tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post1674491532828248040..comments2023-11-05T04:36:14.223-08:00Comments on The Mess That Greenspan Made: Same generation, different continentTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530974968126497397noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-82803998829195643052008-04-28T20:08:00.000-07:002008-04-28T20:08:00.000-07:00Please stop referring to them as software "enginee...Please stop referring to them as software "engineers". Code monkeys are NOT engineers. The guy who runs the server is NOT an engineer. To call these people engineers is an insult to REAL engineers who busted their balls getting engineering degrees.<BR/><BR/>I blame it on Microsoft, which "certified" PC guys on their software and invented the "Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer".Lou Minattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16096986232572086745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-85545375182672313772008-04-28T18:26:00.000-07:002008-04-28T18:26:00.000-07:00Sounds to me like "anonymous" wants everyone to be...Sounds to me like "anonymous" wants everyone to be as miserable and saddled with responsibility as he is. <BR/><BR/>Some people live happy lives w/o having kids. Deal with it. The world doesn't NEED more people. It's not like remaining single/childless is harming anyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-25768617799785821022008-04-28T16:49:00.000-07:002008-04-28T16:49:00.000-07:00Anonymous @ 3:33 PM,You clearly have never stuffed...Anonymous @ 3:33 PM,<BR/><BR/>You clearly have never stuffed envelopes. With their nimble, little fingers, kids are quite good at it.<BR/><BR/>Sincerely, <BR/>Anonymous @ 10:34 AMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-68415347467880309442008-04-28T15:33:00.000-07:002008-04-28T15:33:00.000-07:00To Anonymous @ 10:34 am: your financial situation ...To Anonymous @ 10:34 am: your financial situation might be better if your kids worked at a for-profit business - the pay at non-profits is generally worse. (Or, you might be missing some punctuation.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-32628542607066332392008-04-28T11:01:00.000-07:002008-04-28T11:01:00.000-07:00You gentlemen are the exception and not the rule. ...You gentlemen are the exception and not the rule. There is still hope for your generation, but sometimes I wonder. As a sprightly 55 year-old who has done better than most in life, it sometimes make me sick to think about the "mess" my generation is leaving behind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-65119007120217664752008-04-28T10:34:00.000-07:002008-04-28T10:34:00.000-07:00I'm under thirty with three kids working at a non-...I'm under thirty with three kids working at a non-profit. I bought my first house at 22 and had my first kid when I was 23. At times I've worked more than one job at a time, but my wife has always been able to stay home. We drive used cars and don't eat out much at all. I've got zero sympathy for the motorcycle kid. Seems like a selfish life to me. Get married, have some kids, be responsible, and work hard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-10241344721883606242008-04-27T23:23:00.000-07:002008-04-27T23:23:00.000-07:00I am also a 34 y/o software developer. Before I w...I am also a 34 y/o software developer. Before I was a software developer, I was a broker. I happened to be a broker during the bust of '01 (since we're IT folks, shouldn't we refer to this as "Bust 1.0" and "Bust 2.0"?) When things went caddywompus, I just shifted gears. Before I was a broker, I was singing, dancing and acting on Broadway (big back injury ended that stuff). I've always been very good at just going where the day takes me. I've been entrepreneurial too. I've started three companies and am working on starting my fourth. I never had anything handed to me. I was the last child of WW2 generation parents who passed on when I was younger. I have felt like it was always a bit difficult to "keep up" with the Jones', but I continuously reflected on my parents' sage advice to not use credit and I never have. I have no debt. I have good investments. But I am worried. The cost of living has risen fiercely in the last several years and as someone who does not use credit, I can tell you that it has a rather large impact. My savings rate has shrunk by 50%. I used to be able to save 20% / year. I can't so much anymore. I've decided to rent out a room in my apartment just to try and boost that rate a little bit, but at the rate we're going, I'm not really sure how long that'll last. But this part is telling. In the process of interviewing potential renters I've witnessed how many people just do not have money. I mean barely anyone. So many people are broke and just cannot come up with the dough. It is difficult finding candidates for what I'm asking, which is under market. Its getting a bit scary. I can't speak for all 30 something's out there. Many of my friends whose parents were of the baby boomer generation did have everything handed to them. Many of them started life on third base and thought they'd hit a triple. Ah, maybe I'm just jaded ; )<BR/><BR/>cheersDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14611189349119964821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-42160479442797210362008-04-27T20:59:00.000-07:002008-04-27T20:59:00.000-07:00Strange as a 33 year old software engineer, I feel...Strange as a 33 year old software engineer, I feel lucky and not at the same time. I worked hard to achieve a middle class existence, I live below my means and yet I don't have the kind of hope that your Chinese entrepreneur does. <BR/><BR/>I feel like I am slipping behind and that my future is being stolen by a reckless govt unwilling to face the music. I feel like as a saver I've been nothing but punished and I still can't AFFORD a home. Most of all I feel the pinch of a system that while it does present more evenly distributed opportunities than China offers less and less stability.<BR/><BR/>As a side note the recession of 01-03 WAS NOT MILD if you were in the IT industry as I was. To say so is a gross mis-qualification of what happened.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com