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America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

nytimes.com

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Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#451

Post by naravara »

jblow wrote: post #295
naravara wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No he doesn't. Invoking that Communism has problems does not magic away the problems that Capitalism currently has. The two don't bear any relationship.

It does in this case because it's the same problem in both systems. He ascribed a problem to capitalism that is also a well-known problem of non-capitalism. The same thing happens in both places (actually worse under communism), so the blame is clearly misplaced.

False dichotomy much? The world isn't divided into some platonic form of "communism" and "capitalism." These are just labels we attach to a whole bunch of social and economic dynamics.

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#452

Post by credit_guy »

everdrive wrote: post #446
credit_guy wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One million a year is not that much, if you live in NYC. Various taxes sum up to about half of that: 330k Federal, 70k State, 40k City, 30k FICA [1]. Health insurance plus copays, a few more 10s of ks. Then there's real estate. Either you rent, or you buy. Rent for a family of 4 in Manhattan, next to a good public school can easily be >10k/month. If you buy, a 3bdr appartment in a similar zone is >$2.5MM, the mortgag…

It's very important not to live in NYC.

If you remove NYC and SF from the equation, there aren’t many million dollar jobs out there ...

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#453

Post by antisthenes »

toasterlovin wrote: post #437
antisthenes wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's not until you get to the top several percent of income that fertility starts rising again. Yes, that's what I meant. You could argue about the significance of the top percentage rise in fertility, but if anything, it shows that fertility is constrained by lack of resources in a significant way as well as education specifically.

If fertility is constrained by lack of resources, the why do poor people in the developed world have more kids than middle class people?

Presumably because within the budget constraint, the survival rate of many kids will result in a similar amount of kids at the end of the woman's fertility window.

I didn't say it is constrained by lack of resources, I said it's also constrained by lack of resources.

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#454

Post by nimnio »

Nasrudith wrote: post #355
sonnyblarney wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that easy. 'High status' jobs in many ways entail a 'high status' lifestyle. Example: they got the jobs in the first place as the result of their parents ability to pay for private school, and Ivy League. So in that lifestyle context, you're going to be doing the same thing, it's part of the cycle. Very expensive. Partners in law firms or consultancies are really in sales . They are using their business rela…

I can't help but wonder - shouldn't these people be getting their metaphorical lunch eaten by those who don't engage in absurd conspicuous consumption? That has happened before certainly throughout history as "gentry" have had their delusions of superiority and even relevance shattered in spite of their abundantly privileged start.

Well, that would depend on whether it's really "absurd" or not; maybe it's effective. You put on glasses, people think you're smart. You wear an expensive watch, people think you're successful -- "nothing succeeds like success", "dress for the job you want", "talk the talk, walk the walk", and so on.

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#455

Post by fatnoah »

mancerayder wrote: post #123
QualityReboot wrote: post #64

I just don't understand this at all. If you can earn a million a year, do it for 3-5 years, never have to work again, and pursue your passions in life. I think the problem for most workers is the lifetime of toil, not the meaninglessness of the work. I'd happily dig ditches for 8-12 hours a day for 3 years if I knew I was completely financially independent with millions in the bank that. Actually, I'd rather do that…

I'm 100% in agreement, and am trying to pursue that on a payscale that's fractions of what's described. I think the problem is the balancing act between "live now" and "save for living later." I think I have a healthy balance, particularly in not denying myself decent food and lifestyle despite the costs. That said, I'm moderate in almost every other way (and I don't have a car, or buy expensive clothing, etc.) At on…

>I think the problem is the balancing act between "live now" and "save for living later."

In my mind, this is key. My parents barely saved for retirement, mostly because they didn't make much money. The net effect of that is that I've maxed my 401k since day one of my professional life.

In contrast, my father also died at 46 (I'm 42, going on 43), so all of the life experiences he'd deferred to a more financially prudent time never happened.

I work hard to try to find the balance so that I'm not left without an emergency fund or a paid-for retirement, but I also don't fret over every penny and "waste" money from time to time. My motto is to plan for tomorrow, but minimize any regrets that could arise if tomorrow never comes.

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#456

Post by fatnoah »

sorryforthethro wrote: post #292
QualityReboot wrote: post #64

I just don't understand this at all. If you can earn a million a year, do it for 3-5 years, never have to work again, and pursue your passions in life. I think the problem for most workers is the lifetime of toil, not the meaninglessness of the work. I'd happily dig ditches for 8-12 hours a day for 3 years if I knew I was completely financially independent with millions in the bank that. Actually, I'd rather do that…

In my limited experience, and excluding obvious exceptions to the rule, the people who make 7-figure salaries are chosen for those positions because they are over-leveraged, and thus controllable.

I know many people (two billionaires, a few several hundred millionaires, and many low 10's of million net worth) who make 7 figures and none fall into that bucket. The folks I know mostly fall into the buckets of Finance (think fund/investment management), inherited money, and self-made. The finance folks can move jobs at will and are able to get significant concessions to do so. The inherited money folks use the family money to invest and make even more money. The self-made folks parlay early success into bigger time roles and also seem to have no problems moving jobs. In all cases, the people seem to be in control, and not controlled by someone else.

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#457

Post by Amygaz »

credit_guy wrote: post #452
everdrive wrote: post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very important not to live in NYC.

If you remove NYC and SF from the equation, there aren’t many million dollar jobs out there ...

Most fundamental jobs out there would not make anyone a millionaire

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#458

Post by [deleted] »

Wwhite wrote: post #197
kevmo wrote: post #47

Bullshit Jobs, a 2018 book by David Graeber, discusses this phenomenon pretty extensively and calls for more research. His rudimentary theory is that people who aren't contributing to society know that they aren't, and it makes them miserable. People have an inherent desire to change the world around them, and most professional jobs are actually mostly nonsense. This results in professionals being depressed and feeli…

This article is like a watery, inoffensive version of Graeber for the author and his MBA classmates in the managerial class.

[deleted]

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#459

Post by jblow »

naravara wrote: post #451
jblow wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does in this case because it's the same problem in both systems. He ascribed a problem to capitalism that is also a well-known problem of non-capitalism. The same thing happens in both places (actually worse under communism), so the blame is clearly misplaced.

False dichotomy much? The world isn't divided into some platonic form of "communism" and "capitalism." These are just labels we attach to a whole bunch of social and economic dynamics.

Names for colors or kinds of automobile are also just labels we attach to whole spectra of related things, but the words still have meaning and we are able to use them productively.

Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable

#460

Post by swagasaurus-rex »

justaguyhere wrote: post #93
strikelaserclaw wrote: post #6

- He had received an offer at a start-up, and he would have loved to take it, but it paid half as much, and he felt locked into a lifestyle that made this pay cut impossible. “My wife laughed when I told her about it,” he said. Sounds like a good wife to me, and this "pay cut" is making 500k-600k instead of 1.2 million, what world are these people living in that you can't give up a job that you hate because you can't…

During the 2008-2010 crash, there were reports of many women leaving their wall street husbands when they lost their jobs. I still remember reading about one woman - one of her excuses were that she was no longer able to buy organic fruits (avocados or something) - apparently she only eats organic, and organic everything. That might be a small example, but it shows the way the wealthy lead their lives. Luxury cars, h…

Did those wives have any way to make the kind of money needed for their lifestyles themselves?

After all, it's not like wealthy bachelors were common during the recession.

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