Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation • Hacker News Board

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#841

Post by whimsicalism » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 4:54 PM UTC

nobody9999 wrote: post #795

whimsicalism wrote: post #721

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most Americans are significantly worse off since the 1970s This statement seems obviously false to me and is what I was disagreeing with. This entire conversation was spawned because many people felt the need to defend this statement.

>This statement seems obviously false to me and is what I was disagreeing with. This entire conversation was spawned because many people felt the need to defend this statement. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't disagree with your point at all. Materially we've got more stuff , sure. The issue I pointed up (and perhaps that others were alluding) is that social mobility has been negatively affected over the pa…

> social mobility has been negatively affected over the past 50 years.

I'm really not at all confident this is even true, unless you are restricting your sample to white people & men.

Seems like social mobility for women, who comprise half the population, is markedly better than it was 50 years ago.

I don't think it is true that it has been getting "harder" for people to make ends meet for quite some time. Again, in the time period we're comparing to, people were quite literally starving to death/dying from malnutrition at times. Nowadays, people have their ends met well enough that this does not happen in America.

This is in spite of rampant inequality, but still - measurable improvements on pretty much all measures. Really, many of the bigger causes of early death now are due to self-destructive things people can do with more material abundance.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#842

Post by stemlord » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:13 PM UTC

furyg3 wrote: post #261

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #20

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…

My employers automatically corrects for inflation at the end of each year. Of course it's still 'behind the curve', since inflation happening this year is only compensated next year, but it's still something. Pro-tip, if you have yearly performance/raise/bonus discussions, let your manager tell you all of the nice things to justify why they are giving you a raise. Dig into it, be super grateful and receptive. Then as…

I just had the opposite happen to me where I asked for a raise and my manager asks if I've considered annual inflation compensation. It was both funny and depressing

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#843

Post by chillacy » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 7:55 PM UTC

dnautics wrote: post #570

commandlinefan wrote: post #544

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So Krugman's wrong, again. Has he ever been right?

Honestly, I am profoundly in disagreement with Krugman about everything, but that's because he's right about everything, but in wrong ways, usually due to a huge, huge, blind spot at the root. And it's frustrating that he can take people in with his analysis because it's easy to accept his arguments thinking "just hard enough" (which is catnip for lazy intellectuals). Like for example with the Babysitter's coop. His…

That’s a good take. I get the impression that some people just take his word because he has a Nobel prize.

Relatedly, do you have on Taleb? Given that Taleb and Krugman seem to have beef.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#844

Post by shakezula » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 7:57 PM UTC

nonford150 wrote: post #815

8note wrote: post #761

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Conservatives will happily do away with the 2nd amendment if you arm a bunch of black people, and have them constantly open carrying while black

Not sure about your location, I see about a 50/30/20 (white/black/Hispanic)racial mix at my Atlanta Bass Pro gun counter, which about matches this counties’ demographics. People just want to be able to protect themselves; don’t take Brunswick as the norm for everywhere.

They’re referencing how California republicans were lightning fast to legislate away gun rights as soon as the Black Panthers started organizing and flexing their second amendment rights.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#845

Post by confidantlake » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 8:03 PM UTC

nickpp wrote: post #289

hvidgaard wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What good is new tech if you cannot afford to buy a house or a new'ish car for the minimum wage, even if you live frugal and save?

For example, it lets you live in a less expensive city and work remotely wherever you want. Also it allows you to learn and raise your earning potential. Finally modern transportation options less expensive than cars like e-bikes and e-scooters allow you to commute easier.

90% of the US you would get killed on your commute if you tried to use an e-bike or e-scooter.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#846

Post by chillacy » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 8:03 PM UTC

systemvoltage wrote: post #210

Just a few months ago you would be flagged on HN for mentioning inflation. Look up any threads on economy from March 2021 for example. I want to know why. Why was the HN diaspora not allowing dissent with the mainstream narrative? Mentioning inflation here was so harshly ridiculed, I was surprised the massive U-turn from the tech community. I saw the entire media changing the tune. That means no one here is thinking…

Hang enough long enough on the internet and you’ll see a lot of hindsight bias. Or “first it’s is impossible, then it becomes obvious”

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#847

Post by sfoley » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 8:45 PM UTC

kilroy123 wrote: post #465

guerrilla wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you summarize? I don't want to watch this entire video right now even though it seems interesting.

Democracy relies on people being able to vote for what they think is right; with privacy. We removed senators right to vote for the right things in private in ~1970. After this things have gotten very bad in the US–policy wise. Polarization. Extreme lobbing. Partisanship. Fiscal policies that only favor the rich. See this: https://wtfhappenedin1971.com All of this happened after we changed the rules in Congress where…

After it therefore because of it.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#848

Post by sfoley » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 8:51 PM UTC

jl6 wrote: post #753

Workaccount2 wrote: post #600

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a whole website for this, but it's more the 1960's that were golden. https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/

That’s just a bunch of [highly motivated] financial metrics. I was hoping someone might tell me some real-world benefits like “I used to be able to do X, now I can only do Y”. Of course I don’t expect to hear much because as far as I can tell, 2020s USA is better than 1970s USA in every way I can think of.

You can’t think of healthcare costs?

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#849

Post by olliej » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 10:19 PM UTC

aembleton wrote: post #303

olliej wrote: post #125

Worker pay hasn't been keeping track with inflation for decades - this isn't new. Politicians are only concerned now because it is impacting the cash (and equivalent) banks of the super rich. In the US at least it's fairly telling that wages and similar for normal people aren't legally tied to any real measurement and require explicit corrections by lawmakers, whereas everything that benefits law makers and their don…

Why haven't the super rich diversified into assets? Spread it around into different asset classes, and they should be reasonably inflation proof.

They have, but a bunch of their assets track cash - cash, cash equivalents, loans (e.g other people's mortgages, esp. those with fixed interest rates)

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#850

Post by confidantlake » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 10:52 PM UTC

chinathrow wrote: post #772

mac01021 wrote: post #599

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect the GP is interpreting "Honestly?" as an expression of incredulity at being asked the question - as though the asker did not know their place as an employee. I can see how such an attitude would be offputting, but I do not believe that is the correct interpretation of the HR spokesperson's meaning.

You're right. English is not my first language and I've read the "Honestly?" more as "Seriously?".

Sometimes it something like "I know you won't want to hear this" or "I suspect you won't like the answer". It is prefacing something like I know you don't want to hear this but I would rather be honest than lie about it.