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flagamuffin · 1705 days ago · link ·
Good point. Or you can work smart, plan and retire when you're 32! As I just finished saying in another comment, the idea that humans have to work-to-live is a dangerous cult. Society tells us to, so we mostly do.And it’s no coincidence that the industries that rely heavily on interns — fashion, media, and the arts — just happen to be the feminized ones, as Madeleine Schwartz wrote in Dissent. Yet another damaging consequence of DWYL is how ruthlessly it works to extract female labor for little or no compensation. Women comprise the majority of the low-wage or unpaid workforce; as care workers, adjunct faculty, and unpaid interns, they outnumber men. What unites all of this work, whether performed by GEDs or PhDs, is the belief that wages shouldn’t be the primary motivation for doing it. Women are supposed to do work because they are natural nurturers and are eager to please; after all they’ve been doing uncompensated childcare, elder care, and housework since time immemorial. And talking money is unladylike anyway.
In masking the very exploitative mechanisms of labor that it fuels, DWYL is, in fact, the most perfect ideological tool of capitalism. It shunts aside the labor of others and disguises our own labor to ourselves. It hides the fact that if we acknowledged all of our work as work, we could set appropriate limits for it, demanding fair compensation and humane schedules that allow for family and leisure time.
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Come on now, don't be smug. For some people that's an available choice to make, but I don't think that's so for a lot of people, especially those who might already be beyond 32, or are mid-career, or have a family or whatever. Life has a way of tripping people up, even if they do have a good plan, or follow one that has shown promise or success. Furthermore, a whole lot of people are not very good at managing their money, or thinking about the long term, through no real fault of their own, but rather a lack of awareness, training and occasionally, circumstance. I think that the last point that you quoted, is a fair one that deserves examination. Empowering the workforce is a good thing.Or you can work smart, plan and retire when you're 32!
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flagamuffin · 1705 days ago · link ·
I know, I know. However, if there's one thing I've learned from reading this guy, it's that excuses are almost always just excuses when it comes to saving money. Yes, even children to an extent.
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I see what you're saying and I don't disagree. I do think though, that for some people it might take some doing for them to see their obstacles in such a way. You know, "can't see the forest for the trees". Money can be deeply tied to emotion too, which again, can make it hard to visit a perspective. Anyway, I think that the conclusion of this article could work nicely with the advice from the blog. Once work is recognized as a temporary rather than lifetime engagement, real change in favor of the employee might have a chance to really take root.
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flagamuffin · 1705 days ago · link ·
This is unfortunately so true and a lot of it is societal. The 'rat race' mentality isn't a joke, it's fundamentally American. Most people see nothing wrong with being in debt, for example. The only time it is fiscally acceptable to be in debt is if the interest on the loan is setting you back less than the gains on whatever you're investing the loaned money in -- and that's extremely rare.I see what you're saying and I don't disagree. I do think though, that for some people it might take some doing for them to see their obstacles in such a way. You know, "can't see the forest for the trees".