3 ms·

Obesity is certainly a factor holding back certain communities here in the USA. But I agree it's a tangential issue. On the issue of whether or not "the middle

Obesity is certainly a factor holding back certain communities here in the USA. But I agree it's a tangential issue. On the issue of whether or not "the middle class is collapsing," I hear lots of arguments (as usual very polarized) on both sides of that debate. Does anybody have strong empirical studies to share (ideally non-partisan!) on how this statement holds up? I have googled and probably found the obvious stuff but I would love to read up more on this.

EchoChamberMan 3y ago
Here are a few sources[1][2] (oops, [1] is from 2020) but I don't have anything special. I think there was an article on HN that showed this well, but I can't find it. Basically, kids today have extremely limited chance to do better than their parents. Homelessness is at an all time high.[6] The following are loosely related to the economy, in that the cost of dealing with the problem is growing, and they prevent well adjusted growth. There's also a mental health epidemic[3] from the Surgeon General[4]. Also consider the possible extinction level climate change issues[5]. [1] https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/ https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-... [2] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/fewer-americans-are-making-more-than-their-parents-did-especially-if-they-grew-up-in-the-middle-class/ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/fewer-americans-are-makin... [3] https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-02/loneliness-isolation-epidemic-u-s-surgeon-general-declares https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-02/loneli... [4] https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-soci... [5] https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/skyrocketing-ocean-temperatures-have-scientists-scratching-their-heads/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/skyrocketing-ocean-t... [6] https://www.npr.org/homelessness-affordable-housing-crisis-rent-assistance https://www.npr.org/homelessness-affordable-housing-crisis-r...

EchoChamberMan 3y ago

Here are a few sources[1][2] (oops, [1] is from 2020) but I don't have anything special. I think there was an article on HN that showed this well, but I can't find it. Basically, kids today have extremely limited chance to do better than their parents. Homelessness is at an all time high.[6] The following are loosely related to the economy, in that the cost of dealing with the problem is growing, and they prevent well adjusted growth. There's also a mental health epidemic[3] from the Surgeon General[4]. Also consider the possible extinction level climate change issues[5]. [1] https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/ https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/trends-... [2] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/fewer-americans-are-making-more-than-their-parents-did-especially-if-they-grew-up-in-the-middle-class/ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/fewer-americans-are-makin... [3] https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-02/loneliness-isolation-epidemic-u-s-surgeon-general-declares https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-05-02/loneli... [4] https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-soci... [5] https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/skyrocketing-ocean-temperatures-have-scientists-scratching-their-heads/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/skyrocketing-ocean-t... [6] https://www.npr.org/homelessness-affordable-housing-crisis-rent-assistance https://www.npr.org/homelessness-affordable-housing-crisis-r...