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Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

281–290 of 478 posts

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#281
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct, this is what I’ve observed too. It’s stunning to me that the big tech companies - Amazon comes to mind - aren’t writing colleges big checks in exchange for “produce us people who can function in real life teams”.

>aren’t writing colleges big checks in exchange for “produce us people who can function in real life teams”. The US has has the privilege($$$) to import the minds and workforce it needs, thereby skipping the need to invest in local education, and offshoring this burden to brain-drain countries in the process.

And this is done without any violent process of physical capture. Others could play that game too, and the US could play it as well as it once did. All the participating parties would benefit directly, and "the world" indirectly.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#282
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I frequently encounter people and family with obvious issues arising from childhood, and 95% of the time their parents were poor as kids and thats where it all comes from. On one hand these people are a pain to deal with, but in most cases its not their fault either.

What makes them a pain to deal with? I work with ultra-privileged people who by all accounts are “well adjusted” and I find them harder to deal with than people I grew up with from home. Many of them have no history of and don’t understand trauma, and as a result they’re unempathetic to what the literal majority of people experience. Edited for clarity

> I work with ultra-privileged people who by all accounts are “well adjusted” and I find them harder to deal with than people I grew up with from home. Many of them have no history of and don’t understand trauma, and as a result they’re unempathetic to what the literal majority of people experience.

Financial issues aren't the only trauma in life, by a long shot. Plenty of people in that group have trauma. What makes people unempathetic is often that they don't come to grips with their own trauma; they deny it and thus deny it for others - if it's too painful to admit to yourself, think how dangerous other people's trauma could be!

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#283

Being poor in general, during your childhood, scars you for life. It makes you penny wise and pound foolish, adverse to taking risks in your career and investments, can destroy your confidence in yourself, while always having to look over your shoulder monetarily speaking. Habits that even after you remove poverty from your live, you still feel the the anxiety and triggers in your head.

> Being poor in general, during your childhood, scars you for life. You can learn to cope with the anxiety better if you talk to a therapist but it will never fully go away.

Who can afford a therapist?

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#284
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? Social status is relative, that is, defined by some kind of difference in a characteristic over which there is some competition (like wealth, looks, connections, fame, etc.). So how do you get that rich kid status without reference to material abundance? Remember, most people are comparatively poor: the wealth histogram is heavily skewed toward zero and with a wide tail toward infinity. It's impossible for every…

Is there a "material abundance" difference between a new Benz and a 25 year old Camry? I wouldn't think so, they both fulfill the same basic role and are composed of approximately the same materials, but getting dropped off at school in one will get you unearned social clout and the other might get you unearned social derision.

Unless you're claiming violent seizure, then the Benz had a good probability of being earned by someone, thus meriting some social clout by those who value those contributions. I have a pickup over a decade old and with a noisy muffler, and write comments on forums like this instead of, apparently, providing value sufficient to afford more. It's not meritorious, and I receive and deserve some derision. Well at least I don't genuflect before the God of egalitarianism, so I'll accept credit for that.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> scars you for life. You could also say being poor in childhood teaches you how to be frugal. I regard this as a healthy habit and better discipline I wish I had with money (coming from a middle-class family). Another way to look at frugality is just an aversion to spending money on whatever it is that society or mass media tell you you have to buy, an important and healthy attitude one can have, IMO.

There’s a fine line between frugality and being stuck in a local optima. Sometimes, expensive things are better in the long run, because they serve their purpose better and last longer.

optimum*

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#286
post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a "material abundance" difference between a new Benz and a 25 year old Camry? I wouldn't think so, they both fulfill the same basic role and are composed of approximately the same materials, but getting dropped off at school in one will get you unearned social clout and the other might get you unearned social derision.

Unless you're claiming violent seizure, then the Benz had a good probability of being earned by someone, thus meriting some social clout by those who value those contributions. I have a pickup over a decade old and with a noisy muffler, and write comments on forums like this instead of, apparently, providing value sufficient to afford more. It's not meritorious, and I receive and deserve some derision. Well at least…

In almost all situations, a high school student being dropped off by parents in a fancy car did nothing to help the parents earn the fancy car. In fact, generally kids at that stage are a net negative on parents finances.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#287
post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a substantive comment to contribute or are you going to stick with baseless low-effort snark? The comment I posted is true and correct. You could verify it with other independent sources if you bothered to do any research.

Yeah sure. Fighting residency expansion: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-03-02-doctor-shorta... Fighting expansion of care to other types of practicioners: https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/scope-practice/... Why would you believe the AMA's line on this? Do you think the professional association that represents all doctors, one of the highest paid and influential professions in the country, has no…

An article from 17 years ago reflects the PoV at that time, not today. The AMA has had different positions based on what they thought was best at the that time.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dealing with cash is complicated actually. You need to protect it from theft. You need to count it daily. You need a bank to deposit it. You need to have change because people don't bring exact amounts. Having change requires a bank or some other facility to exchange currency with. Cards require a machine, some kind of network connectivity, and an account. It's actually a lot easier to deal with as a small business.…

Yes, but I was talking about a scenario where there is no network connectivity and hence no ability to take card payments. In the case of getting paid something versus getting paid nothing, I am guessing most merchants will opt to put in the work to accept cash rather than shut down.

But if someone robs you then you have both zero money and less merch due to sales that day. I'm guessing a lot of places will err on the side of caution rather than some income.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#289
post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah sure. Fighting residency expansion: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-03-02-doctor-shorta... Fighting expansion of care to other types of practicioners: https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/scope-practice/... Why would you believe the AMA's line on this? Do you think the professional association that represents all doctors, one of the highest paid and influential professions in the country, has no…

The AMA is literally lobbying Congress to expand residency program funding, and even putting their own money into it. Did you even read the article?

Yes - they're lobbying now to reverse caps they themselves[1] helped put into place, and like I said, have also limited primary care availability by lobbying against the ability of NPs and PAs to provided basic medical care. It's a complete bunch of talk until they get change done.

By the way, that expansion of 15000 residency positions barely puts a dent in the number of doctors we are lacking[2]. But yeah, a press release from 3 years ago really absolves them of guilt for sure.

[1]: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9708/24/doctor.glut/ [2]: https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/04/13/were-short-on-healt....

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#290
post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah sure. Fighting residency expansion: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-03-02-doctor-shorta... Fighting expansion of care to other types of practicioners: https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/scope-practice/... Why would you believe the AMA's line on this? Do you think the professional association that represents all doctors, one of the highest paid and influential professions in the country, has no…

An article from 17 years ago reflects the PoV at that time, not today. The AMA has had different positions based on what they thought was best at the that time.

If they cared about expanding access to medical care they'd stop lobbying to prevent PAs and NPs from providing care. A half hearted attempt to add a paltry amount of residencies after 30 years of lobbying which led to the state we're in now does not absolve them of blame.
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