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If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

derekthompson.org

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Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#381

Post by fakedang »

cvoss wrote: post #345
tim333 wrote: post #305

As an occasional visitor to the US from England I was surprised by how expensive it's become. The US always used to seem cheaper than England I think largely because the government got out of the way so houses were cheap because you could build them, cars were cheap because you could import them, food was cheap because you could just grow stuff in huge fields whereas in England much of that was restricted. On my trip…

The US has an enormous land area and the cost of living varies dramatically across it. Intense pockets develop where the high paying jobs are, and everyone wants to cram in there to compete for those jobs, and then they're competing for the housing there, so the prices skyrocket, so the jobs have to pay higher still. Wealthy as the average person may be, the poverty slope is very steep in such places. The SF / Bay Ar…

You still don't expect people to go hungry in a first world developed country. Nor did people go hungry or homeless at this scale before in recent American, British or even broadly Western history. Yet here we are, and the UK is no exception either.

At least you can be guaranteed for certain you won't be going hungry in Istanbul, Warsaw or Amman.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#382

Post by saltcured »

xyzelement wrote: post #248
tock wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Large sections of China, Japan, etc are atheists. Why do you think it hasn't worked?

Well for one obvious example is both of those societies are only recently atheist (<100 years) and that they both have an absolute dismal birth rate that makes it hard to imagine how they will look like a hundred years from now.

Buddhism is an atheist philosophy. It has been around longer than Christianity. It has hundreds of millions of adherents.

Do you disregard it because you don't think they are successful, or numerous enough?

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#383

Post by CPLX »

gypsy_boots wrote: post #137
CPLX wrote: post #83

Important thing to know about Derek Thompson is that he has a very specific job in the culture. His job is to present compelling, interesting narratives about why the world is the way it is and what we should do about it that have one specific attribute. The attribute is that we must never actually do anything to address the real problem, which is that the lion's share of the wealth and resources are being claimed by…

> The attribute is that we must never actually do anything to address the real problem, which is that the lion's share of the wealth and resources are being claimed by a tiny group of people who use monopolies, coercive tactics, buying up politics and technology to hoard and protect their wealth and power. Yes, thank you for saying this. Truly the "Steven Pinker" of these times. "There is actually something wrong wit…

Yes, I am well aware that I have posted my comment on the promotional website for a multi-billion dollar private equity fund.

I guess I can think of worse audiences to try to get this message across to, somehow, one person at a time.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#384

Post by fakedang »

nephihaha wrote: post #324
tim333 wrote: post #305

As an occasional visitor to the US from England I was surprised by how expensive it's become. The US always used to seem cheaper than England I think largely because the government got out of the way so houses were cheap because you could build them, cars were cheap because you could import them, food was cheap because you could just grow stuff in huge fields whereas in England much of that was restricted. On my trip…

The UK's the same. The lockdown was a major driver of this.

Can say from experience volunteering, I was mighty surprised when literally children were being rendered hungry and homeless in London during Covid.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#385

Post by slackfan »

Findecanor wrote: post #349
slackfan wrote: post #29

Our per-capita SSRI consumption is lower than more than a few EU countries'. Also sadness is a natural and ok state of being. Being a gronked out happy zombie is unnatural and should be suspect.

One should not trivialise depression. It is a lot different than just a feeling. I've suffered from and been successfully treated for depression. I would describe it more as an addiction to feeling low than anything. I suspect that in the EU there can very well have been a lot of overprescription of SSRI for conditions other than depression, however. Many times, people are just melancholy because of external life fac…

If you haven't stared at a wall deciding whether to continue living or not - you have not lived. No trivialization here.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#386

Post by mothballed »

pelasaco wrote: post #379
mothballed wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're already happy you should think carefully about having kids though. I was extremely, extremely satisfied with my life before children. My kid is wonderful and healthy but as an introvert I didn't realize just how crushing it is to never get an extended period alone to recharge.

