This is one of the questions that has been challenged more and more in recent years. Why are we not supposed to talk about our income?
Is it taboo? Or is it just helping the powers that be to pay us less than we're worth and get away with it?
u/tickingtimebombx began the debate:
Why is it so taboo to talk about how much money you make or have?
I get that a lot of people might say it's because it might create jealously between co workers. Or that if people know how much you have saved, they might try to take it.
But really, it seems to me that being so hush can create so much fear around money.
It's not like someone can request for you to make less money or someone to just steal your money that easy... right?!
I just want your thoughts, maybe I am being naive about it.
It's Not About Me
Because most people assume that making/having more money is an objective measure of your value as a human. It's the only measurement we all agree on, even if we're unhappy about it, it only means we're unhappy with our performance based on the criteria of what are people willing to pay for, or we're unhappy with the criteria of what people are willing to pay for based on our performance
Money is one of those things that is so rarely talked about in good faith, that we're scared to find out our worries of being close to worthless were true. You can like your job, but if someone in the same positions hates it but makes more money, you feel like an idiot because part of their justification for staying is at least they aren't you.
Fend Off Bottom Feeders
If you tell your family/some friends that you make a lot, they may feel better about asking to "borrow" money and may even get upset if you don't.
They can also get upset or not believe you.
When my MIL found how much I was paid years ago she got upset that it was more than her (despite her not working as hard/not bettering herself for 30+ years). I'm only on a standard office salary but she didn't like it. That was fun.
If you tell them you make less than they think you should, they generally don't believe you, may think you're a loser, or start to always push you to get a better job etc.
That's what I've found anyway, and why I don't talk about money.
Taboo Yaboo
In Norway, all salaries are transparent. You can look up what your co-worker, your family member, your friends etc. make. You only need to log in on the tax authority's website with your national ID number. It barely causes any issues, but the searches are not anonymous. You can see who has searched your income.
Why it is a taboo in other countries has been already answered here. It benefits the employers.
Don't Have The Capacity
Money makes people weird. The guy that think corporations want to screw you over by paying you half of what other people isn't wrong, but he's probably more than a little bitter.
I'll use myself as an example here...
I've worked at a grocery store since 2004. High school, college, after college, and probably until I retire.
I started at $6.50 an hour and writhing four or five years. New hires were being started at around $8.00 an hour, while I had only gone up to $9.00 an hour after already working there for five years.
If I was incredibly proactive, I probably could have got my life together and been close to a management position by then, but it's not my personality type, so I didn't. But the opportunity will always be there for people willing to work for it.
When I found out that I was only making $1.00 more than the new hires, I was livid. How dare they get paid so much for literally having no skill in this job. Right? Well unfortunately, over the course of 5 years, things change. The market shifts, prices rise, and the minimum wage goes up. But that doesn't mean everyone else's wage is raised accordingly.
Another example is that when my friend graduates pharmacy school. He started out making $100,000 more than me. He told me, and now whenever he talks about nabbing a pair of shoes for 20% off, or something like that, I roll my eyes and get super annoyed.
There's nothing wrong with the amount he makes. He deserves every single penny. But he still trying to live the way I live, when he makes 100% more than I do.
Sorry for the rant. Not sure if it helped you understand. I'd be happy to clarify though.
Ignorance Is Bliss
I get what everyone is saying about company management wanting to keep the information secret to screw people over because it is true. However, in my experience, discussing salary with a coworker is like having sex with someone...once you do it, you can't undo it. You might not like how the experience goes and the dynamic will be different afterward no matter what.
Example: you and your coworker want to exchange salary info and you're excited about the experience. You proudly state that you are a Senior Associate making $65,000 a year. Then they inform you they are an Assistant making $85,000 a year. Now, you feel like crap and you probably start seeing your friend, as well as other coworkers and management, differently and it's probably not for the better.
You were happy before you had the info, but now you are not...are you better off knowing?
The Middle Way
Depends on the social and workplace culture. In india, people are more open in talking about their salaries, and it comes with its own set of side effects such as jealousy. On the other hand, extreme sensitivity around money is also not helpful imo, because it creates a culture of secrecy. We need to find some sort of a happy middle ground in society.
Weird Cultural Things
Business made it seem illegal to talk about it so you wouldn't know how much your coworkers make, so they can underpay people. It's perfectly legal and a smart thing to talk about your wage. It also comes from the people who think they don't make enough and don't want to be embarrassed by their salary. I wouldn't say it's taboo just a weird thing people believe just because they were told to
Shallow Connections
As somebody from a well-off family, I choose to be very quiet online about that (except for things like this where it's necessary, duh) because, honestly, seeing so many people that have nothing in their lives... bringing up my money just feels so shallow.
