We view the late 40s through the 70s as a golden age for the American middle class. People raising families off a single income. Yearly vacations. Affordable higher education.
Know why?
We taxed the ever-loving fuck out of the wealthy back then.
Then the wealthy bought the politicians and stopped that from happening.
And now we’re all sad.
DO. NOT. VOTE. FOR. ANYONE. THAT. DOESN’T. RUN. ON. TAXING. THE. WEALTHY. MORE.
The pay gap between CEO and ordinary worker was the smallest back there, not because the taxes, there were less taxes back then, but because those CEO were decent people, not predatory like right now. Todays C-Suite are predatory people, they’re not humans, they’re money machines that need every penny. There should be law that don’t allow pay gap between CEO and ordinary worker to be greater than 100k USD or any other currency in other countries. Those who pursue luxury would say that’s very low. Yes it’s very low because everyone who works in successfull company deserve success. Not only small group on top. That is main difference between companies from 40s and 70s and companies right now.
This is also why (white) Boomers struggle to understand how it got so bad. They literally lived in a period where you could often count on and trust your boss.
Don’t vote for anyone, got it
I’m over 30 and I’m pretty fuckin’ miserable, too!
But I guess I was actually paying attention to how fucked things have been politically since I was able to start voting pushing nearly 30 years ago now.
In regards to the actual article:
The researchers say they were able to pick up on the distrust by asking whether or not people believed someone would return a lost wallet. Compared to the Nordic countries, people in the U.S. were more likely to underestimate the kindness of others.
“It requires that strangers are to be trusted, that they will go beyond the call of duty and be kind and try and get it back to the rightful owner, or drop it with the police, which means you need to trust the police,” De Neve says. “That single item of the wallet drop is very powerful.”
There’s literally, literally a flip side to this “lost wallet” equation in the US as well. Have you ever been the person who was kind enough to return a lost wallet? Have you also ever been the person who was accused by the person you returned it to of stealing a bunch of things (like cash) out of the wallet? It’s actually a fairly common occurence in the the US. So not only is there distrust in whether or not others will return a wallet, there is a valid distrust by people who find lost wallets that the wallet owner won’t lie about the original contents of the wallet and accuse them of theft anyway. At what point does it just become pointless to bother with returning a wallet at all if you’re going to be accused of a crime because you did the right thing?
Apologies for (slight retch) a reddit link:
https://old.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/1j1yqt9/found_a_wallet_with_200_and_i_returned_it_to_its/Bottom line: The US is filled with selfish untrustworthy fucking maniacs.
There was a time when I was a student that I spent a lot of time near a particular coffee shop, and more than you would typically expect for just studying and the like, since it turned into the place where my friend group basically hung out most of the time.
In any case, it was a decently high traffic area and since I was there a lot I found two wallets and a cellphone over the time I was there a lot.One wallet had an emergency contact I was able to call, think it was their mother, and that I’d be at the coffee shop for a bit. They brought me cookies, and I was thrilled.
Next person just had their phone number, and they acted like I was a creep for saying I had their wallet and would like to give it back to them, so I told them I was leaving it with the cashier and left it at that and was a bit sad, since being told off for trying to be nice is a bummer.
Cellphone was the worst. I called their most recent number and told them what was up (this was clearly before ubiquitous lock screens). Owner called me back in the same number and threatened to call the cops on me so I hung up, powered off the phone and put it back where I found it. Felt sad.Given how it seems like everyone has lost their minds now, I’m not sure I would risk letting someone know I found their stuff. I’d still try to return it because that’s the right thing to do, but I’m not sure if I’d be willing to use my own phone number or anything.
If people will shoot you for using their driveway to turn around I can only imagine what they’d do for a bus pass, student ID and a loyalty punch card for a bakery.Wow, how dumb and shitty can people be? Crazy.
You seem like a good person and I’m sorry those assholes treated you like that.
And the part with dropping a found wallet with the police. We all know they’re going to do fuck all to find the owner.
Have you ever been the person who was kind enough to return a lost wallet? Have you also ever been the person who was accused by the person you returned it to of stealing a bunch of things (like cash) out of the wallet?
You’re saying something. I’ve heard first hand stories about angry wallet owners “shooting the messanger” so to speak. I’m from Germany but the saying “No good deed goes unpunished” rings true in most parts of the world, I think. That’s why you throw a lost wallet into the next letter box and don’t bother any further. At least that’s what you’re supposed to do where I’m from and I doubt any of those wallets ever arrived with their full content but that’s not my problem.
Some years back i was leaving the gym (I live in the US by the by) and I found a debit card. Now the only identifying info on it was the bank associated and the name and such. I wasnt going to take it home and try and track down the person who owned it. So I took it to the associated bank, grabbed a deposit slip and wrote a note on it and dropped in the deposit box. I assume it was returned, but I honestly don’t know. Felt this was the best approach given the circumstances.
On that topic, Japan is 100% reliable for returning a dropped wallet.
It pisses me off so much because the goddamn problem is RIGHT IN FRONT of everyone’s eyes and yet so much energy is spent on bullshitting the masses…I want off this ride
How else make line go up?
Not just under 30. My husband is disabled and if ACA or VA benefits get cut he will die. Horribly but slowly, in our house where I will have to take care of him until the end. And pray we still have enough of a functioning society to bury him when the time comes. How I am supposed to feel anything other than horror and dread for the future!?
I’m sorry. I wish I could continue paying to keep your husband alive. It’s what a fellow countrymen would do. But half of our electorate is filled with sociopaths.
Fuck this place.
Those of us in our mid-50s aren’t exactly happy either right now.
You still at least had the option to buy a house. But yeah I get it.
Seeing alot of (for good reason) depressed folks here. I think we need to build community, in real life or online if there’s no other way.
In just 3 months the US became a developing country. That must be a record.
I certainly hope the younger generation Americans examine Denmark and copy their system.
Gee can’t see why. We should probably tax them more and deregulate billionaires more
Sorry guys, I know in my 20s I was still trying to figure out who I wanted to be and figuring out how I aligned with some suit in government was not how I was going to spend my Friday night. Just skip all the media bullshit and start reading about who is voting for what. That will get you to the side you’re on. Theres a lot more to figure out but at the very least do this so you can go vote every chance you get.
The older generations, we aren’t looking out for you, at least enmasse. You’re going to have to form your alliances and hope they keep their end of the deal. Right now the only ones getting anything are billionaires and their subordinates. That just might never change. Maybe you want it that way. I don’t. So good luck.
Came across my feed yesterday. He’s in the UK but it applies to almost every country.
I’m 50 and miserable. Everyone who isn’t well off is miserable, and that’s like 75% of the country.
No shit, and how does quantifying our misery help? Like, “Congratulations, ‘you people’ are more miserable than others. See? I made a chart.”
Fuck off.
“Hey dude, you feel miserable? Well you’re not alone, and maybe we can start to think about why we all feel miserable”.
You’re just seeing a perfectly reasonable study in the worst light possible, because you and most of us have been made to feel like shit about our lives.
