4 ms·

So the economic situation in the US is not as amazing as it was before. So what ? Compared to the rest of the world, people in the US have it easy. Heck, in m

by petra 6y ago

So the economic situation in the US is not as amazing as it was before. So what ? Compared to the rest of the world, people in the US have it easy. Heck, in many places in the western world, people can't even afford to buy an apartment , which many in the US own or will own houses.

salamimonger 6y ago
I'd say people in other places have it way easier. They don't fear bankruptcy when considering whether or not to get a health checkup. They don't pay the majority of their wage to have a decent livingspace. They pay less for food and overall have less cost of living. Poor people in the third world can eat decent meals (and they don't even need to cook it themselves) for almost nothing compared to the US. What do our poor have access to? I guess dollar menus at fast food chains. So no, I don't think it's fair to say people in the US have it easy. You have it easy, and maybe the people around you do. But that means nothing to all the other people whose pain and suffering are invalidated by people like you just because they happened to be born on a piece of land that happens to be classified as "first world."
westwing 6y ago
Look at tax/insurance burden in all these developed and aging countries. Most of that money is going towards paying off the older generations, their ailments and their debt, and it's still not enough, debt just keeps growing. Then look at the tax/insurance burden of developing countries. Sure, these people earn nominally less, but they often live relatively better lives. They're living lives closer to what our boomer parents lived. Real estate prices are a distraction. These are high because interest rates are low. It's probably not a good idea to buy real estate even if you can afford it.
MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
People in Pakistan and afghanistan can legally be in debt bondage to their landlords. US citizens have it on easy mode.
vcxy 6y ago
You're definitely right, but it doesn't change that, at least from the inside, the parent comment seems to be accurately describing the cognitive dynamic. I'm married and in my 30s. We aren't planning to have kids, we have no assets, my wife still has student debt (epidemiology is a bad field if you plan to work in the public sector), and with my "good" insurance, I can't afford dental work that I need related to growing up in poverty. Despite this, we have super comfortable lives, as you say. We've jumped from trailer park, meth country poverty to truly living like we're in the middle class, something I think is way harder to do in other countries. But kids? No. That looks like a ticket right back to where we started.

by petra 6y ago

salamimonger 6y ago

I'd say people in other places have it way easier. They don't fear bankruptcy when considering whether or not to get a health checkup. They don't pay the majority of their wage to have a decent livingspace. They pay less for food and overall have less cost of living. Poor people in the third world can eat decent meals (and they don't even need to cook it themselves) for almost nothing compared to the US. What do our poor have access to? I guess dollar menus at fast food chains. So no, I don't think it's fair to say people in the US have it easy. You have it easy, and maybe the people around you do. But that means nothing to all the other people whose pain and suffering are invalidated by people like you just because they happened to be born on a piece of land that happens to be classified as "first world."

westwing 6y ago

Look at tax/insurance burden in all these developed and aging countries. Most of that money is going towards paying off the older generations, their ailments and their debt, and it's still not enough, debt just keeps growing. Then look at the tax/insurance burden of developing countries. Sure, these people earn nominally less, but they often live relatively better lives. They're living lives closer to what our boomer parents lived. Real estate prices are a distraction. These are high because interest rates are low. It's probably not a good idea to buy real estate even if you can afford it.

MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago

People in Pakistan and afghanistan can legally be in debt bondage to their landlords. US citizens have it on easy mode.

vcxy 6y ago

You're definitely right, but it doesn't change that, at least from the inside, the parent comment seems to be accurately describing the cognitive dynamic. I'm married and in my 30s. We aren't planning to have kids, we have no assets, my wife still has student debt (epidemiology is a bad field if you plan to work in the public sector), and with my "good" insurance, I can't afford dental work that I need related to growing up in poverty. Despite this, we have super comfortable lives, as you say. We've jumped from trailer park, meth country poverty to truly living like we're in the middle class, something I think is way harder to do in other countries. But kids? No. That looks like a ticket right back to where we started.