Why Work?

[J.]

I'm 25 years old and when I close on my house and propose to my g/f come end of October, I will probably be in debt.....lets see.....roughly $175,000. Of course, 80% of that is in the house, which is in both my name and my g/f's. ALso, this doesn't take into account all the debt my g/f has, which is substancial due to school loans. Luckily, my parents paid for my college, and I have an exceptional credit rating, something like 7.78, out of a scale of 8.

 

[NAD]

That European myth applies to Switzerland for the most part doesn't it? It was my understanding that most (if not all) citizens got several months out of the year and lived off welfare. I know that their Socialist system has relaxed in recent years, but I thought this still occured.

I get 5 vacation days and 5 sick days plus all the major holidays. Hours are pretty flexible, and honestly I only work about 15-20 out of my 40+ hours spent here every week, but regardless, I am still responsible to maintain a presence 40+ hours a week. Which is why I may push for an at-home position in the coming months...

My buddy's sister is in debt in the 6 figures right now due to law school. She's also failed the bar exam twice. My education cost well under $10,000, gotta love state colleges.

 

[NAD]

Oh yeah, the other point I wanted to comment on:

American business is full of waste. We have about 40 office employees and 150+ field workers. I could do the work of 10 people in this office in under 60 hours a week. Every meeting I have ever gone to is a complete waste of time, most involve me driving for 1 to 2 hours each way and sitting down for 5 minutes with a client over an issue that could have been handled with a single phone call. Screw meetings, just send that 3 sentence email that covers everything.

 

[ChiefB]

You see, I don't get this. I've never understood the situation of being stressed to the point of being admitted to a hospital. Does the trauma just hit you out of the blue or something? Sure, I get stressed, but I go home and have a tommy.

It builds up slowly over time and contributory factors are poor diet, lack of exercise, and no release except work, work and work. Ok, the Bangkok girls provided some release but the workload and immense pressure really did wipe us out...Sounds like the plague.

...I'd wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about what I was behind on, what I had to do that day, and that's no way to live, worrying all the time.

Definately NOT a good way to live. You just end up harming yourself.

Plus, don't some EUropeans take a month off or something? Like in August?

Germans. They do have the longest holidays in the European workforce. There was a study conducted by the EU recently, which stated that German productivity was actually decreasing because of the current levels of paid vacation leave. It feels that if certain measures are not introduced, this would harm their economy in the long run. As a side note, Germans do more travelling abroad than any other EU nation.

American business is full of waste.

I like the statement! Meetings are always a waste of time because some people come in with their own agendas and articulate on a given subject at everybody's expense. For these people it is an exercise on 'hearing their own voices'.

Mind you, if I had to drive to a meeting I could use that time to listen to more CD's.

 

[NAD]

Mind you, if I had to drive to a meeting I could use that time to listen to more CD's.

Oh yeah! Most of my in depth listening happens in my truck! I love to drive though, and getting paid to do so is great, but still highly wasteful when some days I'll drive 2 hours each way to measure a jobsite for 3 minutes.

 

[JayKeeley]

Oh yeah! Most of my in depth listening happens in my truck! I love to drive though, and getting paid to do so is great, but still highly wasteful when some days I'll drive 2 hours each way to measure a jobsite for 3 minutes.

oh. my. god. I still have my fucking Himinbjorg stuck in my car CD player. I want my car to catch fire and blow up just so my company will get me a new one. It's not like I even have a tape player (I would make tapes). Just a broken CD player and a radio. At least I get Howard Stern though, but still, I would much prefer to listen to some Europe. Jeez.

 

[NAD]

Just rip that fucker out! If it's a Japanese car I could get you a step by step removal thingy, if it's American... just wait, it'll just die on you soon enough.

http://www.crutchfield.com could help, they have schematics for everything.

 

[JayKeeley]

Just rip that fucker out! If it's a Japanese car I could get you a step by step removal thingy, if it's American... just wait, it'll just die on you soon enough.

http://www.crutchfield.com could help, they have schematics for everything.

I've shoved every household device down that friggin CD slot. Knives, tweezers, etc. I don't care about the CD - it's just a promo and I own the actual CD anyway, so I just want it out. I don't care about scratches.

But everyday I think how lucky I am that it isn't the Madder Mortem CD. By now, my car would have been taken over by the MM curse, and my brakes would have failed on me. I would have had to call Max Von Sydow for one of his exorcism specials.

 

[NAD]

Oftentimes on the back of car CD players there's an emergency eject button, you probably have to rip apart the dash though.

I really want to hear Madder Mortem, especially after that review on AMG that showered praise upon it... curiosity is immensely piqued.

 

[JayKeeley]

Oftentimes on the back of car CD players there's an emergency eject button, you probably have to rip apart the dash though.

It's a work car - I dunno. I may just pretend there's something seriously wrong with it and get a new car altogether.

