Every year, they make lists of the happiest countries I'm the world.
If they can measure this by asking people, then I guess they should be able to measure the individual person's happiness too by using the same or similar questions
I only have a house because I inherited it from my dad, and my dad only had a house because he inherited it from my late grandpa, and he only had a house because he bought a farmland for some cows back when this was barely a town
Only reason I even have a house is because of inheritance. Only reason I have money to spend in this shit economy where I'm coming up on two years of unemployment is because of inheritance.
No, didn't you read? Regardless of the cost problems, their degree is either bullshit or in the field of bullshit.
Apparently bull semen can be valuable (I guess their degree could be on that topic as well), but I've never heard that other excretions are worth much.
Jokes aside, I make a lot more than my dad ever did annually. With his income, he owned a home outright, supported up to four kids and a wife, and had fairly extensive savings. I have one kid, one wife, and one home. I'm very fortunate and grateful to have what I have, but it is unlikely I'll ever match his success.
It’s not really matching his success, it’s matching his pay. Very different things, especially as we know that people today are vastly more productive than in years past.
Just because someone is stealing your work doesn’t mean you didn’t succeed at it(and deserve fair pay).
I see your point, but in this case I wasn't considering it a personal failure. I am having difficulty providing for my family; being able to do so would be my success, in which I could approach his.
I'm not being intentionally self deprecating, nor am I (currently) ashamed, but I do appreciate the reassurance you offered.
That's because back then we made products the world wanted, and we used our power as the world reserve currency to tax the world. Now we are the ones being "taxed" as countries continue to dump bonds and we don't make anthing of value anymore, so there is no need for the world to keep paying us.
America was also the manufacturing hub of the world at the time, since they were one of the few countries with sizeable industry, that hadn't been turned into a crater by the War.
There's probably a chunk of wealth/purchasing power that would have to be disentangled from that post-war prosperity as well.
Recall that in addition to this drop in purchasing power, we are taxed in countless new ways that we never had to worry about decades ago. In my state we pay a tax on toilet paper. We have to pay the state to take a shit.
My parents bought a house in the 90's and after they bought it, they realized they couldn't really afford the mortgage.
As a comparison, my wife and I tried buying a house 3 years ago. We had around $3,000 left in our budget after ALL our expenses was paid, and we got rejected in 3 banks before we got a loan.
Our rent was $1,500 / month. Our mortgage is $1,000 / month. We have more money after expenses living in our house compared to the place we lived before.
They make it really damn difficult to buy a house, even when you have the money.
Some of that is due to the 2008 bullshittery. Bank are trying not to get caught holding the bag again when mortgage rates rise and people end up underwater.
Well yeah, it was a housing crisis in '08, not an AI crisis. Totally different scenario. Just like how no one could have known sub prime mortgages would be a problem then, there's no telling what will happen after throwing everyone's 401ks into AI.
That's just the thing. Everyone (in the industry) knew the sub prime market was going to be a problem. My sister worked for a company that specialized in mortgages and said in the early 2000s that the sub prime market was predatory, was lending too much to people that were never in a position to repay the load, and that the whole system was going to crash.
No, but eliminating billionaires via wealth taxes and using that money to fund social welfare and taxing millionaires into being an actual middle class would!
If you evenly spread the US's q2 GDP among all 350 million of us, we'd all have $90k. I know thats not how gdp works, but you get it
Securities tax is more important than a general wealth tax. Payable only in shares, not dollars. The IRS will liquidate the taxed shares over time, such that no more than 1% of total traded volume will consist of taxed shares. Exempt $10 million in portfolios held by natural persons; whatever tax is owed is a flat percentage of every issue in the portfolio.
I would not tax general wealth, just that part that is used to generate additional wealth.
I think im poor to understand the difference. I assume held shares are also wealth, or should be defined as wealth.
If it has value, the value should be taxed, like youre renting luxury from the government. If you have gross material wealth, you pay a disgusting amount of taxes or sell your garbage. Ezpz
Without earlier data it's impossible to know whether it was on the way up or down in 1950, but notice that the prosperity decline started sometime in the 1950s, right when the business world started handing out consumer credit like candy. They discovered that when given the chance, people were willing to spend money they didn't have. And with the shift to psychologically designed advertising that encouraged viewers to feel inadequate and insecure, people could be persuaded to spend money they didn't have on crap they didn't need. Over the next few generations people have gradually become accustomed to more and more debt and less and less financial security. We're like frogs in a slow cooker, suddenly realizing something smells like soup and it's us.
I grew up in a town of 53k people. My sister lives there now and gets factory jobs that pay good. You can buy a house under 200k. No public transportation
It's not about minimum wage. In 1950 US Federal minimum wage was $0.75/hr which is equal to $10.38/hr in 2026. $10.38 is lower than the current minimum wage in 29 states.
TropicalDingdong
in reply to TrackShovel • • •Tanis Nikana
in reply to TrackShovel • • •Managed it when I was 35 in ‘21.
This economy is shit.
Tollana1234567
in reply to Tanis Nikana • • •Tanis Nikana
in reply to Tollana1234567 • • •Well, I'm a fine art photographer, a stand-up comic, and a day job haver*!
*day job is in a call center for the technical aspects of healthcare
cosmicrookie
in reply to TrackShovel • • •zoloftt
in reply to cosmicrookie • • •I think it's more a metric of stable life/happiness.
... Not saying it's a good metric...
cosmicrookie
in reply to zoloftt • • •zoloftt
in reply to cosmicrookie • • •dohpaz42
in reply to zoloftt • • •Marriage… house… kids
~And avocado toast.~
cosmicrookie
in reply to zoloftt • • •Every year, they make lists of the happiest countries I'm the world.
