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Marketwatch brings good news for the USA: American workers are finally reaping the benefits of the lowest unemployment rate and best jobs market in decades: Wages and benefits are rising at the fastest pace in a decade. Firms have sought to fill openings by offering better benefits such as more vacation time or flexible hours. When push comes to shove, they are offering higher pay. While bigger paychecks are great for workers, the US Federal Reserve is watching closely to see if rising compensation is stoking inflation. The Federal Reserve could increase U.S. interest rates if it becomes a big worry, but so far inflation remains relatively mild.
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Wages and Benefits are Rising at the Fastest Pace in a Decade
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(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday August 08 2018, @07:43PM (3 children)
You're still not understanding what I'm saying or the term "zero sum". I'm saying wealth is not just money. Buying something does not transfer wealth, it exchanges it. Where "zero sum" comes in is that new wealth is created every time worthwhile human effort is performed. The wealth your employer is exchanging currency for literally did not exist before you went to work today. Wealth isn't infinite because of the eventual death of the species or universe but it is ever-growing and its upper bounds are fairly well unfathomable.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Pav on Wednesday August 08 2018, @11:05PM (2 children)
*eyeroll* Double-entry accounting doesn't suddenly make the entire economy zero-sum. Unless you're already ultra-rich or else winning-the-lottery fortunate you've already lost the economic game. When wealth is allowed to accumulate too much (because of low wealth tax) your labour will eventually be worth next to nothing - a small group of ultra rich just don't require enough goods and services for trickle-down to be a thing. As money is in the real economy becomes less over time, the less investment in labour, plant etc... is needed to vacuum it up, and your labour value becomes uncomfortably close to zero.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday August 12 2018, @11:18PM (1 child)
Which is an entirely separate argument unless you are still misunderstanding the definition of "zero sum".
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Pav on Monday August 13 2018, @08:30AM
You're either absolutely clueless on what zero-sum means, or trying to purposely misinform others in this thread. If employment at a business was zero-sum (ie. one party wins an amount equal to what another loses eg. gambling) then most people wouldn't risk employment. Their adversary in this hypothetical zero-sum employment game would have more chance of "winning", and therefore would have a better than even chance of EXTRACTING money from them and pocketing it. That's not what employment is - cash flows to the "weaker" party in fact. Once you comprehend why you'll see employment at a business is more than a double-entry transfer of cash, and that it is in fact positive-sum and that the proceeds of wealth creation are shared between employer and employee. If you're really keen you might look into "positive-sum negotiation between entities of unequal power" and how as employers become more powerful they can negotiate an ever greater share of these proceeds. This is why unregulated capitalism tends towards monopoly, stagnant or declining wages over the long term, and recession/depression.