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This option is already open to those who want it.

by pg 18y ago

amichail 18y ago
I mean not just with startups. Everyone would be expected to retire by 40.
- fatdog789 18y ago
  1) Even lawyers and doctors don't make enough money to retire by 40. 2) Lawyers and doctors frequently work 80-100 hours a week. The amount of productive output is not 2x as much as the 40 hour week; due to fatigue and stress, the productive output only averages out to about 150% more work...in other words, a 25% loss in productivity as compared to just working 2 40 hour weeks. 3) The stress of working 80-100 hour work weeks kills the body good. Literally. It easily ages the body 2-3 years for every year on that sort of schedule. That's why all our presidents have gray hair when they retire. 4) The pyramid scheme: younger generations would have to work even longer to pay for the retirement costs of the retired. People live an average of 25-35 years (depending on sex and race) after 40. So you've made the already unsustainable equation (which sets the retirement date for federal benefits so that only 1/2 of all adults are expected to live past the eligibility date) even worse. 5) France. Enough said.
  - byrneseyeview 18y ago
    The amount of productive output is not 2x as much as the 40 hour week; due to fatigue and stress, the productive output only averages out to about 150% more work No, because someone working 40 hours a week has a large set of problems they can't solve -- e.g. anything that takes 160 man-hours to do and needs to be finished in two weeks. Someone who works insanely hard is going to be first to finish a lot of stuff, and the prize for first place can be enough to justify the cost.
noodle 18y ago
indeed. you're totally allowed to retire whenever you want, and, on the flip side of that coin, you can continue to work long after your standard "retirement" age. work hard, save enough, and live off the interest. there's no timetable on that any more than what you put on it.
- amichail 18y ago
  So why is it that most people retire much later than that?
  - noodle 18y ago
    so you really can't think of any good reasons why people wouldn't want to work 80+ hour weeks to retire at 40?
    - amichail 18y ago
      Is it the case that most people know just how much their brain will decline will age? If they did, I think most would consider early retirement appealing.
      - noodle 18y ago
        and what exactly will you do once you retire early? find someone to marry? although the statistics are shifting, odds are a lot more slim at 40+ than if you had the time to look around earlier. play some sports? have some sex? hike the grand canyon? unlikely, as your body also deteriorates with age. if only you had the time to do some of that earlier. have kids? sperm count and quality drops drastically across your 30's. spend time with your friends? what friends? working the 80+ hour weeks means you probably didn't have much of a social life, and therefore don't keep many friends. it might be a good time to try to look for some, but most people in their 40's are now very busy with their own lives -- kids and bigger job titles means less free time. i could go on, but i feel you get my point. time is money, and older people would (and do attempt to) pay huge sums to regain their youth.
      - jodrellblank 18y ago
        Just how much will it decline with age?
    - anamax 18y ago
      Other folks pointed out that 40 is too late to do many things. I'll point out that most folks won't produce 2x as much working 80-100 hours/week as they do working 4-50 hours week.

This option is already open to those who want it.

by pg 18y ago

This option is already open to those who want it.

amichail 18y ago

I mean not just with startups. Everyone would be expected to retire by 40.

fatdog789 18y ago
1) Even lawyers and doctors don't make enough money to retire by 40. 2) Lawyers and doctors frequently work 80-100 hours a week. The amount of productive output is not 2x as much as the 40 hour week; due to fatigue and stress, the productive output only averages out to about 150% more work...in other words, a 25% loss in productivity as compared to just working 2 40 hour weeks. 3) The stress of working 80-100 hour work weeks kills the body good. Literally. It easily ages the body 2-3 years for every year on that sort of schedule. That's why all our presidents have gray hair when they retire. 4) The pyramid scheme: younger generations would have to work even longer to pay for the retirement costs of the retired. People live an average of 25-35 years (depending on sex and race) after 40. So you've made the already unsustainable equation (which sets the retirement date for federal benefits so that only 1/2 of all adults are expected to live past the eligibility date) even worse. 5) France. Enough said.
- byrneseyeview 18y ago
  The amount of productive output is not 2x as much as the 40 hour week; due to fatigue and stress, the productive output only averages out to about 150% more work No, because someone working 40 hours a week has a large set of problems they can't solve -- e.g. anything that takes 160 man-hours to do and needs to be finished in two weeks. Someone who works insanely hard is going to be first to finish a lot of stuff, and the prize for first place can be enough to justify the cost.

noodle 18y ago

indeed. you're totally allowed to retire whenever you want, and, on the flip side of that coin, you can continue to work long after your standard "retirement" age. work hard, save enough, and live off the interest. there's no timetable on that any more than what you put on it.

amichail 18y ago
So why is it that most people retire much later than that?
- noodle 18y ago
  so you really can't think of any good reasons why people wouldn't want to work 80+ hour weeks to retire at 40?
  - amichail 18y ago
    Is it the case that most people know just how much their brain will decline will age? If they did, I think most would consider early retirement appealing.
    - noodle 18y ago
      and what exactly will you do once you retire early? find someone to marry? although the statistics are shifting, odds are a lot more slim at 40+ than if you had the time to look around earlier. play some sports? have some sex? hike the grand canyon? unlikely, as your body also deteriorates with age. if only you had the time to do some of that earlier. have kids? sperm count and quality drops drastically across your 30's. spend time with your friends? what friends? working the 80+ hour weeks means you probably didn't have much of a social life, and therefore don't keep many friends. it might be a good time to try to look for some, but most people in their 40's are now very busy with their own lives -- kids and bigger job titles means less free time. i could go on, but i feel you get my point. time is money, and older people would (and do attempt to) pay huge sums to regain their youth.
    - jodrellblank 18y ago
      Just how much will it decline with age?
  - anamax 18y ago
    Other folks pointed out that 40 is too late to do many things. I'll point out that most folks won't produce 2x as much working 80-100 hours/week as they do working 4-50 hours week.