Greed

Greed is a spinoff of desire. It is always seeking gain. In the scale of emotions it’s far down there with the likes of pride, fear and anger. Greed for lack of a better word is “No Bueno”.

Peace, joy, love, acceptance and reason is muy bueno.
 
BeautifulStranger said:
...Another notable, recent development in US culture is decision making being weighted towards social considerations. Trying to get something done often involves a negotiation process between people of different personal needs, with considerable consideration given to the person potentially most inconvenienced rather than the task itself. Priority one seems to be avoiding cringeworthy situations, effectively reducing individual accountability.

The number of people in the US who seem to feel “Entitled” to a certain standard of living...
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I'd like to piggyback on that notion of entitlements that you bring up because it's something that's been bothering me for some time. I forget about how overwhelming entitlement is perceived in other countries, but while I was in the Bay Area and living in America, I came to be quite fed up with individuals or groups who, for one reason or another, asserted their entitlement to something over others. I'm still not entirely sure to have pinpointed this frustration to something specific or a general trend.
I've encountered countless instances of such behavior (bingo, I've just framed this as a behavior). The driver who cuts in without signaling (huge issue in the Bay Area!), the loud person on their phone in public transports, the person who breaks the rules but screams at whoever points it out to them, the car parked in a handicap space because it's closest to the store entry, the general disrespect of social norms, etc...
We've all experienced this in America and elsewhere and some like to point to others for such behaviors and that's where stereotypes and prejudice build up.
I think the American over emphasis on the individual as opposed to the larger group is the cause of this entitlement trend. It's as benign as "who cares what others think?" to " I do whatever the fk I want!"... it's the slippery slope towards the ME obsession so heavily promoted in the media. The unique individual is like a permission to break all rules, because these rules are oh so stifling, and I'm so special that they aren't addressed to me.
From the bozo in his horned headdress breaking into the Capitol to the thug with his pants down below his ass crossing a 3 lane street and stopping all traffic in the process.... where does it stop?
I'm a leftie and I'm appalled at the so called rights of ultra minorities overwhelming the media and forcing the great majority to modify the rules to accommodate them. Where does it stop?
America had become a zoo, where the extremes have found on the web the ability to express anything and everything. The sophisticated even found ways to amplify their message to make themselves appear more bulls than frogs (will let you figure that one out, it's easy). What I'm trying to say is that this avalanche of self absorbed individualism in America transcends all races, political affiliations and social classes.
Entitlement is a disease that impacts society, businesses and government alike. When government has to account for every groups' interests, projects end up taking much more time and being much more costly than expected. When businesses have to modify their buildings, their procedures or follow a ever growing list of requirements, their costs increase to where they are no longer competitive. When everyone is more concerned with self than the greater good, society becomes a free for all anarchy.
I know, some will say that the clear solution is a dictatorship, because control is their only alternative. I totally disagree with that logic yet recognize the extremely difficult challenges America faces in a world of countries that have all to some extend kept a close framework to operate within. Our creative strength is also our weakness. We have become the world's most anarchic society not at war.
 
You talk of the me mentality ... and then YOU tell us Americans what is wrong with us.

Looks like American individuality rubbed off on you.

In too many societies unfortunately individuals keep their opinion to themselves.
 
SunTrader said:
You talk of the me mentality ... and then YOU tell us Americans what is wrong with us.

Looks like American individuality rubbed off on you.

In too many societies unfortunately individuals keep their opinion to themselves.
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I'm American. That I've lived half of my life outside the US doesn't make me less American.
 
As a trained truck driver what opportunity is greater than the 400k/year you are earning now?

i know there are a shortage of CDL-A Drivers but that’s a lot of money for that role unless you are transporting nuclear waste or something.

BeautifulStranger said:
As a purchaser of goods and services, mostly for trucking related business use, I can handle the greed. What I can’t handle are service failures, because it leads to my service failures, which in turn leads to service failures of my customers, which can end up going in a full circle. For example, mechanics. It has gotten so bad, my default now is to work on my own truck. Multiply this with others who feel the same way and that involve multiple industries, and the dynamics of our economy will change. Disintermediation in our modern economy will lead to economic stagnation or worse. Ethics, or the lack thereof, has a tangible effect on our economy in the long term.

Another notable, recent development in US culture is decision making being weighted towards social considerations. Trying to get something done often involves a negotiation process between people of different personal needs, with considerable consideration given to the person potentially most inconvenienced rather than the task itself. Priority one seems to be avoiding cringeworthy situations, effectively reducing individual accountability.

The number of people in the US who seem to feel “Entitled” to a certain standard of living just by “Being” is on the rise. It is like these people have no concept of what is ultimately behind wealth: Productivity.

As a truck owner, I was fine with making $60k per year along with great flexibility with when I would work. I now am making around $400k servicing a client who is benefitting from stimulus money that is being, at least partially, passed through to me. Their customer service requirements are higher, but they are paying a huge premium, in my estimation. Even so, I will be leaving the industry in a matter of weeks to pursue an better opportunity in another field.



A death of small businesses will lead to the death of many big businesses as US consumer discretionary spending declines, leaving us with a few oligopolies providing necessities, just like some notable Communist countries.

Solutions to society ills ultimately requires individual efforts of many and coordinated leadership of our elected officials and our media.

We are in the beginning of a new age. For better or worse.
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