No, it's not. I've already addressed that the poverty level varies across different parts of the US. It's established by local costs and prevailing wages.
You clearly can't or won't grasp this, and you're presenting arguments irrelevant to this point. I'm not arguing that cheaper Indian labor cannot substitute for more expensive American labor, in some cases, though you may well want to study why it doesn't do so in all cases (hint: labor productivity per worker is much higher in the US, for various reasons, and by various metrics).
Your comparison of US vs. Indian costs of living is in fact a strawman. You might as well compare living expenses in Park Circus vs. Malabar Hill.
I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make. I don't share Chris' politics, but the point he is making is straightforward: it is not in fact invalid to compare living expenses between SF and India. The poorest 5% of Americans do in fact enjoy a standard of living that vastly exceeds that of the average Asian. But Asia does in fact remain very productive.
If I'm looking for ordinary gainful employment, or plan on raising a family, there are minimum standards which are imposed, whether through social expectation, law, regulatory requirements (e.g., immunizations for children attending schools, water, power, and/or septic connections for residences, etc.). Not meeting those requirements will put handicaps on your ability to find and/or keep gainful employment independent of your qualifications otherwise.
Arguably a similar state exists within India, but prejudices are far more baked in to the system and are generally acceptable (I turned up numerous articles discussing discrimination by caste, religious affiliation, sex, etc., while doing some associated research for this thread, they make for ... interesting reading).
I'm not addressing the morality of the differences in living standards between the US and India, or even between Park Circus vs. Malabar Hill (both of which are within India, and, arguably, represent a larger divide than that between the median incomes of the US and India (roughly: $42,693 and $1,219/$3,608 nominal/PPP). That's a separate issue and independent of this discussion.
The question at hand is: what is the minimum wage necessary to provide for a sustainable supply of labor, meeting present standards, within the US. And the answer to that question is, of necessity, relative to prevailing conditions, including expectations, within the US.
If I require the labor I hire to maintain certain standards of cleanliness (running water), communcation (electricity & phone), availability (possibly use of a car), then the cost of production of that labor is going to be higher than if I don't require these things. It's quite possible (though I've no idea whether it's in fact the case) that these things are more expected and/or more expensive (relative to other things included in PPP) here.
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Straw man #1
No, it's not. I've already addressed that the poverty level varies across different parts of the US. It's established by local costs and prevailing wages.
You clearly can't or won't grasp this, and you're presenting arguments irrelevant to this point. I'm not arguing that cheaper Indian labor cannot substitute for more expensive American labor, in some cases, though you may well want to study why it doesn't do so in all cases (hint: labor productivity per worker is much higher in the US, for various reasons, and by various metrics).
Your comparison of US vs. Indian costs of living is in fact a strawman. You might as well compare living expenses in Park Circus vs. Malabar Hill.
I'm done here.
I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make. I don't share Chris' politics, but the point he is making is straightforward: it is not in fact invalid to compare living expenses between SF and India. The poorest 5% of Americans do in fact enjoy a standard of living that vastly exceeds that of the average Asian. But Asia does in fact remain very productive.
Living in conditions which are acceptable for a given cost in India would be prejudicial to hiring consideration in the US.
The question isn't "absolute standard of living", but "what is a necessary income to provide for a supply of labor".
Why is lack of running water, electricity, use of a car, and a private bedroom acceptable in India and unacceptable here?
Again: I don't like where that line of reasoning takes us either, but I obviously find the logic harder to dismiss than you do. Why is that?
I didn't say "acceptable", I said "prejudicial".
If I'm looking for ordinary gainful employment, or plan on raising a family, there are minimum standards which are imposed, whether through social expectation, law, regulatory requirements (e.g., immunizations for children attending schools, water, power, and/or septic connections for residences, etc.). Not meeting those requirements will put handicaps on your ability to find and/or keep gainful employment independent of your qualifications otherwise.
Arguably a similar state exists within India, but prejudices are far more baked in to the system and are generally acceptable (I turned up numerous articles discussing discrimination by caste, religious affiliation, sex, etc., while doing some associated research for this thread, they make for ... interesting reading).
I'm not addressing the morality of the differences in living standards between the US and India, or even between Park Circus vs. Malabar Hill (both of which are within India, and, arguably, represent a larger divide than that between the median incomes of the US and India (roughly: $42,693 and $1,219/$3,608 nominal/PPP). That's a separate issue and independent of this discussion.
The question at hand is: what is the minimum wage necessary to provide for a sustainable supply of labor, meeting present standards, within the US. And the answer to that question is, of necessity, relative to prevailing conditions, including expectations, within the US.
If I require the labor I hire to maintain certain standards of cleanliness (running water), communcation (electricity & phone), availability (possibly use of a car), then the cost of production of that labor is going to be higher than if I don't require these things. It's quite possible (though I've no idea whether it's in fact the case) that these things are more expected and/or more expensive (relative to other things included in PPP) here.
You get it. tptacek and yummyfajitas not so much.