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The amount of class warfare here is hilarious. Will you really parrot elite coined phrases like “laptop class?” What even is the laptop class? It’s a meaningles

The amount of class warfare here is hilarious. Will you really parrot elite coined phrases like “laptop class?” What even is the laptop class? It’s a meaningless term created so it’s easier to dehumanize a group of people that have a massive salary range. There are WFH making $50k. They are not all vest and resters. Do we really need to make the conversation be about the upper middle class being “lazy” and completely ignoring the fact that these RTO orders come from billionaires?

geodel 3y ago
I mean unless you could somehow dictate the agenda on who can dislike whom, a lot of people can just dislike upper middle class, no?
- scott_w 3y ago
  Billionaires own the most widely circulated print media in the U.K. so it doesn’t seem impossible that this agenda is being influenced. Especially when those exact papers spilt a lot of ink telling people to “get back to work” despite the fact those people were always working during the pandemic.
  - andsoitis 3y ago
    > Billionaires own the most widely circulated print media in the U.K. It seems natural that whoever owns the “most widely circulated print media” would be rich, no?
    - scott_w 3y ago
      I'm not sure how that would invalidate anything I wrote.
    - jensgk 3y ago
      Unless it is a co-op or nonprofit.
    - TheCoelacanth 3y ago
      Certainly, and there is nothing wrong with pointing out that a publication is biased is favor of its owner's interests.
hn_version_0023 3y ago
> Will you really parrot elite coined phrases like “laptop class?” Sometimes, I think about the phrase "human resource" and how it's a nice linguistic nod toward "natural resources", which obviously are meant to be exploited. It makes it easier when you think about laying off thousands of people, or making thousands commute needlessly simply to boost someone's ego.
- sacnoradhq 3y ago
  "Exploit" and "use" have multiple meanings, some positive and some negative. It's the words people hear based on their own particular biases determine if those words associate with anything particularly positive, neutral, or negative. The problem with creating abstract business jingo is it's typically viewed as an artificial "thieves' cant" between managers. A sublanguage meant to obscure and hide meaning.
  - askin4it 3y ago
    You guys are almost there. So close... can someone take this one more step...
- mc32 3y ago
  I don’t have a problem with the term Human Resources. It’s not trying to hide anything, it’s stating the obvious utility. It’s not trying to do anything extra or communicate something it’s not. Worse would be something like Vanguard of the Revolution or Organization for the Workers, etc.
- hamburglar 3y ago
  My company renamed Human Resources to "Human Capital Management" since it wasn't dehumanizing enough the other way.
sacnoradhq 3y ago
Writers gonna artist. I wouldn't take it as anything but a colorful metaphor. The strata who should be rightfully derided are the chauffeured-and-business-jet-class who have an embarrassingly-low tax rate while concentrating and keeping vast amounts of profits. Nearly 60% of the post-pandemic inflation was due to the profit price spiral. The "wage spiral" is a delusion and layoffs aren't actually necessary. They're business theater belying boosting corporate profits to keep up with the proverbial Jones' in other stocks.
- whimsicalism 3y ago
  > I wouldn't take it as anything but a colorful metaphor. "Laptop class" is more than a colorful metaphor, it implies a set of values by the speaker.
- flagrant_taco 3y ago
  > Nearly 60% of the post-pandemic inflation was due to the profit price spiral. Any chance you have a source for this? I haven't seen that stat before and an not quite sure how we'd know that, or if the profit spiral was itself a side effect of monetary policy throwing new money into the system.
  - whimsicalism 3y ago
    It's BS, "wage profit spiral"
rayiner 3y ago
The laptop class’s interests are closely intertwined with those of the billionaires. When billionaires offshored jobs to China, there was an army of laptop class people who helped them do it. And they collectively benefit very much from the economic changes that have fueled billionaires’ fortunes. The top 10% have an annual income of over $6 trillion. The total income of all US billionaires is less than half a trillion dollars. Since 1970, the growth in median income of the upper middle class has vastly outstripped the growth in median income of the rest of the country. If there’s anything standing in the way of more economically redistributive policies in this country, it’s the laptop class. They would take a huge and material hit in their standard of living in a more equal society such as Canada or Germany. Everyone from programmers to lawyers to HR administrators make a third to half as much as their counterparts in those countries.
- s1artibartfast 3y ago
  This is only half the story. Government share of GDP and real dollar Revenue has also vastly increased since the 1970s. Redistributive policies and spending have had a massive increase.

