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I sometimes like to say the facts out loud and challenge people so here it goes. We live in the safest, least racist, least sexist, least antisemitic generati
by EGreg 3y ago
I sometimes like to say the facts out loud and challenge people so here it goes.
We live in the safest, least racist, least sexist, least antisemitic generation in history. At the same time, automation and productivity has reduced demand for human labor, and people increasingly can’t afford the rent. Perhaps the answer to many disparities isn’t systemic sexism, racism etc. but economic factors. Whatever you are worried about, your grandparents had it much worse.
Also, let’s improve our systems to stop polluting the environment and destroying ecosystems for corporate profit at the expense of future generations. That’s the major issue of our day, far bigger than climate change.
- robotresearcher 3y ago> At the same time, automation and productivity has reduced demand for human labor We have approximately the lowest unemployment rate in modern history.
- EGreg 3y agoThat’s only a tiny slice of the story. It doesn’t count the people who have opted out of the workforce. It doesn’t count the job insecuroty of the gig economy. Or the people with terrible conditions. It actually underscores the fact that both sexes flooded the labor pool in the last few decades, automation increased and wages got depressed due to all these factors. USSR also had near-total employment, for men and women, way earlier than USA did. And ironically, the rent cost a ton less. But people overall couldn’t afford that much. Your grandfather could have supported an entire family on one man’s paycheck, and paid for an entire house. Today, millennials onwards can’t afford any of that. The generation of adults with the least savings in probably a century. But, as I said, we still have it amaing. Medical advances, technology like air conditioning, electricity and so on. The Internet spreads so much knowledge around the world. I’m just saying that the remaining problems are often rooted in economic issues, more than a rise in “systemic X ism”
- robotresearcher 3y agoAgree with all that. I disagree only that demand for labor has decreased, and near-full employment is my evidence for that. Many jobs are shitty, but someone is demanding the labor.
- EGreg 3y agoWell, I guess what I am trying to say is that more people are asked to do work, but less work, and paid less for it too, adjusted for inflation. Gig economy and short stints at jobs are an example of how little employers really value their labor force, as opposed to the “company man” who worked for decades and got a pension.
- dustincoates 3y ago> It doesn’t count the people who have opted out of the workforce. Not the headline number, but in the US you certainly can find this data if you want it, in the U4, U5, and U6 rates: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U4RATE https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U4RATE https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U5RATE https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U5RATE https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U6RATE https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U6RATE It only goes back to 1994, but these measures are currently all at or near the lows over the that period.
- travem 3y ago> At the same time, automation and productivity has reduced demand for human labor, and people increasingly can’t afford the rent Given the juxtaposition of the claims above, I think it is useful to note that demand for labor is still relatively high (unemployment rate at ~3.5% in the US). The reason for unaffordable rents is driven more by the supply of housing not growing along with demand IMO.
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoAnd demand being artifically inflated by investors (ranging from boomers / gen-X ers who have extra money to Saudi oil barons) who buy up houses with the intent to rent them out or whatever.