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>>> Yes. I don't want to increase my attractiveness regarding a house robbery, as I live well below my means If you live below your means, why would robbers ta

>>> Yes. I don't want to increase my attractiveness regarding a house robbery, as I live well below my means If you live below your means, why would robbers target you? They don't care how much you make, they care what TV you have.

icelancer 9y ago
Living below my means doesn't mean I live like my neighbors. My house is roughly the same as everyone around me. The contents of the house are not (and they are private), and yet I still live well below my means. I have a semi-nice TV, and more importantly, expensive computers like pretty much everyone on HN to do my job.
- vilmosi 9y ago
  [deleted]
  - tylersmith 9y ago
    Their entire point is that publicizing their salary eliminates that privacy by telling people their income. It's a proxy measurement. Even if all they have in the house is a can of beans, publicly making more than their neighbors puts a target on them.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - cisanti 9y ago
    Because robbers tend to rob wealthy people? You get looted or shot more likely, because the robbers don't know this guy lives a humble life. They think this guy must have cash and big TV.
  - icelancer 9y ago
    If my (relatively high) salary is published, they'll be able to make inferences - crucially, it doesn't matter if they are correct or not.
kornish 9y ago
How would the robbers know he lives below his means? All they see is that he's making 2x his neighbors.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- jdavis703 9y ago
  And that money could be going to an ex-spouse, paying down debt, etc. It's not like we're making the contents of OPs bank account public.
  - icelancer 9y ago
    Do you think would-be robbers will give me the benefit of the doubt? I'd prefer to not trust them.
    - jdavis703 9y ago
      I have no idea the mindset of these robbers who seem to be after your paycheck, but I do know that Norway has made salary information public [0], and they have a very low crime rate [1], in fact it's far lower than the U.S. crime rate. 0: https://qz.com/784186/in-norway-you-can-browse-everyones-tax-returns-but-theres-a-good-reason-you-might-not-want-to/ https://qz.com/784186/in-norway-you-can-browse-everyones-tax... 1: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Norway/United-States/Crime http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Norway/Unit...
lr4444lr 9y ago
How about kidnapping your loved ones for ransom?
- ch4s3 9y ago
  ah yes, the booming American kidnapping business. /s Seriously though, it's not hard to find targets for this sort of thing by looking at census data and sales records for nice homes, yet it really never happens in the US. WHen was the last time you heard of some random lawyer, ceo, or banker getting kidnapped in the US?
  - WalterBright 9y ago
    Back when I worked for Data I/O, the wife of the CEO was kidnapped and held for ransom. There was a home invasion a couple blocks away. Lots of people prefer to keep a low profile and not attract these sorts of crimes.
    - ch4s3 9y ago
      I mean yes, if you can imagine a crime, surely it has happened in a nation of 350 million people. I think my point stands that it's an extremely rare crime, that's hard to commit, harder to cash in on, and harder still to get away with.
  - icelancer 9y ago
    A few years ago the townhome next to me was broken into and a woman was kidnapped. So, I guess a few years ago, I'd say.
  - lr4444lr 9y ago
    How about service providers like car repairmen and house contractors ripping people off? How about gold-diggers pursuing people on false romantic pretenses? How about just people gossiping about you out of envy?
    - ch4s3 9y ago

icelancer 9y ago

Living below my means doesn't mean I live like my neighbors. My house is roughly the same as everyone around me. The contents of the house are not (and they are private), and yet I still live well below my means. I have a semi-nice TV, and more importantly, expensive computers like pretty much everyone on HN to do my job.

vilmosi 9y ago
[deleted]
- tylersmith 9y ago
  Their entire point is that publicizing their salary eliminates that privacy by telling people their income. It's a proxy measurement. Even if all they have in the house is a can of beans, publicly making more than their neighbors puts a target on them.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- cisanti 9y ago
  Because robbers tend to rob wealthy people? You get looted or shot more likely, because the robbers don't know this guy lives a humble life. They think this guy must have cash and big TV.
- icelancer 9y ago
  If my (relatively high) salary is published, they'll be able to make inferences - crucially, it doesn't matter if they are correct or not.

kornish 9y ago

How would the robbers know he lives below his means? All they see is that he's making 2x his neighbors.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
jdavis703 9y ago
And that money could be going to an ex-spouse, paying down debt, etc. It's not like we're making the contents of OPs bank account public.
- icelancer 9y ago
  Do you think would-be robbers will give me the benefit of the doubt? I'd prefer to not trust them.
  - jdavis703 9y ago
    I have no idea the mindset of these robbers who seem to be after your paycheck, but I do know that Norway has made salary information public [0], and they have a very low crime rate [1], in fact it's far lower than the U.S. crime rate. 0: https://qz.com/784186/in-norway-you-can-browse-everyones-tax-returns-but-theres-a-good-reason-you-might-not-want-to/ https://qz.com/784186/in-norway-you-can-browse-everyones-tax... 1: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Norway/United-States/Crime http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Norway/Unit...

lr4444lr 9y ago

How about kidnapping your loved ones for ransom?

ch4s3 9y ago
ah yes, the booming American kidnapping business. /s Seriously though, it's not hard to find targets for this sort of thing by looking at census data and sales records for nice homes, yet it really never happens in the US. WHen was the last time you heard of some random lawyer, ceo, or banker getting kidnapped in the US?
- WalterBright 9y ago
  Back when I worked for Data I/O, the wife of the CEO was kidnapped and held for ransom. There was a home invasion a couple blocks away. Lots of people prefer to keep a low profile and not attract these sorts of crimes.
  - ch4s3 9y ago
    I mean yes, if you can imagine a crime, surely it has happened in a nation of 350 million people. I think my point stands that it's an extremely rare crime, that's hard to commit, harder to cash in on, and harder still to get away with.
- icelancer 9y ago
  A few years ago the townhome next to me was broken into and a woman was kidnapped. So, I guess a few years ago, I'd say.
- lr4444lr 9y ago
  How about service providers like car repairmen and house contractors ripping people off? How about gold-diggers pursuing people on false romantic pretenses? How about just people gossiping about you out of envy?
  - ch4s3 9y ago