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How rich kids already won the career game

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Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#261

Post by thomasz »

nazgulnarsil wrote: post #76
lionhearted wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Naz, I agree with you that he's taking a position that's pretty uninformed based on history and I'm a big admirer of your comments and thinking, but I even thought "read a fucking book" wasn't the best way to present a counterargument. People here are smart, if you show them cohesive analysis and can avoid emotionally loaded words, they respond to it. The Western commerce structures have produced more wealth than any…

The author presumably went to college and in addition lives in the era of the internet. He thus has access to the most powerful educational sources in the history of human civilization. Many people simply will not be educated. Especially if they are rewarded for ignorance. There comes a certain threshold of incoherence where a person should be simply ignored. They are being disrespectful of their listeners. Of course…

Strange things happen if people go overboard about an heretic statement that was never made. Calling "corporate capitalism and bigoted conservatism" a "brutal authority" doesn't mean that he is placing it in the same league with Cambodian communism. That's just your unfounded assumption.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#262

Post by paolomaffei »

paolomaffei wrote: post #24
scrrr wrote: post #20

Exactly same dynamics as in dating: If you appear like you've been single for a year, you'll have a difficult time. If you look like you just came back from the bedroom of a runway model you'll be surrounded by women. The key here is attitude. While your upbringing influences that, you can always make a choice to be the relaxed rich kid. Even if your parents' income says differently.

Why down voting?

Die HN die, the parent comment was -2 when I posted my question.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#263

Post by mediacrisis »

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #130

When I used to interview a lot of college kids, I found that I could guess accurately within a few minutes of conversation which had lived in a dorm/frat house/whatever and which had lived at home while going to college. The differences in social skills and worldliness/perspective were immense. Was this due to the effects of being surrounded by a bunch of relatively ambitious young people or was it due to the socio-e…

I'd imagine this pattern would depend on locality. For example, I live in CT and went to school in RI. I chose to live at home to save taking out additional loans for room and board, but I wasn't really separated from campus life, or even college towns for that matter (My parents lived by an art school and a state college).

However, were I do to the same in an area with fewer educational institutions per sq. mile, I may not have had that experience.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#264

Post by ShabbyDoo »

mediacrisis wrote: post #263
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #130

When I used to interview a lot of college kids, I found that I could guess accurately within a few minutes of conversation which had lived in a dorm/frat house/whatever and which had lived at home while going to college. The differences in social skills and worldliness/perspective were immense. Was this due to the effects of being surrounded by a bunch of relatively ambitious young people or was it due to the socio-e…

I'd imagine this pattern would depend on locality. For example, I live in CT and went to school in RI. I chose to live at home to save taking out additional loans for room and board, but I wasn't really separated from campus life, or even college towns for that matter (My parents lived by an art school and a state college). However, were I do to the same in an area with fewer educational institutions per sq. mile, I…

I agree. Let's take Boston as the extreme example of where one could choose a nearly "optimal" college while still living at home. Local availability of good education options coupled with the high cost of off-campus housing in the area probably makes the adverse selection bias I observed in Cleveland much weaker in Boston. In Ohio, off-campus housing is generally cheaper than living in a dorm room. However, I'm told that dorms are coveted at places like NYU because the universities effectively subsidize rents compared to market rates.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#265

Post by rick888 »

yeahsure wrote: post #152
rick888 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What bothers me is that the only solution to bridge the "income inequality" is to take money from the rich and just give it to the poor. Beyond the mentally and physically unable (which is a very low percentage), poverty is a result of poor life choices. This is what freedom gives us: the ability to succeed or fall flat on our ass due to our own choices, which is why we will always have poverty in our current system.

"poverty is a result of poor life choices" You should check out a third world country. I live in one and I can tell you for a fact that this is not true. If you wake up thinking what you're going to eat today and where you'll sleep tonight, then there aren't many choices to be made. I see 8 y/o kids begging for money on the streets every day. They will never be able to make a choice.

"You should check out a third world country."

I should have said: poverty in the US. Poverty in third world countries is a result of the poor choices of the government.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#266

Post by rayiner »

warrenwilkinson wrote: post #156
gadders wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Libertarian Socialism"? Best oxymoron ever.

Its sad how inconstant political terms are. Liberal today implies support for a lot of programs it didn't in Jefferson's time. I don't understand 'anarcho communism' -- wouldn't that be the overthrow of government to establish communism? How is it different than regular communism?

