• I Cast Fist@programming.dev
    ·
    11 months ago

    When you work 8 hours a day, have 1 hour lunch break, waste 2 hours commuting, to earn barely enough of what Adam Smith considers ideal (twice the cost of living), it's hard to sustain a second person, much less a third that requires near constant monitoring for over 7 years.

    From a pure economic perspective, a child is a total money sink for at least 18 years. In many places (mostly urban), it's simply not viable to have one.

      • Duamerthrax@lemmy.ml
        ·
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        Short term, raise the minimum wage. Force walmart to fill the gaps between what they pay and what their workers need to live. Right now, it's the government is subsidizing that gap.

        • Asafum@feddit.nl
          ·
          11 months ago

          Gigantic mothefucking emphasis on short term.

          Our piece of shit, bought and paid for politicians LOVE to pull the "we're fighting to raise the minimum wage from X to Y!" but only over such a long timeline that the value of Y equals what X was... God forbid the Job Creators™©® have to ever actually pay more.

          • Duamerthrax@lemmy.ml
            ·
            11 months ago

            Agreed, but getting an increase in minimum wage would get the ball rolling on other worker right reforms.

          • I Cast Fist@programming.dev
            ·
            11 months ago

            Because rich assholes need to feel speshul, so they waste money on lobbying to ensure those below them never get anywhere

              • Duamerthrax@lemmy.ml
                ·
                11 months ago

                We kinda need lobbying and it would be very hard to effectively criminalize it. It would just move father into the back rooms. When I say we need it, groups like the EFF, NAACP, FFRF and ACLU all have lobbying arms.

                A different idea proposed by Lawrence Lessig would be to remove elected officials from the legislative branch and replace it it something like the Jury Duty system from the court systems. While not perfect, it would be much harder to bribe a constantly rotating group of civilians and most people will vote in their interest even when it's against their party alignment on a case by case bases.

                Lobbyists would become like courtroom lawyers either pushing for or against certain laws in a public settings.

          • Duamerthrax@lemmy.ml
            ·
            11 months ago

            Socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for the poor.

            The rich can pay lobbyists to pay politicians.

          • BelieveRevolt [he/him]
            ·
            edit-2
            11 months ago

            The US government already subsidizes companies like Wal-Mart and Amazon because they force their lowest-paid employees to apply for food stamps even though they work.