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Comment by jelliclesfarm | Hacker News Reader

[..] Ahmed Mahamud, 46, an Uber driver from Federal Way, said he’s looking forward to the wage increases, as he’s responsible for nine children, along with his wife who works part-time.

“I believe this will help my family to live,” Mahamud said.[..]

This man needs another job.

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Uber isn't the problem in these cases. He needs a far better job. Uber is for college students and high school students. We rarely think about this kids who have very few skills and no professional experience.

Easy for you to say.

Probably because he considers nine children to be a luxury he cannot afford.

If we reduced having children to pure economic calculation, humanity would go extinct.

If people have children without regard to their finances, humanity won't go extinct, but there is likely to be increased suffering and anxiety along the way.

Birth rates go down when people are in a secure situation. The solution isn't to make having children hard through impoverishment. That increases birth rates further.

Besides, in the case of this Somalian man, in subsistence-oriented societies having more children is often economically advantageous.

Where is it mentioned in the article that he is Somali? I searched but didn't see it.

It's not in that article, but that driver is affiliated with the Drivers Union, an advocacy group for drivers with backing from the Teamsters 117 union, and this is not the first article that he's been covered in, so is presumably well-known to others advocating for drivers.

He's an American man now, not a Somalian subsistence farmer.

Have you looked around thats exactly the calculation most people are making.

Yes, that is a moral problem that our society has.

Haven't you seen the window into the future known as "Idiocracy"?

They cover this pretty well.

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