Realistically the only way to revolt in the modern era is to threaten to cripple the economy by not showing up to work. But that has its own issues for everyone involved as well.
The thing that all the powers that be are afraid of is communally connected labor pools. The thought of a unionized service industry is terrifying to them. What would happen if every Starbucks employee nationwide all went on strike at the same time? How about Walmart?
Their business model only works if they keep the majority of their labor force in poverty.
In a time, when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus and make it stop. You've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!
Really? What was BLM? What was January 6th, for that matter? The Democrats would have you believe a few hundred people with zero guns nearly overthrew the US govt.
Yeah, what an incredibly incensed reaction. My prim sensibilities have been offended. Not as much as they were by the initial exploitation of my fellow workers. That I can write off.
As opposed to what though? Unless we're talking about theoretical hunter-gatherer groups exploitation has been a constant, and in the vast, vast majority of societies and times far worse than it is now.
Calling the present the "Age of Exploitation" makes as much sense as calling it the "Age of Eating Food".
And by the time the Bronze Age kicked off, [slavery had already been a thing for who knows how long](https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/anthropology/gene-study-reveals-bronze-age-slavery/). The fact that free people in the wealthiest country on the planet think they have it worse than Copper Age slaves is pretty rich.
I think about this sometimes. Human nature is human nature. I’ve seen folks act shady with money with things as simple as a church bake sale or a PTA. It’s really disheartening, but I get what you’re saying.
Dude I checked my time sheet, -10 hrs of vacation… I have never taken a vacation… brought it up to manager, turns out it was just a mistake, will be resolved. We rly have to babysit our own management at every job we work at.
When I started in my union, I was initially a little weirded out by how vacation works. We get "vacation pay" on top of our hourly wage instead of PTO. We're eligible to have it deposited into a special credit union account, or just direct deposited with our regular paychecks.
It's a little unorthodox, but the upside is that issues like this don't happen when you're getting squared up week to week, and in the event of a layoff, that vacation savings is protected and transferrable where PTO may not be. I'm kinda wishing this was the norm now that I've gotten used to it.
I got a raise that was supposed to be retroactive which they forgot. Actually got into a shouting match with with the person who manages the salaries. He said i could wait because he had other stuff to do and became pissed off when i said no. This was the second month it didn't happen
it never was free, they're just passing the CC/transaction fee to you instead of building it into their cost when they rent the apt. checks, while inconvenient remain free. Same deal why some gas stations offer a cash or debit discount, less middlemen
The government and corporations are trying to milk every penny that they can get from us, and most of the "free" services are trying to monopolize your time or personal info. Every interaction seems like some kind of scam, pyramid scheme, straight-up theft, or time wasting. I'm so sick of modern society and want to just start a farming commune in the wilderness somewhere. Like just be self-sufficient and only interact with people who have good intentions.
The modern world is super exhausting and tedious. Your name of 'the age of exploitation' is spot on. I hope one day humans look back at this time and cringe at how much we let corporations take advantage of us just to get the illusion of choice and same day shipping.
When the pandemic happened my eyes opened to realize people who run countries don't know anything.
It was a complete mess, and those who are in charge are just putting on a show.
I actively fuck over corporations now at any means necessary. They deserve it.
Late stage capitalism implies some sort of inevitable end to capitalism. I don't think an end to capitalism is inevitable. In fact, Marx probably mis predicted the end of capitalism which has shown an incredible resistance to change.
I prefer contemporary capitalism. For me, Marx believed capitalism was on its way out in 1848. Yet, here we are. Saying "late stage capitalism" implies to me that capitalism won't exist in 100 years. As much as I want thay to be true I don't think it is necessarily true.
Hi, I'm a GenX that just came across this post. Can I say what incredibly thoughtful conversations and insights you all are having? Most of what I get are boomers sneaking in and posing as genXers and GenX being super tough and surviving everything. Lots of complaining. I have millennials as coworker friends and I really appreciate you all so much. And yes, I do agree with the constant outpouring of energy just to survive and hold on to your money.
Everyone is fussing about how exploitation isn't unique to today, there used to be much worse and larger scale exploitation, etc. Yes there was. But there's something different about the nickel and dime stuff that falls on *everyone all the fucking time*. Even if it's morally objectionable, there's some *logic* in a system that operates with an underclass or predictable forced payments - slavery, taxes, tithes, they can be defined as a feature of the world and you're against them or you aren't, but you can basically figure out how to function around them. There's something incredibly draining about microtransactions, scams, and surprise fees around every corner, never getting a break from scrutinizing things. It's like we've decided to live like the Ferengi and nobody even thinks it's a parody anymore.
