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

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

#181

Post by eitally »

BJones12 wrote: post #151
725686 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What has atheism anything to do with this?

Because the article's question is 'how did America get so sad' and the answer is 'because it lost Christianity' because Christianity makes people less sad.

I'm not even sure it's Christianity that makes people less sad (I would argue that it isn't). It's the civic community that churches often create that breed purpose & happiness. Churches aren't the only types of communities that do this, but they're by far the most common.

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

#182

Post by iso1631 »

some_random wrote: post #5
functionmouse wrote: post #2

because America's not rich; like 100 people here just have more money than most countries

That's just objectively untrue. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/median-in...

Slightly exaggerated

The top 10 individually have more wealth than Iceland, which is 83rd.

The top 25 combined have a wealth of $3.2t, more than Belgium, which is 20th.

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

#183

Post by bombcar »

some_random wrote: post #169
partiallypro wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is very very rich, the average person is much wealthier than the average European. 76% of Americans do not live paycheck to paycheck. That is a self reported stat and not reliable. It's a media sensationalist headline grabber which virtually every economist ignores. People don't like saying America is rich because it defies their beliefs, but the actual stats don't lie. Every American I know that has moved to…

One quick correction, it's not a self reported stat, it's a stat from a viral tiktok that comes from maybe a 2013 survey on a personal finance site.

> 2013 survey on a personal finance site

E.g, self-reported but with TikTok noise added.

All of this stuff tries to be factual and scientific about something that is a feeling, really - if you're $80k in debt (not that I know ANYONE like that no, sirreeeeee!) and have no plan and don't even know how much you owe each month, you're going to be stressed and pissed and always surprised.

If you're in the exact same situation but have it all documented and budgeted and planned for (what I call "knowing exactly how fucked you are") you'll be much better off mentally even if not financially (at first, that will follow).

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

#184

Post by mbgerring »

anthonypasq wrote: post #176
mbgerring wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m tired of people saying this. I was in Taipei recently and had to do a reality check, because obviously, the exchange rate means the food seems cheap, but I checked again against local incomes, and yes, it turns out: Taipei has abundant cheap food relative to local incomes , beyond the wildest dreams of most American cities. Americans need to stop telling ourselves this lie. We get so little for our money compared…

so you think restaurants are the most important indicator of wealth? Americans are rich in land and cars. Whether thats important to you is a different question. But I think the average resident of Taipei would trade their street food for a 3000 sqft house with a yard and a pool and a quiet neighborhood and 2 large luxury vehicles.

The average American doesn’t have this. The average resident of Taipei would not trade their quality of life for the actually equivalent quality of life in the United States. Source: multiple Taiwanese immigrants I know personally, planning to return home for this reason.

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

#185

Post by pstuart »

725686 wrote: post #133
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.…

What has atheism anything to do with this?

I think the value add of religion per the top comment is that it typically has a built in community and sense of connection. Churches bring people together in multiple ways.

I write that as an atheist who is more isolated than I'd like. I'm working on community and connection but it's challenging when one works remotely and relocates to a new town.

While I recognize the community value of religion and the comfort it brings people, it comes at a huge cost that far outweighs the benefits. IMHO, organized religion is a cancer on modern society. I think there's other ways to get the good parts from it but that's a team effort.

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

#186

Post by samarthr1 »

sealthedeal wrote: post #109
comrade1234 wrote: post #6

I feel like wealthy americans live like poor Europeans - they live far outside the city in crowded suburbs, no amenities walking distance so they have to drive everywhere, having to commute an hour to their job, eating bad manufactured food... I'm American but moved to Europe years ago. It may be even better being poor here because at least you might live in a village and you'll have healthcare and your government wo…

I live in a nice suburb outside of Austin in the hills, and it's incredible. If I moved to Europe, I would still live outside of the city with some land where I have privacy. Living in a dense area is cool for some people, but not others.

Exactly!

Having a house that is large enough to support whatever hobby(/ies) one takes up is an underappreciated aspect of suburban living.

Growing up, (moderately wealthy) in a comparatively decent sized apartment, in a decent area, the biggest reason to not take up something like woodworking, or say working on a car, or for that matter gardening.

So, as soon as I graduated, I moved out of the city, into a suburb. I get 80% of the benefits of the density (there is a denser suburb 1km away), so I get walkable shops, and all the hep places to eat/drink are just 30 minutes away by car :)

Did I mention the ability to stretch my arms without punching someone in the face while travelling? (because public transport when successful (highly utilized) is crowded, and that is just plain painful)

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

#187

Post by [deleted] »

wat10000 wrote: post #178
lotsofpulp wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Happiness = Reality minus Expectation (and sadness is the negative values). For example, if you expected your country to have checks and balances and not empower people who tried to damage the democracy, the reality would sadden you. If you expected to be able to have 2 kids, afford healthcare, not worry about loss of income, live near family in a 2k+ sq ft home, and fly to Disneyworld and Hawaii for vacation, then c…

I wonder how avocados became the poster child for unreasonably expensive food. They're not actually that costly.

[deleted]

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

#188

Post by wat10000 »

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.…

I doubt it's quite that simple, but this does seem likely to be a big factor. I say this as an atheist myself. Religion does seem to give people a purpose and a community that's difficult to find elsewhere, and that translates to happiness. Sometimes I wish I could do it, but I can't.

While a fall in religiosity may be part of the cause, I don't think a return to religion is the answer. We need to find ways to replicate the non-supernatural aspects of religion without the weird stuff.

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

#189

Post by rootusrootus »

BJones12 wrote: post #151
725686 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What has atheism anything to do with this?

Because the article's question is 'how did America get so sad' and the answer is 'because it lost Christianity' because Christianity makes people less sad.

Modern christianity in America is a primary contributor to my sadness.

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

#190

Post by xyzelement »

everdrive wrote: post #135
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.…

> say my average atheist friend who is a director in a FAANG Not a lot of "average" going on here.

What I should have said is the two guys are fairly representative and more importantly line up to the story: if we are so Rich how are we so sad. So I used to relatively rich friends as the example:)
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