even more quiddities and agonies of the ruling class - a new rolling new york times thread

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/01/14/the-invidious-reach-of-personal-finance-snake-oil/

Yes, I can't imagine why she hasn't been investing 15,000 dollars a year.

yeah if anybody can tell me how to earn 6% on my money please tell me!!!

it doesn't really make sense to save anyway since the economies gonna implode in 10 years. your 15,000 invested at 6% that grows to $20,000 in 5 years is gonna be real useful when hyperinflation sets in and northeast america is sold to JP Morgan and a big mac costs $1500 morgan-loonies

yeah if anybody can tell me how to earn 6% on my money please tell me!!!

put all your money on a short for this stock: 'NYT'

I don't really think poor investment returns are a good justification for spending $1200 a month EXTRA on food (i.e. on top of what it actually costs to feed yourself, presumably well based on this girl's standards) while living on an editorial assistant's salary. I mean forget the starter condo, how about just putting some money aside for emergencies?

do we know she doesnt have any money set aside for emergencies?

A 23-yo production asst at MTV makes 30K after taxes?? I'm in the wrong industry.

that does seem high

I thought MTV's m.o. was to hire people right out of school, pay them nada, and they move on after a year or two

PAs can make a lot in overtime but no benefits

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/fashion/the-end-of-courtship.html
“The word ‘date’ should almost be stricken from the dictionary,” Ms. Silver said. “Dating culture has evolved to a cycle of text messages, each one requiring the code-breaking skills of a cold war spy to interpret. It’s one step below a date, and one step above a high-five,” she added. Dinner at a romantic new bistro? Forget it. Women in their 20s these days are lucky to get a last-minute text to tag along. Raised in the age of so-called “hookup culture,” millennials — who are reaching an age where they are starting to think about settling down — are subverting the rules of courtship.
http://www.lordheath.com/web_images/margaret_dumont___the_dancing_masters.jpg

OTM

http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/setting-the-record-straight-yaffa-fredrick-on-the-nyt-column-about-her-restaurant-spending/

man, what a dick the new york times was being

but maybe, possibly

haha man reading that response at the bottom I just feel all "you're just a writer for the nyt, you're not my real mom!"

She has less student loan debt and puts more in her 401k than I do. God speed, lady.

I should say a higher percentage into her 401k.

iirc author has been full of crap fairly regularly, like this was the first nyt occupy article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/nyregion/protesters-are-gunning-for-wall-street-with-faulty-aim.html

And yet the middle class stubbornly hangs on, trading economic pain for the emotional gain of hot restaurants, the High Line and the feeling of being in the center of everything.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/realestate/what-is-middle-class-in-manhattan.html

the first picture = stubbornly hanging on in gorgeous subsidized apartment. fuck you nyt.

In any case, it's bizarre spin to say that the middle class "stubbornly hangs on" when in fact the middle class has been dwindling for decades as people flee for brooklyn, queens, the suburbs, etc. Most of the non-rich left who don't live in subsidized housing are probably young singles with roommates.

Upper edge of middle class, horrifying. oh geez. Is lower upper class the minimum for a non-horrifying life?

I saved a little money in my 20s by not knowing anyone to hang out with and living in a crappy smalltown, and it turns out that a few years of keeping a little off a crappy smalltown wage each month don't buy you a whole lot in the 30-something world of houses and can-I-afford-kids and how-come-my-friends-go-skiing, so I say go out and eat all the fancy pork bellies of New York City while you're young, I wish I had

one male friend recently told her: "I don't like to take girls out. I like to have them join in on what I'm doing — going to an event, a concert."

thought for a moment this might actually lead to the radical thing of guys going out with women with shared interests and maybe that would be a GOOD thing for actually seeing them as humans with thoughts, but no, I guess it is another chance for the man to curate his experience portfolio while the woman is expected to go "you are so cultured, I would not have thought of any ways to spend my time without joining in on yours!" and be the great plains hunter's trophy until something with a prettier skull comes over the horizon

hi I'm bitter. let me weep w/ Hanna Rosin for the downtrodden 20something males, some of whom may now have to wait until age 30 to have the decisive upper hand in all their relationships for the rest of their lives

(am i trolling? i'm having a bad weekend)

Is lower upper class the minimum for a non-horrifying life?

Once you've taken care of the bare necessities of food, shelter and warmth, a non-horrifying life has much more to do with how you spend your time than how much money you spend.

aps, that is a booming post that I very much enjoyed reading.

Booming indeed. Quite OTM.

Oh the agonies they must suffer

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/realestate/being-related-to-the-family-firm.html

man I am not the scion of anything

Real estate salesperson???? Was real estate agent too gauche?

Also as the child of a real estate salesperson who is not an heir with vast lifestyle options and who lost a whole lot of money in the latter half of the '00s, I would like to personally strangle everybody involved in this article.

http://observer.com/2013/01/when-your-townhouse-is-actually-too-big/

Not sure where else to put this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ketrhWr58wA

class class

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/opinion/sunday/the-quiet-ones.html

didn't everyone in masada kill themselves rather than surrender? that's one grim-ass train car.

And yes, I said “devotee.”

dear reader, she bit him.

Today, online, NYT front page:

Article title: "In Kansas City, Learning the Butcher’s Art"

Below that, the summary:

Rather than attracting hipsters in search of one-off adventure, a class in butchering caters to people interested in actually applying the lessons in life.

I'm not even sure what to say anymore...

class takes novel approach of appealing to people actually interested in learning the subject being taught

small but growing number of people outside of New York City sincerely pursuing their interests

^fake trend

Also in today's NYTimes:

In Nashville, One Order of Bluegrass Please, Hold the Kitsch
Mexican-Born Los Angeles Man Finds New Career: Selling Tacos to Other Mexican People
Alabama Man Eats Bacon Every Morning "Because It Tastes Good"

Kitchen Cabinetry a Lucrative Niche for Carpenter Who Actually Trained As Carpenter

An Affordable, Not Particularly Attractive Axe With a Purpose: Chopping Wood

hahahah

Amtrak "Quiet Car" article is full of gems, especially:

People practice rap lyrics on the bus or the subway, barking doggerel along with their iPods as though they were alone in the shower. Respecting shared public space is becoming as quaintly archaic as tipping your hat to a lady, now that the concept of public space is as nearly extinct as hats, and ladies.

The gutter, I tell you! The gutter!

http://www.businessinsider.com/american-airlines-international-economy-class-2013-1?op=1

"hats, and ladies"

business insider piece is sorta like 'what would the "I was otherwise very normal before I became 4 years old" guy be like if he were a millionaire?'

rip hats, rip ladies

barking doggerel