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I actually work for one of the tech giants based out of Menlo Park, and can say that vast income inequality is very present, very real, and affects not only the low income families but also even young professionals like myself as our rents shoot through the roof. Do I make enough to afford Bay Area's highway robbery rent? Absolutely. Do I feel good about paying a fortune to live in an old match box sized flat? There must be something seriously wrong with me if I think paying $4000 per month for a 2-bedroom apartment is worth my money. That is actually the primary reason why I have decided not to move back to my company's HQ in the Bay Area, even if offered a significant raise.
Here you go....you made your rational choice and you had options....
Income inequality is real but it is extremely naive if you think you will fix it raising the minimum wage....nobody forces someone to sweep floors or wait tables in SF rather than Atlanta.....people evidently stay there for a reason...
Here you go....you made your rational choice and you had options....
Income inequality is real but it is extremely naive if you think you will fix it raising the minimum wage....nobody forces someone to sweep floors or wait tables in SF rather than Atlanta.....people evidently stay there for a reason...
What reason?
SF has more lower wage jobs (e.g. waiting tables, jobs at the mall, etc) than high-wage tech jobs. You will always have a large number of low wage service type jobs in a city regardless of how many high paying jobs that city may have to offer.
You seem to dislike the idea of raising the minimum (living) wage. Then.... what's the solution?
Regardless, it's still a market reality....more people in a field for the same amount of jobs, drives wages lower...simple.
Well ... sure ..
We cant let market reality drive everything including human well being. Cant let kids go to sleep hungry cause their mother cant put food on the table with her minimum wage job.
What do you tell the mother and child .... "it is market reality"
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During the dotcom era, if you could just spell "C++" in a napkin you could get 90K entry jobs....it really happened of people getting jobs on a list of skills written literally on a napkin.
Sure .. I heard that too ..
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I heard from people in in the industry that during the last building frenzy in Vancouver, sweeping the floor after the carpenter and concrete guys would get you easily $25 an hour.....supply and demand...
You can still make a lot of money in Canada if you are willing to do hard labor.
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Yesterday I wrote a check for $167 to my heating guy for the year check-up on my furnace and air conditioning, half hour job at most....Eddie is definitely not a son of privilege, nor he holds an advanced degree...he was born in Yakima from poor Mexican farmer parents and all he did was going to trade school and opening up his small business.
Yes ... we have all hear about Joe the Plumber.
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If you have low wage skills you will get low wage jobs, regardless of how many liberal arts degree you have....
Low wage is fine as long as it is a living wage. Cant expect people to live on $7 per hour in cities like SF and Seattle.
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Now, the fact that uncontrolled illegal immigration has driven up supply of low skills people it's another story and it is true, and so it's true that many big businesses love it....and so do all the liberal airheads that want to increase minimum wage.
The places that you LOVE and rant about in every post... namely Seattle and SFO. They are both super liberal cities. Seattle and SFO are both about the enact high min wages. Highest in North America!
.....the reason is many that start at minimum wage levels could be college students that will hope to get these high paying jobs in SF one day.
Again, nobody forces someone to wait tables in San Francisco....you can do it in Atlanta with a much lower cost of living. In another post, long time ago, I brought up the case of a grocery store cashier that decided to move with her husband (working in another retail store) in Georgia...wages for similar positions were not that much lower but cost of living (especially housing prices) was significantly lower.....and better weather too.
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Sure .. I heard that too ..
I did not hear it...I witnessed...in Canada...
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You can still make a lot of money in Canada if you are willing to do hard labor.
Here you go....I happen to agree....
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Yes ... we have all hear about Joe the Plumber.
You do not need to "hear it"......it happens every day....
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Low wage is fine as long as it is a living wage. Cant expect people to live on $7 per hour in cities like SF and Seattle.
If people cannot make a living at $7 an hour they will not work for $7 an hour....the problem is that many working poor have supplementary income from government program effectively subsidizing businesses with taxpayer money which is wrong....I'm all for a living wage, absolutely...so let's stop subsidizing companies
Try to offer $4 an hour to a teenager to mow your lawn...nobody will do it.
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The places that you LOVE and rant about in every post... namely Seattle and SFO. They are both super liberal cities. Seattle and SFO are both about the enact high min wages. Highest in North America!
I happen to live in Seattle, never claimed it was perfect (try to point out where I said that).
Both Seattle and SF, luckily, have a strong enough business environment to support pigheaded initiatives.
Even before the recent drop in the value of Canadian dollar compared to the USA dollar, the average income in Vancouver after taxes was much lower than Seattle and now the currency relationship has made it that much greater and Vancouver is more expensive. So from an economic standpoint, Seattle is a much better deal. I really like both cities otherwise it's a tossup imo. The super high cost of housing in Vancouver is a mystery to me.
