MR Mister wrote:
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (Florida) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my news feed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of Democratic candidates calling for policies to fix the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around. I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook's, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it. Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose. These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought. We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty-One Times. Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful.
Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity. Never saw American prosperity! Let that sink in. She is very ignorant. When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided. My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.
Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country. People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, elect politicians dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism. Why? The answer is this, my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression or live through two world wars, the Korean War, The Vietnam War or see the rise and fall of socialism and communism. We don't know what it's like to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones.
We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague." And we can not see it.
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (F... (
show quote)
This has been true from a bout the end of WWll..
I say you do have a point.. but..
Our concept of being poor, rich, well off, keeping up with the jones, in not based on the rest of the world, it is based on our position in America..
Consider that wages have been nearly flat since the 70s. the wealth generated by our economy has gone nearly exclusively to the top 10% and not to the general public..
what the Dems, at least the dems I pay attn to are not dismantling anything, we only want a more equable part of the spoils of our Capitalism..
No one in their right mind wants to abolish Capitalism. But we also must note we need a regulated capitalism if the nation as a whole is to beneficent from a capitalist system..
You and I are bout the same age I believe.. in my case, started live in a 2 room tar paper shack far NW Minnesota. in the mide 50s Dad gave it up and moved tothe cities, got a good job as a carpenter..
Wages went up, bought a house, car, TV all that good stuff. I delved papters, stocked shelves etc..
Uncle Sam sent me to college and now I live on a ridge above a lake and rock away golden years..
Graeat, I am very comfortable, good health, fun people, even the rapid republicans who dominate this township..
But what have the recent round of young adults watched??
health care denied, or limited, job opportunities near none existent, inflation on food and energy so high they were removed from computation of COL, education so costly it is unreachable..
So what they are wanting is part of the wealth as seen in this nation, not what they could have with the same money in Bangladesh..