Why Do We Grind? - Poverty and the Grindset Mindset

[@ajones8008]

I worked my ass off to make 74k last year. Working 66 hrs a week plus. It pains me to know that I'm less valuable then someone who makes the same and only works 40hrs a week. I put in more effort. I want my time to back or I want my time to be valued more, so I don't have to work that much.

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

I feel you on this, so much.

[@theBCEproductions]

Congratulations, the algorithm noticed

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

Yippee!

[@GelatinSkelet0n]

I found you on the Solar Punk subreddit, and I’m extremely grateful I did cause you produce the realest most raw content on this platform.

[@itskatbrown]

Truly these are the vibes I aim to bring to my life

[@bluesharpie9744]

"What matters is actually what you want, not your human nature." That part was pretty epic I come from the flip side to say that there is a massive imbalance on the other side too where people who do get the opportunity to realize what they want squander it out of lack of disicpline or cowardice. Speaking from experience - from myself and friends. It seems like schools only tend toward either extremes, never a proper balance

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

You're exactly right. I'm not sure of a perfect solution, but there sure is a problem.

[@bluesharpie9744]

I wrote this on the bus and to clarify it might not necessarily be cowardice, the fault of school, or maybe there is a school/board out there that does this well; but yes, the problem exists. I felt I could've used some more discipline or direction, same with somebody I know who's stuck at learning basic habits like sleeping on time or not abusing caffeine.

[@BrysonBuilds]

What an amazing video; as I get older I start to realize that the only person that’s going to make my life worth living is me. I encourage everybody to question the things they want out of life, because I can assure you that the grass is greener when you’re free

[@jasonlongsworth4036]

I know so many working class people who climbed the ladder and are doing what you're doing, looking at what they want vs what they need vs the resources they have to achieve that. My dad was like that. So i grew up upper middle class. Lots of comfort and not knowing death and pain for most of my life made me kinda soft tbh. I recently had to live in a sharehouse in a working class neighbourhood and my perspective really shifted. And the isolation in having moved back in with my upper middle class street is killing me Alaska is a playground for pioneers. Ohio seems to be a playground for real world ideas The world needs real world ideas

[@andreaslind6338]

You got a new subscriber.This was an amazing thinkpeice. I would agree with everything you said, but say that the reason we get screwed like this is that our society puts the interests of capital and investors over everything. Investors always want their money to grow, so they maximize profits and minimize salary and taxes (expenses) at every turn. Society be damned. The educational system is designed to produce standardized workers for investors. Thats why they do standardized tests, thats why they do canned curricula...to make all the students into identical parts that can slot seamlessly into a business. Thats also why they want the teachers to give so much, cos if the teacher meets the students needs that means business owners do not have to pay for councilors. This will contiinue until society stops putting investors above all else.

[@HopeLopez-w4d]

I agree with you. I always thought if you had health, peace, and a warm place to sleep in, the rest would be gravy. I am paraphrasing St. Francis: the more stuff, the more wealth you have the less time you have to dedicate to peace, love, and serving God because accumulating wealth is a distraction to this gift of life. I was raised in the 70's and 80's when wealth was the goal. So glad the spell for me was broken, now my goal is peace. Thank you for articulating this mindset. (Maybe you meant B.F. Skinner?) I decided to retire from teaching after 24 years to seek peace. This is my last year and I feel free. Thank you Lord!

[@Laz_RS]

Corporations have a fiscal responsibility to the shareholders to maximize profits, which means paying workers as little as possible. Look at any stock the day a layoff is announced, the price jumps up because costs just went down.

[@thornfalk]

They actually don't have a duty to maximize share value, or at least they didn't used to. It's a relatively new idea in economics and the idea almost always causes everything to get worse. It doesn't need to the be way it is but it is because everyone wants the highest ROI for the least work.

[@thornfalk]

Im 23, did four in the service and now im grinding away at self education for IT. If i didnt have an enjoyment and genuine interest in my field and the tech behind it I'd living in a cabin in the woods right now. The day i understand every piece of network infrastructure and cyber security im going to stop working and fall off the fave of the earth outside of streaming because ive been able to improve a few of my fans lives by pushing them to be better, to give back to their community, to take care of their bodies.

