[extropy-chat] Seven cents an hour? (was: Riots in France)

[John K Clark]

Jack Parkinson <isthatyoujack at icqmail.com>

> No, and it's [benefit] not subjective either!

Bullshit!  You have 2 job offers, job A offers 20% more pay but it would be
a long commute to work each day and you don’t like the head of the company
very much, job B offers less pay but you could walk to work and the boss
there seems like a very nice man. What to do?

> I think it should be done by an analysis of the financial benefit accruing
> to each sector of society

I think you should have the right to decide for yourself which job gives you
more “benefit” and which job to take, you think a third party, some sort of
grotesque Financial Benefit Accruing Board should make the decision for you.

> Would these figures be overall better or worse in the hypothetical
> scenario that Wal Mart was replaced by a host of smaller operators?
> My guess is that smaller operators might well be better.

Then why didn’t they do better? You talk about a “hypothetical scenario” but
there is nothing hypothetical about it.  Wal-Mart DID compete with mom and
pop and the consumers DID vote with their wallets and Wal-Mart DID win; and
we didn’t need to worry about shadowy government agencies using dubious
economic models and subjective judgments about what “benefits” society the
most economically, artistically, morally and culturally. That is far far too
much power to have!

Oh and by the way, Wal-Mart was once a mom and pop store too.

> taxpayer contributions in the form of government support to support the
> company are a drag on efficiency

I agree, so eliminate any form of government support of the company if there
is any, and there probably is; with government so bloated money seeps out of
the treasury to anyone who had their hand out, so stop bailing out the
employees too.

> I'm not suggesting anything heretical surely?

Well, what you’re suggesting is certainly 180 degrees away from the original
Extropian principles, but “heretical” gives your words a grandeur they do
not deserve; “juvenile” would be a little more accurate.

    John K Clark