It is though. Most economists will advocate a mix of minimum wage and EITC (Earned income tax credit). Few will say that minimum wage by itself is a good thing and those that do will typically qualify it by saying that it's a good thing if you're only concerned with optimizing particular metrics, the persuit of which will likely have unintended consequences if chased with tunnel vision.
Again: parent said that minimum wage is a bad idea period, compared it with eugenics and added nothing else to clarify. They didn't say it's a bad idea if chased with tunnel vision, or that it's a bad idea if used in isolation (I don't think that statement even makes sense - having a minimum wage is always going to be one decision amongst the context of a lot of other decisions being made).
I am questioning the particular way they worded their comment, I thought I made that obvious.
They didn't actually compare it with eugenics though, they compared the nature of the discourse around eugenics to discourse around minimum wage with the penultimate point of explaining a mix of why/how they distrust economists, specifically economists, to handle discussions about ethics. They weren't making a direct comparison between the topics themselves and yet most of the replies are reacting as if they had, illustrating why these sorts of talks with laymen are bad ideas.
Condescension by experts is one means by which bad ideas can promulgate, and lead to bad policy. Everyone you speak with is a potential voter, and at the end of the day, badly or uninformed voters are bad for democratic outcomes.
To go back to your original criticism, asking for background information is a lazy dismissal wasn't a fair assessment. Is wasn't a dismissal but a request for more information. It's important than when you make an assertion that a lay-person might have some misgivings, that you provide some real evidence, or qualify your statement as opinion. An appeal to one's own authority isn't enough, at least it ought not to be in HN, where it would seem many people really care to know more, and want to engage in real discourse.
This tiresome blatant gish galloping conservative bullshit has been getting more and more common on hacker news lately. I wonder if it's because we're getting close to a US election. I find it deeply concerning because hacker news is generally a bastion of intellectually honest discussion (at least relative to the rest of the internet).
From what I've seen, HN has always been prone to partisanism. However, it is well moderated, and frequented by polymaths and domain experts that can keep in check those arm-chair wannabes (like myself), which is why I keep coming back.
> conservative bullshit
I think it helps to be mindful to not fall prey to ideology through opposition. Visualizing your interlocutor as an enemy gives no room for either you or them to grow in knowledge, and encourages bad faith dialogue... IMHO :)
