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What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

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Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#421

Post by ethbr0 »

alexfromapex wrote: post #31

I think this article starts to touch on a topic area I don't hear much about but am extremely frustrated by: how modern work for a lot of jobs has become de facto indentured servitude. In the "When They Know They've Got You" section, they mention the real challenges of not being able to obtain a lawyer if things truly aren't fair. The average worker can't afford anything without taking on debt. Insurance is a scam in…

> the real challenges of not being able to obtain a lawyer if things truly aren't fair

This is underappreciated by the well-off: the very possibility of a counterparty being able to afford a lawyer raises the floor of illegality.

If you and the people around you couldn't ever afford a lawyer... that floor lowers drastically.

I have a few lawyer friends who volunteer at various legal aid organizations. Their most numerous cases? Landlords doing obviously-illegal things.

But without legal representation, who's to stop them? Or, to be fair to law-abiding small-scale landlords, the opposite situation with bad tenants?

Access to the law isn't just a "nice to have". It's a pillar of not-ripping-each-others-throats-out society.

Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#422

Post by kazinator »

Beltalowda wrote: post #365
kazinator wrote: post #64

> Annualized, it was the difference between $28,000 and $36,000 a year. $8,000 might not seem like a huge absolute increase in pay, but for the subject of the story it was almost a 30% raise. In Canada, if you're poor like this, you might take home just 40 cents home on every extra dollar earned. This is due to paying extra taxes, while losing tax benefits at the same time. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/low…

I think these kind of problems exist in a lot of countries; it's certainly similar in the Netherlands too, and has been for quite a long time: if you're a low-income earner you get social housing, rental assistance, health care assistance, and all these things. But then you start earning too much a lot of these things just drop away and you end up paying a lot more. This is why we should maybe rethink the way we do a…

A simple way to fix the mathematics, so that poorer people aren't effectively in a a 70% marginal tax rate, is to give the low income handouts to everyone, regardless of income. Universal Basic Income is in this vein.

I'd also fix other things. Instead of having "non-refundable tax credits" that operate at the lowest bracket, people should just be able to write reasonable expenses right off their income.

Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#423

Post by pempem »

gurumeditations wrote: post #245
pempem wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've thought a lot about this, esp as someone who was born here and whose parents immigrated here for the American Dream. They've done great. We lived in a rural area. It was possible because one of them came highly skilled and solicited to immigrate. That being said I shudder when I hear "just move to rural blah blah blah ". My life was horrible there. I was considered black, egytian, non-english speaking, to come f…

Same with gays especially, you have to live in a city or live in hiding in most places.

Fully agreed ^

Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#425

Post by throwaway675309 »

nemo44x wrote: post #232
permalac wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes I forget that those 6 figure jobs require one living in US, then I remember and I'm a bit happier with my not 6 figures job.

If you’re smart it’s a much better deal to live in the USA. It’s why you see so many Europeans move here and not the other way around. Europe is better if you’re dumb as there are better social systems. You can just exist more easily there.

Yeah safety nets are weak, screw our fellow man, I mean after all everyone on the entire earth is born genetically and socioeconomically tabula rasa, amirite guys? GATTICA GATTICA GATTICA!

Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#426

Post by lazide »

heavyset_go wrote: post #407
lazide wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh no. The American Dream has been about the ability to work hard to better oneself, and work UP TO that after education or doing something unique (like making their own business work and be profitable). Not that anyone could move here and just get it everything by doing the minimum.

Here's what FDR said about the minimum wage law that was passed in 1933: > It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. > By business I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by livi…

Ah, the one that was declared unconstitutional?

And that had an inflation adjusted earning potential of $4.81/hr (approx, in 2021)?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_the_United_Sta...

If you think working and living conditions are worse now than they were in 1933, I'd love some concrete examples.

I'm not saying things couldn't be better. I'm saying that most people talking about this seem to be completely devoid of context about life at all, and most proposed solutions just come across as strong arguments that they have no clue about the world at all, or why anything is the way it is.

Which is a solid vote in the column of 'changes proposed won't accomplish the stated goals, and will cause way more problems'. In my experience, anyway.

In my experience one of the biggest issues is that no one reports companies doing shitty things, and the labor orgs in the gov'ts get away with ignoring shitty things, because no one holds any politicians accountable on labor issues because most of the population is super complacent about everything.

Hell, Amazon and a number of other companies are super blatant about their ACTIVELY ILLEGAL ANTI-LABOR ORGANIZING, and not a peep seems to be coming from the appropriate labor departments.

And since everyone is super complacent (barely any protests even), then of course nobody cares. Because nobody is making them care.

If everyone really feels so badly about it, make it known by making them feel badly about it. Instead everyone seems to go back to candy crush after posting complaints online about how terrible things are.

Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#427

Post by mbrodersen »

The reason why doing-well-financially people are stressed/complaining is because they live beyond their means. It doesn’t matter how much you make if your lifestyle is more expensive than your income. That’s why you have crazy situations where people making $500k are complaining about how expensive things are and how badly they need to make more money. The key problem is a lack of financial literacy.

Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#428

Post by seanmcdirmid »

rtlfe wrote: post #330
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even in cities that don’t require that, rents are still expensive (with the exception of Tokyo where you can rent a 2.5 tatami sized apartment, shared toilet, no central heating, for $300/month).

> Even in cities that don’t require that, rents are still expensive Maybe you've got some good examples from other countries, but here in the US the only major city with reasonable zoning is Houston which has quite affordable homes.

I wouldn’t mind living in Tokyo, Houston doesn’t tempt me at all. I assume much of its affordability is related to demand, and the fact that given a lack of zoning it can sprawl forever (also reducing its appeal). I met a homeless person in Seattle from Houston, even the homeless don’t find the city desirable (though it might be due to weather?).

Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#429

Post by missedthecue »

abxytg wrote: post #102
mrjangles wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>how modern work for a lot of jobs has become de facto indentured servitude...The average worker can't afford anything without taking on debt. For people from other countries wondering about the veracity of these claims, let's take an example: The typical shitty job everyone on here complains about is working at an amazon warehouse. This is a job people with no skills take on. They pay 15 USD an hour. In other curren…

Cynically untrue. Amazon is not even close to bottom of the barrel. And it's clear you haven't paid market rent in a major city since you bought that starter home back in the 90s - 42k is a joke when your rent is close to $2500 and you get no benefits.

There are very few places in the US where rent for a single person is $2500

Re: What does “shitty job” mean in the low-skill, low-pay world?

#430

Post by hutzlibu »

User23 wrote: post #403
hutzlibu wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"That job must be nightmarish for anyone who isn’t a full-blown sociopath." Why do you have to be a sociopath, if you have the guts to help people, who need help? Even or especially if they are children? Sociopaths would do it for the money and prestige. A doctor with empathy mainly to save those that can be saved and ease the suffering of those that cannot. No need to insult or stigmatize them, because they can do,…

Are you saying that watching children die from cancer is fun and easy? To me it sounds like a nightmare. It’s obvious that I think that the persons who take that on are bearing a great burden. I don’t fault those that choose to lay it down. Do you?

"I don’t fault those that choose to lay it down. Do you"

I fault those, who say anyone capable of doing a emotional hard job, must be a sociopath.

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