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America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

ineteconomics.org

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Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#21

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

psyc wrote: post #17
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Requesting that opinions be backed up with data is the hallmark of an actual scientific culture.

If Hacker News cargo-cults an actual scientific culture long enough, maybe it will transform into one.

There are plenty of real research studies and articles (often displayed on HN) that show the growing inequality in the US, with correlations between that inequality and lots of negative social outcomes. If we want to debate inequality, we should do it on one of those articles, not this 0-content opinion piece.

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#22

Post by elmalto »

daodedickinson wrote: post #10

College doesn't work very often anymore. There are plenty of Comp Sci programs at US universities where half or more graduates can't get FTE jobs. We're so tired of seeing education being touted as a solution as underemployment continues to skyrocket because the new structural reality of the economy is that human bodies are being considered the most costly expense to be excised.

I just read in, I think, Bloomberg, that the unemployment rate for STEM secondary education is around 2.4%. Do you have any numbers to support your statement (I obv don't have any)?

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#23

Post by jessaustin »

madengr wrote: post #14

It ought to be FS (Finance & Software) instead of FTE. The TE (Technology & Electronics) isn't a growth sector. Seems most hardware is overseas, unless one assumes growth in automation, but again that's mostly software. The SM in STEM doesn't pay, unless M is in Finance. Don't know why he would specifically call out Electronics unless he naively thinks that is software.

He's an econ prof at MIT, and is getting back at the hard science people who have bullied him for years? I propose FIRE is a more appropriate acronym against which to direct one's ire over the state of society.

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#24

Post by planteen »

mpweiher wrote: post #15
unicornporn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Numbers are better than gut feeling when it comes to economics... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_Unite...

It's a bit more than "gut feeling", it's qualitative data, and I think it helps tremendously with understanding something. Quantitative data is important to see whether the qualitative data is actually representative.

We can test your 30 year old cars feeling with numbers. Less than 10% of vehicles on the road in the US are 21 or more years old: https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-3/pdf/americans-aging-au...

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#25

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

Throwaway_98 wrote: post #19
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I flagged this article because it is exactly the type of article I believe doesn't belong on HN. No empirical evidence, just opinions that may or may not be based in actual facts.

Well done, brave Throwaway. Now please keep flagging articles with no charts, even the ones who cater to your belief system.

This one does cater to my belief system. Have we reached the point where it's nearly inconceivable that one can actually agree with a conclusion but still find the reasoning and evidence sloppy (or nonexistent)?

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#26

Post by elmalto »

madengr wrote: post #14

It ought to be FS (Finance & Software) instead of FTE. The TE (Technology & Electronics) isn't a growth sector. Seems most hardware is overseas, unless one assumes growth in automation, but again that's mostly software. The SM in STEM doesn't pay, unless M is in Finance. Don't know why he would specifically call out Electronics unless he naively thinks that is software.

Not sure where you got that notion, but coming from an M back ground I know that M is in high demand, for example, in computer/data science, insurance, or consulting.

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#27

Post by stevespang »

Brings to mind the map of the Pacific American States and the Nazi States from the Amazon TV show: The Man in The High Castle

How about the Low Wage Zones of America, vast surreal areas policed on the exterior borders by robot teams, ruled internally by meth labs and cartels, much like the Rio de Janero slums today . . .

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#28

Post by psyc »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #21
psyc wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Hacker News cargo-cults an actual scientific culture long enough, maybe it will transform into one.

There are plenty of real research studies and articles (often displayed on HN) that show the growing inequality in the US, with correlations between that inequality and lots of negative social outcomes. If we want to debate inequality, we should do it on one of those articles, not this 0-content opinion piece.

Or we could just debate it, if it matters.

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#29

Post by 6t6t6t6 »

8draco8 wrote: post #9

I think that everybody have to understand that USA is very big country and it's extremely diverse, much more than countries in Europe. USA seems to have spots of extreme wealthy like Silicon Valley and most of the West Coast and extreme poverty like Detroit. With very small (in comparison to European countries) support for people in needs it's very easy to fall under poverty line only because of some accident.

Diversity is the main "excuse" I hear when speaking about the inequality problems in the US.

USA is in no way more diverse than Europe. Are you saying that a guy from Lisboa and a guy from Prague (who, by the way, don't speak the same language) are more similar than a guy from LA and another from Columbus?

The root of the inequality in the USA is political, not the diversity.

Re: America is regressing into a developing nation for most people

#30

Post by mpweiher »

planteen wrote: post #24
mpweiher wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a bit more than "gut feeling", it's qualitative data, and I think it helps tremendously with understanding something. Quantitative data is important to see whether the qualitative data is actually representative.

We can test your 30 year old cars feeling with numbers. Less than 10% of vehicles on the road in the US are 21 or more years old: https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-3/pdf/americans-aging-au...

You seem to confuse 'cars with old technology' with 'old cars', though I am not sure how "cars with '50s technology" could have led to that confusion.

Anyway, these are not even close to being the same. I was talking about the fact that the new cars being sold had ancient technology.

These were not "feelings". I mean, they were selling cars with rigid axles that would screech when turning corners. My dad (who worked for both US and German carmakers) explained other details to me about the engines, about fit-and-finish etc., but it was also painfully obvious for a layperson like myself.

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