'You're free as long as you do what I want', is not something we as a society should want, yet it is almost universally true. The US wants nations to be 'free' so that they do what it wants; it's only natural that this extends all the way down to the individual.

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#12

Post by d--b »

It's a culture problem: with so many people being so rich in the valley, you need to be ruthless to be part of the rich people's club. It means that if you're at the helm of a successful company, you'd rather become a billionaire yourself than letting the poorer people you employ become wealthy.

Another factor is that a good chunk of the tech's business was about making things cheaper rather than making new stuff. Amazon is cheaper than bookstores, Uber is cheaper than regular taxi, and so on. Even if the tech helps make the costs lowers, it also often translates into lower worker wages, and doesn't create more value overall that what existed before.

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#13

Post by brailsafe »

NiklasMort wrote: post #4
aaron-lebo wrote: post #2

This seems to explain at least some of the UBI-love tech founders have. They live as billionaires in a community, that despite all their money and highfalutin ideas doesn't actually take care of its own, unless you have millions if not billions of dollars. Of course to them the only solution is more money, that's the only solution they seem to know. They'd be more believable if they fixed their own literal and metaph…

But you gotta understand, they have no time, they have to make the world a better place with Snapchat&co...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-GVd_HLlps

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#14

Post by zxcmx »

mjfl wrote: post #3

Why pay $2000 a month when you have the whole country you could live in for much less? Why should I have to pay increased taxes for your ignorance/provincialism? Is living in San Francisco a fundamental right? I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. I'd suggest that these people move there, for the low cost of living combined with the vibrant-enough economy. Unemployment was at 5% through the great recession . However, I fin…

Because about 90% of people are white, in Lincoln, Nebraska.

I think your evaluation is probably right, if you're white.

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#15

Post by jimmywanger »

zxcmx wrote: post #14
mjfl wrote: post #3

Why pay $2000 a month when you have the whole country you could live in for much less? Why should I have to pay increased taxes for your ignorance/provincialism? Is living in San Francisco a fundamental right? I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. I'd suggest that these people move there, for the low cost of living combined with the vibrant-enough economy. Unemployment was at 5% through the great recession . However, I fin…

Because about 90% of people are white, in Lincoln, Nebraska. I think your evaluation is probably right, if you're white.

I don't see why race is a factor.

There is a whole host of things that could affect a place's desirability to live. It does not matter what you look like, if you're poor you gotta eat some shit once in a while.

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#16

Post by gbarc888 »

mjfl wrote: post #10
OfficialJoeGG wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes that rent trap is to high. You pay three quarters of your paycheck to just living (even house hunting you still need a place to live). You then have one quarter to spend on food (for 2 people) & electricity, water, and heat (if your rent doesn't cover utilities)& maybe some extra things like hygiene products, bills such as car payments, etc... You have almost no left over to put in for moving. So I don't di…

I don't believe it. Say you find a place in Lincoln for $500-$600 (which is possible in Lincoln), just by using the difference between old rent and new to cover debt from moving expenses, a mover could pay off $15,000 of debt within one year.

the jobs that lead to potential upward mobility aren't in Lincoln. Plus, this kind of forward-thinking (incur $15k worth of debt now, pay it off with money saved on rent later) is really difficult for someone like myself who already has a lot of debt.

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#17

Post by zxcmx »

jimmywanger wrote: post #15
zxcmx wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because about 90% of people are white, in Lincoln, Nebraska. I think your evaluation is probably right, if you're white.

I don't see why race is a factor. There is a whole host of things that could affect a place's desirability to live. It does not matter what you look like, if you're poor you gotta eat some shit once in a while.

That might be because you don't value family or other people like you around you. Personally I've lived in a bunch of countries and it's always been a lot easier for me with a support network.

I suppose in the context of the article we are talking about people already struggling, and I'm not suggesting at all that it's not a welcoming place. I'm just saying that it's gonna be out of comfort zone or "mental availability" for a lot of people.

What is obvious to one person is not at all obvious to another. Someone in SF is not likely to know anyone who moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, for example. They might know people who came from there though, I suppose.

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#18

Post by d--b »

mjfl wrote: post #3

Why pay $2000 a month when you have the whole country you could live in for much less? Why should I have to pay increased taxes for your ignorance/provincialism? Is living in San Francisco a fundamental right? I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. I'd suggest that these people move there, for the low cost of living combined with the vibrant-enough economy. Unemployment was at 5% through the great recession . However, I fin…

How? How do you move to Nebraska when you have $100/week for food?

How do you find a job, when you have literally 0-day you can spend without working?

Are there really than many jobs for people who flip burgers in Lincoln, Nebraska?

And are people who flip burgers in Nebraska so much better?

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#19

Post by drb91 »

mjfl wrote: post #3

Why pay $2000 a month when you have the whole country you could live in for much less? Why should I have to pay increased taxes for your ignorance/provincialism? Is living in San Francisco a fundamental right? I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. I'd suggest that these people move there, for the low cost of living combined with the vibrant-enough economy. Unemployment was at 5% through the great recession . However, I fin…

Well, lack of jobs, or lack of a hiring pool. Take your pick.

Re: The Silicon Valley paradox: one in four people are at risk of hunger

#20

Post by mjfl »

zxcmx wrote: post #14
mjfl wrote: post #3

Why pay $2000 a month when you have the whole country you could live in for much less? Why should I have to pay increased taxes for your ignorance/provincialism? Is living in San Francisco a fundamental right? I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. I'd suggest that these people move there, for the low cost of living combined with the vibrant-enough economy. Unemployment was at 5% through the great recession . However, I fin…

Because about 90% of people are white, in Lincoln, Nebraska. I think your evaluation is probably right, if you're white.

this is the "lynching" argument.

You pay for your bigotry.

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