Because there is nothing that a low-skill teenager can't do that a low-skill breadwinner can. That's the point. We need to lift the floor so that even low-skill people can support themselves and their families. Otherwise people with supports having their living subsidized will outcompete people without those supports. Just look at the controversy about having to be well-born to be able to afford zero-income internships that are the gateway into some industries.
> Otherwise people with supports having their living subsidized will outcompete people without those supports.
And this sounds like some form of UBI.
If everyone had some income floor as a starting point, the government could be far less involved in micromanaging employment relationships, and low income people would be in a better position to turn down jobs offering very low wages.
I don't see how that would work. If a teenager or college student gets the UBI they can still outcompete the breadwinner, unless the UBI is enough to provide... but why wouldn't they just stay home and raise their kids or provide care to their elderly parents etc?
They absolutely could do that, which is the point. UBI gives you the freedom to make the best decision regarding how to use your time. If UBI is enough to cover you, then spending time at home raising kids and taking care of your family may be the best use of your time, which is a win for both your family and society.
Both of those things provide value to society as a whole. Raising children that will grow up and be part of society has value. Taking care of those that have difficulty caring for themselves has value. Both those things have additional value in having people doing it that are emotionally connected, and not strangers doing it for a paycheck to have their basic needs met. Allowing people to be able to do those tasks and still meet their basic needs is good for everyone. It also takes pressure off the job market, where basically every single person needs a job. Companies could more freely automate low paying low skill jobs without having to worry about what happens to those people that would be “put out of work”.
> Because there is nothing that a low-skill teenager can't do that a low-skill breadwinner can.
that's not really true. I remember it being surprisingly difficult to get my first minimum wage job as a teenager. the managers at grocery stores and even gas stations would ask if I had any prior work experience and never call me back. most employers would prefer an older and more experienced person if they could get them for the same price. I ended up getting a job at a restaurant, but that was only because the owner was a creepy manchild who wanted paid teenage friends to relive his highschool glory days with.
Pretty much all lucrative career paths have pretty well paid internships. Anecdotally, I've never met someone who's taken an unpaid internship. Of course this sample sized is bias as I work in finance and most of the people I know do as well (some tech as well).
Or they're real lottery jobs that may effectively require volunteer/low-wage dues paying.
But, in any case, internships that don't pay or pay minimally tend to indicate a field that you probably won't earn a lot in anyway.
There are probably exceptions with some summer jobs where the pay may not be a lot but it looks good on a resume in a field that does pay good salaries.
Kids going into medical school will often volunteer in research labs or shadow doctors for free during undergrad. Schools won't consider kids who haven't done this.
There are also paid ways to do this as well like being a medical scribe.
Also if you're poor there much bigger barriers to being a doctor than an volunteering. Like the decade of unpaid schooling. Or remove the need for an undergrad degree for doctor's like the rest of the world.
It is very different from continent to continent and country to country, but the not paid internships I know are for positions that prepare you for tough to get jobs or where the training the intern receives is far more valuable than the work the intern does. Some internships are closer to free schooling in a company with the option to get hired after 3 months. There are bad companies that use internship as cheap or unpaid labor, but that's the abuse of the system, it does not means it is always bad.
I believe film and media. I guess those are only well-paid for a few. A search for "unpaid internships" brought up PR. I'm guessing it would appear more often in industries where networking is much more important and job mobility is lower than in STEM.
