[fineman]

> The actual question is, what level of lifestyle should minimum wage/basic income/whatever support?

Enough to enable the barista, garbage collector, concierge, etc, to live in the same city they work in. It produces nicer cities. Like reserving and maintaining park-space, it's a cost you pay for for a nice place to live.

If some coffee shops want to automate, great. They'll be competing with vending machines, not the remaining human-staffed cafes.

[Domenic_S]

They can live in those cities already. They're not buying houses, but they can live there.

Again the question is what standard of living is the goal? Homeownership? Eating out? New electronics? That's the question that will never have a universal answer.