Erlian

Erlian t1_j5uodaz wrote

I find it hard to believe - as far as I know this viewpoint is not mainstream. Maybe cherry picked, but more likely the study isn't a very representative or large enough sample. It could also be that these policies in theory should help the labor side, but in practice there are some confounding variables - ex. "well we would pay you more except for this pesky law preventing us, sorry" being used as an excuse, or general disdain for the idea of raising everyone's wages vs. stagnating most employees' wages save a few favorite employees / new hires.

Could also be that a requirement to post salary ranges gives companies better information on what the lowest wage is that prospective employees would truly accept.

I also find it suspect that the article is lumping together a study that focused on pay transparency and university professors, with a different study on a pay disparity law and saying their results suggest similar conclusions. They are different policies, different samples, and different effects - tricky comparison to make.

Was having trouble finding other studies, but here's a good place to dig around: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C38&q=effects+of+pay+transparency+on+wages&btnG=

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Erlian t1_j2crib3 wrote

Yeah I already think we're using too much power senselessly. I think power should be more expensive in a tiered fashion, and especially when it gets expensive in realtime. Wanna blast your AC in your entire 10,000sqft mansion in LA when it's 108F out and people are dying? The cost of that should accelerate, and go towards heat shelters, climate remediation, carbon taxes, projects to eliminate/ reduce effects of urban heat islands. That way maybe people will start to feel more of a hole in their wallet and only cool the 2-3 rooms they're using and shut off the rest of the house on days like those..

I think gas should cost more, the more of it you use. Wanna own a big truck you don't even need for actual work / hauling, a van, an ATV, etc? OK, gas costs more the more of it you use beyond what the typical person needs.

Wanna guzzle 80% of the limited supply of fresh water your community uses, so you can farm cash crops, then blame the public and tell them to let their lawns die / have to ask for water at a restaurant, which maybe contributes 2% at best? OK sure, just make sure that whatever you're doing is actually worth all the resources you're using, and give it back to the community.. wait, it's not worth it and the costs are untenable at competitive market rates for fresh water? Ok then, maybe stop growing so much alfalfa in a goddamn desert.

Wanna eat steak and beef burger for dinner every single night, even though that meat has drastic environmental impact in terms of water, land, and energy use? Sure thing, it will just cost you twice as much, compounding, per night of the week you eat it, and the tax money will go towards water remediation, carbon offsets, etc.

I think the expectation that everyone gets a single family home and yard etc within commuting distance to work, parking space etc is untenable. We need public housing that is affordable, yet efficient and comfortable (not much for low income folks), with mass transit nearby. We need to redline the NIMBY homeowners and pave the way for a future where more people can have a better life instead of a handful of elites who happened to get some nice hand-me-downs dating back to when FDR carved out SFH zoning across all of America's cities.

We vastly overconsume as it is. More power will just beget more consumption and more inequality + inefficiency in the allocation of that power.

Does all that sound socialist / utilitarian? If yes, then good, bc that aligns with my personal philosophies.

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Erlian t1_j1iptbs wrote

Born in a long summer in some ways. Though in other ways we face threats just as existential/ if not more so, more complex, and with no escape in sight, and things just keep getting worse. No war can solve what we face now.

We have to rely on the dwindling political will in our polarized and eroding democracy. A young electorate that is tough and hardworking, and better educated than ever, yet understandably disenchanted and depressed / anxious about the state of our democracy and the world.

News outlets that peddle fear over truth. A global pandemic. Fascism rearing its ugly head on our own home turf, in our lifetimes, along with treasonous actions from our own elected leaders. Monopolies and conglomerates that have eroded both policy and the free market - including pharma, healthcare, and health insurance. A climate disaster hundreds of years in the making.

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