5 ms·

What is the comparative quality of life like or those two examples?

code_duck 5y ago
Owning any single family home (presumably with a yard) seems clearly more attractive than living in a public housing apartment complex.
- cperciva 5y ago
  I'd rather have an apartment with Internet access than a house without.
  - InvertedRhodium 5y ago
    Not me. Internet can be installed quickly and cheaply, but we're yet to discover a way to do the same for land.
    - cperciva 5y ago
      Internet can be installed quickly and cheaply Not in the 1930s.
  - code_duck 5y ago
    So you mean that you would rather live now than in the 1930s?
- syshum 5y ago
  That was not the question. One of the things people never factor in is all the government regulations around housing. A single family home from the 1930's would be illegal to build today because building codes have been expanded some for good reason, others less so. As such it make is hard to do a apples to apple comparison This is a good video where an economic professor explains some of that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J5s6aZCPSg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J5s6aZCPSg
  - varnaud 5y ago
    From the wikipedia article: >The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative libertarian economic think tank. >FEE, founded in 1946, is considered the oldest free-market think tank in the United States. An early aim was to roll back policies of the New Deal. FEE opposed the Marshall Plan, Social Security and minimum wages, among other American social and economic policies. Points of the video: - Mainstream media sells entertaining truth that are mostly negative - People think gun violence is getting worse every single year over a span of 25 years, but it only got worse for 8 of those years! There is a 50% decrease from the 90s. - Conveniently remove suicide from the gun violence data and ignore the current up trend in homicide - We shouldn't look at wages, but look at total compensation and it's up by 45% for the median worker since 1979! - We have more household that are rich according to this data despite what the media says - You don't need a cellphone, just cancel it if you're poor, also don't get medical treatment that didn't exist in the 70s if you want to have the same cost of living than your grand parents - Let's compare the average middle class American 100 years ago to one today and you'll see how much better you have it now! Especially if you are a racial minority (he don't mention this last part) - omg, look at how much hours of work was required 100 years ago to purchase these products (stamp, bread, movie ticket, gas, coffee, eggs, butter, milk) - only movie ticket are more expensive today, but we get much nicer movie like the Marvel movies! (But remember to cancel your 10$ Netflix subscription if you can't afford it) (a previous point he made) - back in the days, it took 4 years to raise money to buy a car, but only 2.5 years now! - He mention that the minimum wage worker has to pay more for housing today, but it's because they are much more technologically advanced! - house 100 years ago: no electricity, no running water, no indoor toilet, no AC - Houses like that are now illegal to buy! - Thus, the minimum wage worker can't buy house like that anymore! (he also can't buy a modern house, but nevermind that) - So poor people today have a better living standard than the middle class had 100 years ago and in a 100 years the next generation will be even better off with private jets and yachts to travel around! - There is less child labor in the world, less wars and stuff! - So in summary, be humble! Appreciate, be thankful for the fact that the world has become a better place. (i.e. stop complaining about society because the iphone exists type of arguments) Yikes.
    - 5y ago
bobsmooth 5y ago
Tvs and ipads don't replace owning your ownw home.
danans 5y ago
The answer to that question seems obvious: it depends. First, the 1930s aren't a great point of comparison (with Great Depression occurring then). The 1950s are a better comparison. Second, yes the broader advance of science and technology has lifted many boats simultaneously - we've all benefited from the advance of communications, medications, travel opportunities, etc (with some notable setbacks for those forced to pay the environmental costs of some of those advances). It's unquestionably better to be a non-white person in the US today than it was in the 1950s, even with all the systemic issues that still disproprortionately hinder them today. But by many other criteria, quality of life is worse: - Affordability of educational opportunities (i.e. the housing/school/childcare cost inflationary nexus, university fees) - Housing insecurity (many families pushed dislocated by rapidly rising rents). - Level of education/qualification required to achieve middle class comforts like housing security and good education for your kids (it'smuch higher). As others have noted, IPads and PlaysStations are not indicators of middle class comfort - paid vacation is. - Increasing despair/hopelessness/alienation/failure due to winner-take-all dynamics, with effects like the drug/opioid epidemics, mental illnesses, homelessness, high concentrations of violent crime in disadvantaged populations (despite overall lower crime than in the 1970s-1990s). - The spillover effects of all the above on those who are generally better off.
Hermitian909 5y ago
Adjusting the time frame a bit: Many people I know from my parent's generations bought their home in the 70s while working low-skill jobs like retail. They describe that period of life as fun and generally enjoyable. Many started families during that time. Conversely everyone I grew up with who slotted into low skilled labor living in those small apartments self-describes as miserable. They describe the long hours necessary to to maintain what they consider a basic existence as soul-crushing.
- jkhdigital 5y ago
  This is a normal, expected phenomenon in an economy characterized by continuous technological advancement. Low-value jobs eventually disappear as technology makes them obsolete, and as this process unfolds the people who are employed in those jobs will experience a declining standard of living.

