Who would have thought, the mighty Trader_Jorger, champion of elitism and snobbery, denouncing the status symbols of money and power in the name of "perspective!" Sam, don't be cruel.
I don't buy this at all, Mr. Clutch. The dollar was worth far more in 1960 and, as has been mentioned, the wife usually stayed home with the children and didn't work. (of course, as any parent knows, taking care of kids is one hell of a lot of work, but that's a different topic) So you had one wage earner, not two. Frankly, I'd like to see where Will justifies that statement. Were there fewer things to buy? Not necessarily. As a kid in 1960, I remember plenty of things available to buy that people had a desire for. They looked at ads like everyone does now, wishing they could afford something out of their reach or planning on how to buy it. Credit could be very hard to get. You had to work for it and earn it. Now people are sent credit cards in college, often going into debt before they ever get into their career. Back then you got established in your career and could then get credit. I throw away mail every week now from institutions begging us to get a card from them. It couldn't be any different. And honestly, I couldn't say the quality of life is better. I enjoyed having my mother around all the time. I did much more outdoors than kids typically do today. And I had the freedom to run around the neighborhood that kids today only dream of. The idea of a "play date" would have been laughed at. My friend's parents left their doors unlocked. I could go on for a long time, but I'll stop now. I love all our technology. I use it all the time. But it doesn't have a relationship to happiness. When you get down to it, life was fine without it.
During Clinton's time, I was able to go to school, support my family without my wife working, and put money away. Now, the money is gone, I feel lucky just to have a job (that pays me less than 20% of what I once made), and my wife and I will barely be scraping by once she goes back to work. The standard of living has gone down over the last few years and tuition is increasing everywhere, partly because of the recent republican cuts. It is nice to talk about working your way up and going to school to improve your skillset, but when the people who WANT to do so cannot afford it, it isn't real opportunity now, is it?