And I've had poor friends tell me that it comes off that way to them, too- or at least the bittersweet feeling of watching somebody have what you'll probably never get. It just feels wrong for me to be vocal about it. :(
Corporate Culture
Companies don't want their employees to talk about how much they make because it allows them to pay some employees lower than other's when they shouldn't be. They don't want someone finding out someone else makes more than them.
For example if a newer employee is hired on for a dollar more than what a current employee at the same level who has worked there for a year, the current employee might ask for a raise. Companies don't want that to happen.
Or Were You Just Being Kind
Feelings imo. Some people just never had the position to make more. Bringing up something like that is kinda like saying "i have more than you" which is at large a useless statement and the implications with money isnt just some schoolyard bullshit, its that you will be able to pay for bills they cant. You will be able to eat when they cant, you may be able to pay for that lifesaving procedure, they may have to watch their son/daughter/brother/mother die
In order to live a happy, healthy life, it's important to look to the future and leave your past behind you.
Even so, very few people don't find themselves laying awake in bed at night, or ferociously chopping vegetables in their kitchen feeling resentful, or holding a grudge from something in their past.
Losing a lead role in a school play, not making varsity, being excluded from a birthday party everyone else was invited to.
No matter how long ago it was, it's still hard to shake off the feeling of disappointment and anger you felt at the time.
For some, the bitterness is. like a pot of tea, and only grows stronger the longer it steeps.
Redditor xefarar565 was curious to hear the things people still can't quite get over, leading them to ask:
"What are you STILL salty about?
When The Teacher Was Wrong
"In a 5th grade science test the question was, 'are there any stars in the solar system'."
"I answered, 'yes'.
"Teacher marked it wrong."
"I went up afterwards and said, 'What about the Sun?'"
"He said, he meant that all the other stars are not in our solar system and kept it marked wrong."
"Although I am harboring this for 50 years now, he was all-around one of the best teachers I ever had and just passed away a week or so ago."
"But damn, that should have been marked 'right'."- tres_chill
"On a fourth grade math test we had to make a shape that had only four sides, one set of parallel lines, and only ONE right angle."
"There were probably more requirements but I cant remember."
"I remember almost crying at my desk and spending 20 minutes on that one question while constantly telling my teacher that it wasn't possible but according to her it was."
"And the next day we went over the answer key, and the answer had two right angles."- Gloomy_CowPlant·
"In fourth grade English class (EU) I've used the word 'gross' in a random sentence we had to write."
"The teacher argued that it isn't a real word, I said that it is, that I saw it a few times in video games and movies and she said that they aren't a reliable source."
"I said to her that I'm gonna show it in the dictionary, but she instead grabbed me by the arm and took me out of the classroom and locked the door."
"To this day I am still fuming about this."
"And then she had the nerve to be all chummy when I met her once in a supermarket."
"Gross."
"In both cases it was meant like 'disgusting' and I know there are even more meanings behind the word."
"I wonder if she knows by now."- kuroishi_x
Season 8 Teacher GIF by FriendsGiphyFalsely Convicted
"When I was in high school someone tagged up the school."
"They announced there would be a reward for anyone who rats anyone out."
"I get called in the office and find out I’m suspended for vandalization."
"I didn’t do it and had no idea who."
"4 days later I’m allowed to come back to school because they found who actually did it."
"I just got an apology."- Imlouwhoareyou
When Nobody Believes You
"Me and some others in primary school were saying the biggest numbers we knew of."
"Everybody was saying like 100 thousand and a million and then I'm like 'a trillion'."
"And they refused to believe it was a real number."- Jhyanisawesome
When Parents Don't Believe You
"When I was in high school, I was occasionally allowed to drive my family's third car."
"It had a slow leak in one of the tires, so we were all supposed to check the pressure and put air in it if we needed to."
"I picked up a friend to go to a movie, and when we came out one tire was completely flat."
"It wasn't the one with the leak, so I put the spare on and drove home."
scolding in trouble GIF by Archie ComicsGiphy"I got absolute hell from my parents about it."
"How irresponsible I was to not check it, I'd have to pay for the repair, why didn't I call roadside assistance, etc."
"Took it to get fixed, repeat the whole lecture as we're dropping it off, and the tech who did it called my mom and told her he'd found a nail in the tire and there was no way I could have seen it coming."
