Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

latimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 158 posts

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#111

Post by benj111 »

futureastronaut wrote: post #85
benj111 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure people who fought in WW2 said that about the boomers, who in turn said it about the gen Xers. In 20 years time we'll be reminiscing about emoji and snap chat and hipsters and whatever the kids are doing now.

My point was about the usefulness of generational constructs as cultural boundaries, not "damn kids got no culture!". And according to sibling, I have "denouncements" to rebut. What a thread.

Well culture changes, someone from the 19th century has a different culture to someone from today. Yes I accept the fact that some arbitrary date isnt that useful, and some (most?) people wont fit the pattern, but I suppose you could say that about any stereotype.

Nevertheless it is a useful shorthand for people going through the same life experiences at the same time.

I say this as someone who's technically a millennial, but old enough to remember when we were generation Y, doesn't eat Avocado toast, didn't have particular problems affording a house and don't particularly like facebook/snapchat/grindr or whatever the kids are on now. So I'm not really a representative Millennial.

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#112

Post by achow »

hammock wrote: post #63
sp332 wrote: post #15

"millennial culture is just passing around the same $20 to whoever needs it at the time forever." I see this a lot on my Twitter feed. Recently, a guy with metabolic issues and chronic pain (whose own GoFundMe was "trending" for a while) is setting up a charity livestream for someone else's surgery. https://twitter.com/docsquiddy/status/1148022827917938695

Latin Americans have been doing this for a long time: >A tanda is formed between ten friends and family. Each member gives $100 USD every two weeks to the group's organizer. At the end of the month, one participant gets the "pot", $2000. This continues until each member has received the pot.[4] >Tandas are formed for many reasons, but often because at least one member is in need of money to pay a debt right away, or…

In India it is called 'Chit Fund'.

A chit fund is a type of rotating savings and credit association system practiced in India. Chit fund schemes may be organized by financial institutions, or informally among friends, relatives, or neighbours.

The chit fund is said to be an institution that's been handed down since ancient times. In 1887, William Logan, erstwhile Collector of the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency, described the custom of chit funds among friend groups in that region.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chit_fund

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#113

Post by masonic »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #62
tomjakubowski wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That reminds me of a great anecdote from Graeber's Debt: "The anthropologist Keith Hart once told me a story about his brother, who in the '50s was a British soldier stationed in Hong Kong. Soldiers used to pay their bar tabs by writing checks on accounts back in England. Local merchants would often simply endorse them over to each other and pass them around as currency: once, he saw one of his own checks, written si…

I forget what book I read it in, but there was a story about Moshe Dayan, the Israeli military leader. He apparently liked to shop for stuff in the various bazaars. He would pay for his purchase by check. The seller, instead of cashing the check, would frame it, and sell it to tourists as an authentic check with Moshe Dayan's signature for much higher than the value of the check. This resulted in a win-win situation.…

The apocryphal "Picasso's napkin" is a similar concept.

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#114

Post by taejo »

achow wrote: post #112
hammock wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Latin Americans have been doing this for a long time: >A tanda is formed between ten friends and family. Each member gives $100 USD every two weeks to the group's organizer. At the end of the month, one participant gets the "pot", $2000. This continues until each member has received the pot.[4] >Tandas are formed for many reasons, but often because at least one member is in need of money to pay a debt right away, or…

In India it is called 'Chit Fund'. A chit fund is a type of rotating savings and credit association system practiced in India. Chit fund schemes may be organized by financial institutions, or informally among friends, relatives, or neighbours. The chit fund is said to be an institution that's been handed down since ancient times. In 1887, William Logan, erstwhile Collector of the Malabar district of the Madras Presid…

In South Africa it's called a stokvel (apparently the term is derived from the phrase "stock fair"). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokvel

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#115

Post by pjc50 »

hammock wrote: post #63
sp332 wrote: post #15

"millennial culture is just passing around the same $20 to whoever needs it at the time forever." I see this a lot on my Twitter feed. Recently, a guy with metabolic issues and chronic pain (whose own GoFundMe was "trending" for a while) is setting up a charity livestream for someone else's surgery. https://twitter.com/docsquiddy/status/1148022827917938695

Latin Americans have been doing this for a long time: >A tanda is formed between ten friends and family. Each member gives $100 USD every two weeks to the group's organizer. At the end of the month, one participant gets the "pot", $2000. This continues until each member has received the pot.[4] >Tandas are formed for many reasons, but often because at least one member is in need of money to pay a debt right away, or…

This was the origin of many of the British building societies and savings banks. Often known as "friendly societies".

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#117

Post by kbos87 »

There’s a less palatable side of this. It’s now very common to see people openly offering to exchange money for sex, at least in the LGBT community.

On Grindr, it’s an everyday occurrence to see people seeking Venmo “donations” with the implication or overt offer of a meeting in exchange.

I doubt if you asked many of the people who do it they would equate it with prostitution in the same way I’m guessing the legal system might. It’s often younger people who are probably exposed to “Venmo culture” elsewhere and decide to apply it here.

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#118

Post by mgkimsal »

kaesar14 wrote: post #109
Domenic_S wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> actual children 18-year-olds are not "Actual children". > taking on huge burdens with little to no guidance I don't know if this is still the case but when I took out student loans nearly two decades ago I had to go through "entrance counseling" and "exit counseling", explaining very clearly and meticulously what I was getting myself into.

Sure, not legally, but relative to the life experience required to even somewhat competently navigate the complexities of the modern world, 18 year olds are functionally children. Your entire life to that point is school, for many people, sheltered from the harsher realities of life and finances. That entrance and exit loan counseling is a privilege for sure. I just graduated from a top 25 ranked private school and w…

> as no one going to school right now legitimately thinks the college student loan process is clearly presented in terms that are easy for the AVERAGE 18 year old to understand

I went to university nearly 30 years ago, and I didn't take out any loans the first few years. I did the last year, and even then I didn't think the process was remotely understandable. I remember getting a check and there was a pretty hefty fee that had been taken out, reducing my net by a moderate percentage. I couldn't find any good explanation of this, nor anyone at the school who could explain it.

I had no 'entrance' and 'exit' loan counseling.

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#119

Post by krageon »

rangeofmotion wrote: post #41

What I don't understand is why people don't band together and simply refuse, collectively, to pay bills that are well known in the culture to be unreasonable. In particular, student loans. But also a few other things. My god, I know so many people who are struggling that it seems like everyone is struggling. I know people making six figures who are worried about losing their homes. In fact, I've known so many people…

> refuse, collectively, to pay bills

What will happen is that some very unpleasant men will come by and take things from you until you have paid it off or are so miserable you will start paying again. These guys are essentially paid to take things from you, so it's not like they'll stop either.

Re: When bills pile up, young people turn to strangers on Venmo

#120

Post by krageon »

kbos87 wrote: post #117

There’s a less palatable side of this. It’s now very common to see people openly offering to exchange money for sex, at least in the LGBT community. On Grindr, it’s an everyday occurrence to see people seeking Venmo “donations” with the implication or overt offer of a meeting in exchange. I doubt if you asked many of the people who do it they would equate it with prostitution in the same way I’m guessing the legal sy…

Why is that less palatable? It's people deciding to sell something which they own.
Post reply on HN