.....the reason is many that start at minimum wage levels could be college students that will hope to get these high paying jobs in SF one day.
Again, nobody forces someone to wait tables in San Francisco....you can do it in Atlanta with a much lower cost of living. In another post, long time ago, I brought up the case of a grocery store cashier that decided to move with her husband (working in another retail store) in Georgia...wages for similar positions were not that much lower but cost of living (especially housing prices) was significantly lower.....and better weather too.
Don't know what world you live in ...
I know that no one puts a gun to your head and asks you to do min wage jobs in expensive cities. But some people cannot help it or cannot find higher paying jobs. More and more college students cannot find high paying jobs and appear to be stuck with lower wage jobs.
It almost seems like you are suggesting a class/income based system where you have to make certain amount of money to live in that city. You expect all lower income people to move out of Seattle and SFO? How is that even possible or sustainable. It makes no sense.
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I did not hear it...I witnessed...in Canada...
Here you go....I happen to agree....
Finally!
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If people cannot make a living at $7 an hour they will not work for $7 an hour....the problem is that many working poor have supplementary income from government program effectively subsidizing businesses with taxpayer money which is wrong....I'm all for a living wage, absolutely...so let's stop subsidizing companies
Yet people do ...
This logic doesnt make much sense. So I dont know how to respond.
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Try to offer $4 an hour to a teenager to mow your lawn...nobody will do it.
That's because teenagers generally dont have a family to feed and rent to pay. Offer something like this to a 40 year old who has been out of a job and ....
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I happen to live in Seattle, never claimed it was perfect (try to point out where I said that).
I never claimed any such thing. I didn't even know where you live/lived. I just read your posts where you rant about places like Seattle and SFO.
I just pointed out that you happen to hate the one thing that makes these cities great - liberal ideas and policies. You don't see the irony?
Let me tell you something about Victoria, and Vancouver island ferry service.....my experience is quite ancient since it was before my move out of Vancouver in 2002 so maybe now it's better.
I was disappointed there was not a middle of the night service between the island and the mainland, once I did the mistake of not having a reservation in summer and I almost got stuck in the island for one night because I could not get a ride back, traffic was seriously overwhelming the scheduled ferry rides...i spent almost an entire afternoon/evening waiting for an available spot....
Granted, I'm talking a much higher population (and a shorter ride) but it was a very different experience than the ferry ride between Sicily and Italy mainland, pretty much continuous service back and forth, every 20 minutes or so, night and day and by different companies, including a state owned one.
It was weird for such a big island and Victoria is, after all, BC's Capital.
Your example is poor. Sicily has a population of 5 million. Many more people going back and forth.
Secondly most ferries from the mainland take 8 to 14 hours to reach Sicily. If you get yourself down to the the part of the mainland that is closest to Sicily it's only 30 minutes...but hardly convenient unless you are in the area.
I don't have much sympathy for you and your poor planning in using BC Ferries in the height of tourist season and expecting to get on. You must have had a car, since rarely are foot passengers denied and Pacific Coach just add another bus if they fill up one.
SF has more lower wage jobs (e.g. waiting tables, jobs at the mall, etc) than high-wage tech jobs. You will always have a large number of low wage service type jobs in a city regardless of how many high paying jobs that city may have to offer.
You seem to dislike the idea of raising the minimum (living) wage. Then.... what's the solution?
sandman249. Botticelli is one who does not live by what he says. He may go on and on but when it comes down to it, he simply takes all the advantages while damning the system. Medical in Canada for one. He has ranted in past posts how everyone should pay their own way, but for himself he doesn't. I have informed him he can if wanted to, but he still uses the system.
Saturno loves...well only places he has yet to live it seems. He tells us that all you have to do is move out of one area if you don't like it, it's " market reality ", but in the same breathe bashes the place, Vancouver, because of the " market reality ".
I'd move on if I were you. You will never convince them.
sandman249. Botticelli is one who does not live by what he says. He may go on and on but when it comes down to it, he simply takes all the advantages while damning the system. Medical in Canada for one. He has ranted in past posts how everyone should pay their own way, but for himself he doesn't. I have informed him he can if wanted to, but he still uses the system.
Saturno loves...well only places he has yet to live it seems. He tells us that all you have to do is move out of one area if you don't like it, it's " market reality ", but in the same breathe bashes the place, Vancouver, because of the " market reality ".
I'd move on if I were you. You will never convince them.
LOLOLOL - nice post!! especially in red
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