"She refused to apologize and I still had to pay for it."- EradiKate
Huge Fee For A Crappy Job
"Being charged $1000 for a battery an alternator change."
"They also destroyed my starter motor in the process and rounded a bunch of my bolts."
"They left tools in the engine bay."
"I don't even have that car anymore and I'm still salty."
"F*ck you Midas!"- funkyjiveturkey
Undervalued At Work
"3 months ago I went on maternity leave."
"The woman hired to cover for me was being paid 3 dollars more than I'm currently paid."
"She was going to be kept on as a full time accounting assistant after I returned, but she couldn't keep up with my daily tasks and completely fucked up several databases that I had to correct when I returned to work the following month."
"When I asked for a raise, they offered me .50 after telling me how crucial I am to the structure of the company."
"Needless to say, I'm looking for a new job."- chumbokosh
Season 3 Nbc GIF by The OfficeGiphyIt sometimes feels like it's impossible to get a bitter taste out of our mouth.
That's when we remember how in every recipe, you'll likely need a little bitterness to offset the sweet, salty and sour.
So, rather than stew in our anger and resentment, maybe take a minute to really think about how we somehow grew from these otherwise awful situations.
Try as I might, I just can't get into the Kardashians. I think most of us are tired of them, actually.
But their fanbase is massive and they are pretty much the American version of the royal family. They wouldn't have attained that status without a legion of loyal fans who eat up everything they do, contributing to a massive collective social media following.
But fans of the Kardashians are just the most high-profile fanbase you might know about.
There are others you might not be so keenly aware of.
People told us all about them after Redditor dominique4thewin asked the online community:
"What’s the stupidest thing that has a large fan base?"
"Convince one depressed powerful person..."
"Scientology. Convince one depressed powerful person that you have something to offer them, get them to spill some dark stuff about themselves and other powerful people, leverage that into convincing another powerful person you have something to offer them, repeat."
mattheimlich
Their buildings are enormous. Their offices in New York in California are as imposing as you think but the number of Scientologists is on the decline.
"I find it a bit weird..."
"I find it a bit weird that politicians seem to have fans rather than supporters."
1TadTHG
Usually it's not about the person but the ideas they hold (or say they hold).
"Many celebrities..."
"The Kardashians. Many celebrities in general. They shouldn't be worshipped like they are."
[deleted]
Celebrities need us more than we need them.
"Influencers."
"Influencers. I feel like small time niche group influencers aren’t a problem. They’re great for backpacking, as an example, where they test out the gear and give the pros/cons. It’s when they start to sell their endorsements to the highest bidder."
TheCobbledTiger
Don't get me started.
Sell, sell, sell. That's what they do.
"Flat earth."
"Flat earth. How many are actual believers vs people just 'joking' though? I have only met one actual flat earther in my life."
[deleted]
Oh, there are a lot. And there are entire documentaries about them.
"The base..."
"The fan in my bedroom. The base is ridiculously big for the size of the fan and it takes up too much room and I trip on it almost every morning getting ready in the dark."
Sharkn91
I see what you did there.
Mine has a smaller base and yet I still manage to trip over it.
"Moms exploiting their children for money and popularity."
SharpSubject8314
The number of parents who have monetized their own children for social media is too damn high.
90 Day Fiance
"The 90 Day Fiancé Universe (which is a thing thanks to their billion spinoffs)."
HelluvaMan
Technically we're all living in the 90 Day Fiance universe.
"YouTube..."
"YouTube reaction videos. They're awful."
scapegoat88
I just don’t see appeal to reaction videos. It is always fake super over the top reactions.
"I'm not talking about..."
"ASMR - I'm not talking about rain sounds or even a softly spoken story being told or something. What I'm referring to is a moderately attractive Japanese woman slurping down a bowl full of jelly an inch away from a microphone. Yuck!"
SamJamHamFam
It takes all kinds I guess. Not sure how any of that is remotely appealing.
One thing is for sure: After reading all of these, you're bound to see that there is something out there for everyone.
Have observations of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
Life is moving so fast.
Everytime we get used to something it seems like it evolves and we have to learn more.
I miss CD's. Spotify confuses me.
AOL chat rooms were simple. What the H*LL is Discourse? Or Discontent?
I miss TV just being on channels in the box.
There are so many apps I have cold sweats.
And I can just tap my credit card and pay for things?
It's too much.
But all the things I learned will soon be gone.
Like the OG Toys 'R Us.
Time to say farewell...
Redditor Substantial-Young-85 asked:
"What will die with millennials?"
Remember when cars were driven by people?
That's going the way of the horse and buggy.
