Generational standards of living

[CliffFletcher]

Spinning this thread off from the Ongoing Super Mega Weather thread.

Post your thoughts on whether we’re seeing standards of living get worse or better in recent generations.

[btimbit]

Well, without just continuing the argument about what 'recent generations' means

Standards of living overall? Arguable, very dependent on individual situations. I imagine people talking about things getting worse are talking about affordability specifically.

[Slava]

Thanks for starting this, because it should’ve been done hours ago! I look forward to arguing first about what 2/3 generations ago means and then about how tough life is today.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Slava

Thanks for starting this, because it should’ve been done hours ago! I look forward to arguing first about what 2/3 generations ago means and then about how tough life is today.

He's probably a Millennial so he took his time.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Locke

He's probably a Millennial so he took his time.

I did laugh at Cliff being a millennial, but aren’t things supposed to move faster now?

[Leondros]

Quantitatively speaking, the quality of life index in my opinion does a good job of tracking the standard of living.

The Quality of Life Index (higher is better) is an estimation of the overall quality of life by using an empirical formula that takes into account the following factors:

Purchasing Power Index (higher is better)
Pollution Index (lower is better)
House Price to Income Ratio (lower is better)
Cost of Living Index (lower is better)
Safety Index (higher is better)
Health Care Index (higher is better)
Traffic Commute Time Index (lower is better)
Climate Index (higher is better)

In Canada, this has been trending down every year since I could pull data, so 2012.

https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-li...?title=2013-Q1

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Slava

I did laugh at Cliff being a millennial, but aren’t things supposed to move faster now?

I dont know. You're older than me, you tell me. How were things 'back in the day?'

[Locke]

I dont think people understand how much a white picket fence even costs these days! Its outrageous!

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

...
Post your thoughts on whether we’re seeing standards of living get worse or better in recent generations.

I don't understand the question. Standards of living for the same people changing or not as they get older? Or standards of living changing for our parents vs grandparents vs children etc?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Affordability is lower which makes living standards lower in housing terms and other major expenses.

But some things like health, access to medicine & things that keep us alive are better.

The dynamic around relationships, gender roles, having kids is interesting as well.
The current generation of people entering adulthood will struggle to make sense of these dynamics. Replacement of enough children to replace dying population will be a massive issue; already is in some Asian countries.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

I don't understand the question. Standards of living for the same people changing or not as they get older? Or standards of living changing for our parents vs grandparents vs children etc?

The later.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Locke

I dont know. You're older than me, you tell me. How were things 'back in the day?'

The Flames were winning a Stanley Cup, we had a dominant team and hosted the Olympics. Everything was awesome, and wouldn’t you know it in a few short years the millennials came along. Now we’ll be lucky to make the playoffs and no one wants the Olympics. The good old days, indeed.

[GirlySports]

men can argue this, for women it's miles better with each additional generation, no debate

[Weitz]

I wouldn’t trade places with my parents, grandparents or older. Not even close.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Slava

The Flames were winning a Stanley Cup, we had a dominant team and hosted the Olympics. Everything was awesome, and wouldn’t you know it in a few short years the millennials came along. Now we’ll be lucky to make the playoffs and no one wants the Olympics. The good old days, indeed.

My God...what a time to be alive!

Originally Posted by GirlySports

men can argue this, for women it's miles better with each additional generation, no debate

As a white man I can contend that all moments in history have been pretty good. Its a shame I'm not generationally wealthy. That would be even better.

But still...

[blankall]

Apart from housing, things are better.

An overlooked factor is entertainment options. The internet has really opened that up. The ability to, for example, stream any song you want or watch just about any TV show/movie you want for an affordable price is amazing.

Another major downside is not just with housing, but the ability to accumulate wealth. That has substantially decreased, which may mean no retirement ever for some people. This also relates to housing, as a major form of wealth accumulation for previous generations was housing/property. In many markets and for many, even average workers, that option is gone. Instead, ever increasing rents are the only option for many.

[PepsiFree]

I have some neat stuff.

EDIT: On that note, is here where we talk about Canada Goose jackets? Or should we still reserve that conversation for the Super Mega Weather Thread?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

men can argue this, for women it's miles better with each additional generation, no debate

https://www.suicideinfo.ca/local_res...n-and-suicide/

Depression disproportionately affects women (Chaudron & Caine, 2004): they are two times more likely than men to suffer from depression.

Women are more likely than men to experience physical and mental health problems in addition to depression (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2013).

70% of antidepressant prescriptions are given to women in the US.

Protective Factors
“Protective” factors can help prevent a woman from thinking about suicide.

Pregnancy
Women who are not pregnant die by suicide 2 times more often than those who are.

With more and more women choosing not to be mothers, there's certainly some debate on what directly women's mental health is going.

But I agree with your general statement that most factors have improved for women.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by blankall

Apart from housing, things are better.

An overlooked factor is entertainment options. The internet has really opened that up. The ability to, for example, stream any song you want or watch just about any TV show/movie you want for an affordable price is amazing.

Another major downside is not just with housing, but the ability to accumulate wealth. That has substantially decreased, which may mean no retirement ever for some people. This also relates to housing, as a major form of wealth accumulation for previous generations was housing/property. In many markets and for many, even average workers, that option is gone. Instead, ever increasing rents are the only option for many.

Those younger workers will just have to rely on their defined benefit pensions to get them through their retirement if they can’t rely on housing to accumulate wealth like they used to. Oh wait…

[zamler]

Energy and technology in general has dramatically improved our way of life despite government's best efforts

https://ourworldindata.org/a-history...ing-conditions