6 ms·

If the guy loved what he was doing, then that's more than the majority of people can say about their jobs. Money definitely does not make people any happier.

T2_t2 8y ago
Do you mean does make people happier, or doesn't?
- overcast 8y ago
  Does not. Updated!
tolien 8y ago
His colleague on dialysis would probably be happier with full insurance rather than relying on Medicare though (or could maybe have got preventative treatment before needing dialysis, who knows). The focus on take-home pay misses the other parts that don’t show up on your pay slip.
badpun 8y ago
I didn't get the sense that he loves what he's doing. It's more like the job is manageable and he does not see any better alternatives.
justin66 8y ago
> Money definitely does not make people any happier. It would be a struggle to write something more patently ridiculous.
- overcast 8y ago
  Thanks for your comment. Spend some time traveling the world, head to some developing countries outside of your consumer driven world. People are generally happier and satisfied with what they have. They work, they eat, they enjoy life with their families. As long as basic human needs are met, they don't feel the need for more. Check out the book, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill
  - justin66 8y ago
    > Spend some time traveling the world, head to some developing countries outside of your consumer driven world. You're making some unfounded assumptions about me there. > People are generally happier and satisfied with what they have. They work, they eat, they enjoy life with their families. They don't feel the need for more. One major problem with this "money does not affect happiness" schtick is that a person will often, if they live long enough, encounter a problem or set of problems that can be solved by the spending of money, perhaps only in that way. An inability to solve such problems because of the lack of money can affect a person's happiness. It's true enough that some people and some cultures are better at shrugging off disappointments like not being able to afford medicine, education, housing, food, or whatever. To say that being able to solve those problems wouldn't make them happier is just disingenuous.
    - bashmydotfiles 8y ago
      I agree with you wholeheartedly. Also, key point: > Spend some time traveling the world, head to some developing countries outside of your consumer driven world. Traveling is a luxury that many people cannot afford - it requires a ton of money. You're telling me to save up money, then to spend it, to go to a place where I realize I won't need money? How do you tell a poor person with financial troubles - don't worry just travel and you'll see you don't actually need money? People who say, "Money does not affect happiness" usually come from a place of privilege - i.e. they already have money and have their basic needs met, so they've never /really/ had to worry about money. If you're a single mother of three kids in a minimum wage job, then money definitely affects your happiness.
      - AstralStorm 8y ago
        The more interesting take would be that money vs happiness is likely some form of sigmoid. Or multiple overlapped sigmoids most likely. (ridged)
      - overcast 8y ago
        No one said anything about telling poor people to travel. The point is that many are already content with what they have. Sure, if they don't have enough food to eat, or access to clean water, that's clearly an issue. But those who have met their basic human needs, generally don't feel unhappy because they aren't buying a new iPhone ever year. I recently spent a month backpacking through India, and the people with the most have nots were some of the warmest, happiest, and inviting people I've ever met in my entire life. From the article, it sounds like Loggan is exactly that. Never complains. Never asked for a promotion. Content with what he has. “He could retire now,” said Javon Chambers, his grandson, himself a Walker Bros. busser for 15 years. “He’s financially straight and everything. I just think he knows when people retire, they die. That’s what he’s said: Old people don’t have nothing to do, they see their friends retire, and then they retire, and that’s when they die of boredom too. It’s like people who are married a long time — if one dies, the next goes right after. That’s like my grandfather and this place. He doesn’t want the will inside him to dry up.” Ambition, in a time of low expectations, in a country defined by inequality, can mean holding on to what you have, internalizing your place in the world. “I think Loggan wanted to fit in somewhere,” said chef Pat Levy, also known as “Popeye”; he has worked at the restaurant 42 years, arriving in Chicago from Jamaica. “I think Loggan just decided to be a busboy. He is content. It’s all he wants. So I ask — isn’t that OK?” For instance, the company took out life insurance on Loggan (payable to his wife); Ray says that for years he’s set aside about $50 a month for Loggan, as an informal retirement fund (subject to a 30 percent penalty for early withdrawal).
madebysquares 8y ago
You likely did not read the article... there is nothing in it that would imply he loved his job. He stayed at his job because of complacency and security. Not because he loved bussing tables.
- overcast 8y ago
  Please don't assume what I did or did not do. Security sounds like something someone can love. Certainly many people look for that in jobs.
  - madebysquares 8y ago
    You ask me not to assume, but yet you made a huge assumption in that he loved his job, presumptuous much?
  - george_morgan 8y ago
    It's fair for us to assume you didn't actually read it, as much as you may plead for us to think otherwise. This clearly isn't a simple story of 'happy man in a humble job'. I mean, the man still buys lottery tickets for a start...

