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

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

#361

Post by magicalhippo »

HelloUsername wrote: post #160

> Everytime you meet someone new and they ask “What do you do?” they’re not asking about your passions, hobbies, or the mundane human tasks that take up most of your time; but how you make money, how you turn yourself into income. 1. That's your assumption. They could really ask out of interest. They couldn't care less if that's your main source of income. 2. In some cultures this question will never be asked. 3. If…

I've found I ask that question often, but for me it's because I'm interested in learning about new stuff, so if they work with something I'm not familiar with I'd find it interesting to talk about that.

However if I sense they're just in it for the paycheck then I try to ask about hobbies or similar.

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

#363

Post by insane_dreamer »

> It’s there every time you meet someone new and one of their first questions is, “What do you do?” They’re not asking about your passions, your hobbies, or the mundane human tasks that take up most of your time. They’re asking how you make money. How you turn yourself into income.

I find this to very much be an American thing. In (Continental) Europe you don't get asked this until later (if at all). It doesn't define you like it does in the US.

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

#364

Post by aianus »

Telaneo wrote: post #355
nate_meurer wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Food and clothing are actually an argument against you here. Sure we waste a lot of both, and yet food insecurity is rare in the First World, and lack of clothing is pretty much the least significant part of poverty. Plus, government-forced redistribution reliably increases prices overall due to the increased costs of logistics and administration. There is no free lunch. If you want to argue your point, you have to a…

Pensions probably ought to be reduced/readjusted in accordance with life time expectancy, or some other maths that actually ends up in the green somehow while still allowing those who cannot take care of themselves to live a decent life. I've seen enough rich pensioners (my own grandmother among them...) to come to that conclusion. The US spends an inordinate amount on healthcare since the system is covered in leeche…

The US healthcare system is incredible compared to socialized systems if you can afford it. That's at least part of the reason it represents 17% of GDP. The same procedure I needed had a 2 day wait time in the US and a 10 month wait time in Canada.

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

#365

Post by [deleted] »

fnordsensei wrote: post #143
nickdothutton wrote: post #3

At some point many years ago I read that the family, not the individual, is the building block of society. It might have been Chesterton or Friedman as I read a lot of both when I was young. It certainly is a lot easier to hold the line when you have a squad of half a dozen to a dozen with you (wife/husband/children/brothers/sisters/uncles etc). If the state is there, then you are fortunate, but I wouldn't want to co…

It's cultural. I've read that German society, for example, is largely based on contracts between the family unit and the state. Sweden, as a contrast, is largely based on contracts between individuals and the state. As an example, Germany treats a married couple as a fiscal unit, Sweden abolished joint taxation in the 70s. Swedish parental leave is allocated per individual, and is mostly non-transferable. In a lot of…

[deleted]

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

#366

Post by nate_meurer »

amanaplanacanal wrote: post #356
nate_meurer wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, we're not. It just seems like there's excess because the costs of running social programs are being paid with runaway debt. Those bills will eventually require settling, and it will become obvious how much excess there really is.

Debt is just accounting, and has nothing to do with whether or not a surplus exists and who gets to consume it. The surplus exists, it doesn't magically appear because of your accounting system.

My point is not that economic surpluses don't ever exist, but that the perceived surpluses that people invoke in order to defend the present welfare state are unsustainable, and that the system will inevitably collapse without a miraculous increase in economic productivity. Debt (both private and sovereign) is literally the thing that tells us whether a society is able to pay for the things it demands. That's not an accounting trick any more than plain arithmetic is.

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

#367

Post by WarmWash »

yoyohello13 wrote: post #319
WarmWash wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems your complaint is a lack of recognition, and maybe redistribution would provide vengeance for this injustice. But that is different than "we ought to start giving raises to people who do less work, not more" which is what "skewing the other way" seems to imply.

Maybe we should start requiring companies to pay a percent of wages in equity. That would at least allow workers to share in a company’s success.

I'll always liked this idea until trying to map it out myself, and always running aground, preferring performance bonuses instead.

You can't pay bills with equity, you will get paid a smaller salary, you need to be a mature adult to understand what "value can go to zero, and that is the game" entails, you likely will get diluted, your ownership stake isn't large enough to materially change the company, you cannot cash out whenever you want, having equity definitely doesn't make you rich automatically.

Besides, if you are savvy enough to be genuinely motivated by the idea of having equity, just go buy stocks in solid companies.

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

#368

Post by germandiago »

Telaneo wrote: post #13
avalys wrote: post #8

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. while you airily define ‘productivity’ as reading the classics and spending time with friends?

We have enough excess in society that we can spare enough of those things to those who are unable to take care of themselves.

What you are saying here, and I am not a protestant, is that some people will work for you while you do what you feel like.

That mindset, taken to the extreme, hides a kind of sibylline slavery, Idk if you get why.

It also makes for far less responsible and comfortable individuals.

Trying to be useful and auronomous is our obligation. Thinking others will do it and that it is automatically ok is not the best we can do to contribute.

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

#369

Post by germandiago »

Telaneo wrote: post #336
nate_meurer wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, we're not. It just seems like there's excess because the costs of running social programs are being paid with runaway debt. Those bills will eventually require settling, and it will become obvious how much excess there really is.

There are truckloads of perfectly good food and clothes being incinerated every day since that's somehow cheaper for the owners of capital. The excess is there. It's just not ending up in the pockets of those who need it.

Oh, and you think everyone will continue prpducing all the things you need for you to use them forever withiut contributing anything back to anyone?

Then get ready to be a slave, bc noone, absolutely noone gives things for free, which is, in my view, reasonable.

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

#370

Post by WarmWash »

joquarky wrote: post #348
WarmWash wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that when you get more for less, it kills the incentive to do more. This is a really glaring problem, and people go to really great lengths to either sweep it under the rug or hand wave it away.

Why do we need an incentive to do more?

There are still human societies on Earth that still live the same way they did 2,000 years ago. Most people would not want to live that way, and therefore they need to rely on people who did/do more. The best way to rely on them is to make then rely on you too.

"Valuable work leads to good outcomes for everyone" is probably one of the slipperiest slopes there is.

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