jazzyk

53 ms·

481.
by jazzyk 11y ago
I agree with you on major life costs increasing. However, you didn't explain why. There are, IMO, two reasons: - maintaining demand by incessant, aspirational media pressure e.g. if you don't have a Cinderella-like wedding costing
482.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Which means us, the taxpayers.
483.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Absolutely. Many of my friends look at me as if I just lost my mind - "but, but... low interest rates are good for everybody , right?". It is an uphill battle, but I keep at it :-)
484.
by jazzyk 11y ago
This, a thousand times. What a lot of people do not understand, is that when demand for an asset goes down, prices come down and adjust to market (although in real-estate, the process takes a bit longer). The best way to promote home owners
485.
by jazzyk 11y ago
It really varies. Most people I know in blue collar jobs work 40 hours/week and are free to do what they want after 5pm. They don't take their work home. It is usually the "exempt" professionals - lawyers, doctors, McKin
486.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Let's not introduce victim mentality here. - gym memberships start from $10/month (optional, there are plenty of body-weight exercises you can do outside of gym). - running costs nothing (in recurring fees). - all you need is 1 hr
487.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Money is necessary to have a certain quality of life (quality healthcare, etc), but is certainly not sufficient to achieve happiness.
488.
by jazzyk 11y ago
While office work is less demanding in certain aspects, it can be quite destructive in other ways, if you are not careful: - circulatory issues (hypertension, due to lack of exercise), - obesity, - back issues, - repetitive stress injurie
489.
by jazzyk 11y ago
There are lawsuits filed for delivering shoddy work, unmet deadlines/commitments. They are just less publicized, because human life is (usually) not at stake.
490.
by jazzyk 11y ago
True, but healthcare and unemployment, etc., as wasteful as they are, still improve my quality of life, while paying for defending rich countries like Japan or Germany, does not.
491.
by jazzyk 11y ago
OK, you got me there - typed too fast. But, aside form taxes, if I wanted to take more time off, it only makes sense I should expect less pay, right?
492.
by jazzyk 11y ago
We pay taxes in the US as well :-) Maybe a bit less than in Europe, but we get very little in return (no subsidized daycare, no 30 days of vacation, etc). US tax revenue is mostly spent on maintaining all the 170+ military bases around the
493.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Off topic, but I must: comparing salaries alone makes no sense. In Europe, you don't have to pay $250K/child for college education, you don't have to pay $20K/year/family in health insurance, etc.
494.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Only because they have powerful professional gilds like the AMA and bar associations to establish entry barriers to the industry. And that's exactly what software professionals should do as well - have a strong professional body to rep
495.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Exactly. Software salaries should be compared to doctors', lawyers' and other professions', as software engineering is a profession. I bet you the comparisons would not look so good then.
496.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Boston is not "just another city..." It is possibly the best educated metropolitan area in the world. "Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, come out on top — attracting more than twice as many citations per paper as the glo
497.
by jazzyk 11y ago
The absence of Lexus from the list is deafening. It is the highest quality brand in this group (not an opinion, a fact - please check a couple of rankings, most notably JD Powers Initial Quality survey, etc.)
498.
by jazzyk 11y ago
There is nothing more chilly than markets going up and down ~20% within 2 months with no major changes in fundamentals (or global/macro situation for that matter).
499.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Have you seen the frescoes in the well-preserved brothels in Pompei or browsed through the Kamasutra book? If yes, you would know that there is really nothing new under the sun...
500.
by jazzyk 11y ago
I would argue that there is _effectively_ lack of competition in the airline industry, (at least in the US): - there are ~ 6 major airlines for a country of 320 million people. In Europe, there are many more (all the national carriers, plus
501.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Explanation, perhaps - justification, no. Interesting how people forget that our government is to serve its people, not its own career interests. Hillary Clinton chose to sacrifice the country's interests (major security lapse) in orde
502.
by jazzyk 11y ago
The distribution of substandard developers making a purchasing-power equivalent of $100K (allowing for free healthcare, college education, lower housing costs) is probably similar in most countries with a well-developed IT sector.
503.
by jazzyk 11y ago
This is incorrect, at least for for an S Corp. The rest of the money (after you pay salaries AND deduct valid business expenses) is distributed to shareholder(s) as shareholder distributions using Schedule K-1, not dividend (terminology is
504.
by jazzyk 11y ago
You missed his/her point - I don't think Obama donated money to the people opposing gay marriage.
505.
by jazzyk 11y ago
But marriage is a non-religious concept, plenty of atheist/non-spiritual people get married. Noone is forcing religious organizations to perform gay marriage ceremonies in their places of worship.
506.
by jazzyk 11y ago
The same Leviticus who claims eating shellfish and birds is an abomination? " and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest. 12'Whatever in the water does not have fins an
507.
by jazzyk 11y ago
No, the ruling is about treating every human being equally. Regardless of their religion, skin color, facial features, hair color, etc. Who is the "homosexual bigot" in your example? The judge practicing the law of the country ? P
508.
by jazzyk 11y ago
There are lots of people (of any color/gender) who won't hire me or give me a promotion because they they find my face smug (for example). Just like skin color, I cannot change my face. You can be discriminated against on any
509.
by jazzyk 11y ago
Why do you bring politics into this? This was neither conservative nor liberal bubble. Both sides are guilty, this is central planners vs the market. I saw the bubble for what it was, most of my friends looked at me strangely, thinking I wa
510.
by jazzyk 11y ago
The housing bubble was not driven by market forces. It was driven by central planners by incentivising mortgage companies to lend recklessly, as these companies knew the mortgages were guaranteed by quasi-governmental companies like Fannie

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