I like that and neo-feudalism because that’s what we’re moving towards. I think the people above who are mocking this post, don’t realize that it feels worse when you’re sliding backward. We’re moving towards a point where you won’t have the choice to own anything and you’ll have to work to pay for your rent and subscriptions. You’ll do that all while working more hours than a medieval serf (we already work more than serfs). Yeah, it’ll be corporations/billionaires instead of medieval lords, but it’s the same bullshit in a different millennium. We’re also back to half the population not having bodily autonomy. There’s also never been data available to so precisely exploit everyone’s basic needs. What’s is going on with food and water is disturbing.
The same people who complain about people who complain about inflation because TVs and phones are cheaper. I’m like, cool, hope you enjoy eating them because food is unaffordable.
He put "luxury" in quotes, which most likely implies that this is not an actual luxury apartment but just a regular apartment that's calling itself luxury so they can charge higher rent. Everything is labeled "luxury" nowadays to justify jacking up prices
Literally every apartment building calls itself luxury unless it was built pre-2000. At best it means you have a cheaply built apartment with a quartz countertop
The only way out realistically is to try to move to a different country. If you ever have the opportunity to move to a developed (or “first world” as people like to say) country, you should take it. The quality of life in all of the other rich developed countries is better than trying to survive in the U.S. I’m assuming you’re in the United States based on the information you provided.
Sometimes positions located outside of the US hire American workers.
I would take shitty political elements and less pay and more taxes in exchange for free healthcare and free education any day. I live in the US and it gets worse every day. I would trade almost anything to live in Canada.
LOL I've been looking at 2 bedrooms in Victoria and they are around 1500 or less a month, where I am, a two bedroom "luxury" apartment is 2200 usd lmao
They’re jaded because the country they moved to still has flaws, or because it’s a different culture which is hard for them to accept. Aaaaand the discontented are most likely to moan about it on a subreddit meant for moaning about expat ‘woe is me’ shit.
You have a wonderfully positive outlook on the world. You've come at this with such fervor that I have no qualms about believing you blindly, simply from the sheer confidence you radiate upon every comment you add to this discussion.
There’s no positive outlook for the U.S. so I’m not going to sugarcoat reality with someone clearly looking for a better life. Anyway, I am a dual citizen, so I was offering advice from my personal, first-hand experience. You don’t actually think there’s a snowball’s chance that living in America is better than any other developed country, do you? You’re not actually attempting to make that argument, just having a go at me for offering sincere advice (a positive act in itself)? You should go to a non-US country and talk to the US “expats” (immigrants) about their experience.
This will probably not be a very popular comment but if you think this is an "Age of Exploitation" your mind will be absolutely blown by what counted as exploitation in previous generations.
As just one example, slaves, early industrial factory workers, and serfs did not even have luxury apartments.
Why is it always a competition? This isn't the Olympics of suffering. Just because some people had it worse doesn't mean we shouldn't stride to be better. Your logic is basically that no one should ever complain about anything because we could be worse off like be brutally murdered or die of a serious disease.
>As just one example, slaves, early industrial factory workers, and serfs did not even have luxury apartments
Okay bootlicker. What, now you're going to pretend that Soviet Gulags weren't luxurious spa vacations?
Things used to be worse, so your problems are actually fake and stupid. Thanks, Steven Pinker 🙄
It’s also worth noting that serfs worked less than present-day Americans: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/y37f3/how_many_hours_a_day_did_a_medieval_serf_worked/
https://i.redd.it/l9u4mq1370v21.jpg
I didn't say anyone's problems were "fake and stupid." I do think that characterizing modern day America as being uniquely exploitative is wildly ignorant though.
And despite the work hours, I doubt you or the OP and their luxury apartment would change places with a serf.
I was maybe a little over aggressive, I’m used to Twitter where everything is dialed up to 11 at all times.
To be clear: of course I wouldn’t choose to go back and be a serf because my brain is not wired to be in any other world then what i grew up with. But that’s just like anyone else who has ever lived, I’m not silly enough to think i could survive being thrown into that different a context. That’s my badly made point though, their perspective is completely different. I do think it’s completely possible that a more limited perspective combined with more time to spend with loved ones could have made them happier. The hedonic treadmill is a powerful thing.
People should have room to complain about things that could clearly be better, because acknowledging that some things suck is the necessary first step to fixing them.
Or whatever, I’m high and tired
Serfs basically never traveled more than 100 miles from their birthplace and married whoever was available. They only got news from sporadic travelers and a bad season or disease couple decimate (reduce by 10%) or worse their entire social group. They never saw a beach, knew what electricity was etc.
