[HN Gopher] Why Did So Many US Men Quit Working? Social Status M...
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       Why Did So Many US Men Quit Working? Social Status May Hold the
       Key, Study Says
        
       Author : toomuchtodo
       Score  : 28 points
       Date   : 2022-12-07 20:50 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.bloomberg.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.bloomberg.com)
        
       | toomuchtodo wrote:
       | https://archive.ph/Dvv0Q
       | 
       | Referenced paper:
       | https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/research-department-w...
        
       | erulabs wrote:
       | Hope is everything. The ability to sell yourself a story about
       | future success determines a huge portion of the human
       | personality.
       | 
       | If you stand in San Antonio, Texas, surrounded by shuttered
       | shopping malls and half-built-and-now-abandoned projects, it's
       | incredibly hard not to be cynical about the future. Sit in the
       | cafeteria of Stripe HQ and it's incredibly hard not to be
       | optimistic. No mystery why the political beliefs of both places
       | match the on-the-ground reality.
       | 
       | The greatest threat to a stable society isn't economic collapse -
       | it's the collapse that follows: the collapse of a belief that
       | things can get better. The exact second you don't think things
       | can get better, the entire game changes, and there is no reason
       | to do anything other than help tear down the system that left you
       | so hopeless in the first place.
       | 
       | It's not that we pay so little that people can't make ends meet.
       | It's that life costs so much, and can be so good, that people
       | can't make _dreams_ meet.
        
         | bobkazamakis wrote:
         | correct. Mass shootings, overdoses, no hope for a future for
         | many able bodied man who can't get into college or the trades.
         | Without any hope for a future of your own, it's a lot easier to
         | see the injustice of folks who got theirs.
        
         | solarmist wrote:
         | This is very true. I like the idea of the ripple effects that
         | come from someone's environment.
        
         | verdenti wrote:
        
         | influx wrote:
         | Seems weird that you specifically mention Stripe, when they
         | just laid off 1,000 people. I agree with your meta point
         | though.
        
       | newaccount2021 wrote:
        
       | sytelus wrote:
       | This article seems to be joke. Thery don't even link the
       | "research" and the research itself is extremely dubious. It says
       | that men are dropping out of workshop because their peers are
       | getting paid more. huh??
       | 
       | A better question to ask: How all these people refusing to work
       | are paying their bills?
        
         | Mountain_Skies wrote:
         | So much of social science research theses days appears to be
         | little different than the cops in 'Demolition Man' trying to
         | figure out the motives and next actions of bad guy Simon
         | Phoenix. As to your last question, I can live comfortably on
         | $2000 per month (after tax) and many can get by on far less.
         | When you're not trying to woo or impress anyone, life can get
         | very inexpensive for the single man with no children.
        
         | vaidhy wrote:
         | Because it does not cost a lot of money if you want to live a
         | hand-to-mouth existence. It is like asking how do subsistence
         | living work. You make to do with what you have, what you can
         | gather and do something to earn you occasional cash.
         | 
         | There is no long term thinking here, no optimism for future. I
         | do not think this leads to a healthy society. But the point is
         | that they do not have a lot of bills to pay and they do not
         | care about the remaining.
        
       | jeffbee wrote:
       | TL;DR they were not being paid enough. I understand why an
       | economist would write it down, but it is very much a water-is-wet
       | type of conclusion.
        
       | Beaver117 wrote:
       | It's not just about money. It's about sex, power, and hope of
       | building the life you dream of. People will keep lowering their
       | expectations until they hit rock bottom, and then drop out.
        
       | willcipriano wrote:
       | This effect, but as observed in apes:
       | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/envious-c...
        
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       (page generated 2022-12-07 23:02 UTC)