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But wages have stayed the same while housing, medicine, college, have gotten massively more expensive and & via inflation everything else is somewhat more expen

But wages have stayed the same while housing, medicine, college, have gotten massively more expensive and & via inflation everything else is somewhat more expensive. I honestly find it absurd to suggest that we're somehow 'richer' while most young people have no hope of a stable life. Technology has made us much more productive but all that added value has been captured by the ultrarich

yorwba 5y ago
> wages have stayed the same while housing, medicine, college, have gotten massively more expensive and & via inflation everything else is somewhat more expensive Which country is this where inflation affects everything except wages? Are you sure you're not comparing inflation-adjusted wages (where it's not surprising if they stay mostly the same) to nominal prices affected by inflation? > I honestly find it absurd to suggest that we're somehow 'richer' while most young people have no hope of a stable life. If most young people had no hope of a stable life before and then everyone got richer, so that more young people can hope to have a stable life, it can still be the case that most young people have no hope of a stable life. The only way "most young people have no hope of a stable life" could contradict "we're somehow 'richer'" is if there was a time when most young people could hope to have a stable life, and then things got worse. When was that? > Technology has made us much more productive but all that added value has been captured by the ultrarich. When people communicate over long distances today not by sending a letter but by calling each other, they're benefiting from technology without the added value being captured by the ultrarich. (Unless you think their mere existence sucks all joy out of hearing your loved ones' voices.)
- spencerflem 5y ago
  1. Minimum wage has stayed the same since 2009, meanwhile there has been a 30% cumulative inflation. Certain costs are not included in the official inflation number and they have gone up significantly more. House prices near me (random suburb) are up 20% since last year. Other important things like healthcare have also risen in cost well above inflation. Also, it should be surprising that inflation adjusted wages stay the same when we are now much more productive thanks to technology. Why has this not caused wages to go up! 2. People have not gotten richer, wage increases at best match inflation. With the decline of unions even this is not the case. Good jobs have been outsourced for pennies. House prices and healthcare have gone up. I would have an easier time getting married and buying a house literally anytime in the past. You used to be able to sustain a family on a single income. That's almost impossible now. 3. I'm on hackernews, I like tech. Videocalling is nice. I do pay $50 a month for the privilege to some of the most hated companies in America. Most of the internet has been designed to ruthlessly take your money and attention as efficiently as possible. It's not a very pleasant place, videocalls aside. Really though, my point is: technology has made us all much more productive. The stock market is at record levels. Trillions of dollars have been given to businesses. Meanwhile, wages as a whole have at best matched inflation. Minimum wage has not increased at all. Houses are massively more expensive. There are so few good jobs that people work at Starbucks with master's degrees. Why has all the record setting economy stats only benefited billionaires? The ability to pay for slave-labor built spying planned-obsolete smartphones is the only thing the common person has gained in the last 20 years

yorwba 5y ago

> wages have stayed the same while housing, medicine, college, have gotten massively more expensive and & via inflation everything else is somewhat more expensive Which country is this where inflation affects everything except wages? Are you sure you're not comparing inflation-adjusted wages (where it's not surprising if they stay mostly the same) to nominal prices affected by inflation? > I honestly find it absurd to suggest that we're somehow 'richer' while most young people have no hope of a stable life. If most young people had no hope of a stable life before and then everyone got richer, so that more young people can hope to have a stable life, it can still be the case that most young people have no hope of a stable life. The only way "most young people have no hope of a stable life" could contradict "we're somehow 'richer'" is if there was a time when most young people could hope to have a stable life, and then things got worse. When was that? > Technology has made us much more productive but all that added value has been captured by the ultrarich. When people communicate over long distances today not by sending a letter but by calling each other, they're benefiting from technology without the added value being captured by the ultrarich. (Unless you think their mere existence sucks all joy out of hearing your loved ones' voices.)

spencerflem 5y ago
1. Minimum wage has stayed the same since 2009, meanwhile there has been a 30% cumulative inflation. Certain costs are not included in the official inflation number and they have gone up significantly more. House prices near me (random suburb) are up 20% since last year. Other important things like healthcare have also risen in cost well above inflation. Also, it should be surprising that inflation adjusted wages stay the same when we are now much more productive thanks to technology. Why has this not caused wages to go up! 2. People have not gotten richer, wage increases at best match inflation. With the decline of unions even this is not the case. Good jobs have been outsourced for pennies. House prices and healthcare have gone up. I would have an easier time getting married and buying a house literally anytime in the past. You used to be able to sustain a family on a single income. That's almost impossible now. 3. I'm on hackernews, I like tech. Videocalling is nice. I do pay $50 a month for the privilege to some of the most hated companies in America. Most of the internet has been designed to ruthlessly take your money and attention as efficiently as possible. It's not a very pleasant place, videocalls aside. Really though, my point is: technology has made us all much more productive. The stock market is at record levels. Trillions of dollars have been given to businesses. Meanwhile, wages as a whole have at best matched inflation. Minimum wage has not increased at all. Houses are massively more expensive. There are so few good jobs that people work at Starbucks with master's degrees. Why has all the record setting economy stats only benefited billionaires? The ability to pay for slave-labor built spying planned-obsolete smartphones is the only thing the common person has gained in the last 20 years