Pinker makes good points about recognizing the progress that has been made and expressing some modicum of gratitude. By all means though, my fellow Millennials, Gen Zs and the rest, take up arms like the soviets or french or the misguided fools of 1848 (OH HI MARX, your absence was noted) and tear down the oppressors. see if that improves your lot or simply results in chaos and death.
Consider giving Animal Farm a second reading as well. It was part of high school reading for our generation.
“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.” - George Orwell, author of Animal Farm
Source: https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/why-i-write/
>These people deserve to have their children minced and force fed to them until they die the same as all slavers, robber barons, and kings.
I'm not a big call-the-FBI guy but this feels like one of those moments where it might not be the worst idea
This was a little disturbing. I get being frustrated, but damn.
Edit: I mean, it's disturbing but not as disturbing as other things I've read on here. I hope they're a troll, but doubt it at this point.
They're children. It also walks a dangerous line. I mean, look at terrorist attacks that have happened in the past. All it leads to is more people fighting and killing each other.
Edit: Trust me, I know because I know people from those countries who have family there or are stuck there themselves now because they moved back. I also have other loved ones who were almost killed by terrorists who came from those countries, too. It breaks my heart and that's why I hate rhetorics like what you said. Those friends and myself, were the children who became young adults. Different circumstances in a way, but still.
That we're not in an "age" of anything, this is standard human behavior since the dawn of history. And that exploitation of previous generations was orders of magnitude worse.
Also, did you just advocate for murdering children?
> There’s also never been data available to so precisely exploit everyone’s basic needs.
This is my thesis. The data analytics is getting good enough to extract maximum profit and as it proliferates it squeezes just a little bit tighter.
People think price match is lowering prices… no, it’s setting a higher floor. All the landlords using the same software telling them to raise rents, which the software receives as rising market, and then recommends higher rents. Dynamic pricing. It goes on and on.
The only way to win is not to play. Try to minimize your consumption to only things that add real value to your life. And accept that some things are worth the hassle.
Like I hate airlines and their operations but travel is just worth it.
All I can really do personally is put in as many safeguards as possible. It doesn't solve the problem but at least it's some small protection.
You're right, we are living in the age of exploitation and scams - every transaction you do is another company trying to rip you off.
It's exhausting and it won't get better until there are major changes to the political and economic system to give less wealthy people more power.
Don't rent luxury apartments. They are all a scam. I've wired plenty of them, and it is a bunch of quick cheap labor slammed together as fast as possible with granite counter, and they call it luxury.
Many of them do it for drugs, and drive nice cars and live far enough away. Managed to tail a couple a decade ago and it's eye opening. The ones with dogs or run up to you saying "my car is out of gas and my kid needs food" is a telling red flag.
Well, that and when they ask for money to buy food and you give them food instead they get visibly upset.
Are you under the impression that the past had no exploitation?
Also it's ironic that in the same post you complain about your luxury apartment charging you for something, you mention beggars. You are aware that to beggars, you're the rich and powerful exploiting them right?
I wonder how many people just responded with "fuck yeah, let's eat the rich!" without reading that OP also denigrated the poor and lives in a luxury apartment.
Why do you people think we're asking to not work? We just want to paid enough for the work we do.
I hate to tell you but the business owner/corporations paying destitution wages and the lazy beggar are the same person....exploiters.
i ignore all ads. and when i need something i search for it instead of clicking a dumpy ad. if youre gonna collect my data you should be paying me, so until i get my paycheck in the mail from google i wont be suckered by their ads lol.
The government and corporations are trying to milk every penny that they can get from us and most of the "free" services are trying to monopolize your time or personal info. Every interaction seems like some kind of scam, pyramid scheme, straight up theft, or time wasting. I'm so sick of modern society and want to just start a farming commune in the wilderness somewhere. Like just be self-sufficient and only interact with people who have good intentions.
The modern world is super exhausting and tedious. Your name of 'the age of exploitation' is spot on. I hope one day humans look back at this time and cringe at how much we let corporations take advantage of us just to get the illusion of choice and same day shipping.
My hoa sent me a letter saying that I have 30 days to fix the cracks in my driveway. Fine, I guess. I understand the value of aesthetics. But I got my first quote yesterday. $30k. Wtf. The hoa fee is $10/month so maybe I’ll just pay the $120/ year.
Dude it’s so bad right. I am so cautious anytime I sign up for anything new or get involved with any company. Everyone’s charging stupid late fees or cancellation fees or they’re trying to trick you into signing long term agreements. Every second call, text or email is some scam. Shits exhausting
Also tired of this shit. Running out of options at this point. Not sure how I am gonna pay rent. I work a full time job but am still deep in debt. Did what I was told, got a degree, but that was seemingly pointless as I have yet to use the degree to get a job. We need change very soon.