"Liberal" and "conservative" are relative terms. Obviously their absolute meaning changes as the median relative to which they are defined changes.

As for anarcho-communism, it distinguishes communism involving a strong central authority from communism involving no or decentralized authority.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#267

Post by rick888 »

billybob wrote: post #202
rick888 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What bothers me is that the only solution to bridge the "income inequality" is to take money from the rich and just give it to the poor. Beyond the mentally and physically unable (which is a very low percentage), poverty is a result of poor life choices. This is what freedom gives us: the ability to succeed or fall flat on our ass due to our own choices, which is why we will always have poverty in our current system.

"...poverty is a result of poor life choices." This is an overgeneralization. All of us make choices based on our perception of the world. It matters very much whether, like me, you were raised by educated people, being told "you can do anything," being read to and told to practice music and sent to church and given responsible role models and generally expected to achieve, or whether you had a single mom who was alw…

"This is an overgeneralization. All of us make choices based on our perception of the world. It matters very much whether, like me, you were raised by educated people, being told "you can do anything," being read to and told to practice music and sent to church and given responsible role models and generally expected to achieve, or whether you had a single mom who was always drunk, didn't care if you skipped school or stayed out all night, and basically expected you to end up in jail like your father, whom you never knew."

Then the parents made poor life choices and passed these bad habits onto their kids. No matter how good our schools are, if someone's home life is like you describe, with a father in prison or an uncaring mother, it's going to be that much more difficult to succeed in life. How do you prevent this? Even with all the money and education in the world, people will still make bad decisions.

"All of us make bad choices. I don't exercise, even though I know I should. The guy down the street doesn't stop drinking before work, even though he knows he should. Both of us are slightly underperforming our expectations. But where did we get those expectations?"

Being overweight means you are unhealthy and you also probably don't feel that great during the day (I'm a programmer, I've been there). Drinking before work means you will be impaired during your job (and possibly the drive over) and you could also get fired. Your expectations in these situations should come from the adverse effects of continuing this behavior.

"We are responsible for what we do, but it's wrong to pretend that everyone starts on even footing."

will always be poverty, unless we live in a completely controlled society that dictates all of our daily decisions.

We don't all start on the same footing, but we all have a chance to move up from our current one.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#268

Post by rick888 »

jarek wrote: post #110
rick888 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What bothers me is that the only solution to bridge the "income inequality" is to take money from the rich and just give it to the poor. Beyond the mentally and physically unable (which is a very low percentage), poverty is a result of poor life choices. This is what freedom gives us: the ability to succeed or fall flat on our ass due to our own choices, which is why we will always have poverty in our current system.

> Beyond the mentally and physically unable (which is a very low percentage), poverty is a result of poor life choices. Oh, how I want to see you tell that to a 15 year old born in a ghetto.

"Oh, how I want to see you tell that to a 15 year old born in a ghetto."

The truth hurts sometime. If we continue to ignore it, nothing will ever change.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#269

Post by petervandijck »

Rich family drives 5-year old to doctor's visit. Mom: "Remember honey, you can ask the doctor anything you want, and if he does something you don't like just tell him no."

Poor family drives 5-year old to doctor's visit. Mom: "Remember honey, be respectful and do as the doctor says. And be quiet or there will be trouble."

From an actual study.

Re: How rich kids already won the career game

#270

Post by billybob »

rick888 wrote: post #267
billybob wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"...poverty is a result of poor life choices." This is an overgeneralization. All of us make choices based on our perception of the world. It matters very much whether, like me, you were raised by educated people, being told "you can do anything," being read to and told to practice music and sent to church and given responsible role models and generally expected to achieve, or whether you had a single mom who was alw…

"This is an overgeneralization. All of us make choices based on our perception of the world. It matters very much whether, like me, you were raised by educated people, being told "you can do anything," being read to and told to practice music and sent to church and given responsible role models and generally expected to achieve, or whether you had a single mom who was always drunk, didn't care if you skipped school o…

I think we mostly agree here. Each person does make his/her own choices, and most people can improve their life situation if they decide to. And I definitely agree that simple income distribution isn't the answer - better to "teach a man to fish."

I was just picturing walking up to a drunk on the street and saying "the difference between me and you is that you made poor life choices and I made good ones." That would be overlooking so many factors in what made us who we are, right back to the vocabulary we heard around us from the day we were born.

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