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this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2025
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
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He can just pay them more than minimum wage lol
No, that's not how the modern economy works. A CEO can't just pay higher wages randomly. They have to adhere to some invisible laws guiding them towards paying the minimum wages they can get away with. If they pay more, they get fired and replaced with another CEO who pays less again.
The only way to make a company pay more is if it benefits the company or if it's forced by law, i.e. legally-mandated minimum wage. That, however, is a bad idea too IMHO because for one some businesses who're just barely profitable today would simply go out of business and people would lose their jobs, and also it would make human employees more expensive and companies would look towards automating their jobs away, because machinery would be more competitive.
IMHO the best solution is to give people money, but not through the workplace, but through a legally-mandated universal basic income that is handed out independent of whether you have a job. Otherwise, you're forcing people to go to work to be able to live and people would have to suck up whatever bad working conditions their workplace features just to be able to survive, i.e. the same we're seeing with medical insurance today when it's tied to work requirements.
I advocate for what I call "Universal Ranked Income": Everyone gets $10,000 a year by default, while jobs get a fixed amount, no negotiations with a company. it is decided for a job class to be assigned to a rank by the whole nation, regardless of location. Getting an education or holding a job replaces the basic income - $12k to $20k for a student based on grades, $40k if a waiter, $60k or 80k ranks for higher labors, $100k as a CEO. There are absolute income and wealth caps, the taxes also become increasingly higher for each pay grade. After taxes, a store clerk gets $30k, and a CEO is down to $60k.
In effect, that means "best" occupations are only twice the value of a regular job, instead of the insanity we see with CEOs having 1,000x+ the income of a normal human. Only 6x the income of someone who isn't working. Also, having fixed incomes might help prevent inflation, since corporations have to target job ranks for pricing. UBI also gives everyone benefits, such as basic shelter, generic food, healthcare, a boring car, utilities, and so forth. Money is solely for lifestyle upgrades and luxuries, rather than for buying necessities.
By having universal benefits and a modest amount of money, workers would be able to freely unionize, strike, participate in politics, or avoid bad workplaces. Without being held hostage by capitalism, people can help decide the direction of society without having to sacrifice their wellbeing.
Why would I be a CEO for twice the pay as the clerk? I'm sandbagging it all day long at those rates.
World needs a lot more store clerks than CEOs, as it turns out