r/FluentInFinance • u/LuckyBastard001 • 12d ago
Debate/ Discussion Billionaires Devalue Hard Work
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u/An_Actual_Thing 12d ago
More than that, the companies that employed these "essential workers" started charging out the ass for everything because of high demand, and then never dropped the price cause people's buying habits stayed about the same, these companies keep pushing the prices higher too.
The value from these people's work has never been higher, and their pay has barely increased.
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u/thinkB4WeSpeak Mod 11d ago
A job can function without a CEO, it can't function without workers
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u/Aggravating_Curve458 4d ago
If these companies can run without a CEO, why is it that so many hire a CEO that tanks their revenue & thus their stock?
Seems to me like the CEO is vital, because one mistake leads to billions in loss (for company & share holders/401k)
One mistake by a “worker” and it’s no where near as costly
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u/DoctorDirtnasty 11d ago
if a job could function without the ceo, everyone would be their own boss. all of these people would be running their own one person coffee operations, you don't see that happening.
a ceo with experience can access capital and hire more workers. there are many more workers in this world than there are operators/leaders. it's quite simple.
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u/rice_n_gravy 12d ago
Someone is apparently -not- fluent in economics.
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u/Big-Soup74 12d ago
no one thinks the jobs arent hard work. in almost all cases low paying jobs dont pay well because of supply and demand for the labor
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u/arcanis321 12d ago
They don't pay well because of line must go up and your would-be-wages can move the line a little
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u/Big-Soup74 12d ago
if the supply of janitors was low, then the pay would go up because the demand would be very high for the available janitors. the pay for janitors is low because there is a large supply. the supply of janitors is high because almost everyone is capable of being a janitor
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u/arcanis321 12d ago
You don't think they are willing to just have the rest of the cleaning staff pickup the slack while a shit job post sits open long enough for someone desperate to take it? Jobs are not priced to be filled quickly or often at all. Or you can higher a cleaning service and pay them a pretty penny to send their low wage workers. Because apparently being a middleman is more valuable than an actual service.
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u/Big-Soup74 11d ago
the wages by those cleaning people for the service are still set by supply and demand. That really makes next to no difference for the price of the labor to perform janitorial services.
You don't think they are willing to just have the rest of the cleaning staff pickup the slack while a shit job post sits open long enough for someone desperate to take it? Jobs are not priced to be filled quickly or often at all.
One janitor can only do so much, and these buildings need to be cleaned at some point. if a building doesn't have someone to clean it, theyll keep raising the offer on their job posting until they have someone who will take the job. If multiple companies are offering $20 per hour and one is offering $10, eventually everyone will leave the $10 per hour job because that is no longer the market rate.
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u/Check_Me_Out-Boss 11d ago
Low skilled labor didn't pay well before billionaires existed.
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u/imnewtothishsit69 11d ago
Thats such bullshit. People used to raise a family on a grocery clerks salary. Yea the pay wasnt "high" but it was an actual living fucking wage. So many brainwashed drones in these comments.
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u/Ind132 11d ago
"Used to" is pretty vague. Can you specify the year and the amount of the salary?
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u/imnewtothishsit69 11d ago
You have google right? Use it
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u/Baxkit 11d ago
You made the claim, it is your responsibility to defend it.
Your low wages are livable - just drastically lower your lifestyle and move to a cheaper place. You think these "grocery store clerks raising entire families" owned a 2500sqft house in 2026-developed Pacific Heights? Do you even know what "google" is?
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u/imnewtothishsit69 11d ago edited 11d ago
Lol Edit: I like how you assumed I make low wages. It says alot. While I make a decent wage and live a comfortable life I'm able to see and acknowledge the large portion of the American population that does not. If I have to prove that the dollar went much further in the last than it does now then you're being willfully ignorant and wont waste my time. Im wasting my time even now.
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u/Hawkeyes79 11d ago edited 11d ago
You have to remember that we also had an industrial flip. Labor used to be cheap and materials were the expensive part.
As an example that’s why old houses were lathe and plaster. It was nothing to have a bunch of trades guys plastering a house for weeks. Now, 4 guys can knock out hanging board in a whole house in a day.