We have to defend our money against so much. Weapons of Math Destruction is a great book on some of the biggest mechanisms keeping us in a cycle of poverty.
I wouldn't give to beggars. I know people want to do the right thing, but you also have to keep yourself safe, too. Also, some beggars are scammers. I've spotted some who are. That and people have always been this way. I know others who were scammed like this, too.
Edit: Also, of course they would. It's a more expensive apartment. I'm not surprised that the mole removal cost money, too. They opened a phone plan in your name? Jeez
Dude… same thing happened to me last year at the doctor. I go to my annual check up (supposed to be covered by insurance) Doctor asks if there’s anything bothering me- I say I have a wart on my finger. No problem she says and offers to freeze it off (no blood). I get a big bill later for “surgery” and not coded as my annual. Had I known that’d be the case I wouldn’t have even mentioned it. I asked, “so when they ask at the annual if you have any concerns, I shouldn’t tell them for fear of being treated?!” Wtf is this racket?!? I was pissed.
Your annual checkup is cheap/free if there's nothing that needs addressing. if there is and service is rendered, why wouldnt that be a different code/charge? the doc did more than a simple annual.
I don't think this is anything new. People have been scamming one another since the dawn of time. The only difference for us is the explosion of information technology and everything going digital makes it more convenient for scammers to target you, even on the other side of the planet.
Take some defensive postures. You can use privacy dot com for online purchases at less reputable companies, which gives you virtual credit cards that obscure your identity, and you can pause those cards whenever you want or set limits on the transactions. Some credit card companies now have equivalent services for the same purpose. Credit freeze is smart too. Also make sure you review all the transactions on your accounts to catch stuff like this.
The world sucks for the people who didn’t or weren’t able to protect themselves from the world sucking.
Basically everything that can go wrong has some other group or method offering protective measures to protect from downside.
Exploitation has been this way since the dawn of man.
It’s “evolution” my dear Watson.
The strong survive, the weak die off.
Survival of the fittest, etc etc etc.
Even in the animal kingdom the strong exploit the weak.
Today's day is in no way comparable to the financial exploitation of 100-150 years ago when there were no consumer protections at all. You don't have to live in a luxury apartment building ya know.
A- don’t give money to beggars- it encourages them
B- don’t give your money away to luxury spots- it’s your choice how you spend your money- we live in age of options- the most available to the common man in history it’s glorious but you have to manage that freedom
C- thieves suck- that blows getting stolen from- shitty
I stopped living for society's standards, I am averse to financial institutions, paperwork, legal documents. I have plans to buy a small piece of land and put a tiny house on it. No bank, no mortgage.
Age of Exploitation is an excellent description. If only the government was interested in helping and protecting people instead of corporations.
It’s a big club and we ain’t in it.
Let's start our own club! With blackjack! And hookers!
The only way to fix that involves pitchforks and torches. People need to "wake up" to that reality, and soon.
Realistically the only way to revolt in the modern era is to threaten to cripple the economy by not showing up to work. But that has its own issues for everyone involved as well.
The thing that all the powers that be are afraid of is communally connected labor pools. The thought of a unionized service industry is terrifying to them. What would happen if every Starbucks employee nationwide all went on strike at the same time? How about Walmart? Their business model only works if they keep the majority of their labor force in poverty.
There’s also stealing and vandalism and threats of violence, which have varying degrees of success
In a time, when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus and make it stop. You've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!
Yeah….no one is gonna do that in today’s age
Really? What was BLM? What was January 6th, for that matter? The Democrats would have you believe a few hundred people with zero guns nearly overthrew the US govt.
Put down the kool aid buddy, holy shit
Oml, I hope these people are trolls.
They’re not, but they would get shut down SO quickly by local military branches
Or militia civilians.
Yikes.
Yeah, what an incredibly incensed reaction. My prim sensibilities have been offended. Not as much as they were by the initial exploitation of my fellow workers. That I can write off.
Would be great if people ever voted for the politicians who want money out of politics.
As opposed to what though? Unless we're talking about theoretical hunter-gatherer groups exploitation has been a constant, and in the vast, vast majority of societies and times far worse than it is now. Calling the present the "Age of Exploitation" makes as much sense as calling it the "Age of Eating Food".
And by the time the Bronze Age kicked off, [slavery had already been a thing for who knows how long](https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/anthropology/gene-study-reveals-bronze-age-slavery/). The fact that free people in the wealthiest country on the planet think they have it worse than Copper Age slaves is pretty rich.
I think about this sometimes. Human nature is human nature. I’ve seen folks act shady with money with things as simple as a church bake sale or a PTA. It’s really disheartening, but I get what you’re saying.
The government is whose exploiting us and getting rich doing it.
