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A four year degree is no longer an advantage but rather a base which allows you to have even a hope of competing. Not having a degree is of course a disadvantag

A four year degree is no longer an advantage but rather a base which allows you to have even a hope of competing. Not having a degree is of course a disadvantage. As automation and outsourcing continues, the issue will only worsen. On top of that we are constantly bombarded with images of the life we should be living via advertising and television. Not meeting these media driven standards leads to further depression and despair. Doctors prescribe opioids because drug companies encourage them too, leading to an easy addiction and escape for the depressed. We need to start treating people like they matter and help them understand that there can be joy and happiness in even the simplest of lives.

throwanem 10y ago
Joy and happiness are nice things to have. Making rent every month is nicer.
- mtberatwork 10y ago
  Indeed: "When asked whether it was more important to them to have financial stability or to move up the income ladder, 92 percent of Americans choose security, an increase of 7 percentage points since 2011." [1] [1] http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2015/02/americans-financial-security-perceptions-and-reality http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-brie...
- wonderwonder 10y ago
  Of course rent is important. But we don't need a 3/2 when a 2/1 will meet all of our needs. I feel like we are driven to buy things beyond our needs and our inability to afford those things is one of the drivers of despair.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    It's not nothing. But it's nothing next to the fear of ending up homeless.
gdulli 10y ago
It's a shame that the party that's in favor of subsidizing education didn't do better in the election. Education decreases fear and prejudice, so there's a catch-22 where we can't get people more educated and fix that without convincing them first that the problem isn't immigrants seizing a large amount of resources in a zero-sum game.
- throwanem 10y ago
  The party that's in favor of subsidizing education would've done better in the election if it had put forward the candidate who people thought would actually do so. There's going to be books written about the DNC's 2016 self-destruction for years to come.
- AnimalMuppet 10y ago
  "In favor of subsidizing education" isn't the same as "actually getting people educated", though. And that party's policies, even when enacted, haven't created an educational system that does much better at actually educating people.
  - anigbrowl 10y ago
    That's true, but the other party is openly antagonistic to educating people which is a bit of a problem.
jm__87 10y ago
> On top of that we are constantly bombarded with images of the life we should be living via advertising and television. Not meeting these media driven standards leads to further depression and despair. Not meeting these standards does not automatically lead to depression and despair. You have to think that these things are things you should be attaining to actually feel bad about not having them. This is more of a personal development problem, not a media problem.

throwanem 10y ago

Joy and happiness are nice things to have. Making rent every month is nicer.

mtberatwork 10y ago
Indeed: "When asked whether it was more important to them to have financial stability or to move up the income ladder, 92 percent of Americans choose security, an increase of 7 percentage points since 2011." [1] [1] http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2015/02/americans-financial-security-perceptions-and-reality http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-brie...
wonderwonder 10y ago
Of course rent is important. But we don't need a 3/2 when a 2/1 will meet all of our needs. I feel like we are driven to buy things beyond our needs and our inability to afford those things is one of the drivers of despair.
- throwanem 10y ago
  It's not nothing. But it's nothing next to the fear of ending up homeless.

gdulli 10y ago

It's a shame that the party that's in favor of subsidizing education didn't do better in the election. Education decreases fear and prejudice, so there's a catch-22 where we can't get people more educated and fix that without convincing them first that the problem isn't immigrants seizing a large amount of resources in a zero-sum game.

throwanem 10y ago
The party that's in favor of subsidizing education would've done better in the election if it had put forward the candidate who people thought would actually do so. There's going to be books written about the DNC's 2016 self-destruction for years to come.
AnimalMuppet 10y ago
"In favor of subsidizing education" isn't the same as "actually getting people educated", though. And that party's policies, even when enacted, haven't created an educational system that does much better at actually educating people.
- anigbrowl 10y ago
  That's true, but the other party is openly antagonistic to educating people which is a bit of a problem.

jm__87 10y ago

> On top of that we are constantly bombarded with images of the life we should be living via advertising and television. Not meeting these media driven standards leads to further depression and despair. Not meeting these standards does not automatically lead to depression and despair. You have to think that these things are things you should be attaining to actually feel bad about not having them. This is more of a personal development problem, not a media problem.