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This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

thelastpsychiatrist.com

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Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#61

Post by [deleted] »

djb_hackernews wrote: post #59
cynicalkane wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm rather bothered by all the people knocking liberal arts degrees, in this and other threads. I did go to a school with a reputation for having a hard liberal arts core education, and it turned out to be a great decision. (In retrospect, I now wish I had gone to a different school, but the one I chose wasn't bad at all.) It's hard to explain why it's good to be able to think about these things, but it's hard to exp…

Just a reminder but Hard Science degrees also make you take some general education requirements, for instance my Computer Science degree came with courses such as: * 4 Semesters of Latin * Chinese Mythology * History * Linguistics * Entomology * Sociology * Macro Economics

[deleted]

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#62

Post by lessthanideal »

narrator wrote: post #15
starkfist wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The Greatest Generation" refers to the parents of the baby boomers.

The "Greatest Generation" who guaranteed themselves the "Greatest Retirement" package. In the fairy tale, all the goods and services they consume will come from the magic money tree that the government fertilized somewhere with all the money they paid into social security. Back in reality land, a smaller population of heavily taxed and badly paid members of the Gen X and Gen Y cohort will have to change grandma's bed…

I have a pet theory that says that they are the first and last generation every to retire wholesale. I'm pretty sure my generation (I'm 31) isn't going to get to retire in the same way that my grandfather did (two sets of government defined benefit package money + teacher's retirement). Don't misunderstand me, I think he worked hard for it and played the system well, but I don't even have the opportunity to play the system the same way he did.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#63

Post by feverishaaron »

yalurker wrote: post #13

Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…

I don't see him knocking schooling. Rather, he is criticizing seeking schooling for the sake of schooling.

And he has a valid point. There is very little economic benefit, outside of research and some professional fields, to pursue additional degrees.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#64

Post by kkshin »

cynicalkane wrote: post #24
yalurker wrote: post #13

Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…

I'm rather bothered by all the people knocking liberal arts degrees, in this and other threads. I did go to a school with a reputation for having a hard liberal arts core education, and it turned out to be a great decision. (In retrospect, I now wish I had gone to a different school, but the one I chose wasn't bad at all.) It's hard to explain why it's good to be able to think about these things, but it's hard to exp…

I would personally find it a sad, sad day if enrollment in liberal arts rapidly declined. People that major in liberal arts bring great joys to our world. Film, music, art, dance, and great books are all things that truly enhance life, and honestly, is also the cultural force that makes the United States so great.

One of my biggest regrets of my collegiate education was not making a conscious effort to expand my curriculum by taking courses in the humanities department.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#65

Post by SHOwnsYou »

jtbigwoo wrote: post #22
sliverstorm wrote: post #17

Just out of curiosity, the article derides the fact that his job search begins and ends in the morning- when I read that, I thought "well, you could certainly use the rest of the day for self-improvement- fitness, projects relevant to the job you want, volunteer work..." Is that a bad strategy, or when job hunting should you be pounding the pavement 24/7?

That was my thought, too. No matter how I feel about rejecting the insurance job, I can't deny that he's showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. The trouble is he doesn't seem to be showing any dedication to anything else. Why is he not tutoring or coaching little league? Why is he not learning something or building something?

I have to disagree that he is showing sufficient dedication to job hunting.

I recently moved away from a secure job that paid well to live closer to family. All my old friends asked me what I was going to do. I assured them I would have a job after my first day of looking.

I did. I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment. During those three weeks I worked serving food, I was emailing my resume out, making calls, and dropping to on local places. I worked my network and heard about an opportunity.

Having a college degree and working for 4 hours a day to find a job while mom and dad pay for your rent, food, and entertainment is a sign of utter failure.

I have been independent since I was 19, after my freshman year of school. I've said it before and will always say it. If I have to move back home after what I've accomplished thus far, I have failed.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#66

Post by SHOwnsYou »

makeramen wrote: post #36

I propose an alternate question: Even if he got the "package" job he was looking for. Should he take it? I'm currently in an argument with my parents about attempting a startup after I graduate vs getting a job and trying to start something on the side. Obviously the parents think it's too much risk, I think I've tried to "follow the rules" for too long and have nothing to lose. Anyone else been in a similar situatio…

I'm not sure Scott wasn't to be an entrepreneur though.

When I first started looking for a job back in high school, my parents (both entrepreneurs) told me to accept the first job I got and then keep applying to the ones I was looking for.

Having a job currently shows that you are at least likable enough and capable enough to have someone else want to hire you at the present time.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#67

Post by rick888 »

AlisdairO wrote: post #48

Overall I found this article disappointingly full of worthless generalisations. There is absolutely no way that anyone who reads The Economist can have concluded that Europe has surpassed America in anything not involving riots, in the way that no one who reads Maxim can conclude that acne is in vogue. I find this attitude deeply aggravating. Europe has simply chosen a different path to the US, and to pretend that th…

"Europe, on the whole, balances lower individual buying power and higher unemployment against taking substantially better care of its citizens,"

"lower individual buying power" means much higher taxes and less freedom with your money.

Right now, the unemployment rate in most European countries is almost the same as it is in the US:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&...

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#68

Post by rick888 »

prgmatic wrote: post #31

I think the fact that we're seeing a lot of articles, stories, and publications revolving around the thoughts of college becoming useless and the importance of starting businesses says something about the way our culture is changing, and perhaps waking up.

"I think the fact that we're seeing a lot of articles, stories, and publications revolving around the thoughts of college becoming useless and the importance of starting businesses says something about the way our culture is changing, and perhaps waking up."

When I was 19, 20, and 21, I didn't see the importance of college. Now that I'm 29 (with a bachelor's degree), I do. I suspect that many of these articles are written by students or people that don't have a lot of life experience.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#69

Post by run4yourlives »

yalurker wrote: post #13

Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…

"Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless."

Hello, very definition of a straw-man argument. I'm surprised this is rated so high on this site.

To reiterate, his thesis is not about college, it is this:

"I am offering encouragement to a crop of college kids infantilized by terrible advice from parents and TV who have the freedom and opportunity to try something; while simultaneously describing the only long term solution to America's economic problems: more businesses."

Now, you can certainly take issue with the thesis he presents, but there is no point arguing about something unrelated to the point of the article.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#70

Post by run4yourlives »

sliverstorm wrote: post #17

Just out of curiosity, the article derides the fact that his job search begins and ends in the morning- when I read that, I thought "well, you could certainly use the rest of the day for self-improvement- fitness, projects relevant to the job you want, volunteer work..." Is that a bad strategy, or when job hunting should you be pounding the pavement 24/7?

It's a side point to help illustrate the fact that Scott clearly expects the job to be "given" to him. If you want something, you work for it - jobs included.

That doesn't mean that he should want it, just that he doesn't seem in 23 odd years to have grasped the concept of earning something.

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