Trumps: White Angry Middleclass

[bae]

Do tell, Bae. Rob

I deal in human fulfillment. Can't say more, channel isn't secure. Hint though:

[catherine]

Exactly so.

I used to build companies from scratch that employed thousands or tens of thousands of people by the time I moved on to the next. (And I couldn't have built them without the help of "evil" investment bankers/Wall Street/shareholders/pension funds/...).

One day I read YMOYL. I sold off my interests in my enterprises a few months later, and "retired" as suggested in YMOYL to reclaim the rest of my life for myself. That was 16+ years ago or so.

Questions:

1. Were you discontent working when you read YMOL, or was it like a spiritual awakening/conversion experience?
2. What were the specific triggers in the book that led you to make such a drastic lifestyle change?
3. Did you make the transition quickly, and if not, how diid you prepare?
4. Have you ever regretted the change? Do you ever feel intellectually stagnant?
5. What did your family and friends say?

[Simone]

I think it's a good thing certain posters here are exposed to my thinking as I doubt they run across the line of thinking often on their daily lives.....just like I don't run across their thinking often. .....how could I possibly be offended by a person's opinion who doesn't get how things really are in the lower classes? ......I also know that fortunes can change overnight and those who don't get it these days may find themselves thrown out of their former position and forced to understand. If that happens to anyone here, perhaps they will remember my realistic advice and I'll then be of service in a way. Rob

Well said. You're a remarkable contributor to this forum. I'm always thankful you post.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Well said. You're a remarkable contributor to this forum. I'm always thankful you post.

Simone, Thank You for your kind words. They are very much appreciated! Rob

[bae]

Questions:

1. Were you discontent working when you read YMOL, or was it like a spiritual awakening/conversion experience?
2. What were the specific triggers in the book that led you to make such a drastic lifestyle change?
3. Did you make the transition quickly, and if not, how diid you prepare?
4. Have you ever regretted the change? Do you ever feel intellectually stagnant?
5. What did your family and friends say?

1 - I wasn't discontent - work was quite engaging, I was doing very cool stuff, with very cool people. I was discontented with the *place* I was living, Silicon Valley, as was my wife. We had a young daughter, and our community didn't seem like the ideal place to raise a child, too many people working too hard, and no real community in our neighborhood. We began searching around the country for a small-town/rural sort of environment, with many constraints. I took a sabbatical, and this was about the 5th place we looked at, and I happened to read YMOYL while I was here.

2- The key trigger was the math, and the observation that your life isn't a rehearsal for your "real" life, but that every moment is precious. Also, I'd had a good friend and mentor die just a few years previous, in his 30s - he was a world-class athlete (climbed Himalayan peaks), and a super-genius, and he walked past me at work one day, went into his office, sat down, and died from an aneurysm. I found the idea of reclaiming my life ASAP quite compelling.

3- We initially thought we'd buy a piece of property here, spend a few years building The Perfect House, then check out of Silicon Valley and move up here. Instead, we bought an OK house our first week of looking around, went back to Silicon Valley to pack up, and were back up here about a month later. I continued to telecommute for my company for the first year or two, then dropped back to simply consulting now-and-then. I don't know if I would have survived completely downshifting and quitting fully immediately. Also, while I believed the math, emotionally it was quite scary.

4 - I haven't really regretted anything. I worried I'd tire of this place/community after a short while, or find it unappealing, as almost all incomers here do after 1-2 years, but I've continued to grow fonder of it over time. Intellectually stagnant? Perhaps at times, until I redirected my efforts into other pursuits. I think I'm busier and more engaged than when I was "working" for a living, and have had to master several new disciplines over the years.

5 - my wife/daughter loved the idea. My wife's parents were dubious, and remained so. My mother liked the idea so much she moved here as well about a year after us, "retiring" early to do so. My Dad also, upon hearing my reasoning, retired early and moved with his husband to their dream "retirement" location, where he is busier than when he was working for real as well. Our friends-who-were-merely-acquaintances were/are dubious, and many drifted away. Our real friends seemingly understand, visit frequently, and some have purchased seasonal places here. We provoked a minor wave of early check-out/retirements in Silicon Valley, almost always to some island or mountain top somewhere.

