David Thourex was right. " The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.’ But he said this long before the rise of giant corporations.
As someone who took a very early retirement, I do miss the sense of purpose comradery and accomplishment that worked provide. Looking back my most satisfying weeks were I was working. The flip side there were many months, while working that I was stressed, exhausted, and generally pissed off. So my worse months also were I was working (and looking for work after being laid of definitely counts). So for me avoiding bad months, is worth missing out on good weeks.
First off, Thoreau was a knob (or, really, a wannabe-nob).
Second off, even if you like Thoreau for some reason he is best known for railing against the birth of the modern city and the grinding misery to which the rise of industrial capitalism subjected its denizens.
But really, the takeaway from Thoreau’s life and work is that it’s awesome to have rich friends. We should all work on that, clearly.
I mean if we’re talking this guy then it would be difficult for me to give any less of a fuck about what he’s got to say.
I mean, fuck off with this list o’ blogs for the…thing…dude is listed as founder and CEO of…
In case you’re wondering, “Who’s With Me” there is an anti-critical-race-theory screed. The rest are pretty much what it says on the tin.
e:
Most Millennials Live Paycheck to Paycheck. Financial Literacy is Key to Their Freedom
FUCK OFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Nesrie
3419
I thought he was talking about the famous naturalist and author.
Right, covered that previously ;)
Nesrie
3421
Okay. So you’re dislike of him is linked to him having friends in high society with wealth? Am I misunderstanding something here, is it just the use of the quote you disliked or the idea of it because I thought that quote would actually align with some of your positions expressed in this topic, yours and many others actually.
I have a particular dislike for Thoreau that predates my membership on this forum.
I find him a dilettante, an educated but vapid “thinker” who would have gone completely unremarked but for his friendship with Emerson.
I could be wrong, of course, and he’s certainly got many admirers. I was ensnared by Thoreau as a teenager like everyone else, but honestly since maturing a bit I find him insufferable.
I’d have to go back and read Walden and Civil Disobedience to have a more nuanced debate or honestly back my position up with much more than feelings – it’s been forever since I actually read the dude.
But hey, apostates are the biggest haters ;)
Nesrie
3423
That’s fair.
I don’t know that I had a strong feeling in regards to him or not. I don’t even recall more than one required reading that covered him. When it comes to misery and work though, I think there are a number of people in this country and others who are miserable at work, and it doesn’t have to be that way. I mean there is hard work, and thankless work, sure, but working conditions being right, pay being fair, and just a general sense of hope can go a long way to allowing people who don’t see enough of themselves in their work to have room for other meaningful experiences outside of work. So in that regard, he’s not really wrong. Working conditions are largely better now, but we can do even more than that. Shifting the wealth from the top back to the middle and making sure our baseline still has people feeling like their living human beings worthy of respect and joy can certainly help.
I’ve already voiced some ideas on how we can start doing that, but I will say on a personal level, any establishment I approach that has some sort of sign that says no one wants to work anymore… done with them. That’s bullshit. No one wants to work for them at the wages and benefits, or lack there of, they are offering.
Anyone that claims to live alone in solitude, while having regular tea with friends, living rent free in a cottage and having said friend do his laundry, is not one that is being completely honest with his readers.
This paper is getting a lot of praise on the Twitter for (finally) quantifying the health benefits of higher income. The author took advantage of different social security income calculations based on birth date to create a large pool of data where he could examine income vs. health care costs (Medicare costs) of people who were differentiated by nothing other than a small difference (as low as one day) in birth date. The result? An increase of 1% in income produces a reduction in health care costs of 0.93%, and a reduction in mortality of 0.98%. People with higher incomes are healthier, and that health benefit is attributable to their income and not just other factors (like educational background, economic status at birth, etc.) And there are demonstrable effects on life expectancy as well.
Put another way, income inequality produces worse health outcomes and probably kills people. The larger the inequality, the greater the effect.
Just anecdata, but the Moe’s I visited Saturday night had a sign up advertising $18-$19 per hour starting.
The hotel I am currently sitting in is short 3 cleaning staff and the owner is offering $17/hour and can’t even get applicants.
My friend who is the CEO of small hotel chain, Hawaii plus other islands in the pacific, is offering $21/hour starting for maids and not getting many response. After not being able to give away room last year, he can’t rent rooms cause they don’t have staff to clean the. A much better problem to have than last year but…
Nesrie
3429
It’s a thankless job; one where you are treated like dirt usually by the people who pay you and also by the customers who don’t value you at all. It’s also stereotypically filled by minority women, and you feel that every day you do it. Not to mention, they often expect you to be on call… ever day, like calling in just in case someone else doesn’t show-up, even on your days off. And the things you see, like what people will do to rooms that don’t belong to them… dear lord.
And because having employers treat you like garbage, and guests treat you like garbage isn’t enough, society judges that job as people you can walk on too. I wouldn’t do that job again if someone gave me gold coins to do it. Everything about being a housekeeper is like the stuff of nightmares.
I agree it is pretty much the definition of a dirty job, probably worse than being a janitor.
Nesrie
3431
I am pretty sure the janitors get more respect.
Some of the problems with these jobs isn’t just the money. It’s the dignity or lack of. The employers need to treat their employees well and as a society we need to figure out a way to stop like threatening HS drop outs with jobs and then wondering why people who actually have diplomas don’t want those. I was not a HS dropout. I just needed a summer job while in HS, so I had an ending in sight… and thank god for that. Also part of the problem with these jobs remains how employees treat each other.
The good news is, though, some of the places that are thriving due to offering good wages are also thriving because of word of mouth. People want to work these not glamours jobs at some locations and not others due to how they perceive they’ll be treated. If the employers can shift their jobs away from how desperate are you to come here to something like hey, you’ll be treated well, you will be paid a fair wag, and just the experience being part of that company is actually good then people will fill those roles no matter… what condition the bed is in.
Alstein
3432
If that wealth isn’t improving the lives of the lower middle and lower classes, let them leave.
Folks like me and richer than myself, we’re not the ones a government needs to worry about too much, it’s the folks who are struggling.
I’d rather have a society where everyone has a minimal living standard that is decent, than one that leads the GDP chart. If this makes me a socialist, so be it (I think it makes me a social democrat because I’m not opposed to capitalistic structures like many leftists, I just want capitalism on a choke chain and leash)
Unfortunately, in a country with toxic individualism, that isn’t a vote winner.
Seems like he’s offering no better than the current market rate. Marriott was offering that rate 2 months ago.
https://www.simplyhired.com/search?q=hotel+housekeeper&l=hawaii
