Should the one percent be exclusively blamed for creating our stratified society? Occupy Wall Street came, and to some degree, has gone. Like many professional middle class progressive movements, its main focus has been on inequality between the owning class and everyone else. However, is the 1 percent owning class completely guilty for the stratification […]
About Jay Mahin
10 Ways a Corporate Workplace is Worse than a Casino
1. A Casino is legally required to post the odds of each bet. Corporate workplaces can lie about your chances of rising to the top. 2. If you gamble in a casino using a line of credit and lose, you can file for bankruptcy. If you take out a student loan to go to college […]
The Ivy League: a class-based sorting system
Barack Obama’s election represented a triumph for African Americans who suffered years of race- and class-based oppression. Electing a black president was definitely a plus for African Americans and society as a whole. Among his opponents in 2008 were working class whites who were attracted to Sarah Palin. Many of these people seem to fit […]
Lance Armstrong and the Illusion of Meritocracy
The psychology of the “Anti-Lance Armstrong Brigade” illustrates exactly why socioeconomic inequality is increasing so much in this country. While Lance Armstrong is privileged by his race and class, the nature of the attacks against him illustrate what is wrong with society today. To clarify, I do not condone cheating in sports. However, I do […]
Anti-Classism and the Populist Right
Within the past two decades, the American professional and business world has begun to develop into a caste system based on the college that one attended. It seems that across industries from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, having an Ivy League degree has become the litmus test for intelligence and competence. There are hundreds of […]
Cautionary notes about liberals’ election self-congratulations
The election and reelection of Obama is a historical milestone in race relations. It is a definitely an achievement we should be proud of. We truly have came along way since, the days of reconstruction, when it was unusual for an African American to even visit the white house. While Obama’s election and reelection truly […]
An interesting class culture question
To what extent is a person’s class culture determined by the environment they are raised in, and to what extent is it determined by their parents’ class culture? What do I mean? I have noticed an interesting phenomenon: In owning-class old money families eventually the money runs out and people are forced to raise the […]
Ironies of hip places and companies
The San Francisco Bay area is the most open minded, experimental, and inclusive place in the world. It is full of a million young white/Asian professionals with lofts, Iphones, and lattes who all vote Democrat and all think differently. Google and Apple are the most broad minded, Inclusive, Egalitarian, and thinking-out-of-the-box companies. They are open […]
When you’re rich and when you’re poor
When you’re rich and lose money on a leveraged investment, you are a victim of the bad economy and deserved to be bailed out. When you’re poor and lose money on a risky investment, you’re a financially incompetent yahoo who chases get rich quick schemes. When you’re rich and a war is about to start, […]
25 Reasons why working at McDonald’s is better than being a graduate student
25. In order to get promoted at McDonald’s, there is no need to invent an original sandwich and defend it. 24. You are guaranteed a meal at McDonald’s. 23. McDonald’s has more people of color in top positions. 22. Once you submit an order to a customer, either the customer tells you what is wrong […]
