r/CuratedTumblr • u/Justthisdudeyaknow Prolific poster- Not a bot, I swear • 1d ago

Infodumping Unskilled does not mean un needed.

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u/ArkLaTexBob 1d ago

All that it takes for that to happen is for no one to take a full-time position that doesn't pay a livable wage. Both sides need to remember "supply/demand" and which of those they are.

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u/Inlerah 1d ago

And then I end up homeless and starving out on the street because I was holding out for a position that doesn't (or nearly doesn't) exist.

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u/ArkLaTexBob 1d ago

Exactly what I was talking about. When I recognized that my skillset was so common and the demand was so low that I could not make the salary I wanted (high schoolfast food worker), I bit the bullet and took an entry level job (A/C helper) that would teach me to make more quickly and maximize summer income. College was not a financial option for me. Then, I worked on getting education/credentials (vo-tech courses) for a job with long-term opportunities (structural/piping drafting and design). As soon as I got established, I moved into a sector (energy) that was high demand and better compensated. Always be aware of your role in the supply/demand matrix and your position. Now, no college degree, but 33 hr weeks, full time bennies, and six figures.

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u/Inlerah 1d ago

So, instead of just making sure everyone gets paid enough to survive, anyone who wants to survive should have to jump through hoops to get the "survivable" jobs and everyone who can't do that (unless you think the jobs that shouldn't pay a living wage just shouldn't exist) deserve poverty?

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u/ArkLaTexBob 1d ago

Not at all. I do believe that I was just offering a single strategy to those who would see it as worthwhile. There are plenty of better strategies for others, I guess. I have not used them and would be out of my wheelhouse to recommend. I know that my way would not be for everyone. I do believe that jobs without a living wage shouldn't exist, but I don't know how to eradicate them. I hear that robotics and AI may address some of them.

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u/Inlerah 1d ago

So what happens to the people who relied on those jobs once AI takes them?

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u/ArkLaTexBob 1d ago

What happened to elevator operators when we developed controls and automation? (Hint: They did not starve or go on the dole.)

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u/Inlerah 1d ago

But no one was honestly suggesting that the elevator operators go to school to become highly-skilled professionals or tradesmen, or else there won't be a job that could support them.

You replace retail or foodservice work with automation or AI...where do you think those people currently doing those jobs are going to go? Spend years in college, with no job, hoping that they get one of the remaining "good jobs" that everyone will now be vying for?

How is this a better alternative than "Hey, maybe pay your workers enough to survive".

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u/ArkLaTexBob 1d ago

I am all for pay increases. I just don't know what to replace "supply/demand " with to set relative pay scales. An increase in mandated minimum wage would have to reset much of our wage structure. And I could never suggest years in college. I have almost no experience with that.