Interesting article, and Frankfurt's On Equality is on the reading list. I enjoyed On Bullshit after I got through the first section. Certainly in 'water cooler conversations' the feeling that someone else has got a promotion or higher salary without (visible) extra work is deeply resented, even though it has no direct effect on the participants.
What I'm finding in UK at the moment is the lack of a linear response in terms of quality of life to income level. There is a definite 'knee' or threshold. Below that income you have problems, above that income things get easier quickly.
As usual here, my impression is that it comes down to housing costs: we don't have rented accommodation that is small and cheap any more. You can't find somewhere 20% or 30% cheaper below a certain rent level. Not sure if that is the whole story but I think it is a factor.
>>As usual here, my impression is that it comes down to housing costs: we don't have rented accommodation that is small and cheap any more
You can, it's always a question of how much you want to sacrifice for it. A friend of mine is renting a room in a 5-bedroom house for 350/month, all bills and council tax included. I pay about 950/month for a 3-bedroom house with a double driveway and a garden. To me, the reduction of utility is not worth the 600/month saving, but it's absolutely not a problem to find a house to rent for 500-600/month, you just have to move further away from the city.
(unless, of course, you are talking about London - then this entire conversation falls apart)
that works for people living on their own, but people with families/children can't live in a room in a 5 bedroom house for 350/month. You also presumably can't go any lower than 350/month (which is the 20-30% cutoff the parent mentioned) - 300 quid a month might be nothing to someone who can afford a grand a month, but to someone whose income is 6-7 hundred a month, it's a massive chunk.
There are also costs associated with living outside of a city. If I live 5 miles out of a city, and work in a city, I have to travel there and back every day. Depending on where you live, this can be very cheap or very expensive. Public transport as a method of commuting is also not suitable for many people (in particular the people who would be affected by low wages who work awkward shifts). The alternative I assume is car ownership, which is definitely not cheap, and if you are driving into a city is probably going to cost you more in parking than you'll save in rent.
but people with families/children can't live in a room in a 5 bedroom house for 350/month
You can, and people do all the time. People live in slums with 7 kids in a corrugated sheet metal shack the size of a garden shed with sewage flowing past their front door.
So then, what is the difference with a country like England? People are not allowed to live in such conditions. This is not the same thing as can't. We set minimum standards of living because we don't like the idea of people living in squalor. We rarely give a thought to the adverse consequences of such policies. A family that might have been able to afford a tiny apartment is instead forced into the street to fend for themselves.
I'm not advocating a return to conditions that I have a dim recollection of (I am just old enough to remember my parents having an inside toilet fitted and Jack Frost on the windows looked lovely to the 7 year old me but the 60 year old me really likes his central heating thankyouverymuch). However, I think there is a case for some careful relaxation on what kind of buildings can be used for housing. Still regulations, but allowing (say) bedsits for single people &c
No return to slum landlords, they weren't cheap mind you but often very expensive.
> Certainly in 'water cooler conversations' the feeling that someone else has got a promotion or higher salary without (visible) extra work is deeply resented, even though it has no direct effect on the participants.
This indirectly affects the participants by decoupling the work they do from the compensation they receive.
What I'm finding in UK at the moment is the lack of a linear response in terms of quality of life to income level. There is a definite 'knee' or threshold. Below that income you have problems, above that income things get easier quickly.
As usual here, my impression is that it comes down to housing costs: we don't have rented accommodation that is small and cheap any more. You can't find somewhere 20% or 30% cheaper below a certain rent level. Not sure if that is the whole story but I think it is a factor.