30 Hour Work Week

[nbhadja]

Agree with the OP. Life is about fun, not wasting it away being some slave to a corporation just so you can get stupid useless material items.

If we got rid of the Fed and the wars we would have a lot more wealth and it would be pretty easy to live on 30 hours of work a week. In this current system of endless bills for the wars and bailouts it is impossible to do that.

Anyone thinking that the market has set the current work hour rates is clueless. The corporations, banks write the laws and we are all their slaves.

If we got rid of the corporatist status quo, the fed, the wars then you could pretty work as low as you want. I would work a max of 30 hours a week. I'd make less money sure, but I don't give a damn about money and material items. Give me free time, nature, family, love.

 

[onlyrp]

Whos goal is it to get a job payin $30k a year? 30k doesn't fly when you have kids and a mortgage. Trust me.

I knew somebody would miss the point. Having a kid and mortgage is a lifestyle choice you make, I understand $30k isnt enough if you have those, which is why you secure your income BEFORE you decide to have such expenses . Not choose your debts and then ask for means.

 

[onlyrp]

Too bad the cable companies can't run their companies like that. Being late and screwing up is a common occurrence for them.

and they get mad at you for asking about it. as if you owe THEM something

 

[onlyrp]

When I got my first job out of school, I made $50,000 a year and I still couldn't even afford a place of my own.

Really?
What was your post tax net income?
What did it cost to get your own place? (do you just mean move out of parents' house or actually buy a house?)
Unless you're in upper manhattan, why wouldn't $4,000 a month be enough?

 

[tttppp]

Really?
What was your post tax net income?
What did it cost to get your own place? (do you just mean move out of parents' house or actually buy a house?)
Unless you're in upper manhattan, why wouldn't $4,000 a month be enough?

I don't remember what my net income was. This was a while ago.

At the time I was working in Stamford, Connecticut. Their prices are high mainly because its close to New York. I could technically get my own apartment, but it would have been really crappy. Not to mention I would save up no money after all my expenses were paid. That was not worth it. If I was going to spend all my money to move out of my parents house, I would only do it if I could move into a respectable place.

At the time I talked to people at the same company from North Carolina who made the same as me, and they were all able to afford their own houses.

Connecticut is one of the shittiest places. Its incredibly expensive, salaries are not higher than the cheaper states, and there is nothing to do here. Not to mention its a dump.

 

[tttppp]

Really?
What was your post tax net income?
What did it cost to get your own place? (do you just mean move out of parents' house or actually buy a house?)
Unless you're in upper manhattan, why wouldn't $4,000 a month be enough?

I don't remember what my net income was. This was a while ago.

At the time I was working in Stamford, Connecticut. Their prices are high mainly because its close to New York. I could technically get my own apartment, but it would have been really crappy. Not to mention I would save up no money after all my expenses were paid. That was not worth it. If I was going to spend all my money to move out of my parents house, I would only do it if I could move into a respectable place.

At the time I talked to people at the same company from North Carolina who made the same as me, and they were all able to afford their own houses.

Connecticut is one of the shittiest places. Its incredibly expensive, salaries are not higher than the cheaper states, and there is nothing to do here. Not to mention its a dump.

 

[onlyrp]

I don't remember what my net income was. This was a while ago.

At the time I was working in Stamford, Connecticut. Their prices are high mainly because its close to New York. I could technically get my own apartment, but it would have been really crappy. Not to mention I would save up no money after all my expenses were paid. That was not worth it. If I was going to spend all my money to move out of my parents house, I would only do it if I could move into a respectable place.

At the time I talked to people at the same company from North Carolina who made the same as me, and they were all able to afford their own houses.

Connecticut is one of the shittiest places. Its incredibly expensive, salaries are not higher than the cheaper states, and there is nothing to do here. Not to mention its a dump.

Ok, so it's not impossible, just not worthy. I'm glad you made the better choice of saving.

 

[camp_steveo]

I worked 85 hours one week this summer, and averaged 70. Now I am getting around 50 a week.

