Hello!
The comments on this profile are unclaimed and thus are unverified.
Do they belong to you? Claim these comments.
Unnamed Co-Worker
Is this you? Claim Profile »
8 months ago
in I Won’t Vote for Obama Because… on Michael Koby
wow...
Some folks are not as smart as you.
Some folks honestly don't have the opportunities you did.
If all you had to do was work hard, why are you not a millionaire, or retired?
You can be outsourced in a second, for no reason. Your'e not as secure as you sound like you think you are. Were you working after the tech bubble burst in '01? Did you watch friends lose houses? Did you watch people in OUR industry take 6 figure paycuts? People who were smarter than either one of us were living on unemployment for months, unemployment funded by tax dollars.
I would bet from your comments that you are probably making more money than you ever have in your life, you probably feel like you are upper middle class, or that your'e wealthy. Got some news for you, you really aren't in the group of folks that would be considered wealthy if you are working as a consultant at our company....comfortable, but not upper middle class or wealthy.
You're young and probably feel pretty powerful at this point in your life. I sounded alot like you several years ago, was making more money than you will probably ever make (no offense, it was just the times) and I took a paycut that is probably more than you make right now. I'm not bragging, just trying to give you some perspective, and possibly generate some empathy. You (we) are not impervious to forces beyond our control. Market forces, terrorism, storms, the unknown, they all influence the strength of the little bubble that we software developers live and feed in.
I.T. is a cost center, it is a cost center in most companies that produce products other than software, and when companies need to cut costs....there ya go, flushed.
Talent doesn't count when directors, V.P's, and folks you have never met send down word that heads need to roll, at that point, it's usually just a lottery. If your number is up, your intelligent, hardworking self will be unemployed, and on the public dole.
Just sayin. Free your mind brothah.
Some folks are not as smart as you.
Some folks honestly don't have the opportunities you did.
If all you had to do was work hard, why are you not a millionaire, or retired?
You can be outsourced in a second, for no reason. Your'e not as secure as you sound like you think you are. Were you working after the tech bubble burst in '01? Did you watch friends lose houses? Did you watch people in OUR industry take 6 figure paycuts? People who were smarter than either one of us were living on unemployment for months, unemployment funded by tax dollars.
I would bet from your comments that you are probably making more money than you ever have in your life, you probably feel like you are upper middle class, or that your'e wealthy. Got some news for you, you really aren't in the group of folks that would be considered wealthy if you are working as a consultant at our company....comfortable, but not upper middle class or wealthy.
You're young and probably feel pretty powerful at this point in your life. I sounded alot like you several years ago, was making more money than you will probably ever make (no offense, it was just the times) and I took a paycut that is probably more than you make right now. I'm not bragging, just trying to give you some perspective, and possibly generate some empathy. You (we) are not impervious to forces beyond our control. Market forces, terrorism, storms, the unknown, they all influence the strength of the little bubble that we software developers live and feed in.
I.T. is a cost center, it is a cost center in most companies that produce products other than software, and when companies need to cut costs....there ya go, flushed.
Talent doesn't count when directors, V.P's, and folks you have never met send down word that heads need to roll, at that point, it's usually just a lottery. If your number is up, your intelligent, hardworking self will be unemployed, and on the public dole.
Just sayin. Free your mind brothah.
1 reply
8 months ago
in I Won’t Vote for Obama Because… on Michael Koby
Not really one to comment on blogs that often, but here goes. Socialism? Honestly, who cares? You and I are going to do well in any system of government because we are the intellectual elite, knowledge holders of a requisite ingredient of the modern age, and we don't make 200k, so alot of this doesn't affect us.
My main reason for looking at Obama as a viable candidate is that he has a history of looking at society from the bottom up, he is genuinely concerned with the lower classes. Trickle down economics is a farce. The theory, and practice is that if a company is doing well, they will spread the wealth down, over time, slowly to the underclass which will slowly grow in economic power.
The reality is that with the power at the top like that, the minute it is expedient, the trickle of economic good coming down from the top turns into a flash flood of devastation in the form of layoffs, plant closings, outsourcing etc. It's a bullshit system of economic redistribution to the upper crust, period. Business exists for a single reason, profit. If it were not profitable, it would be called charity or something.
