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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?

#581

Post by loloquwowndueo »

anovikov wrote: post #492
snikeris wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Houses got expensive because of usury (loans made for unproductive purposes). It destroys civilizations over time. That is why it was encoded into ancient religious traditions. Housing, education, and cars, all typically financed via loans, all exorbitantly expensive.

I'm not even sure where "houses got expensive" come from. Houses certainly did not increase in price (per unit of area) in last ~80 years, inflation adjusted - they tightly fluctuate around the same point. Housing affordability is in fact 4th best in the US among all countries in the world, and it got better in the last decades (although with fluctuations, and periods when it was getting cheaper were not pleasant as…

> I'm not even sure where "houses got expensive" come from

Not been shopping for a house recently?

Avg house price in my city doubled in the past 5 years.

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

#582

Post by eloisant »

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)

It's also something that has nothing to do with religion. I am always surprised to see how religion people sometimes think you can't care about other people or your family if you don't believe in a bearded guy in the sky.

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

#583

Post by HDThoreaun »

davesque wrote: post #464
HDThoreaun wrote: post #455

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is new. Even in the 90s boulder was largely empty, competition for land was low, so land was cheap. As people spread to newer cities and gained wealth they bid up the price on land.

> Even in the 90s boulder was largely empty Uh, no it wasn't? I was living there and continued living there for the next 30 years. It always felt about as dense to me as it did back then.

>It always felt about as dense to me as it did back then.

This is why its so expensive. Demand for housing has increased but supply has not. The government refusing to allow densification in the face of increased demand means prices skyrocket

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

#584

Post by newsoftheday »

nemomarx wrote: post #296
newsoftheday wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're understanding falls far short. Jesus saves us from the final end destruction, and helps us who believe on him through our daily lives. Some people get along fine without religion. What happens to them when the final destruction (from God, not man) gets here depends on whether these people continue to do it all on their own and choose to not believe; or whether they choose to let him in and believe. In either c…

something being within gods control but not within Jesus is a little heretical, to my understanding of the Trinity. You might want to talk through that with your priest sometime?

Jesus himself said he does not know when God will end the world. That is what I was referring to.

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

#586

Post by pipes »

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…

And yet people risk their lives to get to the USA. They vote with their feet. It isn't perfect but declaring "it isn't working", my response "compared to what".

I'm from the UK, it isn't in great shape. And the EU isn't either. The west in general has problems, just no where on the scale of every other country.

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

#587

Post by pipes »

randomNumber7 wrote: post #459
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…

Money should only have the purpose of realizing ones goals, it has no purpose in itself. The whole society has lost its goal when the only target is to maximize money.

I see it money as a wall. Without it, me and my family are defenceless. My goal is keeping us safe.

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

#588

Post by fuzzfactor »

anonu wrote: post #267
everdrive wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to see a spending breakdown. I wonder just how much of that 50% of spending is stuff that the bottom 90% would actually be competing for -- eg: an expensive bathroom remodel, a luxury car, etc, vs something basic such as tennis shoes or groceries from the local market.

Does it matter? Most people need a car in the US. But if cars are marketed and designed for the 10%, this squeezes out everyone else.

Very good observation.

Remember, entry level cars never generally had air conditioning even in Florida, until the Nixon Recession got underway.

A/C had always remained a distinctly luxury option until "nobody could afford anything any more", then the car companies had to not only cut back plus have layoffs but also target a higher-dollar price point. Where significantly more costly (sometimes nice) options are included, and a bare bones version is no longer an option on the car lot.

Just to survive themselves.

That's what that kind of Presidential malfeasance will do.

Somebody who's getting the most out of a rich country is going to be getting richer even under the worst of conditions, but when the zero-summing comes home to roost, everyone else has to pony up in some way or another to make it come true for the mostly undeserving elites, because of the underlying structure.

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

#589

Post by eloisant »

wat10000 wrote: post #299
krapp wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that so many Americans listened to and followed those religious nutjobs and they were able to sweep the government with such little effort suggests no such "secularization" ever took place. They're like people who see some pernicious "gay agenda" infiltrating all aspects of their lives just because they see two gay characters in a sitcom. Their fears are just projection. The power centers of the US have alwa…

The US was 90% Christian and 5% None just 35 years ago. Today it's 63% Christian and 29% None. That seems pretty rapid to me. It has not reached anything close to a majority yet, so the religious still hold great sway. And the perceived threat from their decreasing belief share pushes extremism.

Meanwhile in France "None" is at 51%. We did it! We outnumbered them!

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

#590

Post by rstuart4133 »

Impressive article. He gathered a lot of data interesting in its own right, tested a lot of theories, focused on facts over assertions; and it did it in a way that was a pleasure to read.

The conclusion was somewhat underwhelming: it's a least two things hitting at once: inflation and COVID, possibly with social media thrown in.

I dunno if he's right, but I'd probably add two more factors: the latest round of the ongoing (for 4 years now) Ukraine war coincided with the start of the decline, and now the rise of AI providing a sting in the tail. In fact it was the total lack of AI writing in this piece that made it such a pleasure to read. It's a rare find nowadays.

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