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

I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

itsmevox.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 528 posts

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#251

Post by sleight42 »

therealdrag0 wrote: post #243
QuadmasterXLII wrote: post #126

We could provide food for the poor and disabled who lack or are not using family support with a tiny fraction of our industrial output. We wouldn’t even notice this expenditure, let alone whine about it. But what we are providing is actually “Healthcare. Specialists. Medications. Supplements. Mobility aids. Physical therapy. Accessible housing. Delivery fees when you cannot physically shop for yourself. Ride shares w…

The US spend like 66% of our federal budget on these things. Hard to imagine significantly increasing it and “hardly noticing”. People notice higher taxes in California; people notice higher taxes in Europe.

We spend that much because of inefficiencies in the system designed to maintain the wealth of the wealthy as well as legacy business models. It's propped up by lobbyists for same.

POSIWID and its purpose is not providing efficient and effective healthcare.

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#252

Post by sleight42 »

adamtaylor_13 wrote: post #159

I think part of the lie is that we live for and unto ourselves. We instinctively know it's not true, yet for much of our lives we live as if it is. Until one day we find out what we knew all along. When you suddenly become unable to "give anything" to others and become the one who must be given to, you feel a disconcerting sense of loss and powerlessness. I don't think it really has anything to do with capitalism.

Perhaps.

In the US, these two ideas seem conflated enough that they are often essentially conveyed as a single message: if you can't work, you're dragging everyone else down. That leads to the internalized ableism with its guilt and shame. It also leads to peer judgement and the fear of same.

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#253

Post by meta_gunslinger »

sjsdaiuasgdia wrote: post #141
meta_gunslinger wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sartre was a nihilistc pdf-file and a prolific liar. I don't have any respect for his ilk either.

What was that about ad hominems again? ;-)

Don’t know, just just made an argument from authority and I’m discrediting said authority.

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#254

Post by Henchman21 »

Telaneo wrote: post #5

> If your worth is not determined by your productivity, then what remains of you underneath it all? Everything else. You are worth so much more than your productivity. I'm glad I never got sucked into the protestant work ethic, since defining yourself based on your labour and the value you generate from that sounds woefully narrow-minded (this doesn't feel like quite the right word, but close enough). It's probably h…

The Protestant Work Ethic is just learned slavery by another name

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#255

Post by overfeed »

inigyou wrote: post #82
bestouff wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A society where just stating this is called trolling is such a sad society. I pity you and you brainwashed siblings.

it's a very common trolling tactic to imply a controversial thing while overtly saying a less controversial thing

Anyone who thinks that it's "controversial" to discuss where the benefits from productivity gains go isn't worth talking to: they are either ideologues set in their ways, or underinformed on recent economic history.

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#256

Post by overfeed »

shepherdjerred wrote: post #234
theflyingelvis wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It almost seems as if you are trolling. Surely we can, at least, agree that the excesses you mention exist only because of those who produce.

I think the key part of the parent was talking about disabled individuals. I don’t think anyone is advocating to provide a free ride for capable individuals Of course someone has to produce/work harder — and the parent is arguing that there is already more than enough extra

> I don’t think anyone is advocating to provide a free ride for capable individuals

Unless the capable individuals control a lot of capital - then free-riding is expected via the "Job-creator exception clause"

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#257

Post by onraglanroad »

avalys wrote: post #8
Telaneo wrote: post #5

> If your worth is not determined by your productivity, then what remains of you underneath it all? Everything else. You are worth so much more than your productivity. I'm glad I never got sucked into the protestant work ethic, since defining yourself based on your labour and the value you generate from that sounds woefully narrow-minded (this doesn't feel like quite the right word, but close enough). It's probably h…

Who produces the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the house you live in, the energy you use, the medicine you consume, etc. while you airily define ‘productivity’ as reading the classics and spending time with friends?

I know who some of them are. I'm sure as hell that you weren't one of them.

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#258

Post by sjsdaiuasgdia »

meta_gunslinger wrote: post #253
sjsdaiuasgdia wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was that about ad hominems again? ;-)

Don’t know, just just made an argument from authority and I’m discrediting said authority.

Here you go, I'll remind you of what you said:

> Ad-hominem is what you resort to when having no argument ;)

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#259

Post by qwytw »

lostmsu wrote: post #201
kakacik wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't expect much sympathy here, as per many comments folks are mostly on purely capitalistic camps to the extreme. Its distillation of US approach to work and society, something I've grown to detest by mere fact of living in much more humane, while vastly more financially efficient system that doesn't use my tax money to kill civilians all over the world (none other than Swiss system and yes it could easily work els…

Switzerland got its wealth predominantly by shielding money stolen from around the entire world. I'm glad US ended that carnival of happiness to a large degree in 2009.

Switzerland was already the second richest country in Europe in 1913 despite not having a colonial empire to exploit, ample raw resources or the best geographic location.

Re: I'm 38 and I Can't Support Myself Anymore

#260

Post by qwytw »

avalys wrote: post #121
jplrssn wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Who produces the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the house you live in, the energy you use, the medicine you consume, etc You could say the same thing about software engineers. But someone spending their days just creating JS frameworks is oh-so-productive and paid enough money every month to buy several years’ worth of food and shelter.

If they are JS frameworks that enable other engineers to build applications that support farms, and banks, and taxi services and insurance companies and mines and factories, etc. then obviously that is productive. If someone is willingly paying money for their labor then I see little point in questioning the worth of that exchange. When JS engineers start asking for public money to support them writing JS frameworks…

Cost of labor is based on supply and demand not the value created. If there were more engineers capable of creating those JS frameworks than there was demand for they'd get paid way less and whoever was paying them would pocket the difference.

While a "Javascript Framework engineer" is a very neutral example how do you feel about the engineers working on ads, making exploitive predatory video games, gambling apps etc. etc. they can get paid even more yet the net value they create for the society is negative.

Post reply on HN