4 ms·
What's a "modest effort"? And when did we have an economy based on a "modest effort"? Work has never been easier in the US than it currently is. Record number
by strictnein 11y ago
What's a "modest effort"? And when did we have an economy based on a "modest effort"?
Work has never been easier in the US than it currently is. Record number of office workers, minimal number of farmers, factory workers, and manual labor in general.
- cousin_it 11y agoTake a look at the Beat Generation books. For these folks it was not just possible, but normal, to travel across the US and find a job in every town they stopped.
- nine_k 11y agoDid they make much money? If you're ok getting about the minimal wage for some gardening, or house cleaning, or trash removal, you probably have good chances (e.g. you'll outcompete an illegal Mexican immigrant by just knowing the language well). Machines increasingly obviate jobs that don't require qualification. On one hand it is nice because humans need to do less and less dirty, mind-numbing jobs. OTOH being a traveling beatnik sucks more and more.
- enraged_camel 11y agoEasier in terms of lack of manual labor perhaps, but white collar work has its own unique challenges. I don't think it's fair to rate difficulty of work on a linear spectrum. Several years ago I worked on a farm for a few months helping out a relative. It was exhausting work, but I found it much easier than some of the programming work I do as a living.