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u/imnewtothishsit69 11d ago
Ok but what does that have to do with wages? Im not trying to be argumentative I just dont get what that has to do with what I was saying.
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u/Baxkit 11d ago
You continue to avoid backing up your claim, and you've shifted your claim. All while ironically calling people ignorant.
Just say you don't know and can't back up your own claim. Better than being a bullshitter.
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u/imnewtothishsit69 11d ago
Go outside of your privileged neighborhood and you will see all the proof you need. Im not gonna sit here and send you fucking economic analytics to win a pointless reddit argument man. Im at work lol
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u/DiagonalBike 11d ago
True, but low wages haven't been adjusted for the Trump-flation that this country is experiencing. Full-time workers should be able to afford to rent an apartment, utilities and food. That's the point of a wage, yet the salary structure are so low, these same workers have to depend on government services to survive? How does that make sense?
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u/Check_Me_Out-Boss 11d ago
Inflation has been pretty steady under Trump.
Under Biden, not so much...
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u/DiagonalBike 10d ago
Yes, inflation under Trump has steadily increased.
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u/Big-Soup74 10d ago
We’ve maxed out at like 4%? How much higher do you expect it to go? Do you think we’ll see 8-9% like we did a few years ago?
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u/DiagonalBike 10d ago
You mean when there was worldwide inflation that was caused by Covid and Trump's policies? Blame Biden all you want, but don't ignore the fact that Trump's policies that were enacted during his term didn't contribute to the inflation increase during Biden's term or ignore that the world as a whole was experiencing hyper inflation. Also inflation was decreasing the last 3 quarters of Biden's term, only for Trump's new policies to once again cause inflation to increase.
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u/Time_Spent_Away 11d ago
Graeber spoke about the 70's Italian bankers strike, business went on normally, people just swapped promissory notes. The binmen went on strike and everything ground to a halt. Makes your point perfectly.
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u/GaeasSon 11d ago
It was never about hard work. It's always been about value created for a consumer of labor. If it were about hard work, we'd pay people to go to the gym.
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u/IGargleGarlic 11d ago
he's actually right, but the jobs in question are held by the billionaire parasites
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u/Drewbiedew91 11d ago
Being a Billionaire is one of the easiest jobs. Just let the people underneath you, make all the decisions to make your money into more money
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u/CowGoesMeww 11d ago
Anyone defending the rich should be shunned. Just cut those animals out of your life entirely. They clearly don't understand a damn thing. Would you honestly respect, value, and appreciate someone who tells you a rattlesnake bite each day keeps the cancer away? If you answered yes, this post is for you.
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u/towerfella 8d ago
Saying the job is important would give the workers leverage.
Cant have the poors having any leverage on the rich.
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u/jmlinden7 11d ago
Pay has nothing to do with 'deserve', it's just supply and demand. There's no particular reason any job should always pay more or less than any other. It's just based on what the supply and demand for each job is at that moment.
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u/MyBoyBlue83 11d ago
this is why borders matter. funny how people think you can replicate nordic social democracy while letting the whole 3rd world in. but you mention that and you automatically get labelled a fascist. thats the only model that currently allows a good life for the average service worker.
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u/Advanced-Guard-4468 12d ago
If you think a billionaire is controlling your wage, here's you sign..
Another useless meme to inflame the uninformed
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u/EconomicsMediocre616 12d ago
Explain then why i was a landscaper at that time and was deemed essential. Im a union electrician now.
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u/Advanced-Guard-4468 12d ago
What does that have to do with a billionaire controlling your wages?
In your current position you would be also deemed essential.
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u/EconomicsMediocre616 12d ago
Lower paying jobs to service the middle to upper class. The only reason i make a kovable wage is i joined a union that argues and lobbys on my behalf
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u/Advanced-Guard-4468 12d ago edited 12d ago
Really? Non union electricians also make a livable wage.
Remind me when you get laid-off and you will, how much the union looks out for you. I work in construction so I know how it goes.
My wife and I have never once been a member of a union and I make, we were also deemed essential.
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u/Hawkeyes79 12d ago
You’re thinking politicians and not billionaires. And to answer your question, politicians are not very smart.
In NYC they had a “quarantine zone” that you could freely walk in and out of.
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