The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
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The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
1–10 of 28 posts
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#2I've seen the graphs showing that the combined costs have risen much more than salaries and such. So it's no surprise. Nobody seems to know what the solution is, other than moving away from the places where the worst inequality is right now.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/28/countries-wit...
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#3Now we are all Frank Grimes.
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#4I've seen the graphs showing that the combined costs have risen much more than salaries and such. So it's no surprise. Nobody seems to know what the solution is, other than moving away from the places where the worst inequality is right now. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/28/countries-wit...
Nobody seems to know what the solution is, other than moving away from the places where the worst inequality is right now.
Taxes! Tax financial gains better and more consistently, tax income more progressively, eliminate tax loopholes, and structure taxation in a way that encourages corporations to raise pay for employees instead of paying out huge dividends etc. to investors.
Productivity has outpaced income year after year since the 1970s. That difference is going to the people who already have wealth.
Zoning! Ignore the hue and cry of existing property owners who don't want their property values to fall and rezone to encourage new housing development in desirable areas.
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#5When I was growing up in the late 80s thru 90s, my family was an early "casualty" of this economic trend. The housing / rental market in Massachusetts was already too expensive and layoffs too rampant for a blue collar family to survive. We had to move across the country.
I remember even as a kid being confused about the Simpsons. It didn't look like my family's situation. It didn't even look like the life of any of the people I knew. They/we lived in houses without switchplates over the outlets. Houses they rent but didn't own, or rent-to-own houses with gotchas in the fine print they didn't understand.
The Simpsons also never went hungry. They had family meals. At my friends' houses we ate microwave potatoes with soda. My family went hungry 3 days at the end of each month.
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#6When I was growing up in the late 80s thru 90s, my family was an early "casualty" of this economic trend. The housing / rental market in Massachusetts was already too expensive and layoffs too rampant for a blue collar family to survive. We had to move across the country. I remember even as a kid being confused about the Simpsons. It didn't look like my family's situation. It didn't even look like the life of any of…
> They/we lived in houses without switchplates over the outlets
What's the significance of this? I think this is a nuance of American wiring that is lost on me, i'm afraid.
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#7When I was growing up in the late 80s thru 90s, my family was an early "casualty" of this economic trend. The housing / rental market in Massachusetts was already too expensive and layoffs too rampant for a blue collar family to survive. We had to move across the country. I remember even as a kid being confused about the Simpsons. It didn't look like my family's situation. It didn't even look like the life of any of…
> They/we lived in houses without switchplates over the outlets What's the significance of this? I think this is a nuance of American wiring that is lost on me, i'm afraid.
They're poor and their house is pretty shitty.
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#8I've seen the graphs showing that the combined costs have risen much more than salaries and such. So it's no surprise. Nobody seems to know what the solution is, other than moving away from the places where the worst inequality is right now. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/28/countries-wit...
Nobody seems to know what the solution is, other than moving away from the places where the worst inequality is right now. Taxes! Tax financial gains better and more consistently, tax income more progressively, eliminate tax loopholes, and structure taxation in a way that encourages corporations to raise pay for employees instead of paying out huge dividends etc. to investors. Productivity has outpaced income year af…
Consumer credit provides upward pressure for the price of goods while removing the composite pressure for wage growth. I think the liberalization of the consumer credit market is the primary catalyst for this situation.
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#9I've seen the graphs showing that the combined costs have risen much more than salaries and such. So it's no surprise. Nobody seems to know what the solution is, other than moving away from the places where the worst inequality is right now. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/28/countries-wit...
Nobody seems to know what the solution is, other than moving away from the places where the worst inequality is right now. Taxes! Tax financial gains better and more consistently, tax income more progressively, eliminate tax loopholes, and structure taxation in a way that encourages corporations to raise pay for employees instead of paying out huge dividends etc. to investors. Productivity has outpaced income year af…
While I disagree on the targets of financial gains and income, I think that tariffs and excise taxes along with foreign currency exchange taxes would be more impactful. A significant portion of the issue comes down to the amount of manufacturing that has gone overseas, and with a lot of those at the top having tax havens and/or being incorporated out of the US, the use of financial gains taxes would do very little to curb the tide.
And despite the increased cost in a lot of things, I think a trade war with China is largely inevitable. As to the increased costs, maybe it would actually get people to think about what they're doing, and other points of concern like Right To Repair legislation. The fact that we buy so many things in our day to day lives that don't even make it 5 years is fucking ridiculous.
Re: The Life in the Simpsons Is No Longer Attainable
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nobody seems to know what the solution is, other than moving away from the places where the worst inequality is right now. Taxes! Tax financial gains better and more consistently, tax income more progressively, eliminate tax loopholes, and structure taxation in a way that encourages corporations to raise pay for employees instead of paying out huge dividends etc. to investors. Productivity has outpaced income year af…
Consumer credit provides upward pressure for the price of goods while removing the composite pressure for wage growth. I think the liberalization of the consumer credit market is the primary catalyst for this situation.
Can't disagree there... My home is apparently worth about 30% more today then when I bought (mortgage) it two years ago. That's just insane. Not to mention the price of cars as another large example car loans when I was a kid were maybe 3-4 years, now they're often 7+ on new cars.