with explosion of hiring lately within the united states, the economy seems to be better — well, at least wall street is feeling better despite the ups and downs of the donald trump presidency.

there have been talks of the universal basic income in some circles — a “living minimum wage” of sorts.  with the minimum wage law passed to increase from $9 per hour to $15 per hour in cities of  chicago, san francisco, los angeles and seattle, these are the beginnings of the universal basic income.  true, there’s no denying that it will those on the lower socio-economic scale.  however, this increase will benefit those in the short-term and ultimately hinder economic growth in the long-term and promote economic inequity even further.

in the short-term, low-income families will enjoy better living standards and less financial dependence on the government.  where it will hurt is over time.  we have seen artificial price inflation already occur across many industries ranging from the restaurant to groceries to manufacturing.  with the problems in the food industry, ranging from salmonella to bad crops, the price of vegetables and proteins have increased.  chicken went from $0.79 per pound to $1.49 or more per pound within the decade.  true, some of it is caused by “natural” inflation, but some of it was caused by the food illnesses and scares of the early 2000s.  meanwhile, most middle-income families are definitely struggling to put food on the table.  fewer middle-income families with their stagnating wages eat out nowadays due to rising prices in restaurants and eateries.  when meals used to cost $5 per person less than a decade ago has risen to at least $10 per person — sometimes even more.

in the long-term, whatever financial gain was made by the minimum wage increase will fall wayside as prices increase again artificially due to pressing rise of labor costs.  with the increase in the price of food and labor, other industries will recede as well as the artificial inflation subtly hits their economies.  as fewer people go out to spend money, there will be less economic momentum going forward.

the dot-com world has boomed and in its meteoric rise as few companies stand out, such as amazon, as others have fallen.  some due their inability to adapt.  others due to the rising costs of things in general.

the generation x-ers, millennial and generation z-ers are slowly gaining footing in the new world.  however, the united states is still gripping the ideals of the 1950s as most of management are now reluctant baby boomers deciding whether or not to retire.  however, the baby boomers remain firm in their ideals, and the companies with them in management still retain their fermented ideals however backward they are.  things need to change before economic inequity further separates the rich from the poor in the united states.

politicians won’t help.  most still feed the swamp in one form or another.

what are your ideas to balance the current hackonomy?  do you think a universal basic income is the answer? perhaps another living minimum wage increase?