dtcwee: The Value of Nothing

TLDR: Copying is the fast track to immortality. Why go to college? Why get a good job? Why have kids, then send those kids to college? 🥅 Your default reason for those time-consuming and costly endeavours may be, 'because I want to'. But does that express true desire, or is it rationalisation after-the-fact? Was a concerted effort made to explore alternatives? After all, the virtue of conventional goals are taken as givens, such that non-pursuit - rather than pursuit - must be defended. Parents need not justify their choice to procreate, while the childless are expected to explain not having children. Arthur Schopenhauer enters the chat:

Australian houses have gotten larger while Australian families have gotten smaller.

Which industries are ripest for technological disruption? Australia labour productivity and value-add by industry.

Q: How can you tell if someone has an investment property? A: Don't worry, they'll tell you.

You miss 100% of the stupid decisions you don't make. Negative self-talk goes like this: I missed out on that opportunity because I'm too pushy/meek/vain/stupid/whatever. Astronaut, doctor, parent. There's no end to what could have been, but for some personal flaw.  The infinite number of missed opportunities far outweighs the finite number of wins attributable to your better characteristics.

You are probably selling your time for less than it is worth. The personal value of your time gets scarcer as you age and therefore more valuable. However employers and everyone else values what you output with your time, so unless you (spend time to) increase your effectiveness, the value of your time to them stays the same. Let's dive into this.

How closely Inflation tracks Unemployment, Wages, Immigration, Interest Rates (and Debt), Trade, Currency, and Industrial Action, in Australia. Inflation scares a lot of people who remember the 1960s and 1970s with its  double-digit price rises eroding savings, investments, and wage gains. Since then, however, inflation and wages growth in the developed world has been low. Younger cohorts who haven't experienced rocketing prices (except in housing, education, and health) clamour for greater social assistance, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, horrifying their elders who understandably fear that government largesse will re-awaken the inflation monster. Putting aside whether and how much inflation is desirable, many causes have been suggested, including unemployment, wages, immigration, central bank interest rates, the availability of debt, trade, currency strength, and the bargaining power of labour. All are compelling theories, ...