America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

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cmonkey
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America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by cmonkey »

I think this report entirely depends on what you want in life. I think our best days are ahead of us if you change your expectations (and even more so if everyone changed their own personal narrative).

Here's mine. Stop expecting industrial progress/growth just for it's own sake. We have everything we need in terms of creature comforts* if only the ones with excess would stop expecting progress and let the one's who don't have everything they need enjoy what we have done for ourselves as a species. Provide for yourself and your loved ones, provide for the earth and return a surplus.

Therefore when progress doesn't manifest, or even regresses, I am not at all surprised/unhappy. I still have everything I need to be happy. A truly rich person is one who is happy no matter the circumstances.


Overall, though, the report is pretty accurate.
Take a look back at some of the most popular TV programs of the mid-1960s — “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Bewitched,” even “The Beverly Hillbillies” — and what do you see?

Like today, middle-class Americans typically had washing machines and air-conditioning, telephones and cars. The Internet and video games were not yet invented. But life, over all, did not look that different.

There were TVs and radios in most homes. Millions of people worked in downtown offices and lived in suburbs, connected by multilane highways. Americans’ average life expectancy at birth was 70, only eight years less than it is today.
I would not, however, call air-conditioning, washing machines, dish washers and interstate highways progress of any sort. :P


*Example - why do we keep building/maintaining roads? We have way more than we need. If we stopped driving on them so much or even went to something else (horse and buggy on asphalt would work well!) we wouldn't need to maintain them so much. They'd last much longer. Obviously this is much more complicated, but follow that general direction.

7Wannabe5
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Re: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I grew up in relatively affluent circumstances in the 60s/70s/80s, and I would say that one of the realms of definite improvement would be in addressing social issues related to racism and sexism. For instance, my childhood neighbor David lived in a very nice new suburban house and his father wore a suit to work and he had shiny new toys, but he cried too much because his father hit his mother and nobody did anything about it, although it was discussed in hushed tones over coffee. Also, I would not have been able to be friends in childhood with one of my current lovers because nobody with his skin tone lived in my school district. I was even discouraged from associating with any children who had speech patterns similar to those of the characters in "The Beverly Hillbillies" and cautioned to avoid the bad baby boomer teenage boys with long hair. Rules of the day were convention, conformity and repression.

Dragline
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Re: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by Dragline »

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

I think I read an article like this at least once a year. More so in election years.

The really weird assumption of this type of piece that nobody talks about is this idea that your personal fortunes are necessarily bound up with the inanimate "America." And the other kind of dumb assumption that the well-being of the constituents of this "America" can be boiled down to a few statistics.

Almost nobody lives an aggregate life. You will likely do well or poorly for reasons that have nothing to do with the factors referenced in the article, and everything to do your your personal habits and choices. Yesteryear was a mixed bag of opportunities depending on who you are and tomorrow will also be a mixed bag. Ce la vie.

BRUTE
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Re: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by BRUTE »

brute does think that quality of life has decreased for many americans. in a way, the "income inequality is rising" humans are right. but brute believes that it's not due to evil right wing politics, but due to technological progress. the natural monopolies of "living close to the factory" and "being able to type on a typewriter and answer a phone while living within 30 miles of the office" are gone.

globally, quality of life has probably increased dramatically. but before "hard working americans" see many more big bumps in their quality of life, most poorer humans on the planet will be pulled up to their level. rising tide and so on.

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GandK
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Re: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by GandK »

@BRUTE +1

vexed87
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Re: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by vexed87 »

Speaking from the perspective of a resident of a former world power (Great Britain), when the empire collapses it's not all bad news. The UK may not be the biggest economy anymore but there is still opporrtunity and plentry fertile and productive land.

cmonkey
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Re: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by cmonkey »

Agree with all. I think the title of the report displays a blatant opposition to change of any sort thus setting the entire tone. As we all know change is the only constant out there.

@vexed, GB is great! Best gardens/gardeners in the world IMO. Tasty candy too. ;)

denise
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Re: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by denise »

From a transportation engineering and urban planning perspective (my job), we keep maintaining/building roads because freight is very hard on roads. Trucks ruin roads, and private companies do not compensate departments of transportation for the damage they do, other than paying fuel taxes, so citizens mostly pay for that in other taxes. As for building more roads, that's not very prevalent outside of building beltways and neighborhood roads for new growth outside of the city center. In America, the Highway Trust Fund is woefully inadequate, so states and cities are having to come up with more money to maintain and at times build. Because they have to account for future maintenance, most places are reluctant to build more roads, unless a private developer pays for it. Also, much of the money for transportation in America, is only allowed to be spent on roads/highways/interstates, so until mass transit is well respected in America, maintaining roads is where most funding goes.

Modern cars are actually not bad on roads at all.

I think America's best days are not behind it. I'm an optimist when it comes to world affairs though.

The Old Man
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Re: America’s Best Days May Be Behind It

Post by The Old Man »

On a relative basis the USA is a declining great power. The USA reached its zenith post WW2 when the rest of the world was in ruins. As the rest of the world develops it should not be a surprise that the USA declines in "relative" importance.

On an absolute basis the USA is incomparably better of now relative to the 50s-60s-70s in about every way possible. While income inequality may have declined it is better to look at the well being of the people at the bottom. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. While I agree that life has not changed that greatly (relative to say my grandparents era), I would say that we in aggregate are way richer.

As far as the future, I expect things to continue to improve. The developing world will continue to develop and will eventually reach parity with the developed world. On a relative basis the USA will be less able to influence the rest of the world and the standard of living will also be relatively comparable. On an absolute basis I expect, that while there will be winners and losers, the USA people in aggregate will be better off.

The issue is that people don't like relative decline even if in an absolute sense they are better off.

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