Why does a proper concept of a glass floor not apply both economically/demographically?

This question will require some explaining, so bear with me (I phrased it how I did because I wanted to emphasize one of the connections). I ask this here because economics seem to be a huge topic here, especially when it comes to certain schools of thought (not that I’m judging, you have your reasons).

So here is me trying to explain my question.

First, I must admit I find the concept of a minimum wage to be, for a lack of a better word, incomplete (weird? not well-oiled? I couldn’t find the word). While being based by the hour albeit not factoring in the amount of work done, I understand basic existence amounts to a certain etimated value, and you don’t want overhaggling, so a glass floor is made. But a glass floor can break under pressure. But I digress.

Anyways, I was talking to someone about the concept, and we started using analogies using letters in place of concepts: “W cannot pay X a certain amount of Y so in order to pay to live she goes to Z.”

It was one of those no-context moments, so our minds were drawn to a third friend who related to it platonically, this person wasn’t mentally compatible with most social groups, so then criminals (the Z) would come and say “come join us, we have the friends you’re looking for”.

He added, “police consider ‘bad crowds’ a huge problem, but nobody pays the involuntary loners any minimum due, no glass floor provided by the public sector, no nothing, and the wrong people get the upper hand here because they’re there to farm you while you just want someone to value you enough in a way that translates well to you, and our bedroom community becomes a gossip-cursed cesspool because there is no adhesive”. Should point out this isn’t a new thought process, in fact it’s relevant to me occupationally.

Promoters of universal basic necessities of Lemmy, why is there a lacking here? Is it not weird we (officially) have it out for one aspect but not the other?

Rachelhazideas,

I genuinely have no idea what you are trying to ask. I don’t think an economic glass floor means what you think it means because it’s certainly not something that’s ‘provided by the public sector’.

The economic glass floor is a phenomenal that prevents privileged groups from doing poorly and descending the socioeconomic ladder, which is another driving factor for inequality.

I mean no offense, but your writing and phrasing is very long winded and feels like a freshman trying to impress their professor. Can you rephrase more concisely please?

TheGalacticVoid,

Their writing moreso sounds like it comes from a lack of confidence or understanding. They don’t have a well-defined question because they don’t know the base-level concepts well enough to formulate a more advanced question.

Either that, or they have ASD. Or both. I still talk like this, and I only recently got diagnosed.

shinigamiookamiryuu,

Sorry about that, it seems late English skills don’t mix well with meta discussion, though I assumed it wouldn’t be an issue as others could make something of it.

Rachelhazideas,

I think you are confusing the concept of minimum wage with the glass floor. These are not the same things.

That reddit post is a charitable interpretation, but if it’s what you are saying, then first comment summarizes it best with ‘state mandated friendships’. In which case, I would argue that isn’t going to solve crime. Let’s take the US which has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world as an example. People aren’t becoming criminals just because they don’t have friends, they become criminals because of a lack of social safety nets such as universal healthcare, accessible housing, homeless shelters, livable wages, public transit, progressive taxes, affordable childcare, drug addiction treatment safe spaces. They are also pushed into being criminalized by for profit prisons, the war on drugs, lack of gun control, police brutality, redlining and racism.

There is so much more than that the lack of friendships that goes into why people become criminals. We need to stop looking at it as just a matter of moral failure of individuals, and start looking at the systemic reasons to why people commit crimes.

shinigamiookamiryuu,

You say that like the reason people become criminals doesn’t vary between people. Is what’s described not itself a form of social safety net? What then is the point of what it’s based on if that itself isn’t significant enough to matter in the grand scheme?

Rachelhazideas,

I just listed a myriad of reasons why people might become criminals, and I never said that lack of friendships isn’t one, I said it’s not the only one. Friendships are hardly a social safety net. Having friends doesn’t guarantee you food, shelter, or safety.

rufus,

Which country are we talking about? I mean European countries and the USA have a very different approach to this.

I think it’s mainly unwillingness and not an issue with the concept itself. And it’s kind of unpopular so politics doesn’t push for this. The US for example doesn’t even have a healthcare system by European standards. Something that would be hugely beneficial both to society and economy. I mean if people could afford their insulin and it were not for Mr. Beast to cure their blindness, they would be able to keep working and contribute to society. Something everyone would benefit from.

doctorn, (edited )
@doctorn@r.nf avatar

This might sound a bit shizo, but I assure you in advance: The following is only a funny comparison and I do not actually believe it to be real. I do however sometimes get amazed of the similarities to it though:

Sometimes life feels like everybody tells me how it has worked outside of my current habitual environment ‘fog-of-war’ (like getting taught how marketing and commerce works when you don’t have to deal with money as a kid yet, or knowing how public transport to work and back works on a daily basis as you see people use it while you grow up not having to rely on it for anything yet), until I eventually either inevitably or by choice start taking part in any of those “mundane” things that have always seemed to basically have worked fine for everyone out of my view. When I do, the world around me gets this (I know the official term is different, but I’ve always called it after the Jim Carrey movie:) “Truman-Show-effect”, where it really looks like everybody suddenly has to start actually doing the story they only had on paper up until that moment (with consistency as key) and then end up failing horribly in practice. 😅

When I turned 18 I started driving and since we’ve litterally gone from almost no real control systems to stationary traject-control nightvision camera’s and a cop sighting every 10-20 minutes driving through cities. I got my first real job at 20 and the inflation went into crisis, I eventually at 26 or so started using a train to work (that arrived in the building I worked at), and it started to constantly either be cancelled or waaay delayed and way too often only the random one I was taking even though I had fluid hours and had no real pattern in which one I took daily. Skip to more recent things: 5 years ago, I met my wife-to-be who lives far away from my country and had planned to spend half the years to come there and half the years in my homecountry for work, while getting her everything to legally be able to join me, then covid happened and long-distance flights got disallowed while my job screwed me over and ended up making me spend savings to just survive, leaving me in a (still currently going on) financial distress preventing me to even be able to go to her now. It all seems to fall apart when I actually observe or take part in it. I might need to rename myself to Shrödinger soon if this goes on… 😂

Anyway, sorry for the long digress, just had to get this out there. And once again: I know I am not in a TV-show. I have a very active imagination, but I’m still not crazy (or narcissistic 😅) enough to think that to be even possible… 😬😂

Late2TheParty,
@Late2TheParty@lemmy.world avatar

You get me!

DudeDudenson,

Shit happens, always. We just don’t pay much attention until it starts involving us

doctorn,
@doctorn@r.nf avatar

Yeah, Occam’s Razor would suggest something like this. Like I said, it just ‘strongly seems like’ sometimes, but I still have just enough grip on reality to realize it’s not. 😅 It does give me a descriptive way of explaining my frustration in it, though. 😅

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • uselessserver093
  • Food
  • [email protected]
  • aaaaaaacccccccce
  • test
  • CafeMeta
  • testmag
  • MUD
  • RhythmGameZone
  • RSS
  • dabs
  • oklahoma
  • Socialism
  • KbinCafe
  • TheResearchGuardian
  • SuperSentai
  • feritale
  • KamenRider
  • All magazines
    •