You missed the point. The trend towards contract workers with fewer benefits and lower wages. Wages are actually going down at the same time housing is going up. Yes they fucking need better wages and benefits.
So if we pay these workers more, and they compete more effectively for housing, then we will get a sob story about how industry XYZ is underpaying their workers and now their workers are unable to afford housing in the SFBA and net number of people who's lives have improved is 0 (well, maybe the landlords).
I agree that its awful that their wages have gone down. This is a huge issue, but the issue should be looked at in isolation from the lack of secure housing within a reasonable commute distance for pretty much everyone in SFBA that makes less than ~80k. That issue is much larger than the unfortunate story of these service workers, and in my opinion is, by far, the largest social justice issue that the SFBA faces.
But raising their wages won't increase the number of houses in the region, will it? The pigeonhole principle will still cause exactly as many problems as it is now.
Even on an absolutely selfish level: because someone who had a good night's sleep is a lot less likely to crash the bus into a wall.
Experimenting with pushing a human being to their very limits just because you can tends to have blowback, eventually. If I found out my company shuttle underpaid its drivers like this I'd be disgusted, but I'd also be worried for my own safety.
Because on of those working homeless is going to bring a gun to the head office someday.
On a related note, holy hell California was the most gun-obsessed place I've ever visited. Weapons stores everywhere! Shut some of that down before someone gets hurt.
