[–] analfaveto ago (edited ago)
Einstein born in a poor American family today would have sailed through school, collected several scholarships along the way, got a university grant, and got into Harvard, as have done many other American geniuses born into poor families. At the very least, he would have got into the top public university in his state and then into Princeton graduate school after that if he'd wanted to. No average or even poor person in the history of humanity has had it easier than an American or a European has it today. But no matter how prosperous a society is, you'll always find the perennial victims. "I'm flipping burgers even though I have a master's degree in gender studies. Why? Life is not fair. Society owes me a big house and a nice car. It's the wealthy that oppress me. It's capitalism's fault. And why do I need to pay back my $100,000 loan? Shouldn't the wealthy pay for it? Isn't an educated populace good for society? So why do I have to pay back my loan?"
Indignation? No, you're an entitled little brat. Get off your lazy arse, do something useful with your life, create something of value -- something that people are willing to pay for -- and you won't need to flip burgers any more.
[–] lipids ago (edited ago)
Google is worth more today than Ford was at its height and it employs less people. Workers are not being adequately compensated for their work.
I'm only lazy because I do have money. Work is not rewarding enough and I have enough to live on. At least I can admit this arrangement is fucked up, even if it benefits me. The reality is that a more equitable society would benefit me more as more people would be free to research cures for cancer if they weren't flipping burgers.
[–] analfaveto ago
I wasn't calling you personally lazy. It was the impersonal "you." The rant was directed at the average American "victim" of today.
Who is going to decide what is adequate pay? You? Trump? Some wise professor at Harvard? The party that won the last election? Are we going to have an endless list of professions and how much each person working in each one of them "deserves" to be paid? Do all surgeons deserve the same pay or are we going to have subdivisions within that list? Do you want to go the socialist route? Because that has gone so well the thirty-odd times it has been attempted, right?
We need burger flippers as much as we need cancer researchers. With automation coming strong, we may not need burger flippers in the near future, but the overwhelming majority of people who are flipping burgers right now do not have the potential to become cancer researchers. Those who do have the potential already have the means. Grants and loans have been available for a very long time.