Raise the minimum wage to increase inflation.. Stupid
Is a Hard Life Inherited?
21–30 of 68 posts
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. There are hundreds of millions of people born into the American middle class. There are tens of millions of people born into the "global 1%". On average, the richer are going to better, because you average out all other factors, like work ethic. So if I'm "floating" through life, putting in the average work into everything I do, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm going to benefit from having rich parents t…
But isn't work ethic largely a product of "luck" based factors? Namely intelligence (figuring out the link and steps required between working hard for low pay now and having a larger payoff later) and environmental factors. For example a kid like Zuckerberg (with a dentist father and psychiatrist mother) is going to get get the message "hard work is rewarded" reinforced much more strongly than the son of a blue colla…
a kid like Zuckerberg (with a dentist father and psychiatrist mother) is going to get get the message "hard work is rewarded" reinforced
I trust that Zuckerberg, a member of a prominent family in White Plains and a Harvard alum, knows full well that he owes his success to family and university networks. Hard work is for the peones.
Also: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/x/28169...
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#23> Yet many are oblivious of their own advantages, and of other people’s disadvantages. The result is [...] partly explaining the hostility to state expansion of Medicaid, to long-term unemployment benefits, or to raising the minimum wage to keep up with inflation. I don't think hostility to the expansion of social welfare programs depends much on one's stance in the debate about the relative importance of different f…
It's not just convenient and pleasant: just like everyone, those who are successful recognize the impact of their own decisions and behavior on a moment to moment basis. They succeed when they try hard, forego immediate pleasure for delayed gratification, and in a disciplined way execute on a particular plan.
When the wealthy and successful criticize others for not behaving similarly, they are externalizing their own personal internal heuristic/narrative that they use to compel themselves to take responsibility for the way they spend their time.
In other words, it's not just convenient to take responsibility for one's own success: it's extremely helpful to one's own psychology to do so.
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#24I'm not sure if most of the commentators here are joking or just being too subtly sarcastic, but truly the best predictor of a person's success is the success of his parents during his formative years. It's not a hard-coded rule, but it's statistics: if, given two persons of equal age, gender and health, you would have to bet how they turn out, your best bet would be to look at their parents and assume the same will happen to them, and not to give them an IQ test and draw a conclusion from there (on average, everyone has an average IQ).
So, yes, while there are always exceptions, poor families will mostly yield people who will not move away from poverty.
It is as unreasonable to say to those people "move out and get a better job" as to say to a clinically depressed person "oh cheer up, it's all in your head": no, such problems are actually not the problems of attitude and positive thinking, but have external causes and factors (i.e. external to the mind).
One example of such a factor could be poor work habits learned from their parents - but still it's a trait derived from those particular parents. Unless the person sees or learns about "better" work habits somehow, he will in all probability not conclude that is one of his problems all by himself.
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
But isn't work ethic largely a product of "luck" based factors? Namely intelligence (figuring out the link and steps required between working hard for low pay now and having a larger payoff later) and environmental factors. For example a kid like Zuckerberg (with a dentist father and psychiatrist mother) is going to get get the message "hard work is rewarded" reinforced much more strongly than the son of a blue colla…
a kid like Zuckerberg (with a dentist father and psychiatrist mother) is going to get get the message "hard work is rewarded" reinforced I trust that Zuckerberg, a member of a prominent family in White Plains and a Harvard alum, knows full well that he owes his success to family and university networks. Hard work is for the peones. Also: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/x/28169...
Well, it's both. The smart part is working out where to apply one's limited capacity for work hard. Zuck could have followed in the footsteps of many college students (including many rich ones who don't need the money) and learnt work ethic by working hard at Mcdonalds during his time at Harvard.
Zuck figured out that working for free building a way for Harvad men to hobnob with each other was a better use of his time and resources.
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#26I'm not sure if most of the commentators here are joking or just being too subtly sarcastic, but truly the best predictor of a person's success is the success of his parents during his formative years. It's not a hard-coded rule, but it's statistics: if, given two persons of equal age, gender and health, you would have to bet how they turn out, your best bet would be to look at their parents and assume the same will…
The article says that improving material standards hasn't improved problems with drugs/jobs/jail/family. And then immediately suggests improvements to material standards as a remedy.
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#27Having the right connections helps as well. No matter what your skill set is, if you know people who know people through your school, social group, church etc. it makes opportunities easier to come by.
In addition, if you look, think and talk like the people who can help you get ahead you are more likely to be given the opportunity. On the other hand, if you look, think and talk like people disliked by those who can help you get ahead... well, you have your work cut out for you.
Sure, in a perfect world it is all about hard work and skills. And certainly some find ways around the system or beat the odds. But for the most part, I don't think it is disputable that a hard life is largely heritable. What can/should we do to change this? I don't know that we can and maybe we should but I'm not sure about that. Sometimes there are cultural reasons those who are ahead are ahead. We certainly don't want to lower everything to the lowest common denominator (see the public school system for an example of how not to do things.....).
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#28I'm not sure if most of the commentators here are joking or just being too subtly sarcastic, but truly the best predictor of a person's success is the success of his parents during his formative years. It's not a hard-coded rule, but it's statistics: if, given two persons of equal age, gender and health, you would have to bet how they turn out, your best bet would be to look at their parents and assume the same will…
Nitpick (since I don't dispute your main point): Parents aren't the sole source of influence in a person's formative years. Kindergarten, neighborhood, peer group, school are just as if not more influential. In fact, some promising ways to inject higher quality human capital than some families are able to provide on their own rely on those other channels.
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. There are hundreds of millions of people born into the American middle class. There are tens of millions of people born into the "global 1%". On average, the richer are going to better, because you average out all other factors, like work ethic. So if I'm "floating" through life, putting in the average work into everything I do, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm going to benefit from having rich parents t…
It is certainly true that productively developing a valuable skill set will set you apart from the vast majority. With a few helpful insights, the right attitude, and an ability to quickly overcome obstacles, you will be an exceptional person, without a doubt. If you assign credit for success to a person's attitude and perseverance, then certainly "luck" had little to do with it. Where things get dicey is when you as…
You are taking the concept of luck to a place where it has no meaning. Everyone alive is lucky Earth exists, that it did not get wiped out by an asteroid, that the climate is habitable, etc. In a world where everything is determined by just luck, the countries with the most people would have the most successful people. We can clearly see that is not true, the world's richest list is not dominated by the Chinese and Indians even though they contain a vast amount of the world's population.
Re: Is a Hard Life Inherited?
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. There are hundreds of millions of people born into the American middle class. There are tens of millions of people born into the "global 1%". On average, the richer are going to better, because you average out all other factors, like work ethic. So if I'm "floating" through life, putting in the average work into everything I do, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm going to benefit from having rich parents t…
It is certainly true that productively developing a valuable skill set will set you apart from the vast majority. With a few helpful insights, the right attitude, and an ability to quickly overcome obstacles, you will be an exceptional person, without a doubt. If you assign credit for success to a person's attitude and perseverance, then certainly "luck" had little to do with it. Where things get dicey is when you as…
> brain-mind dualism, which (near as anyone can tell) is almost surely false.
Professional philosophers might disagree with the certainty of your statement. Certainly, a substantial fraction of them do not agree with pure physicalism (as of a 2009 survey [0]).