[@junkequation]

You grind so you don't starve to death. When any surplus is attained, it's spent on sensual pleasures that are ultimately unsatisfying and lead to suffering. People do this cause they don't know any better.

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

What an awful system we're in.

[@thornfalk]

That's why you must resist the urge and save for when life hits a downturn

[@romeysiamese6662]

There isn’t any surplus these days😢

[@Cody-yg7gl]

Oh and good vid, I've been living this way my whole life, but more now than ever and I love it!

[@Cumberstache]

Good talk!!! This video really is something. Hi from Finland.

[@annathewhovian7558]

good video, I liked the shot where you were on the swing

[@ThorstenPattberg1]

That was actually very good.

[@nathandaven]

Great video!!!!

[@Cody-yg7gl]

Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom, people seem to prefer slavery over anxiety 😕

[@megd9849]

Needed this one today!

[@ElijahNB]

Imma stay for longer man

[@ajones8008]

good talk man

[@MrWeedCat7070]

We grind, because if you don't, you'll die.

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

Yep. I hope we can make it better one day.

[@jamm_affinity]

The real question is if all employers magically did this, where would people then be relative to others? The same place. It seems like the market would adapt to where however much money “most” people have will not be worth much in terms of what it can buy. Do this thought experiment. Imagine everyone’s salary doubled over night.. what would living expenses do? Over a short time they would probably double as well. Most people just skate on thin ice with their finances.

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

I couldn't care less about the "Market". It doesn't think, or breathe, it's a social construct we made up, and some people took advantage of. The fact that the "Market" it such that, when we try to make things better for people, things only get worse, is evidence that modern economics is contrived.

[@jamm_affinity]

@@TheQuietPartisLoud We’re all a part of this system that we inhabit. If collectively people stopped working for a wage they did not want to accept, something would change. Maybe the whole thing would collapse, or maybe people would be better off. The rich are definitely squeezing more and more out of us. I don’t know the solution but I’m skeptical of more regulation, especially on small business.

[@avanonyme]

@@jamm_affinityfortunately for you there exists political systems out there that doesn’t need regulation nor capitalism!! It’s a whole family too!

[@jamm_affinity]

@@avanonyme Enlighten me?

[@avanonyme]

@@jamm_affinity anarchism is a scary word, but I guarantee you it’s worth checking out. Are you aware of the solarpunk movement?

[@GoodBoyTheOne]

Math of ratio to compensation is flawed. You need money to grow the business. There are a lot of experiences. Ratio in restaurants is better cause margins are worse. School ratios are 70% cause schools don't need to make money, they are government owned, just pay the expenses. Schools don't need to save up to build a new school, government does that

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

And that is exactly the issue. It's can't always be about growth, profit, and progress. The businesses need money to grow. But what about us people? I said it elsewhere, but we need to expand our imagination about the relationship shared between economies, "Markets", and actual red-blooded people. It shouldn't have to be this way... Justifying widespread poverty just because businesses say they "...need to grow..." , and the economies we people created requiring that. Whatever system brings about such contradictions like that should be torn down, and shamed.

[@michaelbone6894]

Comparing revenue per employee to income is silly, which you mention yet you still did it. You need to consider profit margins (subtracting all costs from revenue). Amazon has very low profit margins on their e-commerce business due to competitive pressures (3.5% in NA, -2.5% International). I and many others use Amazon delivery all the time, so saying they should just shut down because they are not good enough in your estimation is absurd. The percentage of revenue that can reasonably be paid to employees is highly dependant upon the capital requirements of the industry (not everything can have software margins).

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

You're right, all of that is true. How cool would it be if we didn't have to sell our lives and souls to all those numbers, and margins? If, instead we could live in a world of plenty without being dictated by the ghost of the market, and capital? When the system in which we operate always has a "reason" for things being so awful. Maybe we should start questioning that system itself instead of studying it, just to find that it was the source of the problem to begin with. I think your life is worth a lot more than just what the "...capital requirements of the industry..." dictate. I don't think the point of this video went over your head or anything, you're not stupid. I just think that living the way we have, feeling as though all we can do is give in to the way that things are, I think that makes us forget how things COULD be.

[@jef1599]

well theres a lot of cheap workers now :)

[@TheQuietPartisLoud]

And every one deserves the chance to live their life.