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Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

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Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#251

Post by whybroke »

hueving wrote: post #176
dasil003 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vacation policies are the least of it. How about the lack of a safety net? Take health care. Civilized people should agree that medical care in a rich country should be available to everyone. The thought of people dying in the streets from preventable disease and injury sounds pretty horrendous. But for the past 20 years we've been fed the same fabricated FUD about socialized medicine that has no basis in reality. Pe…

> The thought of people dying in the streets from preventable disease and injury sounds pretty horrendous. Doesn't happen in the US unless the person intends to do so. But that's pretty good fear mongering on your behalf.

So you're saying there has always been universal healthcare in the US even before Obama was elected? That everyone has always gotten all the medical care they need?

Or are you saying uninsured people don't get sick?

In fact roughly 45,000 die a year due to lack of medical care.[1]

Why not embrace the society you're creating? Because I'm sure Miss Rand would not be happy with that level of self delusion.

[1] http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/09/new-study-find...

Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#252

Post by cylinder »

dasil003 wrote: post #23
rayiner wrote: post #6

The article focuses on professionals, but I don't know if that's the angle I'm concerned about. American professionals work more, but they are also paid more. They also have much better vacation and leave policies. More concerning is the plight of median workers, who aren't making a lot more these days than their European counterparts, but have much worse vacation policies to deal with.

Vacation policies are the least of it. How about the lack of a safety net? Take health care. Civilized people should agree that medical care in a rich country should be available to everyone. The thought of people dying in the streets from preventable disease and injury sounds pretty horrendous. But for the past 20 years we've been fed the same fabricated FUD about socialized medicine that has no basis in reality. Pe…

Lack of safety net is why I don't feel comfortable continuing a life of entrepreneurship in the US while I'm building a family; I'll be leaving. I bootstrap and am not going to be getting millions in investment to pay myself ... if there are some lean years, at least I'll have assistance for my children and healthcare! I'm self-employed now, but if I didn't have employer-sponsored healthcare through my spouse, we'd be paying $1,000 per MONTH for a bottom-tier health plan with a $10,000 deductible. My wife staying employed after childbirth isn't an option because her employer expects her back to work after three weeks (yes her coworkers do this). What kind of nonsense life would that be?

Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#253

Post by mncolinlee »

bmm6o wrote: post #128
mncolinlee wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ad also inspired several parodies, including this one from Ford. The Cadillac ad is clearly trying to sell to an affluent, white, conservative audience which still believes their hard work and no vacation pays off. In the ad, they show their success with the car they drive. It's a study in market segmentation. Ford's parody spins it around by focusing on social consciousness, eco-friendliness, and diversity, a be…

Exactly. It's not so depressing when you realize that Cadillac is selling to generally older people who have already made these decisions. It's a 60 y.o. thinking "I did work hard, and I deserve a Cadillac", not a 25 y.o. thinking "I'm going to bust ass working for the Man so I can drive a Cadillac". Interestingly, the car is a hybrid, which is barely mentioned in the ad.

> Interestingly, the car is a hybrid, which is barely mentioned in the ad.

Technically speaking, both the Ford C-Max Energi and the Cadillac ELR in these ads are extended range electrics. They have smaller batteries than battery electric vehicles, but the gas engine exists only as a generator of electricity.

As I've always said, humans care about narratives. Most people and market segments value the story a car says about its owner over the details of the technology. That's why they don't mention it explicitly.

Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#254

Post by tptacek »

whybroke wrote: post #245
refurb wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"In most states, if you get cancer without insurance you just die. Period. And not by euthanasia, by the way, because apparently that is mortal sin / slippery-slope to mass murder." This is patently untrue. Do a google search for "disproportionate share hospitals" and "charity care". In my line of work I've spoken with numerous oncologists and I've asked them "what do you do if your patient can't afford cancer treatm…

If you have a fashionable cancer then yes there are special programs. If you do not have the right kind of cancer then there are not. Which is pretty strange in and of itself. And if you are utterly indigent then yes there programs in many counties. County or city run hospitals which is of course the exact definition of socialist which I understand is completely objectionable on principle and so something to be zealo…

This "you get care if you have a fashionable cancer" bit does not ring true at all. The source you cited doesn't seem to back it up. Can you cite evidence that indigent care for cancer varies based on the "fashionability" of the specific kind of cancer?

Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#255

Post by unreal37 »

patio11 wrote: post #78
ghshephard wrote: post #20

Even worse is the new trend in technology companies to eliminate "Set Vacation". It used to be the case that you felt "obliged" somehow to take your 10 days of vacation a year, because you saw it piling up. Even better, if you were laid off, you could get the vacation in cash, and that helped when you were cut off without a job. But now, a lot of technology companies are saying, "No Set Vacation - you need to negotia…

This is sometimes called -- in one of the most Orwellian coinages in the industry -- "unlimited vacation days."

Apologies for the side-track, but I once had a boss offer to give me "unlimited vacation days" as a colloquialism for firing me after complaining when he took away some vacation days company-wide. Good to see the phrase has evolved.

Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#256

Post by Zaephyr »

minikites wrote: post #7

It seems like study after study shows that longer working hours don't result in long term productivity increases, but managers aren't listening. Is this an example of market failure or is there more going on?

My family had a manufacturing business employing ~100 people.

When orders spiked, we found the performance gain from working overtime was consistently short term. Much beyond 3-4 weeks wasn't worth the effort and expense, and a decision to add additional people or extend delivery dates had to be made.

That's not to say we couldn't get additional production out, it just did horrible things to the our cost structure.

I think what you're getting at is the belief that working longer is equal to harder.

Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#257

Post by refurb »

yequalsx wrote: post #244
refurb wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for the last comment, but you're repeating several claims that are untrue and have no basis in fact. Another example: "Medical bills are the number one reason for bankruptcy in the u.s.", again, not true. The correct statistic is "Unpaid medical bills are the most common debt owed during bankruptcy filings", someone could have a medical debt of $10 and that doesn't mean it caused their bankruptcy. "Interestingl…

Instead of reading Megan read the report she cites. The Canada number is self reported by those surveyed and it isn't known if this is from the bills themselves or from loss of income due to illness or a combination of both. If it is from medical bills this would be for care above and beyond what the Medicare system provides. I don't know exactly what Medicare refers to when talking about Canada. I'm quoting the pape…

I certainly won't argue with you about the impact of direct medical costs on Americans. My comment is that statistics are often misleading and you can't draw broad conclusions from a single number.

Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#258

Post by whybroke »

tptacek wrote: post #254
whybroke wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a fashionable cancer then yes there are special programs. If you do not have the right kind of cancer then there are not. Which is pretty strange in and of itself. And if you are utterly indigent then yes there programs in many counties. County or city run hospitals which is of course the exact definition of socialist which I understand is completely objectionable on principle and so something to be zealo…

This "you get care if you have a fashionable cancer" bit does not ring true at all. The source you cited doesn't seem to back it up. Can you cite evidence that indigent care for cancer varies based on the "fashionability" of the specific kind of cancer?

The link above does not speak about different cancer funds. It simply shows that cancer patients without insurance just die.

That is obviously how it works without universal medical care; sick people don't just magically get better with magic money like a sitcom. They die.

But there are large funds for breast and cervical cancer and that is obviously very good. Unfortunately there are not for rectal or colon cancer. Maybe because no one is going to run 10k for rectal cancer, maybe because it's too dirty a word to say on tv.

Either way, if you're poor, be sure to get the right cancer.

Or just fix your medical system.

Now if you'll pardon me I must take a break and let the dittoheads and digg-patriots catch up with downvoting all my posts.

Re: Workaholism in America Is Hurting the Economy

#259

Post by lgieron »

pjc50 wrote: post #85
lgieron wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems unlikely, given that mining & agriculture (industries affected by availability of natural resources) comprise only 3% of the US economy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States

Er, what about oil? I'd have thought the oil industry on its own was more than 3%, and industries affected by gasoline costs are a huge sector.

1. Oil production goes under mining. 2. Oil is a globally traded commodity, the fact that some of it is produced in the US doesn't affect the local (=in the US) price.
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