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America's Complacent Class
- pm90 10y agoThe article paints a pretty negative picture of the present. While its true that there has been a convergence of factors that have caused much despair/desolation in most of America outside Tech/Coastal areas, this might simply be a rebalancing of the economy. Completely anecdotal of course, but most of the young Americans I see/meet are incredibly optimistic about the future, willing to work hard for their future, interested in other cultures etc. (But perhaps this is only because I live in a liberal city). It seems like Millennials are much better poised to build and contribute to a 21st century America. At the risk of sounding incredibly ageist, it seems like its the older generation, the baby-boomers who are unwilling to retrain, unwilling to move, unwilling to accept or understand the new economy and world order. They seem to be yearning for a time when life was easier. While I can understand the sentiment, it seems to be producing incredibly toxic effects on the nation; we've seen the political ramifications, soon we might see social and economic ones as well.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- throw_away_777 10y agoI think there is a strong selection bias going into effect here. I know plenty of young people who are struggling to find good jobs and not optimistic about the future, and I live in a "liberal" city.
- oompaloopa 10y ago.
- Spooky23 10y agoI have to agree. It's a vacuous article about what appears to be an even more vacuous book.
- pm90 10y ago> Can we keep the state sponsored propaganda off this site? How is NPR state-sponsored propaganda? They've been some of Trump's harshest critics IMO, even after he became POTUS.
- oompaloopa 10y ago.
- jjawssd 10y agoOne way to view NPR as state-sponsored propaganda is by looking at the connection between NPR and the Open Society Institute, an organization representing the deep state run by George Soros. It is exceedingly unlikely that a 1.8 million dollar donation will be given for nothing in return. "(...) the Open Society Institute opted against on-air credit for its $1.8-million donation to NPR last year" https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Secret-Tape-Explores/158703 https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Secret-Tape-Explores/15... This is the foundation run by the guy that heavily influenced: * All the "color" revolutions * The most recent Maidan Square coup that fractured Ukraine * 2014 Ukraine coup * Attempts to oust Assad more... (http://gulagbound.com/12652/top-5-revolutions-backed-by-george-soros/ http://gulagbound.com/12652/top-5-revolutions-backed-by-geor...) Look into the influence of George Soros and his foundations on politics in countries all over the globe. In the James Bond movie "Spectre" this guy was represented by the villain. Interesting stuff EDIT: why is this being downvoted?
- pm90 10y agoAgain, my question is: how is this state-sponsored?
- grzm 10y agoIf you think a submission is inappropriate for HN, please flag it and move on.
- oompaloopa 10y ago.
- grzm 10y agoI'm not saying anything about the submission: it's just the appropriate behavior on HN. If you want it off the site, flag it: if it's inappropriate, it's not worth discussing on HN.
- germinalphrase 10y agoWe can disagree that the author's analysis is faulty (or that they inadequately support their reasoning with evidence) without merely casting it away as propaganda. For instance, doesn't technology lead to significant gains in productivity, thus potentially exacerbating the vary demographic/economic shifts the author is arguing for (stipulating, for argument, that these shifts are actually taking place)? What, specifically, do you disagree about the author's argument?
- oompaloopa 10y ago.
- germinalphrase 10y agoOr, perhaps this social/economic sorting is merely an emergent behavior? I don't understand how it is arguing against free will to acknowledge, for example, that I when I buy a house in a particular neighborhood I may be contributing to a larger pattern of social segregation (or gentrification or - when my parents bought their first home - racial segregation via the unknown redlining of that neighborhood). If this social sorting has larger negative effect on the country (which I don't know to be true, but is the author's argument) then it follows that these people are systemically responsible even if they aren't personally/morally/ethically responsible. I don't find that any more offensive than acknowledging that I am contributing to the pollution of my city when I drive a car - because I am and I do.
- sctb 10y agoWe ban accounts created just to post like this.
- cjslep 10y agoIt certainly hasn't helped that: - The adage "don't believe everything you read on the internet" from the 90's and 00's has substantially died off. - People have turned to listening to reply, not listening to understand. - Death of "the expert", where people believe they're a search away from being an expert on a topic. - The language of the current divide (Patriots vs Authoritarians) is still instead presented along the partisan axis (Democrat vs Republican). - Glorification of the 50's prosperity, where the USA was the only major manufacturing power worldwide not decimated by WW2. All of this is fuel for various forms of civic-oriented intellectual laziness.
- 65827 10y agoThis touches on something that's been bugging me for awhile, and I think it's related to all the harm people do in the process of furthering their careers. Most people's goal seems to be either to get into that perfect career spot or do ANYTHING to maintain that current job they acquired. Everything else is secondary. Family, religion, strong personal beliefs, politics, getting treated for substance abuse, etc etc. Everything is less important than that career, you are not a real man or woman if you don't have a job and don't provide for your family. Everything important is disregarded to further one's own career (I HAVE to fly to this conference, I have a super important career and all that carbon emission nonsense is for other people or other days). When this all goes away and nobody works unless they want to the shift is going to break so many fucking brains. I really hope people can embrace the shift and work on self improvement and curiosity above all, but my hunch is most people with this idea that their job completely defines them won't handle the transition very well.
