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The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

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Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#41

Post by aleqs »

htunnicliff wrote: post #34

I do not know what comes after the recognition. The broader public directs its outrage at whatever the algorithm surfaces […] while the structural rearrangement of their economic lives proceeds without organized resistance. I wish I knew the answer to this question: What shape would organized resistance have in this day and age, especially with the fragmentation of reality caused by social media? Myself and almost ev…

I think we need to build open/cooperative products and services to replace anything that is run/owned by less-than-moral entities, while boycotting those entities as much as possible. We need better open, fair and secure methods/protocols/tools/platforms for cooperating/organizing as well.

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#42

Post by theoreticalmal »

htunnicliff wrote: post #34

I do not know what comes after the recognition. The broader public directs its outrage at whatever the algorithm surfaces […] while the structural rearrangement of their economic lives proceeds without organized resistance. I wish I knew the answer to this question: What shape would organized resistance have in this day and age, especially with the fragmentation of reality caused by social media? Myself and almost ev…

You’d revolt? Against what?

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#43

Post by apsurd »

dominotw wrote: post #38
beloch wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The U.S. health system is incentivized in a way that's simply not sane. With socialized medicine, the state has some very constructive incentives. People who get sick and stay sick don't produce as much taxable income, so keeping citizens healthy is good. It costs more to remedy conditions after they develop than it does to prevent them, so preventative care is offered and even pushed. The government is on the hook f…

> People who get sick and stay sick don't produce as much taxable income, so keeping citizens healthy is good. In usa, almost all of healthcare spending is on chronic diseases of ppl who are on disablity and really old. > How can typical Americans have peace of mind? I've done the following 1. go on spouse insurance . both ppl must work in usa. 2. dip into your savings and enroll in obamacare 3. run out of savings an…

point 3 means basically optimize for not retaining wealth? =\

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#44

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

tick_tock_tick wrote: post #39
resoluteteeth wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Health insurance stopped being insurance when the government forced them to cover everything. You are paying for risks that will never apply to you. The pooling of risks is literally what makes it insurance. If any part of health insurance is arguably not actually insurance it's the annual preventative care that is certain to apply to you.

Yes, but classically insurance wouldn't allow a guaranteed bad bet in. Health care is way worse then the classic 80/20 (20% of the people generate 80% of the costs). Pruning even just a fraction of these ultra high cost humans massively reduces the cost for everyone else which is what insurance companies used to do before the government stepped in. (I mean a lot of this discussion is fucked because healthcare is lite…

The 20% of the people are likely to include nearly 100% of the population over time.

With socialised health care you don't just avoid the corporate tax of insurer profiteering, you're saving money in return for access to care when you need it.

Because - sooner or later - you will.

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#45

Post by piva00 »

fluoridation wrote: post #40
piva00 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without loudly complaining there is absolutely no change. Shutting up has never improved anything. Why would the only solution be "figure out how to make more money"? There are many professions where it isn't even possible to figure that out, should all of them just shut up and move? It's great you were able to go live somewhere else, for some it would be devastating to lose their sense of belonging, other people hav…

I find it a little funny that you're doing the same thing you're complaining about.

You might have missed the whole point if that's what you found funny.

I'm not arguing about not telling someone to shut up in general; my argument is against telling people to shut up, and not complain, when they have grievances about the state of things outside of their individual power.

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#46

Post by tedggh »

It seems that per sf house prices haven’t gone up that much. We romanticize the idea of older generations being able up afford a home, but those houses were a lot smaller than they are today, the average size I think was around 1500 sf, and a family of 5 lived there. Cities were also not as livable as they are today. Take for example NYC in the 1970s and 80s, where a young photographer could afford an apartment in Manhattan, with the caveat that the area was riddled with crime. Then there are the city ordinances that discourage multi family housing, so if you are a builder and you need to decide whether spend years fighting in court vs going to the suburbs and build large homes, that’s a very easy decision to make. The current housing deficit sits around 3-4 million homes.

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#47

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #17
OldSchool wrote: post #10

I worked as consultant at a major west coast-based health insurer in 1993. A family plan, that is, two adults plus any number of children, was $300/month; a figure that wasn't far off from the cost of a studio or 1 BR apartment at that time anywhere but the most expensive coastal cities. Today, that family plan, even as a HMO, can easily be $3000/month. I would guess that mythical apartment is maybe $1200/month now.…

Because your 1993 health insurance covered far less. There was no out of pocket maximum, you were denied for pre existing health conditions, and a surprise bill could show up anytime. Now, you can buy health insurance even if you know your anemic kid will need $1.5M of treatment in the year, and it will only cost you ~$10k to ~$15k per year. To be clear, today’s health insurance premiums are not premiums either, they…

Unless your (kid's) care is denied because it's a pre-existing condition. Or for some other pretext.

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#48

Post by 33MHz-i486 »

jazz3k wrote: post #28
OldSchool wrote: post #10

I worked as consultant at a major west coast-based health insurer in 1993. A family plan, that is, two adults plus any number of children, was $300/month; a figure that wasn't far off from the cost of a studio or 1 BR apartment at that time anywhere but the most expensive coastal cities. Today, that family plan, even as a HMO, can easily be $3000/month. I would guess that mythical apartment is maybe $1200/month now.…

I'm not sure where you live, but I'm a consultant and buy my own health insurance for a family of 4. I pay around $1200/month. This includes doctor visits and prescriptions. My wife had both of our kids on this plan and my deductible was $3,000. "So what happened Health Care" Health insurance stopped being insurance when the government forced them to cover everything. You are paying for risks that will never apply to…

The startup I started working for has a fake health plan,(no network, prior authz and reimbursement issues for everything serious). So I just priced our family of 4 for rudimentary PPOs on the BCBS in our state. Our COBRA offer was 2400, ACA Individual market was 2200-3300, Small group plan thru my wifes LLC was 1700-3000. These plans mostly have 6-8k deductibles and out of max out of pocket $17k.

So I guess if you have a serious condition its post tax $40k/year until bankruptcy or death. How are you supposed to earn an extra 40k if youre not healthy enough to work. This is actually an insane system!

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#49

Post by fluoridation »

piva00 wrote: post #45
fluoridation wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it a little funny that you're doing the same thing you're complaining about.

You might have missed the whole point if that's what you found funny. I'm not arguing about not telling someone to shut up in general; my argument is against telling people to shut up, and not complain, when they have grievances about the state of things outside of their individual power.

>they have grievances about the state of things outside of their individual power

Yeah, that seems to be what the person you replied to was doing. They can't make other people not write these kinds of articles, after all.

Re: The Demoralization of the White-Collar Worker

#50

Post by rapind »

tedggh wrote: post #46

It seems that per sf house prices haven’t gone up that much. We romanticize the idea of older generations being able up afford a home, but those houses were a lot smaller than they are today, the average size I think was around 1500 sf, and a family of 5 lived there. Cities were also not as livable as they are today. Take for example NYC in the 1970s and 80s, where a young photographer could afford an apartment in Ma…

Per sf comparisons blatantly ignore the bonkers increases in land prices. Good luck finding a 1500 sf house, let alone one with a backyard that hasn't completely outpaced inflation.
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