Saving Capitalism: How can Silicon Valley help?
Saw this amazing documentary on Netflix. Poor farmers are earning just 20k a year and here we are, talking about how 400k household income is unsustainable in San Francisco.
Where? There are homes for 50-100k in parts of the US
So what? 20k is nothing for them to sustain. Given the hard work they do, they're getting really less money.
Actually there are people getting by on 20k right next to you in SF. They work at convenience stores, fast food places, et cetera. We need to reduce the cost if living so that these ordinary workers aren't kept in poverty.
Exactly! How can we help bridge this gap? Buy from farmers markets, donate cash directly, anything else?
OP, there’s are simple bandages and then there are discussions to address the real cause. Talking about us helping them sounds like a bandaid. The issue is that as a country and global economy we are going through another industrial revolution. There are tons of new opportunities in this new economy but there are also a lot of economic losers with every economic shift. Every company that is successful today is starving for more talented people but the issue is that many people of the ‘old’ economy are not adapted to the new one. So the issue isn’t about helping someone by shopping at a farmers market. It’s about addressing this transition as a whole. We are lucky because we are doing the automating. We are building tomorrow’s economy. Those without our opportunities will never be able to catch up. Now I saw this a few years back when I thought my job could be automated so I made the industry switch and taught myself how to program. Now I’m at amazon but it can’t be expected for everyone to do that. I was/am young and single and can make major life transitions. Unfortunately there will be more of this for the next 10ish years until the next generation grows up ready to take on this new economy and then you and I will be aged out or without the necessary skills. All anyone can do is make money while you’re young and invest the hell out of it so they don’t depend on work as they age.
Exactly — I just talked to a single mother of 3 who pays $2300/month in rent and makes $16/hr as a Safeway cashier. How is that supposed to work? I feel both the government and tech companies aren’t doing enough to help service workers. They each blame each other for gentrification yet both benefit from it.
Agreed that government/corporate arent doing enough but what are you doing to help her? With your TC, probably sponsor a kids education or start a fundraiser within your team at Uber?
Yes exactly, this is exactly what we need to do. Just need to get off our asses and do it. Start something to make it easy for our companies to help those in need. Put pressure on our management to do more about the situation. Etc.
You are forgetting the fundamentals of economy. It’s supply Vs demand that drives TC. You have compassion for farmers (I do too) but why not teachers ? Why not firemen. The list goes on. People are paid for demand for skills vs supply for those skills not for compassion. Otherwise nobody will pay lawyers :)
Capitalism has already helped by rising billions of people out of poverty
Amen. Capitalism (or, as I prefer to call it, the free market) is by no means perfect, but it has given the greatest opportunity to the greatest number of people throughout human history.
Your heart is in the right place, but you might be asking the wrong crowd. Most folks here are deeply engaged in a wealth comparison contest and could care less about the world outside of where there are EV chargers, 5G, and Lime scooters. I should also mention: a lot of these farmers came here illegally and knew what they were getting into. The $20k/yr salary is low by our standards but heads and tails above what they were getting at home. The compassionate thing to do would be to secure our borders and stop the flow of illegal migrants. They create a shadow economy that lowers wages for everyone, in addition to posing a security risk and encouraging human trafficking.
Thanks for the first paragraph. I totally disagree with your views on farmers. Keep aside immigration and modern day visa issues. They are the backbone of the society. Thats where our food comes from. Don't you think they should be paid fairly relative to what our cushy jobs pay us?
You’re missing my point. They’re being paid so little because they’re indentured and living under fear of deportation. I don’t want farmers enduring slave conditions. I’ll gladly pay more for produce to ensure better working conditions for farmers, but this won’t happen if we allow a shadow economy of vulnerable labor to exist. Don’t take my word for it; go read what Cesar Chavez had to say about open borders and illegal migrants.