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It is good to see that at least a few are eventually getting it, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dolph09
I can't think of a single place on this planet to compare with the gullibility of the average American working stiff.
Even in the third world, they don't make that much but they have a low cost of living, and not as much BS to put up with.
Americans are the only people on this planet who will work, work, work for the man, with less real take home pay and benefits each year, and increasing costs each year, and go into more debt each year, and go bankrupt from bills each year, and never complain.
Why? Because we are all going to become billionaires and we live in the greatest country on earth! We're special. And gosh darn it, we will feed the world, and we will build spaceships to take us to Mars, and we will enable the banks and corporations to make trillions because we can do it! Let's do it!
It's pathetic behavior, people. Look in some ways it's useful, because at least the society runs, at least things get done. But it's pathetic, to see people running around in a crazed frenzy to achieve the impossible, all based on a collective delusion.
I myself am done. Finished. I am going on 34 years old. I will never, ever work hard for this country. Never.
I'm proud of saying that, think of me what you will, flame away.
It really is a vicious cycle. I recently left the corporate track to pursue my own small business. I never considered a salary and benefits the end-all be-all, but a means to invest and build. But between the long commute, drab suburban cube farm, and office politics, I was too mentally drained to deal with anything important in my personal life, let alone work on business development. Sure, I was making more than either of my parents ever did, but at what cost? I gained 40 pounds, my hair started to thin, I got into the habit of drinking to excess every night.. Every aspect of my health was affected.
The people I worked with there were all incredibly complacent in their existence, always having babies and leasing crossovers and townhomes to anchor themselves to the job and give their "careers" purpose. Almost nobody had been there more than 3 years. Base pay was high in order to help you justify it to yourself, but aside from a small handful of people being groomed (all white and male of course) promotions were pretty much unheard of. The women were all relegated to one department and paid hourly (everybody else was salary) and paid less, my supervisor in that department had been with the company 8 years and only made about $5k over my entry-level base pay. It was weird. People were like straight out of a Dilbert strip, there must be some unwritten rule that all jokes must be about coffee, weather, or Mondays. When I left, the co-worker with whom I had interned, been hired on, and worked closely declined to be a reference for "career" reasons. Like it matters when your daddy knows the CEO. Politics, whaddya gonna do?
Anyway, I own a food truck now and I only have to average about $270 gross per day to cover all business expenses and take home at the same rate I was before ($50k). Plus my office has great natural light and I get to work with my hands. It's a much different kind of work, obviously a lot more physical yet I feel much better at the end of the day. I cooked professionally for years prior to the office job and always felt lesser than the white collar workers, like they had it so good just sitting in a chair all day with their dental plan and 401k. Boy was I wrong!
I notice a lot of the online commenters who indignantly take the position that "their" taxes are paying for ALL the services and ALL the public goods are usually employed in the private sector, complain about their commutes, and freely give advice on office politics and job searching/bootstrapping. I would extrapolate there are a lot of people embittered by this system who feel that they've sacrificed so much and received so little in return, who vent their frustrations online in anonymity because they feel powerless and can't show their true colors at work. There's a better way people! Take a vacation or a sabbatical or something and figure out what you can do for yourself, no corporation really cares about you.
I believe in karma and not that's not my interpretation at all. Karma would be that poor inner city black youth struggling and making it to Goldman Sachs, which isn't likely. Karma= you get back what you give.
So you believe in karma but you don't believe in karma?
Lol. Being unemployed in the United States is paradise to a legitimate 3rd world country. Obviously you have never been before. At least in the US there are many many forms of social welfare and social programs. In a 3rd world country, you basically rot on the streets. There's no assistance anywhere.
It really is a vicious cycle. I recently left the corporate track to pursue my own small business. I never considered a salary and benefits the end-all be-all, but a means to invest and build. But between the long commute, drab suburban cube farm, and office politics, I was too mentally drained to deal with anything important in my personal life, let alone work on business development. Sure, I was making more than either of my parents ever did, but at what cost? I gained 40 pounds, my hair started to thin, I got into the habit of drinking to excess every night.. Every aspect of my health was affected.
.............
Anyway, I own a food truck now and I only have to average about $270 gross per day to cover all business expenses and take home at the same rate I was before ($50k). Plus my office has great natural light and I get to work with my hands. It's a much different kind of work, obviously a lot more physical yet I feel much better at the end of the day. I cooked professionally for years prior to the office job and always felt lesser than the white collar workers, like they had it so good just sitting in a chair all day with their dental plan and 401k. Boy was I wrong!
I notice a lot of the online commenters who indignantly take the position that "their" taxes are paying for ALL the services and ALL the public goods are usually employed in the private sector, complain about their commutes, and freely give advice on office politics and job searching/bootstrapping. I would extrapolate there are a lot of people embittered by this system who feel that they've sacrificed so much and received so little in return, who vent their frustrations online in anonymity because they feel powerless and can't show their true colors at work. There's a better way people! Take a vacation or a sabbatical or something and figure out what you can do for yourself, no corporation really cares about you.
You deserve a hug for this post. You're one of those food trucks in Portland? lol I was deciding between Portland and south Florida, myself.
I mean, if corporate culture is now screwing us- in ways that my father and his grandfather- who, into his eighties still received his pension check by hand over lunch in Manhattan- never experienced, then...maybe we should push back
Although some of these foreigners--particularly Northern Asians--are more disciplined, less distracted, intelligent, and less materialistic, some are incredibly greedy, and not just frugal, but disgustingly CHEAP! They also know every loophole and benefit to use and suck from we natives. Many of them actually have contempt for us, but choose to park themselves in America because their own countries cannot provide them with what they want and their fellow countrymen are not as altruistic and caring and stupid enough to take advantage of as we.
Sucking American natives how? Unless they are literally snatching cash out of your hand.. I don't see how they are sucking Americans.
If Americans spend their money like drunken sailors they only have their selves to blame for being broke. No one takes money from Americans. Americans give their money away willingly.
Know the solution? Don't bust your butt for low wages. Bust your butt for high wages.
There are more low wage jobs created than high wage jobs so with the birth rate combined with immigration and outsourcing there is not near enough high wage jobs to support the country. The BLS states that in the next 20 years the ratio of low wage jobs to high wage jobs is going to be even worse than it is now.
I mean, if corporate culture is now screwing us- in ways that my father and his grandfather- who, into his eighties still received his pension check by hand over lunch in Manhattan- never experienced, then...maybe we should push back
Hah, thanks for reading my stream of consciousness, it got a bit lengthy. Things are definitely more volatile these days, the massive rise of HR is evidence of such. The food truck is nice because after the capital investment to get the truck, operating costs are super low and many of them are a function of sales volume. And food carts are big business here, a popular local cart with a similar business model grossed over $1m last year. I think scaling down is going to be the future for many industries with historically high barriers to entry.
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