labor economics
California’s $20 per hour fast food wage. First semester grades are in . . .
r/economy - California’s $20 per hour fast food wage. First semester grades are in . . . Photo above - cleaning red snapper, dockside in Florida. This writer once held this job, at below minimum wage. And I have the knife skills to prove it.... Does universal basic income actually work?: Work-identity defenders
The parking lot at 5 a.m. March 6, 2019. Last Chevrolet Cruze off the line at Lordstown Assembly. Workers honked horns in the parking lot like a funeral with confetti. The plant had operated fifty-three years. At peak, 10,000 across three shifts. By noon the lot was empty.... Why does modern slavery still exist?: Economic root causes
The pipeline In 2016, a researcher documented the recruitment pathway for Cambodian men enslaved on Thai fishing vessels. A broker visited a village where average household income was $420 a year. He offered $300 a month — nine times the local wage. The men accepted.... If machines do most of the work, what do the humans do?: Institutional reform
The Luddites were not wrong On March 11, 1811, textile workers in Nottinghamshire smashed the stocking frames taking their jobs. The name became a slur. What gets left out: hand-loom weavers went from decent living in 1800 to destitution by 1830. A generation was destroyed.... If machines do most of the work, what do the humans do?: UBI advocates
The floor should hold In 2019, Andrew Yang stood on a debate stage and said what every other candidate was thinking: the trucks are going to drive themselves. Three and a half million jobs. He proposed $1,000 per month, no strings. The other candidates changed the subject.... What are borders actually for?: Functional borders
The Schengen proof March 26, 1995. Seven European countries did something no theorist in 1945 would have predicted: they eliminated their borders. Not symbolically. The checkpoints were dismantled. A Belgian driver crossed into France without stopping.... What are borders actually for?: Open borders
The trillion-dollar sidewalk In 2013, economist Michael Clemens published a calculation so large it sounded like satire. If borders were open — if people could move to where their labor was most productive — global GDP would increase by 50 to 150 percent.... What are borders actually for?: The Story
The invisible line Describe a border crossing to someone who has never seen one. A line, usually invisible, sometimes marked by a river or a fence or a man in a booth. On one side, a set of laws. On the other, a different set.... If everyone got a basic income, would they flourish or check out?: Work-identity defenders
The alarm clock The last Cruze rolled off the Lordstown line on March 6, 2019. Workers honked horns and set off fireworks like it was a funeral with confetti. The plant had operated fifty-three years. At peak, 10,000 across three shifts. What happened next was not unemployment.... Has money ruined sports?: Market naturalists
The Premier League’s 2025-2029 domestic media rights deal closed at $8.45 billion. Add international rights across 212 territories and total broadcast revenue approaches $15 billion per cycle. In 1992, the entire first television contract was worth $253 million....