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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

#851

Post by xapata »

vmception wrote: post #826
xapata wrote: post #818

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would the landlord choose to rent at below market rates? I think we've drifted from the question of whether the rental apartment market is competitive. If a landlord chooses to consistently rent below market rates, for whatever foolish reason, then they'll probably wind up selling the building to someone who knows what the market rate is. It might take a while, but it'll happen eventually.

The point is to place the gentrification blame on the landlords instead of the people who happen to be able to afford the stated price

I wouldn't blame anyone for gentrification. It's just a thing that happens.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#852

Post by 0xy »

kelseyfrog wrote: post #52
tjpnz wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 best thing you can do is organize your workplace. Job hopping allows businesses to eat the market at the edges and eventually squeeze those demands out of the labor pool.

Unions are overwhelmingly unpopular in tech, for good reason. Nobody wants to work with that incompetent unfireable employee who's protected, or getting paid the same as someone who produces half the results you do at the same level.

Unfortunately unions protect the incompetent and punish the successful (by refusing them the ability to negotiate). It's most pronounced in the heavy unionized industries like teaching and auto manufacturing.

There will always be developers who produce the results of 10, 100 or 500 developers single-handedly. Unions kneecap them, like they kneecap outstanding teachers by paying them the same as the teachers phoning it in every day.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#853

Post by dzhiurgis »

halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #686
klyrs wrote: post #625

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that's weird in perspective. Snapchat's valuation doesn't give them buying power, but Apple has nearly 200B cash on hand -- they could theoretically buy and close down all of these manufacturers and test the hypothesis that Big Gun is causing all the shootings.

Theoretically, could Apple buy S&W and…just shut it down? Would the government allow it? Curious…

Sell consumers guns at silly prices, but only works if you hold it correctly...

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#854

Post by dzhiurgis »

treis wrote: post #506
wonderwonder wrote: post #488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the important numbers here are the salary and housing cost ones. In 1970 the average house could be purchased for less than 2 years of salary. Today it costs 5.8 years of salary. The cost of housing has sky rocketed relative to income. Housing is the largest bill for the vast majority of people and it eats a massive portion of their take home. Likewise the cost of a vehicle has seen a very large increase perc…

>think the important numbers here are the salary and housing cost ones. In 1970 the average house could be purchased for less than 2 years of salary. Today it costs 5.8 years of salary. But no one pays cash for their house. They get a mortgage and so the monthly mortgage payment is (mostly) what matters. Back in the 70s you're paying 10%+ on your mortgage while today it's more like 3.

27 years to save for a deposit for a house in Auckland

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#855

Post by dzhiurgis »

sokoloff wrote: post #407
ricardobayes wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about spoiled children, I see janitors walking around with 800 euro phones here. It's just a psychological way for low earning people to 'keep up with the Kardashians'. AS they can't buy cars or houses they buy gadgets.

It’s amusing to me to contemplate that I work in tech and buy 1-2 year old iPhones for $300-500. I’m glad so many people have to have the very latest and so recycle great tech for 50+% discounts.

So how is the $50 per month savings is going to help you buy that $1M home?

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#856

Post by tcmart14 »

Gareth321 wrote: post #250

Real wages have been flat since the 1970s ( https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us... ). "Okay, so people's living standards are about the same since 1970?" Not even close. The problem with inflation is that its calculation is fraught with all kinds of selective weighting, bias, and politics. Take a look at the relative differences between the things which have decreased and increased in cost in…

Something else to add context as far as the complexities of inflation and buying power. Yea TVs are cheaper, but the production of TVs have been shifted more and more to overseas locations where various costs are cheaper such as waste management, labor, etc. So while Americans have better buying power over computers, lets say, a lot of the computers are no longer made in the US.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#857

Post by oblio »

csomar wrote: post #816
8note wrote: post #760

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A person with a fun is dangerous, whether they are an idiot not. It's the same as all code having bugs, regardless of whether the programmer was skilled

By that same logic, a person with an oil truck is more dangerous. Yet, we trust these people to drive these things in broad daylight?

Truck drivers are licensed. Twice, actually.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#858

Post by carom »

walkhour wrote: post #266
carom wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Inflation isn't bad, it is part of the interest rate cycle. You cut rates until you can't then you use inflation.

Could you elaborate? Why is the interest rate cycle good?

It's not good or bad, it just is. We're at the bottom right now, we'll stay here for a bit then experience inflation. Allocate assets accordingly. There isn't a good way up from zero interest rates besides printing money.

Re: Worker pay isn’t keeping up with inflation

#859

Post by jl6 »

sfoley wrote: post #848
jl6 wrote: post #753

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Yeah that sucks, but there are many, many more treatments available today than in 1970, so I’d almost certainly prefer to pay 6x the cost of 1970s healthcare to get 2020s-quality treatment.
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