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No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

robkhenderson.com

151–160 of 600 posts

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#151
post #30

Born too late to enjoy exponential asset growth. Born too soon to see the true environmental impact of the asset growth. Lost generation, can I just get some drugs to cope please, my computer job is making me lose my humanity ;( Just kidding it’s all good :)

You know what you kind of hit the nail on the head there -- that narrative has really been pushed by a lot of sources and that kills internal drive if you think all your efforts are for naught.

I don't believe that narrative though.

Also your comment too late for exponential asset growth -- that never stops (see crypto, AI Stocks, tooling stocks, etc). The cycle always continues.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#152

This article spells out the incentive structure that leads to low-status men underperforming. > Some of the jobs he can get don’t pay enough to give him the self-respect he feels he needs, and others require him to get along with unpleasant customers and coworkers, and to maintain a submissive attitude toward the boss. > The educated class decides cohabiting partnerships are just as valid and important as marriage. A…

> Some of the jobs he can get don’t pay enough to give him the self-respect he feels he needs, and others require him to get along with unpleasant customers and coworkers, and to maintain a submissive attitude toward the boss. Same as it always was. Or perhaps moving a factory workforce into the service industry has been degrading? (Since of course we shipped the factories overseas.)

Having done both I vastly preferred the service industry. Factory job had more unpleasant coworkers and boss (thanks to grueling physical labor) plus a submissive attitude towards unpleasant machinery.

The factory money was better though.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Adult living organisms don't have exponential cell division. Sure they do. Your cells are dying and being replaced constantly. Cancer is just when the instructions for said division get messed up, i.e. runaway inflation in this analogy.

I think you missed the word "exponential". Adult living things don't have exponential cell division. If they did, they would continue to grow in size. But they don't. They have cell division at a constant rate, not an exponential rate.

Spot On, modern economy resembles cancer too.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#154

What I took away from this article is that many low-income men have no real interest in being fathers or raising children. Yet, they tend to produce children anyway. We should focus on making birth control more accessible, instead of trying to make people take responsibility for raising children they obviously don't want. That guy who spends all his money on weed and booze while his kids go hungry? He should have got…

Mine cost me $1k up front, health insurance didn’t cover a penny. It’s really silly.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#155
post #99

Many have not yet squared up to the fact that society itself is an unprofitable boondoggle that requires massive moral radicalization and willingness to participate in odd, polarizing institutions and practices. We live inside the semi-decayed skeleton of a society built by deeply religious people who believed that society should be built and maintained because that is the moral thing to do . They weren't only motiva…

In other words, everyone became a Marxist, at least when it comes to the materialism.

I think you should elaborate on that.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#156
post #58
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever wonder about who can afford to make all-cash, above ask offers on houses? Or you can rent that house after the PE firm buys it and rents it out... https://www.propublica.org/article/when-private-equity-becom... https://www.thesling.org/are-hedge-funds-and-private-equity-...

>Or you can rent that house after the PE firm buys it and rents it out... That's fine? It's still contributing to the housing supply, it's not like they're hoarding the houses. Moreover unless you want to ban rentals entirely, you're going by definition need people owning more than one house. Finally, the fact that rents are sky-high as well, suggests that housing is expensive in general, not only home ownership.

Tax everything. Fight corruption with white phosphorus.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#157

What I took away from this article is that many low-income men have no real interest in being fathers or raising children. Yet, they tend to produce children anyway. We should focus on making birth control more accessible, instead of trying to make people take responsibility for raising children they obviously don't want. That guy who spends all his money on weed and booze while his kids go hungry? He should have got…

Most doctors refuse to perform sterilization procedures on young people, at least until after they have had children. After all, what if they change their minds?

My girlfriend couldn’t get hers done until she was over 30.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#158

The author makes good points, but there is no mention of the demise of religion or the social factors leading to the dismantling of the nuclear family as causes.

I was telling my wife about the loss of religion and how that leaves many people without without purpose. Religion is often a precursor to the cultural norms we live, without even being aware of. Sunday is for resting in the west for example.

To find a reason to keep living is very hard and may entail an acceptance that all is for nothing and being content with that. Many people cannot walk that path or have deep anxiety before even being able to confront those questions on a personal way. Religion fills that gap, until the person wants to move forth.

It is easier to look into the void with a guide.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#159
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Maybe by total wealth. >I think wealth should be measured by how many hours at the median wage do you need to achieve a socially acceptable standard of living. That's a weird definition of "wealth". Wealth is generally understood to mean how much assets you have accumulated, not your free cash flow. What you're describing is properly referred to as discretionary income. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_incom…

> Wealth is generally understood to mean how much assets you have accumulated ...by accountants. "Wealth" as used by most people is related to quality of life. It even shows up in the phrase "house poor" where maybe someone has great net assets but cannot live comfortable life due to the drain of the house. Wealth is not money.

Wealth is composed of many factors of which one is money, but you need money to have wealth.

Therefore, wealth is money.

Re: No one expects young men to do anything and they respond by doing nothing (2022)

#160
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fine if you're trying to keep people off the streets. It's not fine if you're trying to keep a middle class.

>Finally, the fact that rents are sky-high as well, suggests that housing is expensive in general, not only home ownership.

There's a "cartel as a service" / rent fixing software system for that...

https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-r...

I believe the correct response here is "That's wonderful! It lets everyone get in on the benefit of being a slumlord without the hassle of shaking down your tenants. Now you can just buy shares in this instead!"

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