So, YMOYL was a good thing to read at that time in my life.

[catherine]

Thanks, bae. Really interesting story, and helpful.

[Lainey]

... The only responsibility of business, corporations and executives is to increase profits for the shareholders. As long as it is done in open and free competition without cheating and fraud. And here is where the other side is right. Our current model does not resemble anything like free and open competition.

First off, government threw that baby out with the bath water when they bailed out companies/corporations and executives who chose to take great risk with the shareholders money and lost it. The bailout reinforced attitudes that greater risk than reason would imply can be taken because you could expect to be too big to fail.

Second, shareholders are now prevailing upon their employees, the executives to apply certain social responsibilities to their customers and employees /workers. To be sure, there are still shareholders amongst them that want to simply maximize their profit but stockholders are increasingly becoming socially aware of the needs of their customers. And to some extent it can be a smart strategy for a company to at least fein interest in the environment, wealth redistribution or social issues.

But today's stockholder is increasingly demanding that a balance be struck between the strict rule of maximizing profit and the acceptance of some social responsibility. An executive cannot act in a way to satisfy both views. A political resolution must evolve. The Supreme Court opened Pandora's box further when it allowed corporations to act as individual lobbyists. So to enjoy the benefits of individuality without incurring the social responsibilities of individuals is inconsistent with free and open competition.

Liberals are simply calling out the cheating and hypocracy of it all.

Very well said.

[Lainey]

CEO Pay Climbs Again, Even As Their Stock Prices Don't

http://www.continuityinsights.com/ne...ck-prices-dont

[gimmethesimplelife]

CEO Pay Climbs Again, Even As Their Stock Prices Don't

http://www.continuityinsights.com/ne...ck-prices-dont

I often wonder, how long can this keep going on? How much longer can this be sustained? At what point are the pitchforks sharpened? At what point are they put in use? My biggest takeaway question is this.....why the assumption/belief that there will not be progressive consequences for this type of income inequality? Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

You guys remind me of the many domestic disputes I had to respond to. The only way to resolve the argument was to first separate the parties and then look for common ground. And try to do that without getting stabbed, shot or assaulted.

In a way, both of you are right. The only responsibility of business, corporations and executives is to increase profits for the shareholders. As long as it is done in open and free competition without cheating and fraud. And here is where the other side is right. Our current model does not resemble anything like free and open competition.

First off, government threw that baby out with the bath water when they bailed out companies/corporations and executives who chose to take great risk with the shareholders money and lost it. The bailout reinforced attitudes that greater risk than reason would imply can be taken because you could expect to be too big to fail.

Second, shareholders are now prevailing upon their employees, the executives to apply certain social responsibilities to their customers and employees /workers. To be sure, there are still shareholders amongst them that want to simply maximize their profit but stockholders are increasingly becoming socially aware of the needs of their customers. And to some extent it can be a smart strategy for a company to at least fein interest in the environment, wealth redistribution or social issues.

But today's stockholder is increasingly demanding that a balance be struck between the strict rule of maximizing profit and the acceptance of some social responsibility. An executive cannot act in a way to satisfy both views. A political resolution must evolve. The Supreme Court opened Pandora's box further when it allowed corporations to act as individual lobbyists. So to enjoy the benefits of individuality without incurring the social responsibilities of individuals is inconsistent with free and open competition.

Liberals are simply calling out the cheating and hypocracy of it all.

You seem to be touching on socially responsible investing which I believe is a wonderful thing. I just wish the required minumums to invest this way were lower. I've been putting small amounts of money into Acorns to put something away. A survey I did for $8.....spare change..... $20 I found on the street, that kind of thing. I just wish Acorns had a socially responsible option as I do feel guilt investing blindly as I am doing.....who knows what I am subsidizing/rubber stamping/giving tacit approval to? I'm looking into Stash, an app similar to Acorns, with a $5 minimum to get in and they have a Clean and Green investment option that sounds interesting. I can start up again donating plasma and put the money here perhaps. Rob