4 ms·

Your point is well written but you seem to be referencing some past golden age of inter-person cooperation before "big government" got involved. I'm not saying

Your point is well written but you seem to be referencing some past golden age of inter-person cooperation before "big government" got involved. I'm not saying your wrong but anytime our thoughts lead us to imagine the past as a place wth less problems, it's a good clue we're maybe thinking about the situation less well than we could. In your mind, when you imagine the 1920's, or the 1960's, do you think that there were incredibly high levels of cooperation between people? I don't want to put a huge burden of evidence of you, but am curious. Also if anyone gets a chance please look into the book "The Way We Never Were" by Stephanie Coontz. Good examination of American family trends and activities over time.

tcbawo 9y ago
I don't buy the golden age of giving scenario either, but it seems there was an era where people had more time (single income households), more disposable income, less pressure to save for education, retirement, medical expenses, etc. My parents tell a story about how in the 1950's, my grandfather built his house himself. One day after work, he came to the site and his neighbors were at work helping out on it. Of course, he was an immigrant living in a relatively homogeneous ethnic community. So, maybe small communities took care of their own, but in the post-drug, post-industrial economy small communities aren't diverse enough to handle the load.
- croon 9y ago
  I think one aspect is income equality during the 1950s: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/income-inequality-is-not-a-myth/247389/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/income-... Especially these graphs: https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/median%20earnings%20men.png https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/median... https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/mean%20median%20annual%20earnings%20for%20men.png https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/mean%2... And during this time, the GDP growth rate was great: https://www.thebalance.com/us-gdp-by-year-3305543 https://www.thebalance.com/us-gdp-by-year-3305543 Of course the average worker would be less stressed, have more time for communal activity, as well as rotate A LOT more money back into the economy compared with money sitting still on top.

tcbawo 9y ago

I don't buy the golden age of giving scenario either, but it seems there was an era where people had more time (single income households), more disposable income, less pressure to save for education, retirement, medical expenses, etc. My parents tell a story about how in the 1950's, my grandfather built his house himself. One day after work, he came to the site and his neighbors were at work helping out on it. Of course, he was an immigrant living in a relatively homogeneous ethnic community. So, maybe small communities took care of their own, but in the post-drug, post-industrial economy small communities aren't diverse enough to handle the load.

croon 9y ago
I think one aspect is income equality during the 1950s: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/income-inequality-is-not-a-myth/247389/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/income-... Especially these graphs: https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/median%20earnings%20men.png https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/median... https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/mean%20median%20annual%20earnings%20for%20men.png https://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/mean%2... And during this time, the GDP growth rate was great: https://www.thebalance.com/us-gdp-by-year-3305543 https://www.thebalance.com/us-gdp-by-year-3305543 Of course the average worker would be less stressed, have more time for communal activity, as well as rotate A LOT more money back into the economy compared with money sitting still on top.