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

Post by cguess » Thu, Apr 23, 2026, 9:04 PM UTC

johnsmith1840 wrote: post #480

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…

I don't think you've seen starving people if this is your opinion. I have never seen someone in america starving.

Post by eloisant » Thu, Apr 23, 2026, 9:04 PM UTC

rconti wrote: post #361

burningChrome wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sense your lack of hope and see it in a lot of younger people these days. I grew up in the 80's. College in the late 90's. Start of career in the mid aughts. Went through two dot com busts, and have seen a lot of shit. The one thing that my generation (Gen X) seemed to have was always some optimism for the future. Some hope that as bad as it is now? It will eventually get better. The economy will recover, tech jobs…

Huh. I'm a successful person in my mid 40s, just a year or two behind you. Objectively things are going great. However, my perspective has gotten a lot worse the last couple of years. Enshittification, corporate consolidation, tech market, AI, etc. I didn't once worry during the dot com bust, or the financial crisis, or the outsourcing boom. It feels VERY different this time. Basically it feels like tech was the last…

Post by retired » Thu, Apr 23, 2026, 9:06 PM UTC

jimbokun wrote: post #477

mancerayder wrote: post #289

Our CEOs are happily, gleefully, boasting about how we're replaceable. That sort of stuff causes pitchforks to rise up in other countries. We Americans are hard-working sheep, and we deserve all the motivational Corpspeak we have to suffer through on LinkedIn posts. I've worked in this industry (tech) a very long time, and in every job I have peers that boast about off hours work. We get what we deserve.

My one vacation to Paris I was very concerned about the protests/near riots, things being set on fire, and garbage piled high because of strikes I saw on television. But we ended up having a great time. Got used to the piles of garbage, and the fires and protests were scheduled in advance so easily avoided. And I gained an appreciation for the willingness of French workers to stand up for themselves.

Post by dudefeliciano » Thu, Apr 23, 2026, 9:07 PM UTC

bontaq wrote: post #409

My mom said, "whatever we built isn't working anymore," and I think that captures most of the sentiment. It's also funny to see the "the economy is roaring!" "incomes are up!". Great, have they increased by as much as inflation? Can I afford a home? Work has if anything gotten worse in general. Remote's gone. Pay's less. ADHD maximum AI use required. Nobody can take a break. Pressure's on. 1.5 trillion more to the mi…

Post by retired » Thu, Apr 23, 2026, 9:11 PM UTC

JeremyNT wrote: post #290

xyzelement wrote: post #75

I feel like this is an easily answerable question, but I can see this because I grew up an atheist (and travel in those typically atheist/educated/professional circles) and have become much more aware/educated in/embracing of religion later in life myself. If you compare apples to apples - say my average atheist friend who is a director in a FAANG and also my religious friend who is also a director in the same FAANG.…

> lives much closer to family (intentional choice) Living close to family is surely the single thing most could do to immediately improve their happiness. (while not all of us are lucky to have welcoming family, the way people in the US are willing to uproot themselves and move across the country where they know nobody is extremely harmful to their senses of community)