 

[JVParkour]

I don't understand how i've read pages of this conversation and no one has mentioned basic economics. People make decisions based on their perceived self-interest. This changes from person to person, and this is one of the reasons why supply and demand curves move like they do. If it is in a persons perceived self-interest to work more and make more money, then they will do it. If it is in their interest to work less and make less, they will do that. All government regulation does is set up barriers that make this decisions more momentous. For example, an employer would have been able to hire a worker for 5$ an hour if it was in the employer and the employees self-interest. When the government erects a barrier, ie minimum wage, it makes the decision harder because an unnatural barrier is placed in the way, ie having to pay the worker $7.25.

It really just comes down to self-interest and choice.

 

[axiomata]

I work 38.75 hours per week standard. Half day Friday.

Want to work less? Invent a machine or program a computer to do your job more efficiently (and don't tell anyone else how to run it.)

 

[tttppp]

I work 38.75 hours per week standard. Half day Friday.

Want to work less? Invent a machine or program a computer to do your job more efficiently (and don't tell anyone else how to run it.)

Most employers don't care about your productivity. Thats the point. They only want to make sure you are busy for 40 or more hours a week. If you created a program to do your job efficiently, your employer would still make you work full time and they would get all the benefits.

 

[AZKing]

Most employers don't care about your productivity. Thats the point. They only want to make sure you are busy for 40 or more hours a week. If you created a program to do your job efficiently, your employer would still make you work full time and they would get all the benefits.

Indeed, when I worked I HAD to work 40 hours a week, even if one of the days in a week was a federal holiday.

I've been working for myself for several years now, but I usually work an average of 40-50 hrs a week over the full 7 days, by choice though. I could easily hire someone and reduce my hours to 10-20 over the week (I already employ 2 people, though).

 

[Icymudpuppy]

Most guys dump the tedious part of bookeeping off on the wife

If my wife had any computer or math skills, that might be a good idea. Sadly, the Philippines public education system makes ours look down right Ivy league.

 

[onlyrp]

If my wife had any computer or math skills, that might be a good idea. Sadly, the Philippines public education system makes ours look down right Ivy league.

oh really? I thought the US has the worst education system and actually dumbs down people...

 

[Icymudpuppy]

oh really? I thought the US has the worst education system and actually dumbs down people...

Not my experience. There may be some poorer schools, but I actually received a very good education at my local public school district. Indeed, in my area, the public school graduates consistently perform better than the Adventist, Catholic, and Pentecostal private school graduates in the same area.

 

[Vessol]

I work an average of 45-50 hours a week and my schedule is wacky as hell too. All in the same week I'll sometimes work nights, sometimes I work the graveyard/early morning shift, sometimes the day shift. Sometimes I work 14 days in a row, sometimes I'm lucky to get 2 days in a row off. Sometimes I have to be at work 6 hours after I get off. All for the grand sum of 8.25$ an hour, or roughly 15,000$ a year. Ah, the life of a gas station assistant manager. I tried going to school fulltime while working fulltime, and I couldn't. And as homework doesn't really pay the bills, I had to choose between one or the other. It's soul sucking and I hate every part of it to be honest.

I understand the OP's sentiment, but I'm glad that a lot of people here chimed in on why the modern Federal Reserve system really fucks it all up.

 

[oyarde]

I would if I had one.

Still nothing ?

 

[oyarde]

I know it would be a really crappy time to be looking in my area , the competition would be stiff ....

 

[oyarde]

Unless you can assemble widgets , 7 days a week for ten bucks an hour on night shift and be ok with that.

 

[Mogambo Guru]

Living in 1900 was a better standard of living than 1800? Ok, we get that.
What about 2000 compared to 1900?

Of course it is better... but you conveniently left out the next sentence in my post. "while working less hours"(roughly about 40% less) & also while absorbing the rapid increase of our population via immigration during that time. Now to enjoy that increased standard of living, we need to have two working parents, and just about a lifetime of debt.... when our increased productivity should have provided the increase in living standards, not all the increased hours we now have to work to obtain that standard.