Quote: (06-03-2014 07:18 PM)Screwston Wrote:
How many of these guys would drive to West Texas or North Dakota and get a job within 2 weeks that starts off at more than most new college graduates ? Nearly twice that much if you're willing to work a more dangerous one and get drenched in dirt, oil, gas. Its nasty, shitty work but damn man up and save up for a year or two then figure out a new game plan if your retarded degree ain't working.
This is a good suggestion and I for one may very well seek out a blue collar job myself again in the future. However, it is a solution on the micro (individual) level and and not on the macro (societal) level.
Quote: (06-05-2014 06:29 AM)solo Wrote:
By reading this forum I've learned that the people who benefit from inflation are the wealthy and the people who own stuff - if you own a peanut factory and peanut prices go up you make more money (credit: WestCoast, I think).
I forgot to mention that inflation also benefits the wealthy and owners of companies since people increase their spending when saving money start to make less sense. Not that most guys here didn't already know that, but still.
Quote: (06-05-2014 02:20 PM)speakeasy Wrote:
Quote: (06-05-2014 06:29 AM)solo Wrote:
Whether or not the graph has been manipulated is not that relevant. The fNot to mention most jobs (if you even have a job, that is) are largely redundant (most doctors don't cure patients, most journalists don't inform the public, our school systems don't teach kids anything of value, most lawyers help ensure the implementation of laws that shouldn't even be there in the first place etc).
This is a great point, though I disagree with the doctor and teacher part. Doctors most definitely save lives every day. And without teachers we wouldn't know how to read or write. I'm not saying we have the best educational system in the world, but teachers are indispensable. But I do agree with your point overall. When I think about the jobs people have now, it's mostly bullshit that really contributes little to society. When people tell me they are a "director of pr and social media campaigns" or some shit, I have a hard time picturing exactly they do from 9-5 and what the worth of it is to society. You can make a ridiculous salary as a programmer for Snapchat or Instagram, more shit that creates nothing of any intrinsic worth, or even worse rather, just helps people become even less productive by turning them into social media addicts. When I lived in L.A. so much of the economy is tied to work of no inherent value. Media, TV, movies. Stuff that nobody really needs and that we would arguably be better off without.
We can agree to disagree *slightly* but I think that is a topic for another thread. But yeah, it's amazing society doesn't completely stop working given how many people perform unnecessary or downright harmful jobs as you say. "We work jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need".
The best job I ever had, personally, was as a garbage picker. I picked up garbage from the street and emptied paper baskets. I got to be out and about and always on the move. I rather liked it and may look into it again actually. Decent money too. Unlike most jobs you could actually see the result of what you did during the day (clean streets).
...
Basically what it is coming down to in the West for most guys is either have a job, in-debt yourself (since the rent is too high and the salary isn't high enough - talking from my own experience here) and live month-to-month. Or look into various kinds of alternative accommodation, save up some money so you can either outright buy a house or move/travel abroad.
It's really hard to save any significant money working a normal white collar jobs now unless you live in an area with unusually low housing prices or unusually high wages. Here in northern Europe I feel like it doesn't really pay to work anymore, at least not for my social bracket. Personally I have more or less dropped out of the rat race even before I had really started it. Instead I've started to try to make money in other ways. It's kind of hard but I'll keep trying. Basically I'm talking more or less along the lines of enjoying the decline (though I'm not making this into a conservative vs liberal issue). I may have a thread coming on this but Im unsure how much information I can or should post about it on a public forum.
Also, I don't make any major purchases (besides traveling). I don't own a car, tv or even smartphone. I don't pay into the system anymore. I was stupid enough to let the Higher Education Industrial Complex get to me and took student loans while I was at university. But let me tell you, I won't make that mistake again with the other industries which are looking to make money off of me. I won't take out a loan to buy a house or a car. Though buying an RV is an option for me too, if I did the math and it turned out to make financial sense, as it would possibly allow me to have somewhere cheap to live in between my travels.