T2_t2 8y ago

Do you mean does make people happier, or doesn't?

overcast 8y ago
Does not. Updated!

tolien 8y ago

His colleague on dialysis would probably be happier with full insurance rather than relying on Medicare though (or could maybe have got preventative treatment before needing dialysis, who knows). The focus on take-home pay misses the other parts that don’t show up on your pay slip.

badpun 8y ago

I didn't get the sense that he loves what he's doing. It's more like the job is manageable and he does not see any better alternatives.

justin66 8y ago

> Money definitely does not make people any happier. It would be a struggle to write something more patently ridiculous.

overcast 8y ago
Thanks for your comment. Spend some time traveling the world, head to some developing countries outside of your consumer driven world. People are generally happier and satisfied with what they have. They work, they eat, they enjoy life with their families. As long as basic human needs are met, they don't feel the need for more. Check out the book, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill
- justin66 8y ago
  > Spend some time traveling the world, head to some developing countries outside of your consumer driven world. You're making some unfounded assumptions about me there. > People are generally happier and satisfied with what they have. They work, they eat, they enjoy life with their families. They don't feel the need for more. One major problem with this "money does not affect happiness" schtick is that a person will often, if they live long enough, encounter a problem or set of problems that can be solved by the spending of money, perhaps only in that way. An inability to solve such problems because of the lack of money can affect a person's happiness. It's true enough that some people and some cultures are better at shrugging off disappointments like not being able to afford medicine, education, housing, food, or whatever. To say that being able to solve those problems wouldn't make them happier is just disingenuous.
  - bashmydotfiles 8y ago
    I agree with you wholeheartedly. Also, key point: > Spend some time traveling the world, head to some developing countries outside of your consumer driven world. Traveling is a luxury that many people cannot afford - it requires a ton of money. You're telling me to save up money, then to spend it, to go to a place where I realize I won't need money? How do you tell a poor person with financial troubles - don't worry just travel and you'll see you don't actually need money? People who say, "Money does not affect happiness" usually come from a place of privilege - i.e. they already have money and have their basic needs met, so they've never /really/ had to worry about money. If you're a single mother of three kids in a minimum wage job, then money definitely affects your happiness.
    - AstralStorm 8y ago
      The more interesting take would be that money vs happiness is likely some form of sigmoid. Or multiple overlapped sigmoids most likely. (ridged)
    - overcast 8y ago
      No one said anything about telling poor people to travel. The point is that many are already content with what they have. Sure, if they don't have enough food to eat, or access to clean water, that's clearly an issue. But those who have met their basic human needs, generally don't feel unhappy because they aren't buying a new iPhone ever year. I recently spent a month backpacking through India, and the people with the most have nots were some of the warmest, happiest, and inviting people I've ever met in my entire life. From the article, it sounds like Loggan is exactly that. Never complains. Never asked for a promotion. Content with what he has. “He could retire now,” said Javon Chambers, his grandson, himself a Walker Bros. busser for 15 years. “He’s financially straight and everything. I just think he knows when people retire, they die. That’s what he’s said: Old people don’t have nothing to do, they see their friends retire, and then they retire, and that’s when they die of boredom too. It’s like people who are married a long time — if one dies, the next goes right after. That’s like my grandfather and this place. He doesn’t want the will inside him to dry up.” Ambition, in a time of low expectations, in a country defined by inequality, can mean holding on to what you have, internalizing your place in the world. “I think Loggan wanted to fit in somewhere,” said chef Pat Levy, also known as “Popeye”; he has worked at the restaurant 42 years, arriving in Chicago from Jamaica. “I think Loggan just decided to be a busboy. He is content. It’s all he wants. So I ask — isn’t that OK?” For instance, the company took out life insurance on Loggan (payable to his wife); Ray says that for years he’s set aside about $50 a month for Loggan, as an informal retirement fund (subject to a 30 percent penalty for early withdrawal).

madebysquares 8y ago

You likely did not read the article... there is nothing in it that would imply he loved his job. He stayed at his job because of complacency and security. Not because he loved bussing tables.

overcast 8y ago
Please don't assume what I did or did not do. Security sounds like something someone can love. Certainly many people look for that in jobs.
- madebysquares 8y ago
  You ask me not to assume, but yet you made a huge assumption in that he loved his job, presumptuous much?
- george_morgan 8y ago
  It's fair for us to assume you didn't actually read it, as much as you may plead for us to think otherwise. This clearly isn't a simple story of 'happy man in a humble job'. I mean, the man still buys lottery tickets for a start...