- dennisnedry 10y agoI agree, you constantly see posts and discussions on the elusive concept of "work-life balance". People don't stop and take the time to address their personal needs and just concentrate on the career.
- ryanSrich 10y agoThat's the wrong way of looking at it. Question why people are like that. Humans aren't infatuated with their work by some corporate conspiracy. Work has always defined the individual. Look at the history and origins of family names.
- pm90 10y ago> Humans aren't infatuated with their work by some corporate conspiracy I don't think he/she implied that.
- infinite8s 10y agoThat's only in post agricultural societies. Look at most Pacific new Guinea tribes (where scarcity isn't much of an issue) and you see a lot more focus on social networks and leisure time.
- rhardgrave 10y agoTyler Cowen has a good video on this as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfYEJa_Q38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdfYEJa_Q38
- tomcam 10y agoI love the idea of NPR discussing a complacent class
- throw_away_777 10y ago"On the fact that median male wage was higher in 1969 than it is today" The obvious explanation for this is women entering the workforce, it is basic supply and demand. While this is good for the economy and society as a whole, clearly men now face more competition for jobs.
- brownbat 10y ago> "wealthier people tend to live together more than before and so do poorer people" Some people are essentially told to contribute to this phenomenon when you buy a house in the US. High home values mean good school funding, which means homes will hold their value over time, pricing out people of different incomes. Buy the cheapest house you can in the most expensive neighborhood you can afford for the best return (with the caveat that mixed use zoning is rare). If had a Japanese zoning model,[0] decoupled school funding from local incomes,[1] and ended or capped the mortgage interest deduction, a lot of this would go away. None of those are trivial changes without entrenched interests though. [0] http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html [1] I've heard some states do this already. Oregon maybe? I know economic mobility varies a lot based on where you are in the US. http://www.npr.org/2014/01/23/265356290/study-upward-mobility-no-tougher-in-u-s-than-two-decades-ago http://www.npr.org/2014/01/23/265356290/study-upward-mobilit... Would be interesting to cross compare that with some of these policies, see how much they matter. Maybe the effects of redlining can't just be papered over so quickly.
- germinalphrase 10y agoI am actually somewhat surprised that rural school districts haven't argued for pooling state funding assets. The focus always tends to be on the Urban vs Suburban divide (and cultural politics involved with suburban flight, etc.) - but rural schools would far and away be beneficiaries of such a policy change.
- Spooky23 10y agoRural districts want independence. Pooling of funding always results in consolidation.
- germinalphrase 10y agoI have been under the impression that economic want fuels consolidation: as funding is reduced small districts must consolidate into a smaller number of larger schools. I believe this is what has happened in Kansas - small towns have lost local schools and kids are bussed into larger, more centralized school districts. Anecdotally, I've heard fears that this might threaten the long term stability of the small towns as kids will be less inclined to move back. Can't speak to that personally, though.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- wonderwonder 10y agoThe fact that the rich keep getting richer seems to argue against his point of people becoming complacent around those like them. I would argue that the wealthy surrounding themselves with other wealthy is actually a driver for them to acquire more. On the other hand this definitely has a negative affect on the poor and minorities. Although I would argue they are not so much complacent as just treading a path that is very difficult to deviate from, probably in part due to factors the article references. In the tech sector I don't really see any aversion to moving for a job or reluctance to jump ship, just the opposite, and the tech sector is a major driver of US industry. But I can understand how this occurs in fields such as manufacturing. This is just my personal experience though. I think complacency is not the best word to describe this phenomenon.
- ZogZogZog 10y agoOn the one hand I'd love to talk about this with other people, particularly the sort of person who gets (some of) their news from Hacker News. On the other hand I feel like political garbage is what killed off Slashdot, and I love how HN feels like /. before it tanked. So with that being said - what I took from the article was the author's belief that Trump won because the economy is doing great for some people and terribly for others (this seems like a reasonable statement to me). He goes on to say that those people who are doing well haven't done enough to help those who have been left behind. I think there's a kernel of truth here, but I think he's also leaving something important out. Many of those most solidly left behind vote hard-right. They go to the polls and vote for politicians who promise to gut the government - to slash taxes, eliminate public education, slash Social Security and Medicare, to make the government so small you can drown it in a bathtub. It's very, very hard for those who are doing well to help those who are left behind when the people who are left behind are working so hard to eliminate any help they could (and should!) get from the government.
- MikeTheGreat 10y agoI'm new here, and just read the Guidelines. It says "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon." This post doesn't seem particularly technical, and (IMHO) isn't particularly interesting. Should this article actually be here?
- grzm 10y agoHN has a complicated relationship with submissions related to politics. There's been plenty of discussion related to what's appropriate and what's not. Also key to remember is what's on-topic: "anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity." Please note I'm not here taking a position on this particular submission. Here's a link to some comments by mods on the topic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13527940 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13527940 When you've been on HN after a while you'll get a feel for what's appropriate and what's not, and when you've accumulated enough karma, you'll be able to flag submissions you think are inappropriate.