I think that LBJ was probably the last president we had who really did anything for the underclass, and it's about time we started focusing on those issues again. What's it been, 45 years? According to legend, his plans won't cost you anything, but even if they did....what...100 bucks a check? Big deal, we can afford it. Imagine working for $6.50 an hour, or $10 an hour, wtf? There are people out there doing it, and we actually need those people in the low end jobs to make "our" lives better, cut 'em some slack my man, cut em some slack.
My main reason for looking at Obama as a viable candidate is that he has a history of looking at society from the bottom up, he is genuinely concerned with the lower classes. Trickle down economics is a farce. The theory, and practice is that if a company is doing well, they will spread the wealth down, over time, slowly to the underclass which will slowly grow in economic power.
The reality is that with the power at the top like that, the minute it is expedient, the trickle of economic good coming down from the top turns into a flash flood of devastation in the form of layoffs, plant closings, outsourcing etc. It's a bullshit system of economic redistribution to the upper crust, period. Business exists for a single reason, profit. If it were not profitable, it would be called charity or something.
I think that LBJ was probably the last president we had who really did anything for the underclass, and it's about time we started focusing on those issues again. What's it been, 45 years? According to legend, his plans won't cost you anything, but even if they did....what...100 bucks a check? Big deal, we can afford it. Imagine working for $6.50 an hour, or $10 an hour, wtf? There are people out there doing it, and we actually need those people in the low end jobs to make "our" lives better, cut 'em some slack my man, cut em some slack.
1 reply
Michael Koby
Now this of course is all based on who you perceive where each class
begins/ends...
The idea/concept that we, as people whom are educated, hard working, and
intelligent need to support/help those that won't help themselves is
ridiculous. Why should I pay more so the guy who is just too lazy to get an
education or learn a trade can have a better life? To pay more taxes so the
lower/middle class can have a better quality of life is essentially
rewarding laziness and/or ignorance.
You make comment of it's like "what, 100 bucks a check" but even if it was
one single dollar that would still be too much. That's my money. I worked
for it. I got my rear out of bed, got dressed, went to work, and worked for
it. Not to mention I read, study, and practice to further my craft/trade so
that I can eventually earn more. Why should money be taken out of my check
for those that won't bother.
There are literally thousands of scholarships available for those that will
simply take the time to fill out a form or write an essay. There is enough
money out there that just about anyone can goto college for pretty much next
to nothing (or really close to it). They just need to take the time to
research, request, and jump through some hoops. They don't want to do
that? How is that my problem or responsibility? It is not the
upper-classes responsibility to provide for the lower/middle class. To help
those that will not help themselves (notice I said "won't" not "can't") is
more specifically not MY job. My "job" is to provide for my family and
myself. Why people some people feel that I should provide for anyone
outside of that, I will never know.
Just because I'm intelligent and hard working doesn't mean I need to give my
money to those who are not. It also doesn't mean I should give MORE of my
money to a government that will give it to them for me.
begins/ends...
The idea/concept that we, as people whom are educated, hard working, and
intelligent need to support/help those that won't help themselves is
ridiculous. Why should I pay more so the guy who is just too lazy to get an
education or learn a trade can have a better life? To pay more taxes so the
lower/middle class can have a better quality of life is essentially
rewarding laziness and/or ignorance.
You make comment of it's like "what, 100 bucks a check" but even if it was
one single dollar that would still be too much. That's my money. I worked
for it. I got my rear out of bed, got dressed, went to work, and worked for
it. Not to mention I read, study, and practice to further my craft/trade so
that I can eventually earn more. Why should money be taken out of my check
for those that won't bother.
There are literally thousands of scholarships available for those that will
simply take the time to fill out a form or write an essay. There is enough
money out there that just about anyone can goto college for pretty much next
to nothing (or really close to it). They just need to take the time to
research, request, and jump through some hoops. They don't want to do
that? How is that my problem or responsibility? It is not the
upper-classes responsibility to provide for the lower/middle class. To help
those that will not help themselves (notice I said "won't" not "can't") is
more specifically not MY job. My "job" is to provide for my family and
myself. Why people some people feel that I should provide for anyone
outside of that, I will never know.