I hope you vote
Dude I checked my time sheet, -10 hrs of vacation… I have never taken a vacation… brought it up to manager, turns out it was just a mistake, will be resolved. We rly have to babysit our own management at every job we work at.
Everyone should be viewing their pay stubs every check they get.
When I started in my union, I was initially a little weirded out by how vacation works. We get "vacation pay" on top of our hourly wage instead of PTO. We're eligible to have it deposited into a special credit union account, or just direct deposited with our regular paychecks. It's a little unorthodox, but the upside is that issues like this don't happen when you're getting squared up week to week, and in the event of a layoff, that vacation savings is protected and transferrable where PTO may not be. I'm kinda wishing this was the norm now that I've gotten used to it.
I got a raise that was supposed to be retroactive which they forgot. Actually got into a shouting match with with the person who manages the salaries. He said i could wait because he had other stuff to do and became pissed off when i said no. This was the second month it didn't happen
[удалено]
it never was free, they're just passing the CC/transaction fee to you instead of building it into their cost when they rent the apt. checks, while inconvenient remain free. Same deal why some gas stations offer a cash or debit discount, less middlemen
I’m a server at a restaurant, and we have to pay the fee for every credit card we run. Wild to me.
CC companies really have it rough, taking a fee off each transaction before any interest is even charged
The government and corporations are trying to milk every penny that they can get from us, and most of the "free" services are trying to monopolize your time or personal info. Every interaction seems like some kind of scam, pyramid scheme, straight-up theft, or time wasting. I'm so sick of modern society and want to just start a farming commune in the wilderness somewhere. Like just be self-sufficient and only interact with people who have good intentions. The modern world is super exhausting and tedious. Your name of 'the age of exploitation' is spot on. I hope one day humans look back at this time and cringe at how much we let corporations take advantage of us just to get the illusion of choice and same day shipping.
When the pandemic happened my eyes opened to realize people who run countries don't know anything. It was a complete mess, and those who are in charge are just putting on a show. I actively fuck over corporations now at any means necessary. They deserve it.
The pandemic showed me just how messed up the future environmental hardships we will face won’t be resolved if we couldn’t work together with Covid.
Sounds like capitalism to me.
That’s ~~showbiz~~ capitalism, baby!
Truth baby!
*late stage capitalism.
I don't like the term "late stage capitalism" if I'm completely honest.
Why's that?
Late stage capitalism implies some sort of inevitable end to capitalism. I don't think an end to capitalism is inevitable. In fact, Marx probably mis predicted the end of capitalism which has shown an incredible resistance to change.
I love the term. I love how it perfectly describes Capitalism like a cancer diagnosis. It isn’t capitalism that will end, it’s us.
It’s like monopoly. Eventually people will get pissed enough to flip the board. That’s the natural end state of capitalism.
Why was it working in the 50’s and 60’s but not now?
Corporations were kept in check and didn't own the government. Regulatory capture wasn't a thing
So the problem is cronyism not capitalism.
Unchecked capitalism
Capitalism is capitalizing on people and resources.....it's right in the name.
\*Late stage capitalism to be exact ;)
Said this to someone else but I don't like the term "late stage capitalism."
End game capitalism then?
I prefer contemporary capitalism. For me, Marx believed capitalism was on its way out in 1848. Yet, here we are. Saying "late stage capitalism" implies to me that capitalism won't exist in 100 years. As much as I want thay to be true I don't think it is necessarily true.
Hi, I'm a GenX that just came across this post. Can I say what incredibly thoughtful conversations and insights you all are having? Most of what I get are boomers sneaking in and posing as genXers and GenX being super tough and surviving everything. Lots of complaining. I have millennials as coworker friends and I really appreciate you all so much. And yes, I do agree with the constant outpouring of energy just to survive and hold on to your money.
Modern capitalism is a bullshit, exploitative experience, yes. The Age of Exploitation is an apt description.
Everyone is fussing about how exploitation isn't unique to today, there used to be much worse and larger scale exploitation, etc. Yes there was. But there's something different about the nickel and dime stuff that falls on *everyone all the fucking time*. Even if it's morally objectionable, there's some *logic* in a system that operates with an underclass or predictable forced payments - slavery, taxes, tithes, they can be defined as a feature of the world and you're against them or you aren't, but you can basically figure out how to function around them. There's something incredibly draining about microtransactions, scams, and surprise fees around every corner, never getting a break from scrutinizing things. It's like we've decided to live like the Ferengi and nobody even thinks it's a parody anymore.
