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Comment by arsome | Hacker News Reader

> What is all this wealth and automation and productivity growth for, then?

Why, more wealth and automation and productivity growth to no end of course.

I know all of these things sound nice. But in the real world a lot of businesses aren't making the kind of profit that allows workers to just take time off and not generate any revenue for the company. Sure there are some that could pull it off. But most small businesses aren't making that kind of profit. Unless you are assuming workers are supposed to take unpaid time off. But then how are they going to afford to take time off?

If your business can't pay its bills without forgoing its legal and moral responsibilities, it has failed.

If it can't for any reason, it's failed. The problem is the more things you pile on, the harder it gets. The main point of a business, and the main good it does, is not employing people. It's what goods or services it provides its customers, at a lower price.

If you moralise and add more things for a business to do, the big ones will do some performative stuff and spend their vast marketing budgets on it, and the small ones will go under, and we all lose because we get less choice and higher prices.

Not really. It could be a new business that is only a few years old and is still trying to grow and become the type of business can afford these. Or an established business that lost a major client. Your viewpoint is really limited.

Most of the world has statutory minimum of vacation days that also applies to small businesses, and somehow those businesses manage to survive. They just include it in their business model and market finds new equilibrium.

All of the industries that moved to other countries that are willing to provide goods for less did not survive.

Moved from where to where and which industries exactly? Do you think this happened in the entire world? I do not see Germany as de-industrialized country, for example.

Not in the entire world. I wasn't suggesting work moves to other worlds.

That’s rather strange reading of my question.

> But most small businesses aren't making that kind of profit.

It always feels that way in a small business, but then all of a sudden a key employee needs to take a three month medical leave and somehow the business survives.

You just have to plan well, and I'm sure there will be devoted employees who answer the odd emergency email during their sabbatical.

Businesses don't start flush with cash. It's a long process to become established. Your viewpoint is that businesses just have positive cash flow at all times and if they don't it's poor planning. It's not poor planning. It could be investments need to be made in certain areas in order to grow. or they haven't established a big product or client portfolio yet. Everyone starts somewhere.

It's to provide goods and services for less, and to give a competitive advantage against other brands.

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