logoalt Hacker News

dijksterhuistoday at 12:44 PM1 replyview on HN

> How many people really want to carry boxes for a job for minimum wage?

There are a lot of people outside the realms of "HN" and adjacent lands for whom having any kind job is necessary for survival.

> Should a warehouse have guys carrying around boxes on their back or have a forklift?

While we can optimize for efficiency -- why should we? for the sake of improved quality of life for those who can already afford it, via an ever increasing wage gap? why do we need to replace them? so a manager can pocket a few extra grand at bonus time? so there can be a few bigger numbers on a spreadsheet somewhere?

what if some of those people end up dying? do you think you could live with that? i know couldn't.


Replies

Nasrudithtoday at 1:15 PM

So you would rather promote preventable toil under the theory that there are enough otherwise unemployables that they would literally die otherwise? That there is literally no other useful task that may be performed? I mean we have crumbling infrastructure but strong backs are apparently utterly useless for doing work there....

The rationale sounds a lot more like thought terminating clichés and an emotional rationalization for not wanting to see the world change on you, than any depiction of reality.

show 2 replies