I don’t think the negative sentiment for unskilled labor positions getting pay increased that equals skilled labor is out of jealousy but out of the skilled laborer now being undervalued. If I got a pay cut equal to an unskilled position while I’m an engineer, I’d be very unhappy that all my time, learning, and productivity in my field would essentially equal to the same value as a job a fourteen year old can perform. If unskilled labor increases in value, then skilled labor should as well. Why would someone bother trying to waste the 10 years to become a licensed surgeon when he could just move pallets in a warehouse for the same money in this scenario? Some labor is skilled and specialized and therefore rare and valuable. Some labor is dangerous and life-threatening by nature and therefore rare and valuable. Different careers/jobs/positions pay differently for a good reason most of the time. Linemen can die in a flash of light any given day and therefore I think they certainly deserve more than I make because of that because I certainly do not want to do that job. If unskilled jobs became so well paid that it equaled skilled jobs, no one would bother wasting the effort to get the credentials to do the skilled jobs and then we’d be out of engineers, doctors, lawyers, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, oilfield workers, etc.

This is what the internet is for

I’m not new to the internet yet even after all these years it feels weird to upload something that should be infuriating