Also super long, to the point where I feel like this will just be like shouting into thin air.
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My intended message was that in the much broader context of the labor market as a whole, tech workers make enough money that instead of trying to scratch out another $30k in bonuses or some arbitrary perks... they should focus on ways to better generate & distribute the wealth in the economy to match their perception of "fair & just".
I would say the same thing to lawyers, doctors, and other highly paid skilled professions if the article was about them. Take the capital you have, whether it is financial or political, and do something to help someone who actually needs it.
If you feel like you should be paid more, that's a private discussion between you and your employer. Save the blogs, articles, disgruntled forum comments, and general bellyaching for a professional discussion with your manager/HR/whatever.
So when I say I think this is a good thing, I mean that in the same way I would say that my young son tripping and falling on his face is a good thing after I told him for the 20th time to stop running in the damn house. He's a tough kid, he's got plenty of energy and won't have any problems recovering from the fall. Maybe he will bleed a bit, maybe he will cry, and just maybe.... he will slow the fuck down and be a bit more mindful of his surroundings.
Unlike my son though, we are whole ass grown adults who don't need a hug and a pat on the head after tripping a bit.
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Honestly the meat of the problem I am (poorly) trying to communicate is that EVERYONE just seems too damn loud, too damn entitled, and never actually focused on even just identifying societal scale solutions to perceived issues, much less implementing any useful change.
It sounds & feels like noisy chickens pecking for higher place in the order, using real (business owners hoarding $$$$$x100+ of easily liquidated assets) and fabricated (managers making $$, while engineers make $) adversaries to justify their "unselfish" desire for an ever growing slice of the pie.
(1) How about we look at fixing the (supply/cost) issues preventing young adults earning the median income for their demographic from purchasing a starter (2bd 1ba) home/apartment/loft in the vast majority of metropolitan areas?
Well this would require big government to start regulating and taxing property ownership more, which affects only the individuals who are in a position to bitch about how it isn't fair to them.
(2) How about we address the sheer inadequacy public education's curriculum on personal financial literacy?
Well to do that we need to pay teachers more, and now we're in the weeds about state budgets, federal spending, corruption in education departments, etc.
(3) How about doing something about the predatory college system that places young adults in a position of either not being able to earn enough for rent (See 1 & 2) or unable to save enough capital to try their hand at becoming an entrepreneur (the American Dream?!) due to their crippling student loans?
Well, you can't fix it going forward without someone complaining about how it doesn't help those already affected. Then you get into debates about personal accountability versus unfair lending practices, etc.
(4) How about we address the culturally ingrained expectation of a globally unsustainable standards of living created by minimally regulated, generations deep, deceptive marketing practices?
Here you are up against an ARMY of people whose relationship with the truth is best described as abusive, spinning things around and around until somehow it is the consumer's fault for thinking they could possibly afford to be the statistical average joe. If you do manage to open a dialogue for even identifying the problem scope, you'll end up down another rabbit hole about personal accountability & how those who have everything are somehow morally superior to those left longing for the image of eden they're constantly followed around by.
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I could go on and on about issues that are both important AND urgent that make this "problem" a tiny insignificant blip affecting only the lives of people who could do more if they weren't so focused on so little.
But to be fair, I don't do anything about these problems either, so full steam ahead I guess.