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But the traffic is the WORST. Clover Send a noteboard - 28/06/2017 12:47:13 AM

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...the impact on restaurant workers. Amazon and Vulcan (Paul Allen from Microsoft) have pretty much remade the whole South Lake Union part of Seattle, taking it very much upscale from what it was. I suspect that might be factor at play as well - more sophisticated palates and plenty of cash to indulge. Aside from traffic and parking, things are great here.

Ugh. The biggest obstacle to my UW degree has been the commute, by far. (But that's what I get for refusing to live in the metro area.)

Anyway, yep. I do think it's worth noting that the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, which means it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, even if a lone economist describes it as credible. We will see what happens with the peer review and publishing process.

At this point I'm thinking it may wind up being a useful caution for certain types of economies: if there are too many moderately skilled workers relative to entry-level types, and not enough employers who see potential future dividends from supporting the entry-level workers, then the leftist strategy could certainly backfire and increase poverty among the less skilled.

But I am not at all convinced that Seattle fits that mold. As you were alluding to, Vodalus, massive corporate employers are a HUGE factor here, and they often see a reason (and can afford) to employ the entry-level types, even if the small restaurants do not. So this -

"And critics of the research pointed out what they saw as serious shortcomings. In particular, to avoid confusing establishments that were subject to the minimum with those that were not, the authors did not include large employers with locations both inside and outside of Seattle in their calculations. Skeptics argued that omission could explain the unusual results."

This excludes Microsoft and Amazon, two of our biggest players. And that automatically renders the study suspect for Seattle, as they go on to explain in the article.

And yeah, just as someone else who lives here, the "damage liberalism can do" is a hilarious and bizarre thing to say about our economy. The unemployment rate is 3.1%. Our house has nearly doubled in value in less than four years. There are too many fucking people. Etc.

Side note, I really wish they had managed to pass the basic income referendum in Switzerland, since I think that is a much more promising solution. It still would have been a severely limited experiment, given how small and homogenous the country is, but it would have been so interesting to read the follow-up studies.

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Case study of the damage liberalism can do - $15 Min Wage - 27/06/2017 01:54:54 AM 1425 Views
Seattle is a poor choice for a case study - 27/06/2017 05:31:18 AM 774 Views
Well, sure, but many of those non-entry level jobs are being held by baby boomers. - 27/06/2017 06:09:40 AM 777 Views
That's at least in part because the minimum wage makes automation more cost-effective - 27/06/2017 11:04:28 AM 681 Views
That is an incredibly silly argument. - 27/06/2017 08:56:09 PM 761 Views
If you assume wages can't go lower... - 29/06/2017 04:52:33 AM 776 Views
Many? - 27/06/2017 12:30:39 PM 762 Views
Amen. - 27/06/2017 07:21:47 PM 739 Views
Yes, many. My office is full of them. - 27/06/2017 08:59:55 PM 688 Views
So is life. - 27/06/2017 09:29:01 PM 719 Views
Re: So is life. - 27/06/2017 09:49:21 PM 694 Views
My father worked two jobs his entire working life. - 27/06/2017 09:56:56 PM 723 Views
We have a 40 hour work week for a reason. - 27/06/2017 10:17:15 PM 765 Views
That's a piss-poor analogy - 27/06/2017 10:23:04 PM 717 Views
How is that really relevant, then? - 27/06/2017 11:03:34 PM 675 Views
I am really enjoying this new-fangled "like" feature we have now. *NM* - 28/06/2017 12:13:42 AM 529 Views
*NM* - 28/06/2017 12:25:45 AM 393 Views
Personal choice - 28/06/2017 12:20:47 AM 789 Views
Re: Personal choice - 28/06/2017 12:32:31 AM 736 Views
In theory I agree with your ideas about a living wage, however - 28/06/2017 12:16:56 PM 740 Views
Very good questions - 28/06/2017 03:01:02 PM 726 Views
FULLY AUTOMATED LUXURY SPACE COMMUNISM. - 28/06/2017 07:49:59 PM 845 Views
damn *NM* - 27/06/2017 09:29:01 PM 467 Views
Just retire already, you luddite! *NM* - 27/06/2017 09:45:46 PM 473 Views
I wish. - 27/06/2017 09:48:02 PM 747 Views
Bad life decisions lead to bad life consequences - 28/06/2017 05:44:58 PM 702 Views
You also shouldn't respond to it by letting them die. - 28/06/2017 07:53:10 PM 720 Views
But this same arguement can be flipped by.... - 28/06/2017 10:34:25 PM 779 Views
I feel like you're making my arguments for me here. - 28/06/2017 10:51:38 PM 812 Views
an apt comparison - 28/06/2017 11:09:25 PM 679 Views
So everyone who "can't" - 29/06/2017 09:49:41 AM 713 Views
ummm - 29/06/2017 02:06:54 PM 637 Views
I know. And I disagree with you. - 29/06/2017 04:58:45 PM 752 Views
Health care and minimum wage are different discussions - 29/06/2017 05:14:07 PM 727 Views
I think nossy and I are ok with letting lazy people get by... - 29/06/2017 08:11:36 PM 725 Views
Si - 29/06/2017 09:08:03 PM 726 Views
Who said that? - 29/06/2017 09:47:32 PM 796 Views
Who said what? - 29/06/2017 10:32:12 PM 674 Views
There is a huge difference.... - 29/06/2017 05:10:05 PM 734 Views
Why does McDonalds keep coming up in this? - 29/06/2017 06:53:46 AM 865 Views
Nicely said. Or written. *NM* - 29/06/2017 09:30:06 AM 436 Views
All right, so what society without minimum wage do you point to as a model? *NM* - 29/06/2017 09:39:12 AM 465 Views
How about "all the ones we had before the 20th century"? - 29/06/2017 10:47:30 PM 845 Views
The ones where hunger and scarcity were widespread? - 29/06/2017 11:04:02 PM 699 Views
So just to put this out there... - 29/06/2017 11:12:47 PM 683 Views
Re: So just to put this out there... - 30/06/2017 01:34:03 AM 667 Views
Yes, and me being SUCH a fan of urbanization... - 30/06/2017 03:39:51 PM 876 Views
I for one am entirely unsuprised. Common sense result. *NM* - 27/06/2017 06:23:01 AM 422 Views
Seems like a methodology to identify struggling operations more than one to evaluate... - 27/06/2017 10:25:30 AM 712 Views
But the traffic is the WORST. - 28/06/2017 12:47:13 AM 804 Views
You are a Husky? TIL clover is one of the Huskies. - 28/06/2017 02:26:46 AM 652 Views
Re: But the traffic is the WORST. - 28/06/2017 10:38:54 AM 702 Views
Just to nitpick, Switzerland isn't exactly homogeneous. - 28/06/2017 10:28:01 PM 752 Views

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