Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

axios.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 859 posts

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#131

Post by res0nat0r »

silisili wrote: post #58

As someone who does OK, but lives in reality (not the bay area), I feel a revolution coming. I hope it's not a violent one, but who knows at this point. Hopefully it's just a politician with big policy changes. People feel completely disenfranchised. You keep hanging housing over their head but just out of reach like some baby toy, then inflation spikes everything else. What's the point of working even? I don't know…

The only oncoming revolution is the status quo. The Democrats aren't going to pass any voting rights legislation while they have the chance, and are going to allow the GOP to enshrine minority rule for the foreseeable future starting in 2022. A minority of the voting electorate is perfectly fine with this, and are situated such that their votes matter more than the majority to let this happen. There's a reason why the rightwing in the USA have embraced Putin and Eastern European soft dictators within the last 10 years, as it allows for massive government/friends of government grifting and minority suppression as a governing platform with public support.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#132

Post by decebalus1 »

simonh wrote: post #77
missedthecue wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does the US, a society with low union membership rates have much higher median salaries both before and after taxes and government benefits than in Europe where there are lots of powerful unions? https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-disposable-income.htm

Medians don’t tell the whole story. Incomes for high wage earners in the US have increased disproportionately compared to European countries, while wages for middle and low income groups stagnated in comparison. The value of benefits isn’t takin into account. Health care is a huge driver of inequality in the US. Tens of millions of you get minimal health care, and even many on health care plans only qualify for a fra…

> They know that whatever happens to them, they will get decent health care, their kids will get a decent education, and they’re more likely to get fair treatment from their employer.

And as a former manager once told me, 'one needs the constant fear of homelessness to keep workers in line'. That is the real engine of innovation /s

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#134

Post by snuxoll »

baron816 wrote: post #96
neonbjb wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is wrong IMO - the fed has NO tools in its hands. Its last tool was inflation rates, and it burned that during the great recession. It is now caught in a pickle: raise interest rates, causing a mass exodus of wealth from securities to savings accounts and CDs and causing the stock market to tumble (like it arguably always should have done since 2008), or let inflation take its course. I am not an economist, and…

> I am not an economist Yeah, if you’re interested in this stuff, you should do some research. The Fed’s options aren’t 0% rates vs 15% rates. It’s going to raise rates .25% at a time. .25% is not much of a difference. It’ll move slowly and act cautiously. The Fed, and other central banks have dealt with inflation many times before. And very effectively at that. Stocks could fall, but the stock market is not the econ…

> and the Fed has no mandate to prop up stocks.

Not true in the least anymore - retirement savings for a large percentage of our population are tied up in stocks thanks to the death of the pension. Asset and securities prices as a whole are a large concern for the fed when changing policy, as a result.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#135

Post by devcpp »

hattori_hanzo wrote: post #62
devcpp wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's all from the government, and by extension from the population at large, not from any set of rich people.

Well yeah. From the government, for rich people. I don't know any poor people who can directly profit from corporate bailouts, tax cuts or has access to loans with such low interest rates. Even though as you say it comes from the population at large.

I'm the last person to defend welfare for the wealthy. I'm saying you're blaming the player rather than the game, which is an understandable feeling but is not productive to your goals.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#136

Post by thatguy0900 »

whydid wrote: post #70
silisili wrote: post #58

As someone who does OK, but lives in reality (not the bay area), I feel a revolution coming. I hope it's not a violent one, but who knows at this point. Hopefully it's just a politician with big policy changes. People feel completely disenfranchised. You keep hanging housing over their head but just out of reach like some baby toy, then inflation spikes everything else. What's the point of working even? I don't know…

This is why I love to study history, you can almost predict the future by studying the past. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution

I wonder how much time we have left for a real citizen revolution. Is is not difficult to imagine a near future with an automated and mechanized military and police with equipment that cannot go rogue. People in the US like to talk about guns as protections against state tyranny but not many have automated laser point defence for drone attacks.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#137

Post by holografix »

silisili wrote: post #58

As someone who does OK, but lives in reality (not the bay area), I feel a revolution coming. I hope it's not a violent one, but who knows at this point. Hopefully it's just a politician with big policy changes. People feel completely disenfranchised. You keep hanging housing over their head but just out of reach like some baby toy, then inflation spikes everything else. What's the point of working even? I don't know…

It already came and half went.

It was represented by Donald Trump, the rise of the right in Europe and the alignment of Russia and China for short term push back on the west.

DT would never have been elected if _any_ of the architects of the GFC had gone to jail. Imho that was Obama’s biggest mistake. Bailouts could be justifiable and understood by the population, no one going to jail was a betrayal.

It caused a tipping point in the erosion of trust in the established political class and in the American democracy.

The vitriol directed against Hilary was a symptom of that distrust

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#138

Post by sponge_reader »

Salary increase rate with matching that of inflation is not a good practice, for anyone. Companies should discuss raises on a case by case basis once a year. That gives more realistic edge to both part of the equation. I, for one, could care less about 2-3% increase (kinda sweet spot for the inflation rate) in my salary. If I think I’m worth more I’m probably thinking about 25-30%more at the minimum.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#139

Post by refurb »

neuroma wrote: post #126
nicoco wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're missing the point. With a 6% inflation, a 6% raise means the employees are worth the same as before , not more.

It's worse. Many people could see their fractional tax burden increasing as their nominal wage rises and crosses higher tax bandings. Inflating is a slow theft, and the description of "financial oppression" is apt.

Tax brackets in the US are indexed to inflation. They weren't always, but that was changed in the 80's I think?

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#140

Post by kelseyfrog »

whydid wrote: post #70
silisili wrote: post #58

As someone who does OK, but lives in reality (not the bay area), I feel a revolution coming. I hope it's not a violent one, but who knows at this point. Hopefully it's just a politician with big policy changes. People feel completely disenfranchised. You keep hanging housing over their head but just out of reach like some baby toy, then inflation spikes everything else. What's the point of working even? I don't know…

This is why I love to study history, you can almost predict the future by studying the past. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution

You may already be a listener, but I've found great joy in listening to Mike Duncan's Revolutions[1]. It makes it easier to pick out what structures, people, and events today might make their way into history books(or podcasts of the future) one hundred years from now should things go pear-shaped.

There are many points to be made, but one that tends to go less appreciated is that in the period leading up to the dramatic revolutionary events there isn't a constant increase in tension. There are flare ups of course, but they punctuate years of relative peace. Just because tensions die down for a bit does not mean things are getting fixed. Quite the opposite, it lulls people into complacency. That is, until the systemic deficiencies paired with personalities unable to address them collide and everything falls apart.

1. https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/

Post reply on HN