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And because of the way the free market works despite the average family working twice as many hours as one in the fifties they're no better off, and in a lot of

And because of the way the free market works despite the average family working twice as many hours as one in the fifties they're no better off, and in a lot of cases worse off, in terms of what they can actually afford. And kids never get to see their parents. I don't know what the solution is long term but I have a feeling someday this experiment in free market capitalism is going to be considered in similar ways to the USSR's experiment in communism a few decades from now.

briandear 10y ago
Do you have any data supporting those claims?
lgieron 10y ago
> And because of the way the free market works despite the average family working twice as many hours as one in the fifties they're no better off IMO the fifties in the US were a total anomaly and they're not coming back ever. It was a time where (more than?) half of the world was taken out of competition due to idiotic economic system of communism, and Europe, the only potential competitor to the US, was still in shambles after the war. The US were a sole economic superpower, no wonder people had it great back then.
Hondor 10y ago
When people have the opportunity to earn more, they do, no matter how hard it is for them. Then they find things to spend that extra money on that they wouldn't otherwise have spent it on, like a house in a more expensive neighborhood and they end up still not having much money. It's just a personal choice. Ask if your wife is willing to not work, buy a house in a cheap town, buy a used Japanese import car and carry on living a comfortable 50's lifestyle if you want. But you won't want because you'll see all that money waiting for you.
- bmj 10y ago
  When people have the opportunity to earn more, they do, no matter how hard it is for them. Citation needed. It really depends on how you view the world. If that view is all about money and consumption, then, yeah, you probably won't leave money on the table. There are, however, competing worldviews that offer different versions of the good life, and in my experience, there are plenty of willing to leave money on the table because of it.
cnlevy 10y ago
Free-market capitalism ? On the contrary, its absurd regulations for new housing that raised prices. If free market was reigning, many more apartments would have been built, lowering housing prices.
sampo 10y ago
> I don't know what the solution is long term but I have a feeling someday this experiment in free market capitalism The skyrocketing housing prices are caused by strict zoning regulations, and there is absolutely nothing about free market capitalism in strict zoning regulations.

briandear 10y ago

Do you have any data supporting those claims?

lgieron 10y ago

> And because of the way the free market works despite the average family working twice as many hours as one in the fifties they're no better off IMO the fifties in the US were a total anomaly and they're not coming back ever. It was a time where (more than?) half of the world was taken out of competition due to idiotic economic system of communism, and Europe, the only potential competitor to the US, was still in shambles after the war. The US were a sole economic superpower, no wonder people had it great back then.

Hondor 10y ago

When people have the opportunity to earn more, they do, no matter how hard it is for them. Then they find things to spend that extra money on that they wouldn't otherwise have spent it on, like a house in a more expensive neighborhood and they end up still not having much money. It's just a personal choice. Ask if your wife is willing to not work, buy a house in a cheap town, buy a used Japanese import car and carry on living a comfortable 50's lifestyle if you want. But you won't want because you'll see all that money waiting for you.

bmj 10y ago
When people have the opportunity to earn more, they do, no matter how hard it is for them. Citation needed. It really depends on how you view the world. If that view is all about money and consumption, then, yeah, you probably won't leave money on the table. There are, however, competing worldviews that offer different versions of the good life, and in my experience, there are plenty of willing to leave money on the table because of it.

cnlevy 10y ago

Free-market capitalism ? On the contrary, its absurd regulations for new housing that raised prices. If free market was reigning, many more apartments would have been built, lowering housing prices.

sampo 10y ago

> I don't know what the solution is long term but I have a feeling someday this experiment in free market capitalism The skyrocketing housing prices are caused by strict zoning regulations, and there is absolutely nothing about free market capitalism in strict zoning regulations.