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> Driving down the cost of manufacturing because of process standardization and automation brought down the cost of consumer goods, and labor's value. And qual

by thefz 2y ago

> Driving down the cost of manufacturing because of process standardization and automation brought down the cost of consumer goods, and labor's value. And quality as well.

Spivak 2y ago
Not really, the quality we're able to produce at scale is the best it's ever been in the world. The "quality of everything has been in decline" isn't due to advances in manufacturing but the economic factors that are present even without those advances. Rapid inflation over a relatively short period of time has forced everyone to desperately try and maintain close to their pre-inflation prices because workers didn't and aren't going to get the corresponding wage increases. I hope eventually there's a tipping point where the powers that be realize that our economy can't work unless the wealth that naturally accumulates at the top gets fed back into the bottom but the US pretty unanimously voted for the exact opposite so I desperately I hope I'm wrong or that this path can work too.
- deepsquirrelnet 2y ago
  This is so hard to vocalize, but yes, exactly. Prices aren’t coming down. That’s largely not something that happens. Instead, wages are supposed to increase in response. You might see little blips around major recessions, but prices go up, driven by inflation. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL Fortunately the rate of change of CPI appears to have cooled off, but the best scenario is for it to track with the previous historical slope, which means prices are staying where they are and increasing at “comfortable” rates again.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- randomdata 2y ago
  > because workers didn't Do you mean immediately? At peak inflation wages weren't keeping pace, but wage growth is exceeding inflation right now to catch back up. Incomes have been, on average, stagnant for hundreds of years – as far back as the data goes. It is unlikely that this time will be different. > I hope eventually there's a tipping point where the powers that be You did mention the US. Presumably you're not talking about a dictatorship. The powers that be are the population at large. I'm sure they are acutely aware of this. They have to live it, after all.

by thefz 2y ago

> Driving down the cost of manufacturing because of process standardization and automation brought down the cost of consumer goods, and labor's value. And quality as well.

Spivak 2y ago

Not really, the quality we're able to produce at scale is the best it's ever been in the world. The "quality of everything has been in decline" isn't due to advances in manufacturing but the economic factors that are present even without those advances. Rapid inflation over a relatively short period of time has forced everyone to desperately try and maintain close to their pre-inflation prices because workers didn't and aren't going to get the corresponding wage increases. I hope eventually there's a tipping point where the powers that be realize that our economy can't work unless the wealth that naturally accumulates at the top gets fed back into the bottom but the US pretty unanimously voted for the exact opposite so I desperately I hope I'm wrong or that this path can work too.

deepsquirrelnet 2y ago
This is so hard to vocalize, but yes, exactly. Prices aren’t coming down. That’s largely not something that happens. Instead, wages are supposed to increase in response. You might see little blips around major recessions, but prices go up, driven by inflation. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL Fortunately the rate of change of CPI appears to have cooled off, but the best scenario is for it to track with the previous historical slope, which means prices are staying where they are and increasing at “comfortable” rates again.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
randomdata 2y ago
> because workers didn't Do you mean immediately? At peak inflation wages weren't keeping pace, but wage growth is exceeding inflation right now to catch back up. Incomes have been, on average, stagnant for hundreds of years – as far back as the data goes. It is unlikely that this time will be different. > I hope eventually there's a tipping point where the powers that be You did mention the US. Presumably you're not talking about a dictatorship. The powers that be are the population at large. I'm sure they are acutely aware of this. They have to live it, after all.