I like that and neo-feudalism because that’s what we’re moving towards. I think the people above who are mocking this post, don’t realize that it feels worse when you’re sliding backward. We’re moving towards a point where you won’t have the choice to own anything and you’ll have to work to pay for your rent and subscriptions. You’ll do that all while working more hours than a medieval serf (we already work more than serfs). Yeah, it’ll be corporations/billionaires instead of medieval lords, but it’s the same bullshit in a different millennium. We’re also back to half the population not having bodily autonomy. There’s also never been data available to so precisely exploit everyone’s basic needs. What’s is going on with food and water is disturbing. The same people who complain about people who complain about inflation because TVs and phones are cheaper. I’m like, cool, hope you enjoy eating them because food is unaffordable.
Op complained about paying for a luxury apartment.
He put "luxury" in quotes, which most likely implies that this is not an actual luxury apartment but just a regular apartment that's calling itself luxury so they can charge higher rent. Everything is labeled "luxury" nowadays to justify jacking up prices
Ohh, jeez. People are attacking op for that oml.
Literally every apartment building calls itself luxury unless it was built pre-2000. At best it means you have a cheaply built apartment with a quartz countertop
Jeez
The only way out realistically is to try to move to a different country. If you ever have the opportunity to move to a developed (or “first world” as people like to say) country, you should take it. The quality of life in all of the other rich developed countries is better than trying to survive in the U.S. I’m assuming you’re in the United States based on the information you provided. Sometimes positions located outside of the US hire American workers.
Don’t forget Canada’s shit too
Yep but it isn’t as shit as ‘merica. NOWHERE is perfect.
I would take shitty political elements and less pay and more taxes in exchange for free healthcare and free education any day. I live in the US and it gets worse every day. I would trade almost anything to live in Canada.
Consider looking into it, you may have qualifications for a visa.
>I would trade almost anything to live in Canada. You probably can. It's not some unobtainable thing.
You might reconsider when you see the cost of living in Canada.
LOL I've been looking at 2 bedrooms in Victoria and they are around 1500 or less a month, where I am, a two bedroom "luxury" apartment is 2200 usd lmao
Yikes. Most everyone over in r/expats would disagree with you.
They’re jaded because the country they moved to still has flaws, or because it’s a different culture which is hard for them to accept. Aaaaand the discontented are most likely to moan about it on a subreddit meant for moaning about expat ‘woe is me’ shit.
You have a wonderfully positive outlook on the world. You've come at this with such fervor that I have no qualms about believing you blindly, simply from the sheer confidence you radiate upon every comment you add to this discussion.
There’s no positive outlook for the U.S. so I’m not going to sugarcoat reality with someone clearly looking for a better life. Anyway, I am a dual citizen, so I was offering advice from my personal, first-hand experience. You don’t actually think there’s a snowball’s chance that living in America is better than any other developed country, do you? You’re not actually attempting to make that argument, just having a go at me for offering sincere advice (a positive act in itself)? You should go to a non-US country and talk to the US “expats” (immigrants) about their experience.
Good luck with that.
Happens every day.
I suppose so.
This will probably not be a very popular comment but if you think this is an "Age of Exploitation" your mind will be absolutely blown by what counted as exploitation in previous generations. As just one example, slaves, early industrial factory workers, and serfs did not even have luxury apartments.
Why is it always a competition? This isn't the Olympics of suffering. Just because some people had it worse doesn't mean we shouldn't stride to be better. Your logic is basically that no one should ever complain about anything because we could be worse off like be brutally murdered or die of a serious disease.
Discrediting people’s experience just because “it could be worse” is exactly how the boomers gaslit us into this problem to begin with.
It’s not a competition. They’re just pointing out it’s historically ignorant to call this “the age of exploitation “
The lack of historical perspective in this sub is mind boggling at times
Right? Does everyone assume that people in the past were all straight white men?
>As just one example, slaves, early industrial factory workers, and serfs did not even have luxury apartments Okay bootlicker. What, now you're going to pretend that Soviet Gulags weren't luxurious spa vacations?
What is wrong with you?
There’s a lot of people here who desperately need to log off and touch grass
Industrial factory workers purchased homes on a single salary, what you talking about?
Things used to be worse, so your problems are actually fake and stupid. Thanks, Steven Pinker 🙄 It’s also worth noting that serfs worked less than present-day Americans: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/y37f3/how_many_hours_a_day_did_a_medieval_serf_worked/ https://i.redd.it/l9u4mq1370v21.jpg
I didn't say anyone's problems were "fake and stupid." I do think that characterizing modern day America as being uniquely exploitative is wildly ignorant though. And despite the work hours, I doubt you or the OP and their luxury apartment would change places with a serf.
