Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to Good post.

Thanks
Robert — (archived)

I wasn't sure I should bring up theoretical economics and what-if scenarios. Quite a few of those scars on my back were earned doing that. But maybe a quick summary wouldn't hurt (me)...

The point I was getting at is that the labor market isn't a free market, and that's an important factor in the decline in status of "honest labor" and the rise of the suits.

We might get as far as agreeing that a free market is one free of coercion, but founder on the definition of coercion in the case of labor. A question and an observation: 1) Why aren't the shittiest jobs the highest paying? 2) Notice the Fed's obsession with maintaining an unemployment rate around 5%, and raising rates to slow the economy and create unemployment when the rate drops "too low" (says who?).

I was alluding to "Social Credits" when I mentioned Heinlein. That's one of many alternative economic systems that would create a much freer labor market by guaranteeing subsistence. If people aren't desparate to avoid starvation and homelessness, the price of getting your toilet cleaned might just rise to a fair market value.

Scary thought, isn't it? That would turn the present economic order upside down, and certainly cause the wealthy elite to scream in rage. But despite that, don't your free market instincts give even a little twinge when you consider today's labor market?

Cue the scream-and-leap...

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