If they can measure this by asking people, then I guess they should be able to measure the individual person's happiness too by using the same or similar questions
zoloftt
in reply to cosmicrookie • • •aeronmelon
in reply to cosmicrookie • • •It’s code for “you are not only well off enough to care for yourself, you’re well off enough to care for another adult and at least one child.”
Hence the need for a house.
cosmicrookie
in reply to aeronmelon • • •badbytes
in reply to TrackShovel • • •Carlos Solís
in reply to TrackShovel • •Boo! Haunted House!
in reply to Carlos Solís • • •jumping redditor [they/them]
in reply to Carlos Solís • • •bizarroland
in reply to TrackShovel • • •BigBrainBrett2517
in reply to bizarroland • • •NormDeplume
in reply to BigBrainBrett2517 • • •toynbee
in reply to NormDeplume • • •No, didn't you read? Regardless of the cost problems, their degree is either bullshit or in the field of bullshit.
Apparently bull semen can be valuable (I guess their degree could be on that topic as well), but I've never heard that other excretions are worth much.
Jokes aside, I make a lot more than my dad ever did annually. With his income, he owned a home outright, supported up to four kids and a wife, and had fairly extensive savings. I have one kid, one wife, and one home. I'm very fortunate and grateful to have what I have, but it is unlikely I'll ever match his success.
Soup
in reply to toynbee • • •It’s not really matching his success, it’s matching his pay. Very different things, especially as we know that people today are vastly more productive than in years past.
Just because someone is stealing your work doesn’t mean you didn’t succeed at it(and deserve fair pay).
toynbee
in reply to Soup • • •I see your point, but in this case I wasn't considering it a personal failure. I am having difficulty providing for my family; being able to do so would be my success, in which I could approach his.
I'm not being intentionally self deprecating, nor am I (currently) ashamed, but I do appreciate the reassurance you offered.
krisevol
in reply to bizarroland • • •Now we are the ones being "taxed" as countries continue to dump bonds and we don't make anthing of value anymore, so there is no need for the world to keep paying us.
T156
in reply to krisevol • • •America was also the manufacturing hub of the world at the time, since they were one of the few countries with sizeable industry, that hadn't been turned into a crater by the War.
There's probably a chunk of wealth/purchasing power that would have to be disentangled from that post-war prosperity as well.
yucandu
in reply to TrackShovel • • •Mulligrubs
in reply to yucandu • • •You can go back as far as you'd like to; if memory serves 1950s was our best time re salaries and purchasing power.
Here's a 20% drop since 2010 straight from the horse's mouth.
bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/purchasing-power-constant-dollars.htm
Not sure about this one I haven't checked sources on it, this is just a quick search for you because you're a good kid
macrotrends.net/4534/cpi-purchasing-power-of-the-dollar
There's zero debate, we are fucked
Recall that in addition to this drop in purchasing power, we are taxed in countless new ways that we never had to worry about decades ago. In my state we pay a tax on toilet paper. We have to pay the state to take a shit.
The solution is obvious. Let's print more money!
Purchasing power and constant dollars : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Labor StatisticsMalica
in reply to TrackShovel • • •Nouvellalia
in reply to Malica • • •TwoTiredMice
in reply to TrackShovel • • •My parents bought a house in the 90's and after they bought it, they realized they couldn't really afford the mortgage.
As a comparison, my wife and I tried buying a house 3 years ago. We had around $3,000 left in our budget after ALL our expenses was paid, and we got rejected in 3 banks before we got a loan.
Our rent was $1,500 / month. Our mortgage is $1,000 / month. We have more money after expenses living in our house compared to the place we lived before.
They make it really damn difficult to buy a house, even when you have the money.
IrateAnteater
in reply to TwoTiredMice • • •skulblaka
in reply to IrateAnteater • • •ltxrtquq
in reply to skulblaka • • •nuachtan
in reply to ltxrtquq • • •AdolfSchmitler
in reply to skulblaka • • •Private citizens vs corporations.
"The citizens can eat the losses, it's their fault for being so irresponsible anyway, but we need those companies for the economy." - the government
krisevol
in reply to TrackShovel • • •Funkt4st1c
in reply to krisevol • • •No, but eliminating billionaires via wealth taxes and using that money to fund social welfare and taxing millionaires into being an actual middle class would!
If you evenly spread the US's q2 GDP among all 350 million of us, we'd all have $90k. I know thats not how gdp works, but you get it
Rivalarrival
in reply to Funkt4st1c • • •Securities tax is more important than a general wealth tax. Payable only in shares, not dollars. The IRS will liquidate the taxed shares over time, such that no more than 1% of total traded volume will consist of taxed shares. Exempt $10 million in portfolios held by natural persons; whatever tax is owed is a flat percentage of every issue in the portfolio.
I would not tax general wealth, just that part that is used to generate additional wealth.
Funkt4st1c
in reply to Rivalarrival • • •I think im poor to understand the difference. I assume held shares are also wealth, or should be defined as wealth.
If it has value, the value should be taxed, like youre renting luxury from the government. If you have gross material wealth, you pay a disgusting amount of taxes or sell your garbage. Ezpz
Lovable Sidekick
in reply to TrackShovel • • •Hikermick
in reply to TrackShovel • • •fancy-straw-simple
in reply to TrackShovel • • •Kairos
in reply to fancy-straw-simple • • •kestrel7_7
in reply to Kairos • • •Formfiller
in reply to TrackShovel • • •abc
in reply to Formfiller • • •Shanmugha
in reply to abc • • •Formfiller
in reply to abc • • •