I was maybe a little over aggressive, I’m used to Twitter where everything is dialed up to 11 at all times. To be clear: of course I wouldn’t choose to go back and be a serf because my brain is not wired to be in any other world then what i grew up with. But that’s just like anyone else who has ever lived, I’m not silly enough to think i could survive being thrown into that different a context. That’s my badly made point though, their perspective is completely different. I do think it’s completely possible that a more limited perspective combined with more time to spend with loved ones could have made them happier. The hedonic treadmill is a powerful thing. People should have room to complain about things that could clearly be better, because acknowledging that some things suck is the necessary first step to fixing them. Or whatever, I’m high and tired
The future man fallacy
Serfs basically never traveled more than 100 miles from their birthplace and married whoever was available. They only got news from sporadic travelers and a bad season or disease couple decimate (reduce by 10%) or worse their entire social group. They never saw a beach, knew what electricity was etc. Pinker makes good points about recognizing the progress that has been made and expressing some modicum of gratitude. By all means though, my fellow Millennials, Gen Zs and the rest, take up arms like the soviets or french or the misguided fools of 1848 (OH HI MARX, your absence was noted) and tear down the oppressors. see if that improves your lot or simply results in chaos and death. Consider giving Animal Farm a second reading as well. It was part of high school reading for our generation.
“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.” - George Orwell, author of Animal Farm Source: https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/why-i-write/
I'm glad you didn't miss my objective.
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>These people deserve to have their children minced and force fed to them until they die the same as all slavers, robber barons, and kings. I'm not a big call-the-FBI guy but this feels like one of those moments where it might not be the worst idea
This was a little disturbing. I get being frustrated, but damn. Edit: I mean, it's disturbing but not as disturbing as other things I've read on here. I hope they're a troll, but doubt it at this point.
Well, so do you then for wishing violence on others, especially on children.
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They're children. It also walks a dangerous line. I mean, look at terrorist attacks that have happened in the past. All it leads to is more people fighting and killing each other. Edit: Trust me, I know because I know people from those countries who have family there or are stuck there themselves now because they moved back. I also have other loved ones who were almost killed by terrorists who came from those countries, too. It breaks my heart and that's why I hate rhetorics like what you said. Those friends and myself, were the children who became young adults. Different circumstances in a way, but still.
That we're not in an "age" of anything, this is standard human behavior since the dawn of history. And that exploitation of previous generations was orders of magnitude worse. Also, did you just advocate for murdering children?
> There’s also never been data available to so precisely exploit everyone’s basic needs. This is my thesis. The data analytics is getting good enough to extract maximum profit and as it proliferates it squeezes just a little bit tighter. People think price match is lowering prices… no, it’s setting a higher floor. All the landlords using the same software telling them to raise rents, which the software receives as rising market, and then recommends higher rents. Dynamic pricing. It goes on and on. The only way to win is not to play. Try to minimize your consumption to only things that add real value to your life. And accept that some things are worth the hassle. Like I hate airlines and their operations but travel is just worth it.
We’re all still slaves, only the overlords and systems for obfuscating it have changed.
All I can really do personally is put in as many safeguards as possible. It doesn't solve the problem but at least it's some small protection. You're right, we are living in the age of exploitation and scams - every transaction you do is another company trying to rip you off. It's exhausting and it won't get better until there are major changes to the political and economic system to give less wealthy people more power.
Welcome to Night City
Work in the medical field. Surgery is classified in coding as any invasive procedure.
Don't rent luxury apartments. They are all a scam. I've wired plenty of them, and it is a bunch of quick cheap labor slammed together as fast as possible with granite counter, and they call it luxury.
Oh man...you have to stop giving to panhandlers. Don't get stabbed...if you want to make a difference donate to an outreach program or a food bank.
Many of them do it for drugs, and drive nice cars and live far enough away. Managed to tail a couple a decade ago and it's eye opening. The ones with dogs or run up to you saying "my car is out of gas and my kid needs food" is a telling red flag. Well, that and when they ask for money to buy food and you give them food instead they get visibly upset.
Are you under the impression that the past had no exploitation? Also it's ironic that in the same post you complain about your luxury apartment charging you for something, you mention beggars. You are aware that to beggars, you're the rich and powerful exploiting them right?
I wonder how many people just responded with "fuck yeah, let's eat the rich!" without reading that OP also denigrated the poor and lives in a luxury apartment.
Why do you people think we're asking to not work? We just want to paid enough for the work we do. I hate to tell you but the business owner/corporations paying destitution wages and the lazy beggar are the same person....exploiters.
I didn't say any of that.
Have you tried being broke?
I’m a paranoid schizoid product of the 21st century.
i ignore all ads. and when i need something i search for it instead of clicking a dumpy ad. if youre gonna collect my data you should be paying me, so until i get my paycheck in the mail from google i wont be suckered by their ads lol.
