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Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

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Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#171
post #40

We had an all-hands meeting recently where we got to submit anonymous questions. One of the questions was 'with inflation rising at 6%, will the company reconsider their 'standard' 2% raise?' The lady answering looks dead in the camera and goes 'Honestly? No' and goes on to talk about how we're reasonably competitive with the local market. Hey, credit where credit is due, at least she was a refreshingly straight shoo…

In my experience HR are never receptive to those types of arguments. If you want a raise the best thing you can do is find a new job.

The question can be asked from the management too. "Since inflation is 6%, isn't the 2% raises going to mean our employees leave us?".

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#172
post #70

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

Ah yes, a violent revolution that achieved none of its stated goals and lead to immense tragedy amongst the people it was ostensibly trying to help.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#173

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 tipp…

I'm surprised to find this level of shallow take on HN. No, the rise of the populist right is not the natural reaction, it's just was convenient at the time for various plutocrats to direct energy towards.

If that dog caught the metaphorical car, it wouldn't result in an outcome any reasonable person would agree with.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Past Performance Is Not Indicative Of Future Results. You see many of the same trends in history, yes, but also many surprises. History repeats itself, the second time as farce.

history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes

but is it "Gucci Gang" rhymes or "The expense of spirit in a waste of shame" rhymes?

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#176
This article doesn't cite any sources to support its claim. There is one chart in a linked article about increasing Consumer Price Index but where is the data to compare wage increase vs inflation?

Is it possible that this idea is just being propagated without much evidence to in effect create a state of peril? I would very much appreciate if someone has looked at any evidence.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#177

We had an all-hands meeting recently where we got to submit anonymous questions. One of the questions was 'with inflation rising at 6%, will the company reconsider their 'standard' 2% raise?' The lady answering looks dead in the camera and goes 'Honestly? No' and goes on to talk about how we're reasonably competitive with the local market. Hey, credit where credit is due, at least she was a refreshingly straight shoo…

> It pretty much let everyone on the call know what they needed to do if they wanted a good raise.

What did you tell them?

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#178
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the other side, whenever a member of my team has come to me asking to match an offer I've always refused and wished them well in their new role. If someone is unhappy enough to start job hunting rather than talking to me then it's a clear sign that they'll leave soon regardless of any pay rise. Psychologically, every pay increase makes someone happy for a short time, and then they get used to it and they start t…

Let me ask you this from a different perspective. If you are responsible for purchasing, will you ask competitors for quotes? And use those quotes for negotiating your current contract with a supplier? Isn't what the employee is doing exactly the same thing? If you would be a supplier you stance would translate to, I never make a new offer if a customer comes with a better offer from a competitor. I suspect one would…

Goods don't have a mind and thoughts so psychology does not apply. The good you price-compare won't become unhappy and later leave as OP described.

I have no opinion on if the negotiating tactic is good or not, only that the comparison of goods and people isn't quite right IMO.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The revolution will not come from the left. The "left" elites have forgotten the people, and the left in general is talking more about identity issues than class issues. The revolution will be more Trump than Bernie. Like in the early 1900, where more revolutions where fascist than communist.

> The "left" elites have forgotten the people, and the left in general is talking more about identity issues than class issues. You mention this in a discussion about Bernie Sanders? Probably the politician with the most single-minded focus on class politics in the country

> The "left" elites

Bernie isn't elite and not close to any power circle.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never seen a pay increase above ~2% here in Sweden. Some union agreements allow larger (and lower) changes if the average increase is still the decided upon percentage.

Eh, I'm unionized and had a 13% pay raise. To be fair, they motivated that by saying that I should get up to speed with other engineer's raises instead of staying at a junior level (yes, I'm bragging).

What I'm reading here is the union kept your initial wages 13% below market
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