Right. Generations of American parents have failed to inspire their children to eat their vegetables by saying, There are children starving in . . . ." (Europe, in my parent's generation' India, in mine; Africa, in my kids', Detroit, more recently.).
Anyway, James H, don't seem to get the point that most Americans are Not doing better than they were a generation ago -- a 10% fall in real wages is doing worse. And the total package has to be considered.
A generation ago my father could send three kids to top colleges on a single wage earner's middle class salary. Even I can't do that now at a moderately affluent law prof's salary and after years of saving at an ridiculously gaudy big lawyer's salary. If it weren't for (some mixed) luck with investments and very good luck with inheritance, and even with, sending two kids, perhaps even to good state schools, on two salaries, would not be possible without putting them or us deeply in debt.
Retirement is ceasing to be an option for the Boomer generation, apart from moving the Social Security eligibility age up from 65 to 67 1/2, and two and a half years is a lot of your remaining time if you are 65, most Americans cannot afford to retire. The median family income is what, Doug, $60K? If you want you can save $30K ($15K K for each wage earner, out of that in your 401(k) retirement account -- but really! my wife makes $33K a year, even if she took home, say $25K instead of $20K after taxes, maxing out her 401(k) (although her job is unionized she receives no significant pension to speak of) would leave us with $10K or $5K from her salary. If I were making a similar wage, as would be at the median, and maxing out my retirement, we'd bed living on $20K or (after 50) $10K a year. That is why most Americans have no retirement savings.
And I haven't mentioned medical care, where over 12% of the population lack any medical coverage.
So, while Americans at or near the median are better off than the children starving in . . . . wherever, it's just untrue to say we are better off, lots better off, than we were a generation ago, or that the secular tendencies are to make us better and better off. They are in fact in many ways the reverse.
You may have gotten static elsewhere for saying that Americans are exploited, I don't know about that. The question is whether your Pollyanna-ish view is right. And it's not.
--- Alex <zap_path at yahoo.com> wrote:
> --- James Heartfield <Heartfield at blueyonder.co.uk>
> wrote:
> > I was going to say, "poor you!" but then I
> remembered that you live in the
> > wealthiest society on earth. And the last time
> that I visited, I seem to
> > remember that it was very pleasant indeed, not
> least for the excellent
> > company.
>
> People perceive their problems relative to their own
> society and situation, not
> to some absolute standard. Pointing out that other
> people are worse off isn't
> very helpful.
>
> -Alex
>
>
>
>
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