something something blueberries Something you said: But the work they did used to be worth the cost of an apartment. The work hasn't changed, yet the homeless rate has risen. They held up their end of the bargain. This is the thrust of the "shrinking real wages" problem: if you do useful work within a society, that society should give you a useful reward. Are the robots bagging groceries? Are they flipping burgers? Or is that work still being done by people? And why have we tilted society such that these tasks are no longer allowing people to sustain themselves? 'cuz here's the thing: the social contract doesn't just protect you, it protects you from roving bands of brigands. I want that grocery bagger to make a living wage because that means he's invested in the same vision for society as I am. He's a citizen. His kids go to school. He votes in the same elections I do. I make that guy the underclass and all of a sudden, I'm a privileged minority surrounded by hostiles who hold me up as the reason for their oppression. And the last thing I want to do is tell them to stop having kids 'cuz they're poor. (1) They're poor NOW and my condescension doesn't fix things (2) Who elected me god? Children are the embodiment of hope for parents and here I am, deciding they get none. I'd wanna shoot me, too. Some jobs will always pay better than others. But we actively harm society when we decide entire classes of jobs shouldn't earn enough to support someone. Walmart costs this country $6 billion in welfare. Walmart made $118b in profit that year. So in a way, we are helping out... but if Walmart raised their wages to something resembling livable they'd give up on less than 8% of their profits. The homeless rate in LA is up 26%. Meanwhile, there's a $250m spec mansion for sale. and LA is on the bottom of the top 10. I don't think we need to worry about birth control. I think we need to pay poor people better.Maybe we are just in an era where the work these people do just isn't worth the cost of an apartment.