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Another commentator calls out all the things we didn't have at all in the past, but our wealth in regard to pre-existing things also has gone up. In the 50s th

Another commentator calls out all the things we didn't have at all in the past, but our wealth in regard to pre-existing things also has gone up. In the 50s there were 3 cars/10 Americans. Now it's 9. Homeownership went for 55% to 66%. College degrees 6% -> 38%. We used to spent 20% of income on food. Now it's around 8%. Poverty among 65+ went from 35% to 10%.

Kye 4y ago
We need that many cars because our walkable cities were bulldozed to build highways through them. We need the college degree because jobs don't train you anymore and the few jobs you can get with little/no training were automated away or don't pay enough to live. The cheap food sucks and is killing us.
- vc8f6vVV 4y ago
  We need that many cars because having own home and living in a suburb is an American dream, isn't it? How many people want to live in a high rise building with noisy neighbors? Yes, it is expensive, but living in a cave is pretty cheap, somehow nobody wants it.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- ajmurmann 4y ago
  I'm 100% in on walkable cities, public transit, massive zoning reform etc. But were American cities more walkable in the 50s? Yes, more jobs today require more knowledge. My grandpa worked in a factory full of boring, repetitive work where he also got to inhale bad fumes every day. I went to college for 6 or 7 years and my employers combined have probably spent less than 10k on training for me. I get to work at a sit/stand desk, get snacks provided, ergonomic equipment and do work that has much more variety than anything my grandpa did. Even if I ignore the astronomical income difference between me and my grandpa, I'd still not trade this for his job. Was the food actually healthier in the US in the 50s? Did food not come from factory farms? Wonder Bread has been around since the 20s and in the 40s had to have vitamins added. Seems like we already were far away from the serene pastures we all like to imagine food came from. Looking outside the US, famines were incredibly common until quite recently. Edit: some photos of how great life looked outside of movies and advertisements as recently as the 80s: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35119136 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35119136

Kye 4y ago

We need that many cars because our walkable cities were bulldozed to build highways through them. We need the college degree because jobs don't train you anymore and the few jobs you can get with little/no training were automated away or don't pay enough to live. The cheap food sucks and is killing us.

vc8f6vVV 4y ago
We need that many cars because having own home and living in a suburb is an American dream, isn't it? How many people want to live in a high rise building with noisy neighbors? Yes, it is expensive, but living in a cave is pretty cheap, somehow nobody wants it.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
ajmurmann 4y ago
I'm 100% in on walkable cities, public transit, massive zoning reform etc. But were American cities more walkable in the 50s? Yes, more jobs today require more knowledge. My grandpa worked in a factory full of boring, repetitive work where he also got to inhale bad fumes every day. I went to college for 6 or 7 years and my employers combined have probably spent less than 10k on training for me. I get to work at a sit/stand desk, get snacks provided, ergonomic equipment and do work that has much more variety than anything my grandpa did. Even if I ignore the astronomical income difference between me and my grandpa, I'd still not trade this for his job. Was the food actually healthier in the US in the 50s? Did food not come from factory farms? Wonder Bread has been around since the 20s and in the 40s had to have vitamins added. Seems like we already were far away from the serene pastures we all like to imagine food came from. Looking outside the US, famines were incredibly common until quite recently. Edit: some photos of how great life looked outside of movies and advertisements as recently as the 80s: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35119136 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35119136