> If you're already happy you should think carefully about having kids though. Well then you get your 60s and your focus changes. Kids become adults. Family is the true legacy. We didnt come so far as society searching for netflix and chill. > I didn't realize just how crushing it is to never get an extended period alone to recharge. You cannot just relax, because guess what, some human beings depends on you. But yea…

I think it's a bit presumptuous to think I was just relaxing. I was doing stuff like fighting in a foreign civil war and commercial fishing in the Bering Sea. I wasn't really 'relaxing' so much as doing things that are impossible to do without being alone from family. I'm probably an odd ball but those are the sorts of things that 'recharge' me.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#387

Post by danielbln »

blipvert wrote: post #272
linkregister wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree with your analysis of suburban Americans' lifestyles! Social isolation is endemic in suburbs. > eating bad manufactured food Things have changed dramatically in the last two decades. Food quality has never been better in suburban areas. Every Publix and Kroger has oat milk (I'm using this as a proxy for variety). Produce is fresher and longer-lasting. Consolidation and urbanization has left many rural…

You might use oat milk as a proxy for ultra-processed food. I used to live next door to a farm and I know how milking works - don’t ask me to milk an oat, though.

At least oats don't have to be perpetually kept pregnant while taking their offspring away from their mothers. See, snide comments cut both ways.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#388

Post by globular-toast »

The biggest difference between the US and other first world countries is inequality. The article rules this out in a ridiculous way. First it only mentions wage inequality, then it just says that median wages have risen, which says nothing about inequality at all. But wage inequality is nothing, it's wealth inequality that matters. People are more happy when they don't see others having more than they'll could ever dream of everywhere.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#389

Post by t-3 »

cvoss wrote: post #345
tim333 wrote: post #305

As an occasional visitor to the US from England I was surprised by how expensive it's become. The US always used to seem cheaper than England I think largely because the government got out of the way so houses were cheap because you could build them, cars were cheap because you could import them, food was cheap because you could just grow stuff in huge fields whereas in England much of that was restricted. On my trip…

The US has an enormous land area and the cost of living varies dramatically across it. Intense pockets develop where the high paying jobs are, and everyone wants to cram in there to compete for those jobs, and then they're competing for the housing there, so the prices skyrocket, so the jobs have to pay higher still. Wealthy as the average person may be, the poverty slope is very steep in such places. The SF / Bay Ar…

> But, all that said, its probably not wise to generalize an experience about Austin to an idea about the US as a whole. At best, you might generalize it to ideas about large US cities.

I'm sceptical that not generalizing will be the smart move. The world is more and more connected these days. A person in Rural Town A and a person in Urban Area B and a person in Whole Other Side of Planet C all have access to many of the same goods and services, and almost all the same information as each other. Price and supply information and news from areas are all available instantly in contexts far removed from where they originated, and are having ripple-effects in areas beyond where they'd be logically applicable because communication is so cheap and low-friction. I think we need to generalize more, because those who set prices are definitely going to be generalizing and trying to pull prices towards the highest possible profit margin. Only commodities get supply-and-demand price cuts. Everything else gets inflation for any valid reason and deflation for no valid reasons.

Re: If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?

#390

Post by thomukas »

crooked-v wrote: post #368
thomukas wrote: post #356

Americans hate each others guts that’s why. And they are not equipped for a more cplx world. As seen from a European (often going to US, have friends and relatives there) I am surprised the author does not mention how the US became so much more polarised (on the usual race/guns/abortion/sex/gov topics). Covid fragilised people social networks (isolation, job market shifts) and they’re left herding around the usual di…

When talking about that polarization, it feels irresponsible not to mention the role of Fox News and companies like Sinclair Broadcast Group in pushing 24/7 fear-and-hate programming nationwide, partly to continuously promote right-wing politics, partly because angry and scared people are more vulnerable to ads like "use all your money to buy gold from us because it's the only safe investment".

they are just an economic actor maximising profit by exploiting a low-regulation environment where anything can be monetised even hate (again “freedom”)
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