Paul Krugman backs former Obama adviser, criticizes term “unskilled labor”: Being a plumber or carpenter may require more “human skill” than being a Wall Street trader

In a recent exchange on social media, two well-known economists, Paul Krugman and Betsey Stevensonparticipated in a thought-provoking debate on the problematic nature of the term “unskilled labor.”

What happened:Krugman, a Nobel laureate, responded to Stevenson’s post and agreed that the term is often misused. In X, he said: “It is often used as shorthand for workers without a college degree, but being a good plumber, carpenter, or babysitter may require a much more fundamental human skill than being a Wall Street trader or, yes, a college professor.”

Krugman's comments were in response to a post by Stevenson, a former member of the 44th President Barack ObamaStevenson, a member of the Council of Economic Advisers and now an academic economist at the University of Michigan, had started the initial conversation by stating: “Let’s have a serious conversation about the phrase ‘unskilled labor.’”

In a series of posts on X, Stevenson elaborated on his concerns, arguing that the term “unskilled labor” is deeply problematic. “It turns out that the word ‘unskilled labor’ is meaningless. Often, people have amazing skills, but they are not skills that are in high demand. Or their skills are amazing, but they are abundant relative to demand,” he wrote.

Stevenson stressed that the market value of a skill set does not equate to its inherent human value. “Someone’s worth is never measured by their potential salary in the marketplace,” he said.

The debate was sparked by a post by user @ThinkAppraiser, a real estate appraiser, who told an anecdote about a day laborer who was asking for $32 an hour, which the author considered excessive.

See also: Trump is wrong about bacon and Kamala is right about bread, says economist Justin Wolfers: Former president's speech on economy is just an 'incoherent 80-minute speech'

Why is it important?:The debate over the term “unskilled labor” ties into broader discussions about economic inequality and the value of work. In 2015, Warren Buffett Buffett stressed that no American willing to work should live in poverty, given the country's wealth. “There really shouldn't be an economy with a GDP per capita of over $50,000 and lots of people living in poverty and willing to work,” Buffett said in a video.

Besides, Elon Musk Musk has predicted a future in which artificial intelligence will make traditional employment obsolete, leading to a system of “universal high incomes.” Musk shared this vision at the inaugural AI Safety Summit, suggesting that AI will eventually perform all jobs, allowing people to work only if they choose to.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote