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1) Why do you need to go to a private institution? Is there evidence to suggest that it's superior to a public institution? 2) Affordability of housing is defi

1) Why do you need to go to a private institution? Is there evidence to suggest that it's superior to a public institution? 2) Affordability of housing is definitely a problem, but it's not just isolated to the upper middle class. Look at teachers, for instance, many of whom can not afford to live in the wealthy districts that they teach in. Or look at teachers in Oklahoma and WV and AZ, they can't afford their cheaper locales. 3) The upper middle class have it much, much better than low-wage workers, many of whom may be fired if they need to take a day or two off for an emergency. Nevermind paid time off, that's a rarity for many below the upper middle. 4) Yes, costs do scale with higher salary. It's not true to say that ownership vs rent is definitely "net losing", it's entirely situational based on interest rates, property taxes, local rents, and many other factors. Overall: The larger problem is this: everyone outside of the corporate top echelons is getting squeezed. It's less about which non-top-tier you're in, but if you're not a millionaire or billionaire, you're getting a much less good deal. To say the upper middle class have it particularly bad is not fair at all to everyone below them, who have it far worse. You might counter that these people do not have the skills the upper-middle does. But developing those skills is probabilistic and is aided by a good home life, strong schools, and an environment conducive to learning. Many poor individuals simply do not have the life setup they need to gain top level skills over the years. I taught in public schools in Chicago's warzones, the South and far-West sides. It's hard for a kid to pick up a STEM career when their cousin just got gunned down, when they need to join a gang based on what block they are on, lest they be jumped by a rival block's gang on the walk to school. It's hard for them to skill up and get ahead when their father is incarcerated and their single mother is struggling to pay the bills. If their classmates and cousins are getting gunned down due to some cycle of pointless violence, how likely are they to learn their way to the top 95%?

chatmasta 9y ago
Lots of good points here. I think the key takeaway is that there are really two classes: the labor/wage class and the capital class. As long as you’re in the labor class, you’re trading your time for money and by definition will never see more than marginal gains over your wage class peers. The only way to truly pull away from the pack is to join the capital class, otherwise you’re stuck in a hamster wheel, even if does have a golden track.
sp527 9y ago
I would never think to deny anything you're saying. The 2000 word character limit on submissions prevented me from being more explicit in what I was decrying, which is that wellbeing does not seem to scale commensurately with salary/wealth/effort, and in fact there are non-obvious penalties. It seems you agree with that point. I'm also addressing the HN demographic specifically. Our options don't tend to be low-wage service worker vs high-salary tech employee. Many of us could in theory trade away a high salary for a lower one that yields a dramatically better lifestyle. What I'm trying to point out is that making that decision may in fact be a more optimal strategy and worth considering. Look, I'm someone who definitely empathizes with all of the pain in this world, but please permit me the opportunity to be momentarily a bit more selfish and consider my own situation, which parallels that of a lot of people in this community. Side note: buying is much more often a bad proposition vs renting than people think. Even if you have a net positive ROI, it still likely does not compensate for the increased time loss + stress involved in home ownership. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=8318A2FFD3074C4C01EA6395E901C641&gwt=pay https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-cal... Other side note: private institutions on balance don't offer a better education, but are superior for networking and credentialing (here I mean the top 25ish; not the scumbaggy student loan black holes), which (sadly) are among the most important levers for value creation in life. Of course that only matters if value creation is an important goal for your kids.

chatmasta 9y ago

Lots of good points here. I think the key takeaway is that there are really two classes: the labor/wage class and the capital class. As long as you’re in the labor class, you’re trading your time for money and by definition will never see more than marginal gains over your wage class peers. The only way to truly pull away from the pack is to join the capital class, otherwise you’re stuck in a hamster wheel, even if does have a golden track.

sp527 9y ago

I would never think to deny anything you're saying. The 2000 word character limit on submissions prevented me from being more explicit in what I was decrying, which is that wellbeing does not seem to scale commensurately with salary/wealth/effort, and in fact there are non-obvious penalties. It seems you agree with that point. I'm also addressing the HN demographic specifically. Our options don't tend to be low-wage service worker vs high-salary tech employee. Many of us could in theory trade away a high salary for a lower one that yields a dramatically better lifestyle. What I'm trying to point out is that making that decision may in fact be a more optimal strategy and worth considering. Look, I'm someone who definitely empathizes with all of the pain in this world, but please permit me the opportunity to be momentarily a bit more selfish and consider my own situation, which parallels that of a lot of people in this community. Side note: buying is much more often a bad proposition vs renting than people think. Even if you have a net positive ROI, it still likely does not compensate for the increased time loss + stress involved in home ownership. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=8318A2FFD3074C4C01EA6395E901C641&gwt=pay https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-cal... Other side note: private institutions on balance don't offer a better education, but are superior for networking and credentialing (here I mean the top 25ish; not the scumbaggy student loan black holes), which (sadly) are among the most important levers for value creation in life. Of course that only matters if value creation is an important goal for your kids.