Shame at our own dependence on the unpaid labor of others - Barbara Ehrenreich - FB meme

A leftist Faceborg friend posted this:

Transcript:

"Shame at our own dependence on the unpaid labor of others. When someone works for less pay than she can live on - when she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently - then she has made a great sacrifice for you. The working poor are the major philanthropists of our society."

These pronouncements require several assumptions:

• There is such a thing as underpaid labor
• We should feel shame about this
• There are significant numbers of people who go hungry because of low pay
• There is some sort of causal relationship between our desire to eat cheaply and someone's pay
• Underpaid people are engaging in philanthropy

The idea of a required emotional response because someone is being underpaid implies there is some sort of injustice occurring. What that injustice might be is left unstated, but it is apparently so egregious that there is a moral imperative of shame associated with it. What that morality might be is also unreferenced.

First, what does Ms. Ehrenreich mean by being underpaid? One might think that this describes a person who has skills, training, or experience for which she is not being compensated, but this isn't what Ms. Ehrenreich is telling us. Nor is it about being paid commensurate with one's abilities, work ethic, or productivity. 

In actual fact, Ms. Ehrenreich is talking about being paid "enough" to live on. That is, the value a worker brings to the employer is not the measure, need is. But how much does pay does it take to not be underpaid? How much does one need to live on? Who gets to decide? This too is left unreferenced.

Second, Ms. Ehrenreich suggests that we are the problem. You and I. We should pay more for our food. We are guilty of being cheap and other people are starving as a result. We are forcing other people to sacrifice. Our desire to manage our own budgets and get a good deal is killing people. It's our fault!

Third, Ms. Ehrenreich doesn't suggest we directly help these people. She doesn't recommend that we give money to charity, volunteer in a soup kitchen, or offer to pay someone's bills. She isn't telling us to help people so they can make ends meet. Nope, Ms. Ehrenreich wants us to pay more for our food. 

Oddly, she wants us to pay more to the business for its services as if that automatically means the employer will increase wages. This means she expects the employer to pass on to the employee enough to ensure his employee will have enough to live on.

This is the warped thinking of a leftist. It doesn't even enter Ms. Ehrenreich's mind that individuals can help each other without the involvement of other parties. I doubt Ms. Ehrenreich even considered getting out her checkbook and helping someone. No, there can only be a systemic solution, We're too cheap.

This is the bottom line. There is this problem for which there can only be a systemic solution, likely mandated by government. Indeed, like systemic racism, the only cure is to replace the system. And that system is marxism.