geodel 3y ago

I mean unless you could somehow dictate the agenda on who can dislike whom, a lot of people can just dislike upper middle class, no?

scott_w 3y ago
Billionaires own the most widely circulated print media in the U.K. so it doesn’t seem impossible that this agenda is being influenced. Especially when those exact papers spilt a lot of ink telling people to “get back to work” despite the fact those people were always working during the pandemic.
- andsoitis 3y ago
  > Billionaires own the most widely circulated print media in the U.K. It seems natural that whoever owns the “most widely circulated print media” would be rich, no?
  - scott_w 3y ago
    I'm not sure how that would invalidate anything I wrote.
  - jensgk 3y ago
    Unless it is a co-op or nonprofit.
  - TheCoelacanth 3y ago
    Certainly, and there is nothing wrong with pointing out that a publication is biased is favor of its owner's interests.

hn_version_0023 3y ago

> Will you really parrot elite coined phrases like “laptop class?” Sometimes, I think about the phrase "human resource" and how it's a nice linguistic nod toward "natural resources", which obviously are meant to be exploited. It makes it easier when you think about laying off thousands of people, or making thousands commute needlessly simply to boost someone's ego.

sacnoradhq 3y ago
"Exploit" and "use" have multiple meanings, some positive and some negative. It's the words people hear based on their own particular biases determine if those words associate with anything particularly positive, neutral, or negative. The problem with creating abstract business jingo is it's typically viewed as an artificial "thieves' cant" between managers. A sublanguage meant to obscure and hide meaning.
- askin4it 3y ago
  You guys are almost there. So close... can someone take this one more step...
mc32 3y ago
I don’t have a problem with the term Human Resources. It’s not trying to hide anything, it’s stating the obvious utility. It’s not trying to do anything extra or communicate something it’s not. Worse would be something like Vanguard of the Revolution or Organization for the Workers, etc.
hamburglar 3y ago
My company renamed Human Resources to "Human Capital Management" since it wasn't dehumanizing enough the other way.

sacnoradhq 3y ago

Writers gonna artist. I wouldn't take it as anything but a colorful metaphor. The strata who should be rightfully derided are the chauffeured-and-business-jet-class who have an embarrassingly-low tax rate while concentrating and keeping vast amounts of profits. Nearly 60% of the post-pandemic inflation was due to the profit price spiral. The "wage spiral" is a delusion and layoffs aren't actually necessary. They're business theater belying boosting corporate profits to keep up with the proverbial Jones' in other stocks.

whimsicalism 3y ago
> I wouldn't take it as anything but a colorful metaphor. "Laptop class" is more than a colorful metaphor, it implies a set of values by the speaker.
flagrant_taco 3y ago
> Nearly 60% of the post-pandemic inflation was due to the profit price spiral. Any chance you have a source for this? I haven't seen that stat before and an not quite sure how we'd know that, or if the profit spiral was itself a side effect of monetary policy throwing new money into the system.
- whimsicalism 3y ago
  It's BS, "wage profit spiral"

rayiner 3y ago

The laptop class’s interests are closely intertwined with those of the billionaires. When billionaires offshored jobs to China, there was an army of laptop class people who helped them do it. And they collectively benefit very much from the economic changes that have fueled billionaires’ fortunes. The top 10% have an annual income of over $6 trillion. The total income of all US billionaires is less than half a trillion dollars. Since 1970, the growth in median income of the upper middle class has vastly outstripped the growth in median income of the rest of the country. If there’s anything standing in the way of more economically redistributive policies in this country, it’s the laptop class. They would take a huge and material hit in their standard of living in a more equal society such as Canada or Germany. Everyone from programmers to lawyers to HR administrators make a third to half as much as their counterparts in those countries.

s1artibartfast 3y ago
This is only half the story. Government share of GDP and real dollar Revenue has also vastly increased since the 1970s. Redistributive policies and spending have had a massive increase.