...an education, and a long life of idiocy are not mutually exclusive.

[...why was she allowed in the US in the first place if that is true?] Because they grope old ladies, while hiring people whose names are on terror watch lists. Seventy-three were just discovered. Because they grope children, but have no screening for the workers in the cargo holds. Because they strip search the disabled in wheelchairs, but no such scrutiny for the mechanics. With all of our bluster about how we must forfeit so mnay of our constituional rights to be safe on aircraft, the Israelis have none of this; and yet, being a bigger target, have had fewer incidents. Go figure. Like all systems: garbage in, garbage out.

The trick is to find some persuasion to motivate people to hand over money that they worked for at "shitty, tedious, mind-numbing, soul-destroying, low-paying jobs that they hate" for the purpose of "freeing up people to find jobs that are more compatible with their own tastes". In my life, I have had more than a few very high-paying jobs, doing what I hate with a passion. Why did I work at mind-numbing, soul-destroying jobs? Because they paid deep into six figures. So I bit the bullet and did what I hated with a passion, until I could develop the means to do what I love, though it pays far less. Not all psychologically satisfying jobs pay well. And not all well-paying jobs are psychologically satisfying. And though I have not done any research into it, I expect that the data that exists, which suggests that few people are well paid doing that they love, is valid. Hence the 'hobby'; so that people can earn what they need, and also do what they love, though the two may not necessarily be the same thing. As much as I love to play the piano, no one would ever pay me a living wage to do so. Now all that needs to be done is to convince the hard-working person to work a bit harder so that someone else doesn't have to.

"one good worker at 80k per year can easily be worth 3 workers at 40k per year" But Gravity paid 3 workers at $40K, $70K. This is cheaper how? Since all workers get paid the same, what makes an $80K worker any different/smarter/harder-working, than one who was only worth the $40k he was getting paid before the raise?

Logically, yes. Until there is a mandatory freeze on costs, raising pay feeds no one better than those who tax it. In Seattle, where minimum wage is raised to $15/hr, a significant portion of those who benefitted, immediately sought fewer work hours, so as to avoid losing their taxpayer-funded supplemental checks for free food and rent assistance. But as ability to pay increases, so does cost. As we saw the increase in higher wage earners in Seattle, we also see average rents at $2K+/monthly. So at $70K annual pay, the IRS takes a bigger chunk, and rent takes another $25-30K of that raise. Soon, personal austerity is close by. The new $80 jeans and $5 cup of coffee will have to wait. As a result of the increase in minimum wage in Seattle, 1000+ restaurants (those most likely to see an increase in payroll) have left the city limits, or plan to soon, as the law takes effect. So, now the minimum wage increase will have to fund a car/insurance/gas/maintenance to drive for an hour in traffic (one way), to get to that minimum wage job, which now consumes more of your time, with just enough increase in purchase power to be able to keep it. So of course, they don't keep it. It goes to the guy who will work for less, living in that old job's new location. Here in Seattle, it is just a town outside the city limits. On a larger scale, it is a country across an ocean or a border. In the state of WA, 6800 new restaurant industry related jobs have been created since January. But in Seattle, with its new $15/hr minimum, 700 jobs have already been lost. And that number is expected to grow. So only those with a lot of extra spending money will be frequenting the places that pay more than anyone else, and charge more to cover the increase. And landlords know this. So, as most people in Seattle are earning more, most rents are climbing. And with 3% vacancies, there is no incentive for rents to come down. So, until you can freeze all price increases, raising pay pays more, ultimately only to the IRS. Everyone else just moves up a level. And the "two people" who left Gravity, were its top two people, and founding members of the company. As another here said, why work hard in school and pay a lot in tuition, to get a degree, to earn as much as the guy who didn't? Paying more for less is a disincentive to work harder for more.