21–30 of 225 posts
Because we are never satisfied with a stable standard of living; people want to live better than their parents did. Automation only decreases the need for labor if you hold standard of living constant.
This comment ignores the fact that wages have stagnated while productivity has skyrocketed.
Working more hours is a way to increase your rank. Thus it becomes an arms race between the employees. You work 40 hours, I increase to 45, then you increase to 50.
So, to some extent, hours worked don't correspond to hours needed to be worked for productivity purposes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Housing price increase just doesn't go to landlords. It goes to City and state coffers via tax. Chicago had two housing tax hikes in 2017, for example. Edit: Added links > For homeowners in Chicago, the average increase is 10 percent. https://rebootillinois.com/2017/06/13/big-property-tax-hike-... > Summary over past couple of decades https://d2dv7hze646xr.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015...
Confused by the downvotes here. In almost all of America (looking at you Cali) the property taxes are reassessed yearly to the value of the home. This is how we want it. The three blocks in every direction surrounding a middle school shouldn’t be populated by 80 year old retirees.
Chicago used hike this year to fund pensions
This graph is a good summary
https://d2dv7hze646xr.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015...
> Illinoisans’ residential property-tax burden – as a percentage of median household income – has risen 76 percent.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/reports/growing-out-of-contro...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It has been constant for almost half a century for the middle class, yet everyone is working more for the same not less. How exactly can you live better than your parents, assuming they had a house, a car or two, phones, TV, computers, access to supermarkets of all kinds, enough money for living expenses and a hobby or yearly vacation...
Go watch a sitcom from the 50s and compare it your surroundings. Hopefully you come to the conclusion that your standard of living is immensely greater than theirs was. If you are thinking of things like the cost of college don’t forget to factor in how many people go to college today versus back then. If you are thinking about the cost of housing, we still have the same land and a growing population. I’m city center…
Even if material wealth has improved, economic insecurity is worse. People feel worse off as a result.
Inflation, taxes, and regulatory burden. Savings have been systematically eroded for 50+ years. Total taxation is now 40+% of GDP. Private sector workforce participation is dropping. Regulatory burden dramatically increases health care, housing, and transportation costs. All of these policies have worked to keep you in the office.
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-us-taxes...
Would be a dream to work just 40 hours per week.
Because we are never satisfied with a stable standard of living; people want to live better than their parents did. Automation only decreases the need for labor if you hold standard of living constant.
It has been constant for almost half a century for the middle class, yet everyone is working more for the same not less. How exactly can you live better than your parents, assuming they had a house, a car or two, phones, TV, computers, access to supermarkets of all kinds, enough money for living expenses and a hobby or yearly vacation...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Go watch a sitcom from the 50s and compare it your surroundings. Hopefully you come to the conclusion that your standard of living is immensely greater than theirs was. If you are thinking of things like the cost of college don’t forget to factor in how many people go to college today versus back then. If you are thinking about the cost of housing, we still have the same land and a growing population. I’m city center…
In 50s sitcoms, you'll see people working union jobs with pensions. There are a lot fewer of those these days. Even if material wealth has improved, economic insecurity is worse. People feel worse off as a result.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It has been constant for almost half a century for the middle class, yet everyone is working more for the same not less. How exactly can you live better than your parents, assuming they had a house, a car or two, phones, TV, computers, access to supermarkets of all kinds, enough money for living expenses and a hobby or yearly vacation...
Go watch a sitcom from the 50s and compare it your surroundings. Hopefully you come to the conclusion that your standard of living is immensely greater than theirs was. If you are thinking of things like the cost of college don’t forget to factor in how many people go to college today versus back then. If you are thinking about the cost of housing, we still have the same land and a growing population. I’m city center…
