[Consultant32452]

>I think everyone would be worse off

I agree with this, which is why I disagree with your first sentiment:

>Everytime a company pays their employees so little they need welfare to live, that's redistributing wealth from society to shareholders

Since we agree that employers would not pay more if welfare is removed, then the value of those welfare programs must not be subsidizing shareholders.

[lovich]

I don't agree with that conclusion at all. If they didn't subsidize those employees through welfare people would stop working there, either through leaving to other jobs or just dieing. At some point people have to eat and have a place to sleep.

Society is providing a workforce to employers at a wage that is not sustainable without the welfare

[Consultant32452]

>If they didn't subsidize those employees through welfare people would stop working there, either through leaving to other jobs or just dieing.

So then you believe if we eliminate welfare that employers would be forced to raise wages, because employees would be unable or unwilling to work there for their current wages. That is the opposite of what you said before.

[lovich]

I am struggling to understand your train of thought.

I claimed that there is redistributing wealth from society to business owners via welfare for low paid employees. In my understanding of the world the wages that are necessary to sustain the work force are $X and employers are paying $X -$Y. That $Y is the amount covered by welfare and what I am considering to be the wealth redistribution from society to the business owners.

That seems consistent with the idea that if the $Y subsidy is removed, then employers would be forced to raise wages or lose their workforce.

For example: if I have a nice car that my parents cover the lease and they stop covering the lease,I will either have to increase the amount of money I spend on the lease or lose the car. Just because I can respond to the change doesnt mean wealth wasn't being redistributed from my parents to me

Edit: it also appears that we are triggering hn's anti flame war measures as I have to wait some time to reply to you now. This has been a unheated discussion to me, but there will be delays in any responses now

[Consultant32452]

In your first response you seemed to be indicating that the lives of the poor would just be worse if we removed welfare. If that were the case, then welfare is not subsidizing shareholders.

Now you're saying that if welfare is removed employers would be forced to raise wages or go out of business. If that's true, then yes, welfare is subsidizing shareholders. Given that belief, do you support removing welfare programs so that we (society) can stop subsidizing shareholders?

[lovich]

You are making a connection I am not making. If welfare is removed you are assuming that people's lives would not be worse because _eventually_ companies would be forced to raise their wages. In the short, medium, and even long term if the companies we're done headed enough, people's lives would be worse off because they would lack the welfare _and_ employers would not have adapted wages to the new equilibrium.

As to what I support. I would be for a UBI system so that every company would no longer have to worry about supporting their employees basic needs. It would allow for better competition as employees would be in a better negotiating position since no one would need a particular job. It would be still be a wealth transfer but I think the improvements to economy would pay off and it would give every citizen a benefit directly by not making them tied to employment. Road repair from damage from trucks is another situation where it looks like a wealth transfer from society to businesses, but the payoff in terms of the improvements to citizens lives are worth it.

As it stands currently the benefits from this current setup only go to owners of companies with low paid employees and I don't believe that the benefit of lower prices on some goods outweighs the harm that is caused by increasing the inequality between business owners and employees without giving employees a way to improve their lives

[Consultant32452]

>If welfare is removed you are assuming that people's lives would not be worse because _eventually_ companies would be forced to raise their wages. In the short, medium, and even long term if the companies we're done headed enough, people's lives would be worse off because they would lack the welfare _and_ employers would not have adapted wages to the new equilibrium.

This concern could be alleviated by phasing out welfare over time rather than instantaneously removing it. I feel like you dodged the spirit of the question, so I'll ask it again. Ignoring UBI as a possibility, given the world as you understand it today where welfare is a subsidy for shareholders, do you support removing welfare so that we can stop subsidizing the wealthy?

UBI vs welfare doesn't really change the situation here. UBI may be more economically efficient than our current form of welfare, but that's a different discussion altogether. I'm only interested in the question of whether you really believe that welfare as it stands today is a subsidy for shareholders. Because if you believe that, then it seems the rational proposal would be to get rid of welfare.