Just pay the fucking interns, billionare. If we can do it, so can you.
Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
111–120 of 191 posts
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
After years of freelancing, without prior "work experience" and without even a high school diploma, my first job paid me $64,000. Think about it - I ran my own business, I was responsible for everything from client acquisition, billing, account management, not to mention actual production and marketing. And I didn't starve or get evicted, so it clearly worked. That's great experience. An unpaid internship doesn't giv…
This might be the time to mention the true story of Christopher Gardner, as shown in "The Pursuit of Happyness" who worked for six months without pay to find his dream. One story does not an argument make, but it's just an observation.
He also had to live on the street with his child for those six months, and at the end of the day was still lucky to get the job.
Maybe he wouldn't have been given the opportunity at all if it were paid (though I find that line of reasoning doubtful), but it's pretty hard to argue that he wouldn't have been better off with a paid internship.
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sorry, but the two have nothing to do with each other. And, honestly, I'm aghast to find such poor reasoning on HN. Employment shapes society. Employment pays taxes, puts rooves over people's heads, causes stress and worry (what if I lose my job!?), informs societal choices regarding basic social services (tied to company healthcare). Finally, employment is a public act because it is a market -- if Joe works for…
Joe doing it up the butt created the AIDS epidemic. Seems publicly relevant to me. Not that I personally care much about Joe doing it up the butt, but once you think government has a role in sculpting society there is no distinction between personal social issues and personal business issues. Women choosing to have children out of wedlock has a huge effect on everyone. Much more than some guy offering unpaid internsh…
Having lots of sexual partners creates epidemics of, wait for it...sexually transmitted disease.
The manner in which people have sex, unless we're talking dry humping and such, has nothing to do with creating epidemics.
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#114A billionaire complaining he has to pay people.... to paraphrase the title of the post, screw him.
Actually, he's complaining that he can't employ people for a project that probably won't happen at all unless he can employ interns. You're saying "screw him" because he wants to create something that is of greater advantage to people entering the workforce than not having it in existence at all.
Yes. That's what he's complaining about. His business has a project that only works if he can start it with people he doesn't pay. You just said nothing at all: we knew he wanted to do something with the interns, apotheon.
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
"worker safety" - Huh? Where is the safety of the worker here being jeopardized? It's not perfectly reasonable to the person being denied the choice. Clearly for the employer, the task(s) aren't of sufficient value to pay for the work otherwise, if they couldn't get unpaid workers, they would just pay for it. Instead, banning the practice makes society tangibly worse off as the work on the margins isn't being perform…
In some situations sure, I can agree with that. But to say it makes society tangibly worse I strongly disagree with because it assumes that all or at least most unpaid interships will benefit the internee. I don't think that's the case.
Then why would an unpaid internee stay at their position if they didn't see any value to themselves? There generally is at least some value even if it's a line item on a resume (that can have significant cumulative value)
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is an unpaid internship anywhere close to being slavery? The unpaid intern can walk away at any time. Further, it's the choice of the unpaid intern - not their family as to whether or not to accept the choice.
So in a recession if GM/Boeing/Walmart demand that all new hires work for no pay for their first year 'as intern trainees' that would be OK? If they fire these people on day 364 and get new trainees next year - that would be ok?
Why shouldn't they be allowed to? The hit to their reputation if they tried to pull a stunt like that would be far worse than the damage any law could do - they would never be able to hire new people again. You seem to presume that the law is the only thing keeping corporations in line.
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Second that. We had unpaid interns at my last job, and their work consisted of telemarketing, harvesting email addresses, web form spamming, data entry. It wouldn't be cost effective if their earned even $5/hr. What did they get out of it... cynicism? What happened to paying your way through college with paying jobs? Kids need to put their bottom line first, just like employers do.
What were they promised?
Ahh, good question! 3 college credits for ~250 hours. That's the incentive. One did it just for the experience, and regretted it.
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#118A strange fact popped into my mind, after reading this story and remembering some comments on the "Turing deserves an apology" story. Many people will say that two consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want in the privacy of their own bedroom. As soon as the act those adults want to do becomes nonsexual (e.g. an unpaid internship, unlicensed medicine), that principle goes out the window. Very confusing…
Hmm, one is an equal partnership, the other isn't. The unpaid internship law serves to give some protections to the little guy. Btw, I really don't understand why a billionaire (?) can't afford to pay hourly minimum wages to a bunch of kids.
Why is tracking game reports or driving trains unequal, but sex equal? Similarly, why is using sex toys equal, but using colonoscopes unequal?
Maybe you could explain what you mean by "equal"?
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#119A strange fact popped into my mind, after reading this story and remembering some comments on the "Turing deserves an apology" story. Many people will say that two consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want in the privacy of their own bedroom. As soon as the act those adults want to do becomes nonsexual (e.g. an unpaid internship, unlicensed medicine), that principle goes out the window. Very confusing…
Many people will say that two consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want in the privacy of their own bedroom In that case, both parties are natural persons, in complete freedom, entering into an agreement with each-other that is unlikely to have bad consequences for society. There is not need for government regulation. As soon as the act those adults want to do becomes nonsexual (e.g. an unpaid interns…
" Judging who is fit to be a doctor and who isn't is one of them, as much as maintaining a police force is."
Hardly. Individuals can very easily manage a police force. Look at Blackwater.
The reason you might want the State involved in either of these is because you want it to have a monopoly. I really don't want competing police forces and armies. Having competing organizations that evaluated and licensed doctors might be a good thing.
Re: Want an Unpaid Internship So You Can Get Valuable Experience ? – Screw You
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then look at it this way. Barter is taxed, and working for free for "experience" is clearly a form of barter. Unpaid internships still must be taxed. They will probably be taxed at a higher prevailing wage than minimum wage. So, you have tax payment going on, while no employment paying is going on. Meanwhile back at the ranch, rich or reasonably well-off kids can take free internships, which creates more free interns…
> If the internships are paid, everyone is better off You're assuming that the cost of providing internships is essentially zero. When the likelihood of internships being offered at all (based on cost) is factored into things, your argument falls apart.
And are you assuming that the internships are being provided as a public service? That is laughable.
Either the company gets a hire-able employee or they get a whole bunch of work done that no one else was going to do.