media celebrating economic exploitation of autistics

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https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/two-m ... 01573.html

...ULTRA Testing has hired 10 testers, who make between $15 and $20 an hour and mostly work part-time schedules. Though ULTRA Testing has a small office in Manhattan, most of the team prefers to work from home. By the end of July, Anandan hopes to transition Leslie and one other tester into full-time salaried employees...

This is so neuro-typical. The employer knows very well that the level of quality the company is getting out of this dirt cheap form of labour is worth several times the hourly rates they are paying. And that's what's called "business".

It reminds me of my first job, where I was paid 1/10 of the rate that customers were billed for my software development services. At the time I was so naive commercially, that I thought nothing of it for an entire year.

There are other costs involved in running a business other than wages. I've heard the tax rates in New York are pretty steep.

For the last 12 years I've been running my own business. I know what I'm talking about, i.e. what it costs to employ people and what practices other businesses use to extract a profit.

Believe me, the extractive economy exploits the s**t out of NTs too.

I don't know if my poor hubby qualifies for NT or not (he probably has ADHD, but it never would have crossed my mind if our son hadn't been diagnosed with it), and they exploit the hell out of him. He is salaried at 40 hours a week; I can't remember the last week that he worked only 40 hours (or only 50, for that matter). More like 70 on average (and then he brings work home on top of that).

It is the nature of business. Run a small business some time-- you will find out that vendors and the government are still exploiting the hell out of you.

I hope that, in a few years when it's time for me to go to work, I can find someone to exploit me part-time for $15 to $20 an hour, for a boss who is understanding of the way I am, with the option of working from home.

Unfortunately, none of my strengths lie in computers, so this one's out for me. Think I'm going to have to study small business and go into business refurbishing furniture or something.

There's exploitation and then there's exploitation. I'd like to see some social change so that people can need a bit less $$ just to stay afloat, and have a bit more time to live their life instead of every waking moment being a struggle to keep the job...

...but I'm much more concerned about the exploitation of undocumented labor, Third-world labor situations, and the sex trade.

The nature of capitalism is to exploit people. It's basically the whole point.

because no one actually thinks we can do s**t ourselves. honestly, the media has the same attitudes to those jobs "immigrants" get that are basically indentured servitude. its all the same BS and its all basically about creating an upper and under class. I'm fairly well off right now but when i actually have to fend for myself i better make damn sure no one knows about what i have or who i really am.

Last edited by the-comander on 24 Jul 2014, 6:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.

$20 an hour is fantastic for unskilled labor, what are you complaining about?

acording to the article those guys had a college degree and they sure as f**k didn't sound unskilled. besides, people are infinitely less likely to hire you if they know you have autism, not much differently from how hispanics or women are treated when it comes to employment although probably less extreme then the kind of attitude people have toward hiring a hispanic worker or how much less women get paid on average due to autism being something that isn't automatically visually aperent.

Most people don't even know what autism is. Even with a degree $20 an hour isn't too bad.

The issue here is not about having a job or getting paid enough to survive. Sure, you can find a way to survive on $20 an hour, and some people must figure out a way to get by on even less.

The main point is that the media is celebrating this company and the new "market opportunity" it has identified. The article is actively endorsing discrimination. Any non-autistic person in the same kind of role would be paid between $50 and $100 an hour and would be less productive. If it is no longer socially acceptable to exploit women and homosexuals, then apparently some new category of sub-humans needs to be opened up for the so-called "market".

As others have already commented, the entire economic paradigm is based on exploitation. I have no illusions about that, but that does not mean that I endorse it in any way.

Why dont you poach the talent and give these people better options

The fact that its public its a way of autistic to compare there skill sets with other autistics this could be very health for us.

This is exactly what I'm doing. Together with a handful of neurodiverse friends I am operating an entirely decentralised global business.

We don't have any hierarchy, and have agreed to limit the pay differential between the most junior and inexperienced team member to the most experienced team member to a factor of 3. The focus of our business is defined by the passions and the talents of our people, and not by some chief primate. We sell based on the value delivered to the customer and not based on the effort it takes us to deliver. Internally this translates to hourly rates between $100 and $300.

However, in this perverse world, at this point in time it would still be unwise to publicly advertise that our success is defined to a significant extent by our autistic DNA. We first need to grow to a scale where we are too big to be dismissed or pushed aside for actively promoting autistic excellence as the foundation of our brand.

One thing that I have learned is that it is a myth that autistics are incapable of collaboration. We just do it very differently, and we are capable of creating trusted relationships that are much more resilient than any neurotypical hierarchy. It takes time and perseverance, and the latter we have in spades!

We have to rely on organic growth. I have seen what happens if you take an investor on board in an attempt to accelerate growth. Luckily we have been able to expel the toxic element.

Obviously these are potential workers who would not be otherwise employed. Autistic people are certainly free to pursue other opportunities if they can.

Very much agreed on this.

I think aspie like guilds are inevitable.

Be clear I do not enjoy exploitation from nts, however I rather it be in the open, instead of hidden like it is now.

really? $50 - $100 an hour for testing software from home? i've developed software for corporate systems and for hobbyist gamer community, and have been system admin/architect/analyst for corporate systems dealing with critical financial data; so i am quite familiar with the whole process. and for doing just the testing, especially from home so no work-related transportation or wardrobe expenses, etc. $20 sounds about right regardless the oppressed minority involved.

(BTW - i've worked with them enough to know - every NT feel they are underpaid, too.)

and in your OP, the 1/10 of revenue you spoke of receiving sounds about right too, if not a bit high (so good on ya). how many salaries got a piece of that client's cheque? how much went to rent and utilities, office supplies? was it a corporation you worked for? if so, there was a fiduciary responsibility to maximize profit, so an employee can't expect to make too large a percentage. but you say you started your own business and it sounds like you're rolling in dough now, so more power to ya.

$15 to $20 an hour is nothing to sneeze at, especially for entry level. These are entry level positions geared toward people who would otherwise have been making minimum wage or less, or unemployed.