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Most busy professionals view the working poor who struggle from paycheck to paycheck with barely veiled contempt. These holier-than-thou Whole Foods shoppers m
by jmduke 13y ago
Most busy professionals view the working poor who struggle from paycheck to paycheck with barely veiled contempt. These holier-than-thou Whole Foods shoppers marvel at the poor decisions of the poor, whether in consumption of fast food, using payday loans, or worst of all, buying lottery tickets.
Er, is this a Silicon Valley thing?
- seanwoods 13y agoI blame the companies providing these services more than the consumers who sign up for them.
- joshdance 13y agoThe companies providing the service could argue that they are improving people's lives. Fast food give adequate calories fast. Payday loans give needed money fast. Of course both are not beneficial long term and have huge side effects, but you can't blame them. Except for lotteries. Lotteries you can blame the providers. Which is the government.
- JackFr 13y agoLotteries (and insurance) allow one to trade first moment (expected value) for higher moments (variance and skewness). That someone with very little would try to increase his or her variance at the cost of a little bit of expected value makes sense. That someone with very much would trade some expected value for reducing his or her variance also maes sense.
- TelmoMenezes 13y agoBig macs aren't the healthiest food choice by far, but expensive whisky isn't that healthy either. You see a whole lot more posturing against the former than the latter. Why? Status signalling.
- untog 13y agoIt's also one of those situations where it actually does make sense for the government to intervene. A 2L bottle of Coke is cheaper than 2L of milk. Is it really any surprise when people buy the Coke instead?
- bluedino 13y agoBut an $8 jar of almond butter makes perfect sense
- lotsofcows 13y agoWherever it is, I'm very glad I don't live there. Also, assuming the author does live there it seems a little hypocritical that he's criticising other's life choices.
- lliamander 13y ago>Also, assuming the author does live there it seems a little hypocritical that he's criticising other's life choices I believe it would only be hypocritical if he were also making those choices and not owning up to it. Saying "I make good choices, you make bad" (not what I think the author is actually saying) is not, in itself, hypocritcal.
- lifeisstillgood 13y agoit is however, almost certainly, tempting fate.
- PebblesRox 13y agoI think what makes it seem hypocritical is that he's criticizing people for having a critical mindset. I don't think it's really hypocrisy though. He's not scornful or contemptuous in his criticism; it felt to me like he was trying to encourage people to be more understanding, both of the people around them, and of their own weaknesses.
- chrisyeh 13y agoYes, my point is to persuade professionals to a) understand the plight of the working poor better, and b) do a better job of managing their own time poverty.
- ghaspland 13y agoNot that I know of. "holier-than-thou Whole Foods shoppers" is just hyperbolic language designed to drive blog readership.
- Qantourisc 13y agoI often envy them ! (The employed ones.)
- chrisyeh 13y agoSadly, a lot of folks in Silicon Valley believe in a form of social Darwinism. "If you can't code, it's your own damn fault." It's actually caused a lot of tension in the city of San Francisco.