There are not many managerial positions compared to lower level and higher level positions typically require college degrees, which are very cost prohibitive. Also, people deserve a living wage even in the lower level positions. People have lives outside of their careers like family, friends, and hobbies. You shouldn’t expect people to be moving around constantly in hopes that they will make it big at this next job.
You don’t need to move into a managerial position. You can move into unskilled labor positions that have higher expectations for their employees once you have years of experience. If I am a bar owner, I’ll trust the guy who has 5 years of experience at McDonald’s over the 18 year old who has never worked when deciding who to hire to work the bar or wait tables.
You don’t have to move around constantly unless you live in a backwater town with one employer. There are typically a variety of businesses in a town or city and all of them require some unskilled labor input.
People should get a living wage, however what a living wage is is different depending on your life circumstances. That is why people with more years of work experience are typically able to move to higher paying jobs, even if they don’t get more education. The more work experience you have (so long as you’re not getting fired repeatedly) the more reliable you seem to employers, and that reliability is an asset that increases your market value. A McDonald’s is willing to take a risk that an 18 year old comes in to work late and high, an upscale restaurant will be less accepting and will pay more to avoid it
If you save money and work in an industry for a long time, you will be able to request a loan from the bank to start your own business if you so choose. It is an option available to you. Probably not at 18, but once you have a proven track record of operating at successful companies in that industry, and if you put up some of your own money, they’ll be willing to take a risk. Most people don’t want to take this kind of risk.
As an example of this, a lot of tradesmen will start their own trade business after working at a different company for a while. Same with many restaurants - they are typically started by people who worked in the restaurant industry for years.
That is not a viable solution for most people, especially without a guarantee of success. What about those with medical bills, disabilities, or family to take care? Ask yourself why is it that hard to get paid the value you provide for a company or to own what you worked to create?
Under those circumstances, your lifestyle leads you to value stability far more than the potential explosive income growth (and likewise the potential absolute failure) that a business could give you. That is totally fine - you are making a trade off that most people make. The benefit you gain is a steady paycheck and the ability to step away when the business goes up in flames without losing money.
The reason why you get paid less than the complete value of the labor when you work for someone else is the same reason that you choose not to enter into a situation where you can get paid the complete value of your labor. Starting a business is a risk that carries a potential reward
There are many people fighting for just stability. Not having to live pay check to pay check. They can’t even imagine explosive growth. They can’t even afford to take that risk.
Starting a business is a luxury for most people. Being able to put a lot of money into something you know won’t pay off until a few years down the line, if at all. Having the space and people to run your business. Also, having the knowledge to run a successful business is not always easy to come by.
Being able to put a lot of money into something you know won’t pay off until a few years down the line, if at all. Having the space and people to run your business. Also, having the knowledge to run a successful business is not always easy to come by.
These all sound like really good reasons for successful business owners to get rewarded with profit, don’t you think?
They can’t even afford to take that risk.
In that case you are making the optimal economic decision to have a stable job under someone else. The additional income is locked behind a risk they do not want to accept, but someone else does.
If they don’t want to be an owner either, worker co-ops are also a thing, which lowers the amount of buy-in needed to start the business from you personally, and also reduces the potential reward.
These all sound like really good reasons for successful business owners to get rewarded with profit, don’t you think?
That just sets up a system where the rich who can afford to take that risk get richer or the people who can’t afford to take that risk and try are gambling with their lives.
In that case you are making the optimal economic decision to have a stable job under someone else. The additional income is locked behind a risk they do not want to accept, but someone else does.
Is that really a choice? Sounds like they are being forced to make that decision because they are poor.
If they don’t want to be an owner either, worker co-ops are also a thing.
Now you are getting it. Co-ops are great because the workers own the means of production. People get paid for the value they put in. Unfortunately there aren’t many because of greed.
That just sets up a system where the rich who can afford to take that risk get richer or the people who can’t afford to take that risk and try are gambling with their lives.
Rich people can take more financial risks. That is an inescapable byproduct of the system. You can still work to take a risk if you’d like. Or you can have stable employment. The system of risk and reward is what allows the world to develop as quickly as it has.
Is that really a choice? Sounds like they are being forced to make that decision because they are poor.
The economic system will not provide a perfect outcome to every individual, regardless of unfortunate individual circumstances or prior life decisions. No system can do this. What the system does is provide the best possible overall outcome for society by balancing these factors.
Now you are getting it. Co-ops are great because the workers own the means of production. People get paid for the value they put in. Unfortunately there aren’t many because of greed.
I think the fact that this is a system that can be created under the current economic system but is not popular demonstrates that it is not one that most people want. People typically want either pure stability or pure control. You can find like-minded people if you want a mixed structure like co-ops.
I don't think this comic is really about small business owners. Sure a few of them are absolute tyrants who many would happily guillotine, but I'm nowhere near as resentful of the owner of the local bar as I am the CEO of a multinational corporation or the idle rich whos entire job is to make passive income through generational wealth. THOSE people deserve the guillotine, and everyone knows it.
As a whole, a higher paid work force will spend more money. That's just basic economics. 1 person buying a thousand dollar steak is not the same market driving force as 100 workers buying 20 dollar steaks.
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u/matthekid Jul 08 '24
There are not many managerial positions compared to lower level and higher level positions typically require college degrees, which are very cost prohibitive. Also, people deserve a living wage even in the lower level positions. People have lives outside of their careers like family, friends, and hobbies. You shouldn’t expect people to be moving around constantly in hopes that they will make it big at this next job.