this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2023
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A Boring Dystopia
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I'm having trouble understanding what you're trying to say. You think we have a lower standard of living today than in the past?
50 years ago what was so great that we have lost? 25 years?
From where i've sitting my QOL is only higher than when I was a kid growing up without hot water or air conditioning. Poorest family in a middle class town. That's just anecdotal but most seem to take for granted the things everyone has today. Magical handheld computers didn't exist when I was a kid and now almost everyone has one in the US.
The only thing out of reach is home ownership. Landlords are the new slaveowners. Not that you can really compare slavery to modern day working class jobs.
It's not the same people that were poor before that are poor now. A lot of immigrant makes for the poors of today, and their situation is certainly not better than 50 years ago.
Many things are to consider: it's far harder to find a job now, and it's far, far more expensive to have a home.
But indeed we got stuff that didn't existed before. Phone, Internet, etc. But these things are comparatively very cheap. And you actually need them to have a normal life today. They are more like new expenses than luxury. You also need a car today, something you didn't 50 years ago.
Basically, inflation rised faster than income, new expenses were created. I'm pretty sure we have less public services now than 50 years ago too.
The new expenses would be a benefit to societies if the rich didn't take all the benefit for themselves. All progress has been stolen by the rich.
My wife grew up in a 3rd world country so I know a bit about how things have changed in the past 30-40 years or so even abroad. QOL has risen around the world. Immigrants from poorer countries will ALWAYS be last place when coming here and competing to climb the ladder if they come with few skills - but they'll also be better off than the overwhelming majority of people in their former country.
I disagree that it's harder to find a job. It's harder to find a job that pays well that isn't blue collar without a college degree and fluency in English. In Massachusetts it's trivial to find a job for $15/hr (minimum wage). You can't afford an apartment on your own though... you're going to be renting a room at best and hopefully if you're lucky living with family who already have a home.
If you start off as a blue collar apprentice doing carpentry, hvac, plumbing - you name it, you're going to start off above minimum wage, you're going to get regular raises and each certification you pass will greatly increase your income, and it'll all be paid for by the employer. Blue collar jobs in construction will always be in demand and are always hiring. Amazon may lay off tens of thousands of highly compensated employees but aint nobody laying off a plumber. If you've ever looked at getting work done on a family home you'd know there's a lengthy waiting period.
Basic cell phones are fairly cheap. Internet is fairly cheap for low income households.
If you think we had things better 50 years ago i'd try watching a documentary about life in the 60s or 70s. We take a LOT for granted today. Life is practically nothing like it was back then. MRIs didn't even exist until 1977. CT Scans weren't invented until literally 50 years ago. This is just two examples of medical technology but the list goes on and on. The cost of everything is much higher but the quality and safety standards today are higher than ever in most industries. Labor cost here is also higher than ever.
Higher housing costs are almost entirely a function of higher incomes and higher demand. US population has grown from ~212 million to ~331 million.
When I was a kid you were still paying per minute for phone calls. Air conditioners were still a luxury (I never had one growing up.)
In my extended family i've seen two people who are immigrants pass a programming boot camp and get jobs in this economy (past 12 months.) Zero connections, references etc... they applied and got jobs. What's stopping someone from learning how to program? or if ADHD- learning how to do blue collar work as an apprentice?