Originally Posted By: Sini
Originally Posted By: Derid
does not necessarily mean that all service people and all service oriented societies are doomed to the same dynamic.


In US they certainly are, just look at attitudes toward McJobs.

I consider this another market failure point. Just because systematically it might be more efficient to congregate money in a few highly-skilled hands and throw everyone else into poverty, does not mean that such solution corresponds to the optimal well-being.


Not all service jobs are fast food jobs. Quite a few service jobs pay very well. Even McJobs holders in the US likely have greater purchasing power than the Indians you mentioned.

Not sure why you would consider McJobbs to be a market failure though. I cant see any reason why people who serve inexpensive, unhealthy convenience items would be financially valuable in almost any context.

The systemic failure is lack of other opportunities resulting in more people needing to seek lower skilled, higher turnover (more opp to get hired) work. That seems like where the focus should be. Not on why fast food pays so little and what to do about it in the limited microcosm of fast food, but the larger picture that sees too many people needing to rely on that level of employment.

For who could be free when every other man's humour might domineer over him? - John Locke (2nd Treatise, sect 57)