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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 I do think it's worth noting that the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, which means it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, even if a lone economist describes it as credible.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 1418 Views
Seattle is a poor choice for a case study - 27/06/2017 05:31:18 AM 766 Views
Well, sure, but many of those non-entry level jobs are being held by baby boomers. - 27/06/2017 06:09:40 AM 771 Views
That's at least in part because the minimum wage makes automation more cost-effective - 27/06/2017 11:04:28 AM 675 Views
That is an incredibly silly argument. - 27/06/2017 08:56:09 PM 753 Views
If you assume wages can't go lower... - 29/06/2017 04:52:33 AM 770 Views
Many? - 27/06/2017 12:30:39 PM 755 Views
Amen. - 27/06/2017 07:21:47 PM 733 Views
Yes, many. My office is full of them. - 27/06/2017 08:59:55 PM 682 Views
So is life. - 27/06/2017 09:29:01 PM 711 Views
Re: So is life. - 27/06/2017 09:49:21 PM 687 Views
My father worked two jobs his entire working life. - 27/06/2017 09:56:56 PM 715 Views
We have a 40 hour work week for a reason. - 27/06/2017 10:17:15 PM 759 Views
That's a piss-poor analogy - 27/06/2017 10:23:04 PM 709 Views
How is that really relevant, then? - 27/06/2017 11:03:34 PM 668 Views
I am really enjoying this new-fangled "like" feature we have now. *NM* - 28/06/2017 12:13:42 AM 524 Views
*NM* - 28/06/2017 12:25:45 AM 391 Views
Personal choice - 28/06/2017 12:20:47 AM 783 Views
Re: Personal choice - 28/06/2017 12:32:31 AM 728 Views
In theory I agree with your ideas about a living wage, however - 28/06/2017 12:16:56 PM 732 Views
Very good questions - 28/06/2017 03:01:02 PM 719 Views
FULLY AUTOMATED LUXURY SPACE COMMUNISM. - 28/06/2017 07:49:59 PM 840 Views
damn *NM* - 27/06/2017 09:29:01 PM 465 Views
Just retire already, you luddite! *NM* - 27/06/2017 09:45:46 PM 471 Views
I wish. - 27/06/2017 09:48:02 PM 740 Views
Bad life decisions lead to bad life consequences - 28/06/2017 05:44:58 PM 696 Views
You also shouldn't respond to it by letting them die. - 28/06/2017 07:53:10 PM 714 Views
But this same arguement can be flipped by.... - 28/06/2017 10:34:25 PM 774 Views
I feel like you're making my arguments for me here. - 28/06/2017 10:51:38 PM 806 Views
an apt comparison - 28/06/2017 11:09:25 PM 673 Views
So everyone who "can't" - 29/06/2017 09:49:41 AM 707 Views
ummm - 29/06/2017 02:06:54 PM 632 Views
I know. And I disagree with you. - 29/06/2017 04:58:45 PM 745 Views
Health care and minimum wage are different discussions - 29/06/2017 05:14:07 PM 722 Views
I think nossy and I are ok with letting lazy people get by... - 29/06/2017 08:11:36 PM 719 Views
Si - 29/06/2017 09:08:03 PM 721 Views
Who said that? - 29/06/2017 09:47:32 PM 791 Views
Who said what? - 29/06/2017 10:32:12 PM 667 Views
There is a huge difference.... - 29/06/2017 05:10:05 PM 727 Views
Why does McDonalds keep coming up in this? - 29/06/2017 06:53:46 AM 858 Views
Nicely said. Or written. *NM* - 29/06/2017 09:30:06 AM 434 Views
All right, so what society without minimum wage do you point to as a model? *NM* - 29/06/2017 09:39:12 AM 463 Views
How about "all the ones we had before the 20th century"? - 29/06/2017 10:47:30 PM 839 Views
The ones where hunger and scarcity were widespread? - 29/06/2017 11:04:02 PM 691 Views
So just to put this out there... - 29/06/2017 11:12:47 PM 677 Views
Re: So just to put this out there... - 30/06/2017 01:34:03 AM 659 Views
Yes, and me being SUCH a fan of urbanization... - 30/06/2017 03:39:51 PM 867 Views
I for one am entirely unsuprised. Common sense result. *NM* - 27/06/2017 06:23:01 AM 419 Views
Seems like a methodology to identify struggling operations more than one to evaluate... - 27/06/2017 10:25:30 AM 705 Views
But the traffic is the WORST. - 28/06/2017 12:47:13 AM 791 Views
You are a Husky? TIL clover is one of the Huskies. - 28/06/2017 02:26:46 AM 646 Views
Re: But the traffic is the WORST. - 28/06/2017 10:38:54 AM 695 Views
Just to nitpick, Switzerland isn't exactly homogeneous. - 28/06/2017 10:28:01 PM 747 Views

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