To Walls
"I once tried to explain the my niece that phones used to be wired to walls. She's ten (she was six at the time) cell phones are all she's ever known. Among the reasons she guessed as to why they were 'tied' to walls: To stop people from stealing them."
N_Who
Phone Call Dancing GIF by Crissy ConnerGiphyWithout WHAT?!
"Memory of life without internet."
RagingDinoZ
"When I was a kid, we didn't have the internet."
Aido_Playdoh
"I remember asking our son one time if he knew how much tablet time I git when I was a kid (he was complaining that he was t getting enough). He guessed 2 hours. I told him 0, because the internet, let alone tablets, weren't really a thing yet. He looks confused and mystified."
TheHrethgir
Looked it Up?
"Remembering someone’s phone number."
Misttertee_27
"Still have my 3 best friends numbers memorized, when I haven't needed to use that info for 15+ years, as well as most of my family. Intentionally memorized my boyfriend's in case there's an emergency and I don't have my phone."
Particular-Payment59
"I know my parents' home number and a few friends from high school's telephone numbers. I do not know my wife's telephone number and when I do need it I always look it up on my phone."
-Handsome-Jim-
Music Tales
"Dubbing cassettes and burning your own mix on CD."
pfc_Frank
"Ahhhh, waiting by the radio for an hour for them to play your favorite song. You push record at just the right moment. Song plays! Only for the DJ to talk over the last 30 seconds. Sigh. Memories."
zenOFiniquity8
"Or somewhere yells into the basement or your room. Followed by “I AM TRYING TO RECORD A TAPE!"
kperalta87
Control+Save
"3.5 inch floppy discs."
Traylor_Swift
"I have a sealed 5 pack box of those in my room, wonder how much they are worth nowadays."
TrueF0xtr0t
GiphyFloppy what? Even I barely remember those. LOL.
Options
"Watching 'whatever was on.' Everything is always on now, you don’t stumble into an interesting (or awful) show because it’s the only thing mildly interesting on TV."
ChefJeff7777777
television fashion GIF by DenyseGiphy"that's not right surely"
"A coworker and I were talking a while ago and we started thinking/ talking about how the general population (not the ones going to school for it or people truly interested) most younger and older people don't understand a lot about computers. If it's not app, most people aren't really sure how to get to it on a computer."
"I thought, 'that's not right surely' but when trying to get a younger coworker (different dept) to add a printer he literally asked me "wheres the app I can't find it to add the printer" and I just like stared into the middle distance for a sec before just doing it for him. It was like navigating a computer wasn't something he'd done in his life."
"And he's only like 4 years younger than me. He's glued to a cell phone too so I was like yeah ok this guy should know. Nope. This is only one example though. However, when I really stop and think about it, the window from late 80s-00s were really the testing phase for home computers and most to all websites. So navigating them, learning basic code (OG, Myspace people)."
"And just figuring out computer language (not code just the terms) for normal people... really ended when cell phones became more popular. But it feels weird to have to explain stuff to someone younger than me while simultaneously doing the same thing when they are older. It's kinda frustrating tbh but mostly just mind boggling."
TheBohoChocobo
Split
"Playing multi-player video games with split screens in one room."
EngineerMinded
"Eeehh split screens will probably be a thing forever I mean if Nintendo is still strong and going in the 2080s then we will still have Mario Party."
Kiro_sage
"We used to do LAN parties. You could hook up to 4 Xboxes to each other any play a couple of people on each one. It was great. Cords running everywhere, but 4 Xboxes running at once mad for some fun times. You'd constantly be yelling back and forth between rooms and mom would lose it."
Odd_Description1
Travel Finndings
"Knowledge of pre-digital life. An appreciation for sending and receiving letters in the mail. As Arcade Fire put it, we used to wait. Memory of the USA pre 9/11. Using maps and Thomas Guides for road trips. Guys, I’m so old I remember the first time my dad used MapQuest to print out directions for a cross country trip, and how novel it seemed at the time."
MovieGuyMike
Manuals
"Apparently using a Haynes or a Chilton’s manual to work on your car. I hate using YouTube videos for car maintenance, but it looks like that’s all I have left."
RandomGovtEmployee
confused season 2 GIF by Blunt TalkGiphyI'm feeling a bit nostalgic. Oh the memories...
What do we writers always say?
The truth is far stranger than fiction.
When we watch a movie there is constantly a scene where people are like... "THAT could never happen!"
Well it could and it has.
And there is more truths and facts throughout life just like fiction.
There is so much more to learn beyond science classes in school.
