4 ms·
I think you defined perfectly the defining problem of this generation in the US: nepotism. It is the root cause of so many structural problems that we see as un
by zapita 6y ago
I think you defined perfectly the defining problem of this generation in the US: nepotism. It is the root cause of so many structural problems that we see as unrelated. In particular the failure of the press to do their job and hold the powerful accountable. Not so easy when you went to the same school as them; got an internship thanks to them; were at a NYC roof party with them last week.
Positions once available to anyone who worked hard, are now reserved to the children of the already wealthy. The consequences are severe.
- WalterBright 6y ago> nepotism 85% of American millionaires are self-made. "The Millionaire Next Door" by Stanley
- maest 6y agoIs there any data on where wealth increase has come from for those people? e.g. started own business, vs savings + stock market, vs investing in real estate.
- WalterBright 6y agoI recommend getting the book, it's cheap and a good read. It also lays out a path for those that want to accumulate wealth themselves.
- folkhack 6y agoYea - I'll second that even though you don't think I've read it.
- folkhack 6y ago"The Millionaire Next Door" was published in 1996 when the economy was booming, the dot-com bubble had yet to burst, and the employment market meant anyone slightly skilled could get a FT+benefits career. In the 24 years since that book's publishing I absolutely argue that ladder has become more difficult to climb. But hey - what do I know? I'm just a lazy millennial who's now living through his second major recession, with the first one landing directly on when I was entering the work world FT. Thank goodness for my tech career because let. me. tell. you... my peers were struggling. Especially the ones who persisted in Cedar Rapids (blue collar Iowa town). But sure - 85% of American millionaires are "self-made", whatever the heck that means. I don't doubt that's how they feel about themselves and self report!!!
- WalterBright 6y agoThe market has done even better in the last 10 years than in the 90's. Besides, I heard the same lament in the 70s, 80s, 90's, 00's, and 10's. > I don't doubt that's how they feel about themselves and self report!!! Always better to guess than pick up the book and read it!
- jbay808 6y agoThe market has done great since 2008! Wonderful time to have already had a lot of money on hand to invest, for sure. And man, I tell you, all of the houses I bought have gone way up in value, even faster than earnings! What do people even have to complain about?
- WalterBright 6y agoIf you had a regular plan where you invest every year, and don't sell, you would have ridden out the 2008 fiasco just fine.
- jbay808 6y agoYes! But if you were still in school in 2008 and putting your money into food and paying off student loans, the market performance isn't necessarily the thing that impacts your future wealth.
- WalterBright 6y agoThe 2008 recession didn't last that long.
- jbay808 6y agoBut paying off student loans probably did. My point is that "the market did great" means investors did great; doesn't mean that everyone did great.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- smegma2 6y agoOf all things, nepotism seems like an odd thing to single out. Do you have any numbers for this claim? It would be useful to hear e.g. what percentage of people secure positions through referrals/family members.
- prostoalex 6y agoI suspect you'll get a different answer if you weigh by numbers. But when you weigh by total wealth the Walton and Mars families skew the data in favor of nepotism. It also depends on your opinion of source of personal wealth of Ms Bezos or Ms Jobs (and anyone in similar position) - nepotism or self-made?
- zapita 6y agoWhy do you find it odd?
- smegma2 6y agoMany people make the claim that the fundamental problem of the US is wealth inequality, or no social safety net, or disdain for the poor. I believe these claims are much more common (and in my opinion could be considered more fundamental) than the claim that nepotism is the fundamental problem.
- Rury 6y agoWell, symptoms of problems tend to be more evident than their root cause, so commonality of claims is not a particularly good reason to rule out nepotism being a problem. Evidence would be nice to have though. As for me, I've had enough anecdotes to think it's plausible. Just recently we hired a new CTO at my company, and he got the job simply because he was friends with our CEO and he needed a job. Turns out he's completely incompetent...