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“People simply empty out”

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Re: “People simply empty out”

#51

Post by mikeash »

dnautics wrote: post #27
steve-howard wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is the price of gold more relevant than the Consumer Price Index?

both are terrible measures, as a long-term measure gold isn't so bad, but for point-to-point comparisons (as is done in the parent post), gold goes through some crazy speculative bubbles. The CPI is dastardly manipulated figures. (hedonic adjustments, substitutions)

We all know that the Big Mac Index is the proper way to measure differences in money value. Assuming the Big Mac was still 45 cents in 1969 (as it was when it was introduced in 1967), and using The Economist's average US price of $4.56 for 2013, we get a roughly 10x increase, so it's worth about $1,000 today.

That's substantially different from the CPI-based value. I wasn't quite expecting that.

Re: “People simply empty out”

#52

Post by mason240 »

enraged_camel wrote: post #32

>>You know my old saying, "Slavery was never abolished, it was only extended to include all the colors." Some people balk at the idea of "wage slavery," primarily because they think it is so different from the traditional slavery that it should not be called that. But the question is, if you are doing something and the alternative is starvation and death, are you really a free human being? If you think about it for a…

I'm curious to know just how you think humanity will be able to feed, shelter, and entertain itself if no does anything.

Re: “People simply empty out”

#53

Post by johnrob »

revelation wrote: post #3

$100 are about $650 in todays money [1]. [1]: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=100%24+from+1969

It's actually a lot more. 4.31% per year is likely what the US government reports. They traditionally under report inflation (although to a greater degree over the past 20 years). The bundle of goods used to measure inflation does not include housing and energy, which have been the primary sources of rising living costs (not to mention medicine, which I only just considered).

Re: “People simply empty out”

#55

Post by djim »

i sold my startup about 3 months ago, and immediately starting looking for another job. after a couple months, a couple interesting but-not-exciting offers, and one interview process that ended in me not getting an offer, i finally took a worthy vacation. while on a boat in the caribbean, a couple things occurred to me: (1) i really don't need to work for the next ~10 years (2) in that time, i will likely stumble on another opportunity similar to the previous one, which has afforded me this financial freedom (3) i am way more interested in learning, exploring, and art than a "real" job, even a job like my previous one, that i particularly enjoyed. (4) i am very fortunate to be in this position, and i really don't want to waste it.

so i've been giving this topic some serious thought. to work or not to work? that is the question.

Re: “People simply empty out”

#56

Post by hyperplane »

enraged_camel wrote: post #41
jgross206 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference, to me, is that the lack of freedom you describe is simply a part of the human condition (food and shelter require work, which has been true as long as life has existed) as opposed to what you call "traditional slavery" which is man-made.

>>"traditional slavery" which is man-made. So is capitalism. So is the corporate hierarchy. Heck, the society we live in right now is man-made. Why does that matter as an evaluation criteria? Yes, food and shelter have always required work. The difference is that they have required work by the person for the person. Or by the person for their family. Or by the person for their tribe. This meant that you worked only a…

> The cost of healthcare alone makes subsistence living impossible.

No. Subsistence living is entirely possible - there are millions of people doing just that somewhere in backwoods wherever, across a multitude of political systems and states, all over the world.

What you want as "subsistence living" is not its definition. What you're talking about is "how much labor cost it requires to maintain your current lifestyle in this current political system".

EDIT: I was late on this reply I guess.

Re: “People simply empty out”

#57

Post by asn0 »

JoeCortopassi wrote: post #9
pdx6 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. It is $3323. 1oz gold coin price in USD: 1969 40 2013 1362

You are taking the value of a tangible asset from 1969 and comparing it to todays value of said tangible asset. This in no way illustrates the inflation rate. All it shows (assuming your numbers are right) is the increase in the perceived value of gold in that time frame. The original comment's $650 number is close enough to be considered accurate

Dictionary says "Inflation: a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money."

A lot of other tangible assets were dramatically cheaper in 1969.

Re: “People simply empty out”

#58

Post by trustfundbaby »

"A man can never drink his fill by waiting in line for the tap"

That quote motivates me everyday, because it reminds me that the things I want in life will never be achieved by working at a place in any capacity where the choice of my continued employment lies in the hands of any one person.

Re: “People simply empty out”

#59

Post by tnuc »

JoeCortopassi wrote: post #9
pdx6 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. It is $3323. 1oz gold coin price in USD: 1969 40 2013 1362

You are taking the value of a tangible asset from 1969 and comparing it to todays value of said tangible asset. This in no way illustrates the inflation rate. All it shows (assuming your numbers are right) is the increase in the perceived value of gold in that time frame. The original comment's $650 number is close enough to be considered accurate

Umm.. No.

An ounce of gold is traditionally viewed as a months wages. And it hasn't changed much but there are some fluctuations.

Interest rates and inflation are artificial constructs that are fiddled with to screw you out of your money.

Re: “People simply empty out”

#60

Post by ojbyrne »

enraged_camel wrote: post #41
jgross206 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference, to me, is that the lack of freedom you describe is simply a part of the human condition (food and shelter require work, which has been true as long as life has existed) as opposed to what you call "traditional slavery" which is man-made.

>>"traditional slavery" which is man-made. So is capitalism. So is the corporate hierarchy. Heck, the society we live in right now is man-made. Why does that matter as an evaluation criteria? Yes, food and shelter have always required work. The difference is that they have required work by the person for the person. Or by the person for their family. Or by the person for their tribe. This meant that you worked only a…

"The cost of healthcare alone makes subsistence living impossible" is US-centric. In large swathes of the world that is not in any way true.
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