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Comment by scottyah | Hacker News Reader

I don't think you could find a single person working for OpenAI that couldn't find employment elsewhere within a month that pays more than enough for food and shelter. This is a ridiculous statement.

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These people are now dependent on their level of income. And they don't like financial uncertainty, just like anyone else.

But yeah, I'd expect them to change jobs in the coming year or otherwise I'm going to agree with you.

>These people are now dependent on their level of income.

Kinda sucks if you take a seven figure per annum job and are now dependent on their level of income. Quick question: Is this true for everyone? If I take a job that pays twice of what I earn now, my food spending is going to double for instance? Or is this an american thing?

I used to live on $20K/yr working a restaurant job, now in tech and six figs I'm still check to check. It's a lifestyle/personal choice thing in my case I'm dumb/waste money.

It's actually in some verticals of the American industrial/business sector a bit of a shibboleth I think. There's a certain mentality around "visible conspicuous consumption" that is a signal to those in the upper class that you're a prime candidate for leaning on. You're hungry, will do anything to stay where you are, and can be relied upon to "play ball with the big boys" in part because if you don't, and try to take them down, they know what you did to get there. Someone who doesn't participate in such is something to be wary of. Less purchase for manipulation. Possibly an indication of a lesser degree of skin in the game. An indication of different priors I guess. I've often wondered if there's a similar distrust between the nouveau riche and old money for similar reasons. Wouldn't know myself though. Haven't bumped around in quite those high circles myself.

There's a (maybe new?) focus on health in America, and it is tied directly with dollars spent for the most part. If I made $50k more a year, it would disappear down the drain on purchases like lean bison meat instead of fatty ground beef. I'd get more expensive, locally grown and better tasting vegetables. I'd get a home where I could have a cold plunge, sauna, and whatever new toys that data or rumor backs that promise to reduce brain fog, increase energy, etc. As always, America has so much diversity in what you can buy and food/health is no different.

I imagine it'd be hard to take your family from healthy meals back to rice and beans.

Or they all just get fancy cars and big houses to show off, who knows. I certainly can't be sure how my life would change with 7 figures.

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