> now that's shown to not improve the living standards of the many
Inflation-adjusted median real income is up 20% since 1990 in the US. Unemployment is lower. Life expectancy is higher. Air pollution is lower. Crime is lower. Gay marriage is now legal.
The living standards of the many in the US have demonstrably improved dramatically over the last 30-40 years.
Housing affordability is worse, but that is largely due to local rather than national politics, and the policies that have lead to unaffordable housing are largely non-partisan (in that homeowners across the political spectrum are for restrictive zoning and against development).
It's true that many people feel that living standards have not improved. I don't have an answer for that beyond speculation.
There are many things this statistic masks. How many households were dual income vs single income over that same time span? This also doesn't take in to account cost of living changes, which I'm confident have risen more than 20%. Sorry in advance if I'm wrong. Inflation erosion, how CPI is calculated to make things look better than they are (too much to get in to), but my point is that statistic is not the holy grail of progress.
>unemployment is lower
Won't argue that one
>life expectancy is higher
As would be expected with 35 years of progress in medicine? Plus, that statistic hides we've actually plateaued and even declined compared to other OECD nations.
>Air pollution... gay marriage is legal
Won't argue with those, though I wonder how much longer the air will be cleaner when the current admin has severely weakened the EPA and clean air/water regulations.
>The living standards...30-40 years.
Are you deriving that from the median real income? Even assuming it's true, why are a growing percentage of american's living paycheck to paycheck?
>Housing affordability is worse...local
That's... a pretty big one... I'd argue it could be greatly helped by federal policy against oh idk, stopping private equity from buying up homes and apartments, severe taxes on 2nd or 3rd properties, unoccupied property, etc.
All I'm saying is, there's a reason average americans aren't pickin up what you are puttin down. I don't think it's just a feeling.
Inflation-adjusted median real income is up 20% since 1990 in the US. Unemployment is lower. Life expectancy is higher. Air pollution is lower. Crime is lower. Gay marriage is now legal.
The living standards of the many in the US have demonstrably improved dramatically over the last 30-40 years.
Housing affordability is worse, but that is largely due to local rather than national politics, and the policies that have lead to unaffordable housing are largely non-partisan (in that homeowners across the political spectrum are for restrictive zoning and against development).
It's true that many people feel that living standards have not improved. I don't have an answer for that beyond speculation.