Although wages for the vast majority of the nation have been stagnant, the correction for inflation only looks at purchasing power and can't take into account entirely new technology.

Because face it, would you rather have
- another loaf of bread
- or the internet?

See, things are actually pretty good.

10/18/2011 6:21:08 PM

10/18/2011 6:24:50 PM

yes, the internet is great. but mostly because it gives me access to information that proves how fucked over most the citizens of the planet are.

10/18/2011 6:28:27 PM

10/18/2011 6:29:39 PM

people are leaving slices of bread at my doorstep. They clearly do not want the bread.

10/18/2011 6:33:27 PM

10/18/2011 6:35:54 PM

I guess it's my turn to make a statement, so here it is!

10/18/2011 6:48:25 PM

10/18/2011 6:49:28 PM

Post

10/18/2011 6:52:57 PM

Pretty good point, although it ignores all the poverty that has been externalized by U.S. policy. Between the drug wars, the regular wars, and our economic/trade policies, we've really given the world a good dicking.

10/18/2011 7:11:46 PM

[Edited on October 18, 2011 at 7:12 PM. Reason : ^ oh you would fuck up a wet dream we had a good rhythm going ]

10/18/2011 7:11:46 PM

I don't know man. A fresh baked loaf of bread is hard to beat.

10/18/2011 7:24:42 PM

how many of you are eating bread while reading this thread? It's like an orgy of prosperity.

10/18/2011 8:52:49 PM

I agree with the OP

10/18/2011 9:48:44 PM

10/18/2011 9:50:24 PM

I must be tired because I thought I was in chit chat



OH WAIT

10/18/2011 9:51:13 PM

10/18/2011 9:53:32 PM

for a second there i thiught bmel and samwise had melted into a single tww personna


sammel

10/18/2011 9:54:09 PM

Quote :

"yes, the internet is great. but mostly because it gives me access to information that proves how fucked over most the citizens of the planet are.unlimited porn"

10/18/2011 10:32:09 PM

I'm just going to give our viewers a quick run-through of what items poor families in America have. Ninety-nine percent of them have a refrigerator. Eighty-one percent have a microwave. Seventy-eight percent have air conditioning. Sixty-three percent have cable TV. Fifty-four percent have cell phones. Forty-eight percent have a coffee maker -- I'm not surprised, they're only about 10 bucks. Thirty-eight percent have a computer. Thirty-two percent have more than two TVs. Twenty-five percent have a dishwasher.

10/18/2011 10:34:31 PM

I have a dishwasher now

MOVIN ON UP, BITCHES

10/18/2011 10:35:38 PM

[Edited on October 18, 2011 at 11:13 PM. Reason : Since LeonIsPro is so scarce these days.]

10/18/2011 11:12:45 PM

Quote :

"Although wages for the vast majority of the nation have been stagnant, the correction for inflation only looks at purchasing power and can't take into account entirely new technology. Because face it, would you rather have - another loaf of bread - or the internet? See, things are actually pretty good."

*tap dances for master*

10/18/2011 11:58:41 PM

Just think.

In another 10 years you'll have another thing that you never knew you wanted!

10/19/2011 12:23:00 AM

Quote :

"In another 10 years you'll have another thing that you never knew you wanted!"

This sentiment only really applies to things like e-readers and HDTVs.

Clearly, anyone without the internet at this point in time is at a huge disadvantage as compared to the "privileged" people who do have it.

10/19/2011 12:48:46 AM

I've been using electric scissors for 40 years

10/19/2011 12:54:10 AM

Quote :

" Clearly, anyone without the internet at this point in time is at a huge disadvantage as compared to the "privileged" people who do have it."

Taxpayers provide free internet access at the local library. If they're lucky enough to pickup a 5-6 year old laptop for less than the cost of an xbox they can enjoy free internet at McDonalds, Starbucks, BoJangles, and a variety of local coffee shops for free or cheap (cost of cup of coffee.)

10/19/2011 12:58:40 AM

^
Right...subsidized internet access = internet access. You missed my point completely.

10/19/2011 1:07:37 AM

The OP has a really good point and it is something that I believe often goes overlooked. These items that America's "poor" have aren't necessities they've just become common place, so people feel they're entitled to have it.

Cell phones, air conditioning, HD T.V.s with cable... these things are not requirements. As far as general comforts, any wealthy family in the 1940s or early 1950s would envy the poor of modern America.

10/19/2011 9:56:26 AM

That's both true and it isn't. There are so many different categories of consumption for which the exchange between them is so shockingly non-trivial that it's hard to frame the issue correctly.

One thing I like to think about is the cost of labor as consumption. If you pay someone to do a service for you, and if we assume you are both the same economic status, how much does it cost? It should cost roughly the amount you'd make working that same amount of time, but through taxes and other things, the cost of directly buying labor is inflated greatly.

I mean, by many metrics we have AC and internet but the Pharaohs of Egypt didn't. But I'd say life would be pretty comfortable if I had 1,000 slaves to do whatever my bidding was. I mean, you'd take that over air-conditioning. Problem is that it's not very good for the slaves.

Ultimately, the miracle isn't that we've created prosperity, but that we've created a scalable kind of prosperity that can be had by all. But we still haven't figured out the human factors in all that.

10/19/2011 10:01:33 AM

10/19/2011 1:27:49 PM

Yes, poverty has gotten worse for young children. That's why conservatives want to get rid of child labor laws. That way kids can work their way out of poverty!!!!

10/19/2011 1:34:50 PM

10/19/2011 1:35:38 PM

those damn 6 and unders should stop complaining and get a job!

10/19/2011 1:36:27 PM

Those kids can't vote so Obama doesn't care about them. They constitute a lost generation in terms of employment.

10/19/2011 1:41:11 PM

You know what poor children are? Lazy, they want everything for free. Get a job like the rest of us, damn six year olds.

10/19/2011 1:49:24 PM

damn, that's kind of an oldschool meme now

10/19/2011 2:02:23 PM

this was a fantastic thread

10/4/2012 7:38:58 PM

accidentally clicked on The Soap Box, my bad

10/4/2012 8:00:06 PM

30 years ago?
1982?

I would rather have no internet and no personal debt than have two TVs and the mounds of debt we currently carry around

you're arguing that the steep increase in consumerism makes life better for the average person
and I disagree

10/4/2012 8:26:22 PM

plus prosperity is relative dawg

10/4/2012 8:32:34 PM