Live data from Hacker News

Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

nytimes.com

81–90 of 102 posts

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#81

Somebody mentioned a few days ago some rural areas outside of Portland with co-op fiber in gigabit speeds... Can anybody comment on the location of these areas and travel time to Seattle?

Portland-Seattle is 3 hours one way. You might not want that as a commute.

I want to occasionally visit the cities, but work remotely from home.

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're not as bad as Syria, so that means we've hit a utopia? This is sliding scale, not binary

I never said utopia. This started with the term "broken". Hence my original assertion. So I think we're in "violent agreement" here.

Fine

"We're not as bad as Syria, so that means we're not broken?"

This is sliding scale, not binary

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#83
post #30
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, the article kept mentioning the 90K salary number -- not sure why the article presented such great prospects and had a doom-and-gloom outlook for the people. To me it looked like the people profiled in the article seemed to have varied, fulfilling lives....maybe I am not getting something.

Yeah, I got that too. How is a $90,000 starting salary for a javascript bootcamp grad a sign of the end of days? It seems to me the problem is occurring as the "millennials" want to settle down in mid-life, buy a house, buy a car, have kids, and save for their college. In short, the middle class baby boomer lifestyle seems completely out of reach for most in their twenties and thirties.

> $90,000 starting salary for a javascript bootcamp grad

That is not a realistic expectation in Seattle.

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#84

"But people now in their 20s and 30s say that the 1960s were different, that there seemed to be a clearer goal then — to end racial segregation, poverty or the war. The economy seemed better and the nation’s future more assured." As someone in my 20s this is very frustrating. Obviously things from the 60s seem clearer now; hindsight is 20-20. Then there's this: "Many are terrified of debt and deeply worried about the…

> I view this as a good thing. Debt is not fun and should be worrisome. Especially in the US where it's socially acceptable to carry mounds of debt.

I feel the same way. The Fear encourages me to save money and evaluate my spending habits. (I'm also in my 20s.)

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#85

I tried to avoid reading this article because of its headline but I gave in this morning. These generalizations about Millennials are strange to me. I see over and over again in popular media that Millennials are in a rut, and things aren't fair because of a foundation that was laid, that we need to reform politics and make things fair for everyone, abolish debt, give college value, and et cetera. I see all of this c…

hello fellow seattleite!

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#86
post #12

Or maybe stop reading news like that and enjoy life in one of the safest times and countries with life expectancies at an all-time high in the entire human history. Take a step back and look at things on a larger scale. Don't nurture your neuroticism and anxiety.

It's hard not to feed on fear when the media is a buffet full of it.

Just Say No (to mass media fearmongers). give your tv set to somebody you really dislike.

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#87
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stable in the 70s? I keep hearing this but I don't buy it. Rolling off of Vietnam. The oil crisis. Inflation. Decimation of manufacturing. I wasn't around then but we're they actually good?

I was fairly young, so didn't have huge awareness of oil crisis, as i didn't drive until the 80s. Slightly tongue in cheek here... The bad: Constant strikes, works to rule, sympathetic strikes (miners going out in sympathy with the rail works and other such silliness), having to be bailed out by the IMF, three day week and doing homework by candle light due to electric strikes. Horrific fashions and decor. So much ba…

> the mortgage you made a huge stretch to take has reduced to affordable

Yeahhhhhh but don't forget interest on that 30-year fixed was 12%+!

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never said utopia. This started with the term "broken". Hence my original assertion. So I think we're in "violent agreement" here.

Fine "We're not as bad as Syria, so that means we're not broken?" This is sliding scale, not binary

Ok now we have a valid disagreement. Our system has problems, but it truly is not broken. It needs people like you to want to improve on what we have. Throwing words like "broken" around to describe the problem gives fodder to the idea that they system should be burned to the ground. I don't think destruction is what you're aiming for. Is it?

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was fairly young, so didn't have huge awareness of oil crisis, as i didn't drive until the 80s. Slightly tongue in cheek here... The bad: Constant strikes, works to rule, sympathetic strikes (miners going out in sympathy with the rail works and other such silliness), having to be bailed out by the IMF, three day week and doing homework by candle light due to electric strikes. Horrific fashions and decor. So much ba…

> the mortgage you made a huge stretch to take has reduced to affordable Yeahhhhhh but don't forget interest on that 30-year fixed was 12%+!

UK mortgages are usually variable, going up and down with changes in interest rates. You can fix, but often for just the first 5 years. Then switch to a different mortgage if you want another 5 or 10 years fixed. Is it usual to fix for full term in the US?

With lower interest rates these days fixing is much more common than it was.

Re: Debt. Terror. Politics. To Seattle Millennials, the Future Looks Scary

#90
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone in Europe I just don't understand the level of fear among Americans who are in the safest position probably of any population ever. Is it just media bias? If I lived in eastern Europe any where near Turkey right now I'd be more afraid.

> As someone in Europe I just don't understand the level of fear among Americans who are in the safest position probably of any population ever. Is it just media bias? No. People really are that afraid. I don't know why.

Fear is a powerful political tool. If you can make people afraid, you can control them. Daesh knows this. Governments know this. Media knows this.

The antidote is:

1. Practice information hygiene. Who is saying it? How do they benefit in making you afraid? What are the opposing viewpoints? Where is the evidence? 2. Be aware of cognitive biases. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases 3. Know history (this is especially hard for Americans). At least the history of the issue at stake.

Post reply on HN