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Comment by Fernicia | Hacker News Reader

Agreed. Food delivery is a luxury that should only be afforded to the wealthy. There are far too many delivery drivers serving low income areas. We must price out those neighbourhoods immediately.

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Poor people can't afford luxuries. It is an unfortunate truth. Having another human do something for you requires you be able to afford their labor. Sometimes we subsidize if you cannot afford it (healthcare). Sometimes we don't (fast food delivery). If you believe you're entitled to undervaluing someone else's labor below a living wage while being poor yourself, can't help that. Belief systems are weird.

If I get food delivered for less than some definition of a living wage, the delivery person is still better off than if I had walked to the restaurant myself. If the delivery person had a better job available, he or she would have taken it.

Food delivery didn't used to be a luxury back in the days when you had to actually call up your local pizza or Chinese place.

Is Papa John's really considered a luxury?

Sort of? Even as a college student, getting crappy pizza delivered at midnight on a cold night versus walking 15 minutes to pick it up ourselves was some definition of luxury.

Depends on the markup. As a person who earns a decent wage I cannot afford to eat delivery food casually as the markup on a per item basis is steep. Even the good pizza place costs near me is $43 for a single large with 4 toppings, with delivery it is closer to $50.

Sure but delivery mark ups and high delivery fees are a recent thing. Plenty of restaraunts offered the same price in-store as for delivery, and the fee was usually $2-4 plus tip. It's not like technology has gotten worse or cars have gotten slower. So it was sustainable, and now they want us to believe it's not sustainable.

Right now yes food delivery is a luxury. I guess the point is... how and why did that happen?

> Sometimes we don't (fast food delivery).

Making a law is now a lack of subsidy.

Subsidy for what? Able bodied people competing for identical work?

Is that too competitive for the human condition?

To not rob people of their agency and sense of worth?

and what point does the state have an existential obligation to turn us into Matrix human batteries, for our own protection?

Seems to be more of a exploitive targeting of mentally ill people. Super sad to see how many young people are ordering from apps like this and not able to afford any sort of decent quality of life without some for of subsidies.

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