Just because I'm intelligent and hard working doesn't mean I need to give my
money to those who are not. It also doesn't mean I should give MORE of my
money to a government that will give it to them for me.
off the floor and put it in our mouths at 1 and 2 years of age.
Intelligence is something you gain through experience, reading, learning,
etc.
2) I was laid off during the tech bubble burst of '01, guess what I did. I
found another job. Granted it was pushing pizzas in a town outside of
Austin, but point is I didn't sit around and expect the government to take
care of me. I got another job (one I didn't particularly want to return
to). I also went to technical training at New Horizons in Austin and
received 3 Microsoft certifications. So, while you are correct that I could
be outsourced tomorrow, for no reason, my confidence stems from the fact
that I know I'm an intelligent individual, with a good head on my sholders
and because of that I am capable of still providing for my family and
myself.
3) I never said I was rich nor did I mean to imply it. But just because I'm
not rich does not mean I'm not hard working. I also understand that in
order to get to where I want to be and to make more money, and eventually
become rich, I will need to work harder, learn more, become smarter, and
look for opportunities as they present themselves.
So, if my intelligent, hardworking self is unemployed tomorrow (which,
admittedly could happen given this market we're in), I'd have a job
tomorrow. Would it be one that I want? No. Would it be what I'm making
now? Probably not. Would I probably have to take 2 of them? Yes. Would I
take unemployment? Yes (see how I pay INTO that unemployment, it's my
money). Because you see, I understand that I need to work to provide for my
family and myself.
I understand people fall on hard times. That's a completely different thing
than what we're talking about here. What I'm talking about is
redistribution of wealth. Which means that those that work hard for what
they have are expected to give some of it to those that don't. Sorry, but
nothing you argue is going to convince me that this is okay. Someone
falling on hard times is one thing. They worked hard, stuff happened.
Enron would be a perfect example of that. Many of those that lost their
jobs at Enron were hard working people who got cheated by a bunch of
crooks. So when they sued the pants off the executives, I found no problems
with that. They were essentially robbed. But when you talk about people
who DON'T work, don't try to get ahead, and don't make efforts to improve
their situation but rather expect politicans to give them a handout, it's a
totally different line of questioning, logic, and arguments.
Regarding those that aren't as smart or didn't have the same opportunities I
had: Like I said in my previous comment, just about EVERYONE has the ability
to goto college these days. There are several books in bookstores that list
the thousands of scholarships that are out there for the taking. Some of
those same books even give detailed instructions on how to better one's
chances at landing those scholarships.
So no, not everyone had parents like me that did everything they could to
ensure I had a fairly easy existence growing up. My parnets worked their
tails off to ensure I had every possiblity open to me. They did the same
for my siblings. Key word there is "worked" (and its an important one).
Not everyone is as smart as me, you, or those that we might know. But that
doesn't mean that they shouldn't have to work to get ahead. It doesn't mean
they aren't capable of learning and educating themselves (library cards are
free). It just means they have to work harder, potentially longer, and deal
with more barriers.
This idea of "well they didn't have it as easy as you and I so we should
give them an hand out" is ludicrous. Everyone in this country has every
opportunity to get an education, to learn a trade, and to become better than
what their social-economic status dictates. They don't want to go to the
bookstore or library to find out how to get some of those college
scholarships to get an education, how is that my fault? My issue with this
whole concept of entitlement is with the very idea of the word entitlement.
No one, is entitled to anything. Not you, me, the guys sitting next to us
on the bus or in our favorite restaurant. You work for what you get,
period. You want more, then you figure out what you need to do to get
more. A large percentage of the population things they are entitled to
something without having to do anything for it. And the problem is, people
like Obama want to give those people what they feel they are entitled to. I
have a problem with that because, it is showing those people that if they
complain loudly enough they will get want they want. They won't have to
work for it, they'll just get it. I find error with that way of thinking.
Why is it wrong for me to expect people to work for the things they have?
Why is it wrong to think that people shouldn't be given handouts? Why is it
wrong to believe that if "a man does not work, he shall not eat?" Why, as a
someone who works hard to get ahead in life, must I be made out to be a
villian because I believe that others should do the same? I worked hard to
get where I am today why should I be expected to give to those that don't
want to do the same?