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Comment by falcolas | Hacker News Reader

Montana resident here. That’s anecdotal bullshit.

TN here with another anecdote that says it isn’t.

Spoke to someone just recently who said they’ll stay on unemployment as long as they are allowed because they haven’t had to work in over a year and get to spend their time playing their favorite video games.

Which, if you make as much unemployed as you do employed, it makes no sense to return to work. He’s not a bad person. He’s just optimizing.

So these are all people who make less than $2000 a month. That's $12 an hour.

That's above minimum wage, isn't it (I don't know if it's different over there, but I expect it's not >$12)?

There are two ways to solve this "problem" (if you consider it to be one). Either cut the benefits, or raise the minimum wage (or pay above minimum wage).

Personally, I'd rather have people dicking around, hunting and playing video games and having fun, rather than working at a soul-sucking mimimum-wage job and still be on the state's teat (getting food stamps) because the minimim wage is too low.

I don't think tax payers have the same view as you.

I am a tax payer - tax payers are also on the hook for food stamps and other costs that are a direct result of McJobs not paying enough.

But in one case, they are being productive, in the other case, they are not.

I prefer having people on the dole if they are productive rather than sitting at home entertaining themselves at my expense. There is no societal upside to that.

Taxpayer here, and former low-paid wage slave, I agree with alienthrowaway.

Yes. He used to be a zip line guide, so I’m assuming it ain’t much.

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