I really want to hear Madder Mortem, especially after that review on AMG that showered praise upon it... curiosity is immensely piqued.

Well it's done the rounds with the RC staffers. See what Erik wants to do with it. Or you could just buy it if you prefer to believe AMG over us. :Smug:

 

[NAD]

Oh don't be smug. No way I'm paying for it, unless I could find it for under the cost of postage for Erik to send it to me, via eBay.

 

[JayKeeley]

Oh don't be smug. No way I'm paying for it, unless I could find it for under the cost of postage for Erik to send it to me, via eBay.

I would ask Andreas for another promo, but after the review I gave it, I have a suspicion he might decline my request.

 

[NAD]

It's just before noon here. I'm done for the day, after finishing a million dollar+ proposal. Can I leave early? Sure. Will I get shit for it on Monday, even though my boss has been gone fishin' for two days now? Absolutely.

 

[JayKeeley]

Yeah I'm getting out of here as well. There's nobody else in anyway, so I might as well go home and play with my kid.

 

[NAD]

So are we anywhere closer to an answer? Why work?

How many jobs out there simply perpetuate the money making machine that this world has become, versus how many actually matter in the grand scheme of life outside of a paycheck? I'm sure everyone has seen a made-up position for someone's daughter, brother-in-law, or random street urchin. How many businesses exist simply because they can take advantage of the spend spend spend culture running rampant in society?

Hmm... maybe this post belongs in the bitch thread.

 

[J.]

Starting Jan.1, me and my fellow employees will have to start paying a percentage of our healthcare. Fucking cheap asses.

 

[JayKeeley]

So are we anywhere closer to an answer? Why work?

To pay for CDs.

I'm happy with knowing it puts food on the table. I can't look at it any other way, because that would mean I would have some form of attachment. I have no current attachment to working, other than the need to pay bills, feed my family, and buy the occasional CD.

How many businesses exist simply because they can take advantage of the spend spend spend culture running rampant in society?

It's disgusting. For that I agree with the need for Socialism. Money needs to be distributed fairly - there is absolutely no justice in the world when a big fat business exec who sits in meetings all day earns 5-10 times the amount to that of a school teacher. Or perhaps a nurse.

I'm not saying we turn things upside down, I'm just saying that we need to start diverting some of our government spending - simply to even things out a little.

 

[NAD]

Nah fuck that, ready the revolution, turn on thy heads!!!

I think the medical industry is one of the very few where employees are paid justly. In San Francisco a nurse's starting salary is in the 6 figures. Of course, you probably need that much to live there, but still.

What CEO sits in meetings all day? Unless you count meetings on the links. Those types are indicative of the capitalist system though, and I think too many people here think that Socialism equates Communism and any drastic change would revive the Red Scare.

"M0nay is teh gay!!!!!1111"
--Aristotle

 

[J.]

WHere the salaries are ridiculous is in the entertainment and sports industries. Seriously, what athlete needs $162 million simply for playing a game? Likewise, what actor/actress needs $5 million per new episode of a sitcom?

I agree with Jay. Is it justice for these "entertainers" to make ridiculous amounts of money when the very people that protect them and possibly save their lives (police, medical personnel) are earning pennies in comparison? Also, police officers are in the line of fire daily while JoeBob Actor is livin' it up in his mansion in Beverly Hills.

I think we should all go Gangs of New York on their asses and attack the rich.

 

[JayKeeley]

I think the medical industry is one of the very few where employees are paid justly. In San Francisco a nurse's starting salary is in the 6 figures. Of course, you probably need that much to live there, but still.

That's funny - I read the complete opposite. I read that nurses are getting paid an average of $35K in SF and are sharing subsidised apartments in Foster City and live like students. I'll dig out the article.

What CEO sits in meetings all day? Unless you count meetings on the links.

Maybe not the CEO - but mid management. For sure, mid-level managers aren't high up enough to make decisions with any impact or authority, and they're not 'low' enough to get their hands dirty. The problem with hierarchy is that there is a stagnant middle - I know, I live in it. People like me either bail, stick with it until a new opening occurs, or go off and start up their own companies. Well, at least they did 3 years ago. Now, the world is stagnant.

Those types are indicative of the capitalist system though, and I think too many people here think that Socialism equates Communism and any drastic change would revive the Red Scare.

Yeah, people think that equal distibution of government funds somehow equates to they themselves losing money. I don't think people realize how much money is wasted in ludicrous government transactions that amount to nothing. My company currently has projects in the public sector which are worth millions upon millions and have consultants just sitting around doing nothing charging $400 per hour. It's because the projects are 'fixed bid' and so the money's already been spent.

Socialism in Britain typically implies a stand against paying tax towards the monarchy, but the US doesn't even have a royal family. But it does have a big army I suppose.