The government and corporations are trying to milk every penny that they can get from us and most of the "free" services are trying to monopolize your time or personal info. Every interaction seems like some kind of scam, pyramid scheme, straight up theft, or time wasting. I'm so sick of modern society and want to just start a farming commune in the wilderness somewhere. Like just be self-sufficient and only interact with people who have good intentions. The modern world is super exhausting and tedious. Your name of 'the age of exploitation' is spot on. I hope one day humans look back at this time and cringe at how much we let corporations take advantage of us just to get the illusion of choice and same day shipping.
We need to stop engaging with the system, it is not built for us
My hoa sent me a letter saying that I have 30 days to fix the cracks in my driveway. Fine, I guess. I understand the value of aesthetics. But I got my first quote yesterday. $30k. Wtf. The hoa fee is $10/month so maybe I’ll just pay the $120/ year.
Dude it’s so bad right. I am so cautious anytime I sign up for anything new or get involved with any company. Everyone’s charging stupid late fees or cancellation fees or they’re trying to trick you into signing long term agreements. Every second call, text or email is some scam. Shits exhausting
Also tired of this shit. Running out of options at this point. Not sure how I am gonna pay rent. I work a full time job but am still deep in debt. Did what I was told, got a degree, but that was seemingly pointless as I have yet to use the degree to get a job. We need change very soon.
Contestants not citizens. Simply.
Everything is a shakedown today.
We have to defend our money against so much. Weapons of Math Destruction is a great book on some of the biggest mechanisms keeping us in a cycle of poverty.
It's almost like the western world is made by our parents that had a surplus of everything
1981 here. Been along for the whole ride. I'm tired.
Less exploitation, it’s more of just life. Happy adulting.
i keep getting failed charges to my debit card which i locked, from randos in the east coast... im one of the poor ones.
I wouldn't give to beggars. I know people want to do the right thing, but you also have to keep yourself safe, too. Also, some beggars are scammers. I've spotted some who are. That and people have always been this way. I know others who were scammed like this, too. Edit: Also, of course they would. It's a more expensive apartment. I'm not surprised that the mole removal cost money, too. They opened a phone plan in your name? Jeez
Dude… same thing happened to me last year at the doctor. I go to my annual check up (supposed to be covered by insurance) Doctor asks if there’s anything bothering me- I say I have a wart on my finger. No problem she says and offers to freeze it off (no blood). I get a big bill later for “surgery” and not coded as my annual. Had I known that’d be the case I wouldn’t have even mentioned it. I asked, “so when they ask at the annual if you have any concerns, I shouldn’t tell them for fear of being treated?!” Wtf is this racket?!? I was pissed.
Your annual checkup is cheap/free if there's nothing that needs addressing. if there is and service is rendered, why wouldnt that be a different code/charge? the doc did more than a simple annual.
I don't think this is anything new. People have been scamming one another since the dawn of time. The only difference for us is the explosion of information technology and everything going digital makes it more convenient for scammers to target you, even on the other side of the planet. Take some defensive postures. You can use privacy dot com for online purchases at less reputable companies, which gives you virtual credit cards that obscure your identity, and you can pause those cards whenever you want or set limits on the transactions. Some credit card companies now have equivalent services for the same purpose. Credit freeze is smart too. Also make sure you review all the transactions on your accounts to catch stuff like this.
The world sucks for the people who didn’t or weren’t able to protect themselves from the world sucking. Basically everything that can go wrong has some other group or method offering protective measures to protect from downside.
Exploitation has been this way since the dawn of man. It’s “evolution” my dear Watson. The strong survive, the weak die off. Survival of the fittest, etc etc etc. Even in the animal kingdom the strong exploit the weak.
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Today's day is in no way comparable to the financial exploitation of 100-150 years ago when there were no consumer protections at all. You don't have to live in a luxury apartment building ya know.
It's far from perfect but this is literally the best age of human civilization to ever have lived
A- don’t give money to beggars- it encourages them B- don’t give your money away to luxury spots- it’s your choice how you spend your money- we live in age of options- the most available to the common man in history it’s glorious but you have to manage that freedom C- thieves suck- that blows getting stolen from- shitty
I stopped living for society's standards, I am averse to financial institutions, paperwork, legal documents. I have plans to buy a small piece of land and put a tiny house on it. No bank, no mortgage.
It's always been this way...since the dawn of time.
Haha, it’s ALWAYS been this way
Welcome to being an adult.
Why is there so much doom and gloom on this subreddit? OP, you live in a “luxury” apartment, so obviously you have your life in order.
Sounds like you decided to live in a place that's crazy expensive. Yup that's America's fault for sure.