#OOR23 shows how difficult it is for renters to find affordable housing. Find out how much a renter must earn to afford a modest home at https://nlihc.org/oor
This site has these sorts of stats for each state.
Why are you defending both these conditions for people and superyachts?
I’m a much stronger supporter of the American status quo than most other people here are. It’s very good to live in this country, certainly much better than living where I was born in the former Soviet Union. (Middle-class people from there come here to work illegally for very low wages, because even the people with the lowest incomes here have more money than a middle-class person there.) There’s room for improvement, but changes should be made slowly and carefully, with an emphasis on not breaking anything. So when someone proposes a policy that would encourage billionaires to leave, I’m against that because it might have unintended side effects on the economy. And when someone has unreasonable expectations about what the minimum wage ought to be, I’m against that too for the same reason.
I’m not saying “don’t complain”. I’m saying “be very careful when making changes to a system that already works better than most.” A lot of people talk as if life in the USA is awful and demand radical change. I think it would be a terrible idea to trust them not to break the delicate machinery of our prosperity.
A lot of people talk as if life in the USA is awful and demand radical change
That’s likely because for many people the USA is awful and in need of radical change
It’s really easy to look at how other countries are doing better than we are at things and learn from them, it’s not like any change we try would be some magical untested idea that would break the country in 2
I’ve got things going pretty nicely for me, so I don’t want anything to change unless I’m not as close to the top as I currently am. Change might make me feel less wealthy, and so it scares me.
I’m not too concerned about myself - I’ll be fine, at least because I can move somewhere else (although I would prefer not to have to learn a third language). I’m concerned about the working poor (my family was when I was a kid) and I don’t think people so out of touch that they call a one-bedroom “modest” are well-equipped to judge what the minimum wage ought to be.
(There’s no consensus that the minimum wage actually helps people, but if it does then it should be higher. The current minimum wage is effectively no minimum wage at all.)
Modest would be sharing a studio with several other people. (…) I don’t think society should be targeting the “lives alone in a one-bedroom” lifestyle as the minimum when sharing a space is a reasonable and much more affordable way to live.
Aren’t compatible positions, and
There’s no consensus that the minimum wage actually helps people
is a laughable one - it’s one of the most studied topics in economics, and when you put any effort whatsoever into controlling for biases, the evidence is unambiguous.
Billionaires are an active drain on society. They shouldn’t exist.
Their unchecked, unreasonable economic power buys political power that undermines democracy.
Their resources were snatched from the workers that did the productive labour, disincentivising them from that productive work.
The huge pools of comparatively idle capital act as a handbrake on the economy, whereas workers would stimulate the economy by spending that money.
The environmental impact of billionaires and things like their superyachts is absolutely incredible.
…but we’ll fuck workers to the point that they can’t afford their own shelter to ensure that those billionaires can exist. Again, why?
It’s very good to live in this country (…) because even the people with the lowest incomes here have more money than a middle-class person there.
Again, you’re defending people being paid wages too low to afford their own shelter. Minimum fucking wage, my guy - because the billionaires will pay people as little as they can get away with - up to and including restoring slavery if given the opportunity.
As for people fleeing one formerly fascist capitalist hellscape for another that’s sliding toward fascism? What’s this supposed to tell me?
I’m a much stronger supporter of the American status quo than most other people here are. It’s very good to live in this country, certainly much better than living where I was born in the former Soviet Union. (Middle-class people from there come here to work illegally for very low wages, because even the people with the lowest incomes here have more money than a middle-class person there.) There’s room for improvement, but changes should be made slowly and carefully, with an emphasis on not breaking anything. So when someone proposes a policy that would encourage billionaires to leave, I’m against that because it might have unintended side effects on the economy. And when someone has unreasonable expectations about what the minimum wage ought to be, I’m against that too for the same reason.
The new generation of “clean your plate, there’s starving children in Africa.”
Saying “don’t complain because someone else has it worse” is the worst form of bad faith, uneducated argument. You’re the problem.
I’m not saying “don’t complain”. I’m saying “be very careful when making changes to a system that already works better than most.” A lot of people talk as if life in the USA is awful and demand radical change. I think it would be a terrible idea to trust them not to break the delicate machinery of our prosperity.
That’s likely because for many people the USA is awful and in need of radical change
It’s really easy to look at how other countries are doing better than we are at things and learn from them, it’s not like any change we try would be some magical untested idea that would break the country in 2
Ah got it. Totally understandable.
I’m not too concerned about myself - I’ll be fine, at least because I can move somewhere else (although I would prefer not to have to learn a third language). I’m concerned about the working poor (my family was when I was a kid) and I don’t think people so out of touch that they call a one-bedroom “modest” are well-equipped to judge what the minimum wage ought to be.
(There’s no consensus that the minimum wage actually helps people, but if it does then it should be higher. The current minimum wage is effectively no minimum wage at all.)
Man the perks of apathy.
I wish I was that stable and able to be so apathetic as you but nah I’m in the shit house so I just have to stay and try to make things better.
Well I hope you leave soon never look back and get to live your life without giving a shit because you are fine. Have a whatever life my non-comrade
and
Aren’t compatible positions, and
is a laughable one - it’s one of the most studied topics in economics, and when you put any effort whatsoever into controlling for biases, the evidence is unambiguous.
Billionaires are an active drain on society. They shouldn’t exist.
Their unchecked, unreasonable economic power buys political power that undermines democracy.
Their resources were snatched from the workers that did the productive labour, disincentivising them from that productive work.
The huge pools of comparatively idle capital act as a handbrake on the economy, whereas workers would stimulate the economy by spending that money.
The environmental impact of billionaires and things like their superyachts is absolutely incredible.
…but we’ll fuck workers to the point that they can’t afford their own shelter to ensure that those billionaires can exist. Again, why?
Again, you’re defending people being paid wages too low to afford their own shelter. Minimum fucking wage, my guy - because the billionaires will pay people as little as they can get away with - up to and including restoring slavery if given the opportunity.
As for people fleeing one formerly fascist capitalist hellscape for another that’s sliding toward fascism? What’s this supposed to tell me?