4 ms·

Still a pretty good upgrade from the large scale horrors that were happening in that country 70 years ago. But lots of work to do still. Silver linings.

blunte 8y ago
Measuring against 70 years is reasonable when considering humanity as a whole. But within a human lifespan, 10-30 years of trending really matters. In the US, quite honestly, the trend has been negative since the mid 1960s. That's not ideal for those of us in the prime of our lives now. If you look at the US trends in the late 50s, it was far better than the trends in the 90s, 2000s, and beyond.
- crazygringo 8y ago
  Sure, rent is more expensive and income inequality is worse... But I certainly wouldn't trade my life currently for the 1960's in a second -- going tremendously backwards with civil rights and LGBTQ attitudes, the Vietnam War debacle, no internet, missing out on five decades of health care advances and new treatments, vastly safer cars, I could go on and on and on... Really not sure what trend you're talking about. If you say the "trend" has been negative since the 1960's, you're saying things are worse today than the 1960's... and I just fail to see how that's true except in very specific areas like student debt or healthcare spending, but certainly not overall.
  - BadassFractal 8y ago
    Steve Pinker comes to mind.
    - _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
      What in particular? His Whig history of the world?
  - _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
    I would say there's a negative trend from the beginning of the 80s. Yes, there has been some amount of progress in civil rights (though it's been very slow) and inevitably there will be technological/medical advances, but the economic position of all but the rich is significantly worse than in, say, the mid-70s.
    - refurb 8y ago
      Economic situation is worse than the stagflation of the 1970s? I’d disagree. It seems like people view the 1950s to 1980s with rose colored glasses now. The mood in the late 1980s and early 1990s was much better than it has been the last few years. And better than it was in the 1970s.
      - blunte 8y ago
        In real terms this was an illusion. It was the beginning of the new age of personal debt (which then rose like a rocket during the Clinton years). The best realization of the American dream was on the decade after the end of WW2. Incidentally, it was a period with comparatively high corporate taxes. Now we have historically low corporate taxes, not even counting maneuvers like the Irish/Dutch indefinite tax deferment scheme. What has been promoted as common free market wisdom at least since the 80s has no subsantive evidence to back it up. If you want a current example of reality vs "common wisdom" economics, compare California to Wisconsin, Kansas, or Texas.
        forapurpose 8y ago
        > The best realization of the American dream was on the decade after the end of WW2. An essential caveat: That only would apply if you were a white male, a Christian to a significant extent, and possibly a Protestant. For women, African-Americans, and many other minorities, the American Dream was far out of reach. African-Americans were still being lynched. > Incidentally, it was a period with comparatively high corporate taxes. An excellent point, and don't forget much higher regulation. > If you want a current example of reality vs "common wisdom" economics, compare California to Wisconsin, Kansas, or Texas. Yes, I try to point out: Name one great American industry that came out of a 'red' state, other than extractive industries like oil. Does the whole country want an economy and human welfare like Alabama or like Massachusetts?
  - blunte 8y ago
    Well if you go back before the 1800s, heterosexuality was not only not even a word, but it was not a concept.

blunte 8y ago

Measuring against 70 years is reasonable when considering humanity as a whole. But within a human lifespan, 10-30 years of trending really matters. In the US, quite honestly, the trend has been negative since the mid 1960s. That's not ideal for those of us in the prime of our lives now. If you look at the US trends in the late 50s, it was far better than the trends in the 90s, 2000s, and beyond.

crazygringo 8y ago
Sure, rent is more expensive and income inequality is worse... But I certainly wouldn't trade my life currently for the 1960's in a second -- going tremendously backwards with civil rights and LGBTQ attitudes, the Vietnam War debacle, no internet, missing out on five decades of health care advances and new treatments, vastly safer cars, I could go on and on and on... Really not sure what trend you're talking about. If you say the "trend" has been negative since the 1960's, you're saying things are worse today than the 1960's... and I just fail to see how that's true except in very specific areas like student debt or healthcare spending, but certainly not overall.
- BadassFractal 8y ago
  Steve Pinker comes to mind.
  - _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
    What in particular? His Whig history of the world?
- _emacsomancer_ 8y ago
  I would say there's a negative trend from the beginning of the 80s. Yes, there has been some amount of progress in civil rights (though it's been very slow) and inevitably there will be technological/medical advances, but the economic position of all but the rich is significantly worse than in, say, the mid-70s.
  - refurb 8y ago
    Economic situation is worse than the stagflation of the 1970s? I’d disagree. It seems like people view the 1950s to 1980s with rose colored glasses now. The mood in the late 1980s and early 1990s was much better than it has been the last few years. And better than it was in the 1970s.
    - blunte 8y ago
      In real terms this was an illusion. It was the beginning of the new age of personal debt (which then rose like a rocket during the Clinton years). The best realization of the American dream was on the decade after the end of WW2. Incidentally, it was a period with comparatively high corporate taxes. Now we have historically low corporate taxes, not even counting maneuvers like the Irish/Dutch indefinite tax deferment scheme. What has been promoted as common free market wisdom at least since the 80s has no subsantive evidence to back it up. If you want a current example of reality vs "common wisdom" economics, compare California to Wisconsin, Kansas, or Texas.
      - forapurpose 8y ago
        > The best realization of the American dream was on the decade after the end of WW2. An essential caveat: That only would apply if you were a white male, a Christian to a significant extent, and possibly a Protestant. For women, African-Americans, and many other minorities, the American Dream was far out of reach. African-Americans were still being lynched. > Incidentally, it was a period with comparatively high corporate taxes. An excellent point, and don't forget much higher regulation. > If you want a current example of reality vs "common wisdom" economics, compare California to Wisconsin, Kansas, or Texas. Yes, I try to point out: Name one great American industry that came out of a 'red' state, other than extractive industries like oil. Does the whole country want an economy and human welfare like Alabama or like Massachusetts?
- blunte 8y ago
  Well if you go back before the 1800s, heterosexuality was not only not even a word, but it was not a concept.