I mean, my grandmother used to talk about how people are just "mooching off the system" and living off "her taxdollars" while depending on her social security checks every month. She also felt it prudent to mention how Mexicans are coming over the border to steal our benefits (right in front of my Mexican wife), while she has been on Medicare for like 25 years and therefore had not had to pay for health insurance for that entire time, while the Mexicans who come here decidedly do not get that luxury unless they become citizens. When I called her out on this stuff, she'd give some vague justification about "savings accounts" and the like.
She might still say this stuff, I don't know, I haven't talked to her in like 7 years.
The hypocritical potential of humans is incredible.
Sadly, that is my experience with some of my nice, but not too sophisticated relatives. One of the funniest things I ever heard was: "California is so hostile for business!" I pointed out that the fastest growing, most world beating corporations have been coming out of California for the last generations. The reply: "That's not business, that's tech."
These people in general had jobs working for the state or local government. But they were very sure in their views about the economy. My point is that they also didn't really directly benefit much from tech, or international trade, or global finance. So they really didn't have a big stake in being right or wrong.
Yeah, I have had the exact same argument, with that same grandmother; she said NY and California are horrible for business and that's why "no one is opening up businesses there". When I pointed out that that's just not true, California and NYC actually have a lot of very successful and profitable businesses, the response was that "tech" and "finance" don't count, for undefined reasons.
> My point is that they also didn't really directly benefit much from tech, or international trade, or global finance. So they really didn't have a big stake in being right or wrong.
I mean, they have some stake though; presumably most of them have a 401k or some equivalent if they have government jobs, which probably invests in a diversified S&P500 fund or something similar, and most of the biggest businesses in those are tech companies. They should care a little about those business; their retirements probably depend on them.
She might still say this stuff, I don't know, I haven't talked to her in like 7 years.
The hypocritical potential of humans is incredible.