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Those characterizations of yours make it sound really bad. Yet, the quality of life in America, as well as around the world, has improved drastically. How man

Those characterizations of yours make it sound really bad. Yet, the quality of life in America, as well as around the world, has improved drastically. How many people have luxuries like cell phones, computers, TVs, cars, refrigerators, indoor plumbing and heating, as well as access to resources like ambulances and hospitals--the list goes on. How humans of centuries past would long to have lived at this time, if they could see how we live today. And it's not just about material things. For example, in the past hundred years, although the world population increased from 2 billion to 7 billion, the number of people who die to natural disasters each year has greatly decreased. This video shows how widespread these misconceptions about world situations are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1dvfH3s1Ak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1dvfH3s1Ak In this study, about 80% of people were wrong about more situations than if they had chosen an answer randomly. This is not to say that there are no problems in the world, or in America. There will always be problems. But your characterizations are misleading, and your claim that capitalism has "completely failed" young people is extreme, and it fails to credit capitalism for the prosperity that it has enabled for most of the world's population compared to most of human history.

randmeerkat 6y ago
There’s a reason Bernie Sanders was so popular with young voters. HN is an echo chamber for capitalism, but the reality for most people is capitalism is failing them, society is failing them, and if we want to keep what we have today, we urgently need to address these failings.
- echelon 6y ago
  I agree with you - the world isn't set up to benefit young Americans in this generation as easily as in the 60's and 70's. I'm not sure we'd agree on the causes though. People are still told to go to expensive college. A cheap community college degree in STEM is worth much more than an expensive liberal arts education. A self-taught programmer has more marketable skills than a liberal arts degree holder. The freely available loans made the institutions money hungry, and they grew to absorb all of the new income. We really need to fix education. The post-war / post-energy boom is over, and the easy gains that yielded have faded. Today's economy is harder. The knowledge economy is not as accessible and requires more training. The US can't compete with the cost of manufactured goods as our standard of living and minimum wage are too high. By importing, we're moving that negative externality of hard or menial labor to economies that can handle it - bringing them up to our level, but destroying those opportunities domestically. Housing is still affordable outside of major cities. I'm not sure what to do about the price of housing in major urban areas though. It's supply and demand, and wages for the average worker haven't increased.
- useragent86 6y ago
  You didn't even respond to a single thing I said. You just repeated your original claim that, "Capitalism is failing them." That's tantamount to propaganda--keep repeating yourself until people believe you. You sound just like a politician with your empty, alarmist assertions ("failing! urgently address!"). Are you a Sanders staffer? I mean, it would explain your comments.
  - randmeerkat 6y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25513074 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25513074 Capitalism is failing these people. There’s statistics all around. If you want to bury your head in the sand and lash out at random people on the internet, I feel sorry for you.
    - useragent86 6y ago
      Really? You actually repeat yourself again after I just pointed out your repeating yourself? You: "Capitalism is failing people!" Me: "Actually, it's enabled much prosperity around the world, so that only a small minority of the world population lives in poverty compared to a few decades ago. For example, here's a YouTube video showing how public perception differs from reality." You: "Capitalism is failing people!" Me: "You're not even making an argument. You're just repeating your assertion." You: "Capitalism is failing these people! You're lashing out at me!" It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself by sheer repetition.

randmeerkat 6y ago

There’s a reason Bernie Sanders was so popular with young voters. HN is an echo chamber for capitalism, but the reality for most people is capitalism is failing them, society is failing them, and if we want to keep what we have today, we urgently need to address these failings.

echelon 6y ago
I agree with you - the world isn't set up to benefit young Americans in this generation as easily as in the 60's and 70's. I'm not sure we'd agree on the causes though. People are still told to go to expensive college. A cheap community college degree in STEM is worth much more than an expensive liberal arts education. A self-taught programmer has more marketable skills than a liberal arts degree holder. The freely available loans made the institutions money hungry, and they grew to absorb all of the new income. We really need to fix education. The post-war / post-energy boom is over, and the easy gains that yielded have faded. Today's economy is harder. The knowledge economy is not as accessible and requires more training. The US can't compete with the cost of manufactured goods as our standard of living and minimum wage are too high. By importing, we're moving that negative externality of hard or menial labor to economies that can handle it - bringing them up to our level, but destroying those opportunities domestically. Housing is still affordable outside of major cities. I'm not sure what to do about the price of housing in major urban areas though. It's supply and demand, and wages for the average worker haven't increased.
useragent86 6y ago
You didn't even respond to a single thing I said. You just repeated your original claim that, "Capitalism is failing them." That's tantamount to propaganda--keep repeating yourself until people believe you. You sound just like a politician with your empty, alarmist assertions ("failing! urgently address!"). Are you a Sanders staffer? I mean, it would explain your comments.
- randmeerkat 6y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25513074 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25513074 Capitalism is failing these people. There’s statistics all around. If you want to bury your head in the sand and lash out at random people on the internet, I feel sorry for you.
  - useragent86 6y ago
    Really? You actually repeat yourself again after I just pointed out your repeating yourself? You: "Capitalism is failing people!" Me: "Actually, it's enabled much prosperity around the world, so that only a small minority of the world population lives in poverty compared to a few decades ago. For example, here's a YouTube video showing how public perception differs from reality." You: "Capitalism is failing people!" Me: "You're not even making an argument. You're just repeating your assertion." You: "Capitalism is failing these people! You're lashing out at me!" It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself by sheer repetition.