this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
22 points (100.0% liked)

BrainWorms

19 readers
1 users here now

Hey, welcome to BrainWorms.

This is a place where I post interesting things that I find and cant categorize into one of the main subs I follow. Enjoy a front seat as i descend into madness

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/916523

Sen. Bernie Sanders is once again calling for a higher federal minimum wage. The current rate has been $7.25 since 2009.

top 12 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Igotz80HDnImWinning@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Minimum wage should be RELATIVE not absolute. When we started the fight for 15 that was OK but pretty sure after the inflation we had it’s not enough. Let’s make minimum wage relative to provide the minimum necessities to live in any city in the country. Or make it a percentage of the highest paid CEO salary. It’s gotta be relative, not a dollar amount but an amount of living you can afford.

[–] kibiz0r@midwest.social 1 points 1 year ago

Yes, and also:

  • Mandatory salary transparency
  • All hires gain shares of the company while employed there
[–] calabast@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I completely agree with you in theory. Minimum wage should be the minimum amount someone needs to live a non-desperate life. Or some smarter way to say that. My only fear is that Goodhart's Law would come into effect "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." I'm worried that the dickbags would find ways to skew the calculation, to pay people less. Maybe that's still a better alternative than fighting to raise it to a defined amount over and over and over again, though. I just wanted to mention how I was worried. Because of the dickbags.

[–] Igotz80HDnImWinning@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s a good point. I’m sure they’d do something like that. That’s why we tie it to a ton of measures: cost of a gallon of milk+minimum rent+average healthcare costs for a family+S&P 500+cost of phone and internet+etc. A huge, comprehensive reflection of the cost of living AND include the oligarchs favorite market metrics. If we have to bail out Silicon Valley venture capital, they should pay higher minimum wage when they are reaping large returns.

[–] calabast@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

I agree with you, that sounds like a way to make it harder for them to screw with the measurement. I'd vote for it!

(My new worry is that they'd see it being an issue well before it was implemented, and pay Fox News to call it part of the trans, communist agenda or whatever, so it would never pass. Fuck. Maybe that's enough bubble bath white wine for now...)

[–] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago

In some European countries it is tied to the cost of living. All wages, not just minimum wages, are indexed to match the inflation.

[–] ilikenoodlez@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Something I don't understand is why is a specific number tied to the minimum wage. Is there not a legitimate mathematical way to calculate "minimum wage" depending on where you live and your local economy?

[–] cooopsspace@infosec.pub 1 points 1 year ago

It's not hard, governments index shit all the time. In Australia my university debt is indexed to the inflation rate.

Okay, but why not set the minimum wage to a thriving wage - and then index it with inflation year on year.

[–] CIWS-30@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's good of him, but I wonder if that can even pass, given that Republicans hold the house, and Manchin and Sinema exist. In the end, I'd settle for $10 to $11 an hour, the removal of loopholes like $2.13 minimum an hour for tipped wages, and similar fixes.

It's a good starting point at least, and Manchin said he was okay with an $11 minimum wage. I just hope it's not just fronting, and something actually comes of this.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago

There's no point to passing that. I'd rather not pretend.

[–] blazera@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not democrats, the progressives that should be in their own party. Democrats are gonna let it fizzle out like they always do.

[–] insomniac_lemon@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago

Third candidates don't even work, so that will only backfire unless First Past the Post voting is replaced.