Wikipedia has educated us all.
Truth is truth.
So let's hear some facts that'll surprise us.
It's been so long.
Redditor Aden_Elvis77 asked:
"What is something that most people won’t believe, but is actually true?"
I am not a "knowing extra facts person," so I'm here to be schooled.
Layers
"Think of an apple as the Earth. Human beings have never dug past the skin layer."
SithLard
"Think PF balloon filled with water. Just imagine the water is molten lava."
ffsudjat
Silence Of The Lambs Skin GIF by Death Wish CoffeeGiphySaviors...
"Humpback whales will turn on their back and let seals jump on their stomachs to save them from orcas because they freaking hate orcas."
"Edit: Just because this got attention, here are some fun sources..."
"Here are some photos of a Humpback saving a seal"
"Humpbacks attempting to save a calf from being drowned by Orcas"
"An incredibly well done Radiolab episode explaining the relationships between Orcas and Humpbacks"
chinabot1
Age is only a #
"The guy who played the villain in Karate kid 3 (Terry Silver , Thomas Ian Griffith) is actually 7 months younger than Ralph Macchio, (Daniel LaRusso). It’s weird because the karate kid was still supposed to be under 18 and the villain was supposed to have fought in Vietnam."
TheRedMarin
"Hollywood age is really weird. Sean Connery was only 12 years older than Harrison Ford, but played his noticeably older father in Indiana Jones."
JinimyCritic
"He's in the latest couple of seasons of Cobra Kai and I would not have guessed that. Good fact!"
Grimdotdotdot
Pressure
"The average blood pressure of a giraffe is around 300/190. They need to have a high BP to get the blood all the way up the neck to profuse the brain with oxygen. I am thoroughly impressed by their cardiovascular system."
anastasiaanne
"They also have a specific mechanism to not let their brain explode from too much blood pressure when they lower their head to drink. Truly fascinating creatures."
Doc_Plague
Breeding
"Komodo dragons usually reproduce sexually, but females in captivity have been known to reproduce by parthenogenesis, without the need for sperm."
Dusty_Roller
dragon spinner GIFGiphyI really have no interest in anyone or anything's sex life but mine.
Read the label...
"There would be a lot more ancient Egyptian mummies if we didn’t grind most of them up to paint with or… eat."
Faust_8
"Victorians be whack. Mummy brown was a very popular paint pigment for the time, creating a rich brown color that couldn’t easily be replicated, and eating bits of mummies (mixed into other things mind you, it was considered a medicine and not a food) was thought to possibly cure diseases. Probably had 0 scientific backing behind it even back in the day but trendy rich people are trendy rich people no matter the era."
MadameCat
Dance Dancing GIF by Scooby-DooGiphyImportant Dates
"Anne Frank, Martin Luther King, and Barbara Walters were all born in the same year."
Crooooow
"C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley died on the same day, but it didn't really make the news because the day was 11/22/1963 and it was also the day JFK was shot."
SerialKillerVibes
"It's wild that Anne Frank or MLK might still be alive today if they hadn't been killed by oppressive right-wing regimes. Makes you wonder what we're missing out on."
BabyYodasDirtyDiaper
Taste Related
"Almonds are from the peach family."
RifleShower
"Cashews, pistachios, and mangos are related to poison ivy. If you are extremely sensitive to poison ivy you may also react to the others. Mango skin can cause the ‘mango mouth’ rash and cashews for example can give you a terribly itchy bu**hole."
howling_greenie
"If done right, marzipan (made from almonds) and persipan (made from peach seeds) almost taste the same."
CaptainThorIronhulk
Over the Water
"The shortest commercial flight in the world lasted 57 seconds. It was a Loganair flight between two Scottish islands, Westray and Papa Westray. It was recorded the shortest commercial flight, with the distance of 1.7 miles."
AnneKellyy
"It’s actually quite necessary. There are too few people living there to build bridges, and the seas are too rough for ferries, so the only real option is to use planes. As for the planes themselves, the ones operating the flight are tiny DHC-6 Twin Otters, which don’t use that much fuel relative to larger airliners."
griffin-meister
Pieces of Rain
"Humans can smell some components of the smell of rain (the geosmin part of petrichor, specifically) far better than sharks can small blood in water. We are very very sensitive to it."
"Edit: thank you all for enjoying this fact I really like reading all your replies and I’m learning even more about this. Now go own people in trivia! Science is awesome! Thank you for the premium/gold whoever did that!"
Ratmatazz
madonna GIFGiphyWell that was entertaining. I knew I loved rain.