Owning any single family home (presumably with a yard) seems clearly more attractive than living in a public housing apartment complex.

cperciva 5y ago
I'd rather have an apartment with Internet access than a house without.
- InvertedRhodium 5y ago
  Not me. Internet can be installed quickly and cheaply, but we're yet to discover a way to do the same for land.
  - cperciva 5y ago
    Internet can be installed quickly and cheaply Not in the 1930s.
- code_duck 5y ago
  So you mean that you would rather live now than in the 1930s?
syshum 5y ago
That was not the question. One of the things people never factor in is all the government regulations around housing. A single family home from the 1930's would be illegal to build today because building codes have been expanded some for good reason, others less so. As such it make is hard to do a apples to apple comparison This is a good video where an economic professor explains some of that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J5s6aZCPSg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J5s6aZCPSg
- varnaud 5y ago
  From the wikipedia article: >The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative libertarian economic think tank. >FEE, founded in 1946, is considered the oldest free-market think tank in the United States. An early aim was to roll back policies of the New Deal. FEE opposed the Marshall Plan, Social Security and minimum wages, among other American social and economic policies. Points of the video: - Mainstream media sells entertaining truth that are mostly negative - People think gun violence is getting worse every single year over a span of 25 years, but it only got worse for 8 of those years! There is a 50% decrease from the 90s. - Conveniently remove suicide from the gun violence data and ignore the current up trend in homicide - We shouldn't look at wages, but look at total compensation and it's up by 45% for the median worker since 1979! - We have more household that are rich according to this data despite what the media says - You don't need a cellphone, just cancel it if you're poor, also don't get medical treatment that didn't exist in the 70s if you want to have the same cost of living than your grand parents - Let's compare the average middle class American 100 years ago to one today and you'll see how much better you have it now! Especially if you are a racial minority (he don't mention this last part) - omg, look at how much hours of work was required 100 years ago to purchase these products (stamp, bread, movie ticket, gas, coffee, eggs, butter, milk) - only movie ticket are more expensive today, but we get much nicer movie like the Marvel movies! (But remember to cancel your 10$ Netflix subscription if you can't afford it) (a previous point he made) - back in the days, it took 4 years to raise money to buy a car, but only 2.5 years now! - He mention that the minimum wage worker has to pay more for housing today, but it's because they are much more technologically advanced! - house 100 years ago: no electricity, no running water, no indoor toilet, no AC - Houses like that are now illegal to buy! - Thus, the minimum wage worker can't buy house like that anymore! (he also can't buy a modern house, but nevermind that) - So poor people today have a better living standard than the middle class had 100 years ago and in a 100 years the next generation will be even better off with private jets and yachts to travel around! - There is less child labor in the world, less wars and stuff! - So in summary, be humble! Appreciate, be thankful for the fact that the world has become a better place. (i.e. stop complaining about society because the iphone exists type of arguments) Yikes.
  - 5y ago

bobsmooth 5y ago

Tvs and ipads don't replace owning your ownw home.

danans 5y ago

The answer to that question seems obvious: it depends. First, the 1930s aren't a great point of comparison (with Great Depression occurring then). The 1950s are a better comparison. Second, yes the broader advance of science and technology has lifted many boats simultaneously - we've all benefited from the advance of communications, medications, travel opportunities, etc (with some notable setbacks for those forced to pay the environmental costs of some of those advances). It's unquestionably better to be a non-white person in the US today than it was in the 1950s, even with all the systemic issues that still disproprortionately hinder them today. But by many other criteria, quality of life is worse: - Affordability of educational opportunities (i.e. the housing/school/childcare cost inflationary nexus, university fees) - Housing insecurity (many families pushed dislocated by rapidly rising rents). - Level of education/qualification required to achieve middle class comforts like housing security and good education for your kids (it'smuch higher). As others have noted, IPads and PlaysStations are not indicators of middle class comfort - paid vacation is. - Increasing despair/hopelessness/alienation/failure due to winner-take-all dynamics, with effects like the drug/opioid epidemics, mental illnesses, homelessness, high concentrations of violent crime in disadvantaged populations (despite overall lower crime than in the 1970s-1990s). - The spillover effects of all the above on those who are generally better off.

Hermitian909 5y ago

Adjusting the time frame a bit: Many people I know from my parent's generations bought their home in the 70s while working low-skill jobs like retail. They describe that period of life as fun and generally enjoyable. Many started families during that time. Conversely everyone I grew up with who slotted into low skilled labor living in those small apartments self-describes as miserable. They describe the long hours necessary to to maintain what they consider a basic existence as soul-crushing.

jkhdigital 5y ago
This is a normal, expected phenomenon in an economy characterized by continuous technological advancement. Low-value jobs eventually disappear as technology makes them obsolete, and as this process unfolds the people who are employed in those jobs will experience a declining standard of living.