I’ve been noticing a recurring sentiment among Americans - frustration and disillusionment with the economy. Despite having gone to school, earned a solid education, and worked hard, many feel they can’t get ahead or even come close to the standard of living their parents enjoyed.
I’m curious - is this experience unique to the United States, or do people in other countries share similar frustrations?
Do people in Europe, Australia, Canada, or elsewhere feel like they’re stuck in a rut, unable to achieve financial stability or mobility despite their best efforts?
Are there any countries or regions that seem to be doing things differently, where education and hard work can still lead to a comfortable life?
Let’s hear from our international community - what’s your experience with economic mobility (or lack thereof) in your country?"
In China this led to something they call ‘lying flat’, in Korea it’s called N-po generation.
More complex than just that, don’t forget:
Massively competitive education-work culture, where everyone is regularly publically ranked against each other.
Sudden doubling of house prices over the last 15 years.
Schools and work places making perpetual crunch a thing and hiring in intrepid young go-getters to replace burn out.
Wages stagnating for first time since Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms.
Yes, the same stuff is mirrored in the EU. We also had george floyd protests.
Leads me to believe it’s all more a cultural phenomena. Imitation of the popular rethoric.
Sounds like this whole capitalism thing we were sold was a lie. And most countries adopted it or already had that system before the U.S. showed up. Capitalism requires infinite growth, so we artificial insert these boom bust cycles to make the rich richer, and everybody else can eat a dick.
the 22 people with 12 digits in their net worth don’t want you to have a spot at the table. they’d sooner kill you than risk letting you have upward mobility
I think this happens in other countries too. It’s a result of neoliberalism:
- They cut spending on education, social security and publix infrastructure. That makes it harder for the youth to get started.
- They also cut taxes on the wealthy - meaning a lot of the wealth remains with older generations and especially the richest 5%.
- And finally, they pursue union busting, deregulation and globalization. By playing out the interests of workers in different countries (or different ethnicities in the same country) they’re making it harder to collectively bargain for good wages and good working conditions.
Now, I think the US is having it especially bad. In Germany they do regularly cut social security but we have public health insurance (though the rich get to opt out instead of paying their share) and overall a wealth distribution which is not good but also not quite as bad as the US. We also have a very different job market: Due to lack of highly educated workers, it’s easy to get a job and good conditions if you have a good education (which is basically free if you can afford to take the time). And they can’t fire you willy-nilly, this is hugely important for becoming financially stable and feeling safe.
Our main problem economically is the “Debt Brake” - a rule that limits government debt (and thus spending) without accounting for the required infrastructure investments. That doesn’t make any economic sense - anyone would loan money to make an investment if that facilitates economic growth!
