Comments on: The Demand for Populism in the Imaginary Age of Anxiety http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/ The Sweet Release of Reason Tue, 22 May 2012 20:28:45 +0000 hourly 1 By: kral oyun http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10558 kral oyun Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:57:31 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10558 My parents didn't have iPods, HDTV, broadband internet access, etc., at my age, and neither did yours My parents didn't have iPods, HDTV, broadband internet access, etc., at my age, and neither did yours

]]> By: sayısalloto http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10557 sayısalloto Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:55:38 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10557 Are we biased against realizing it? Are we biased against realizing it?

]]> By: araba http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10556 araba Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:54:40 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10556 At first I thought WW's post ended with Obama's caliphate At first I thought WW's post ended with Obama's caliphate

]]> By: buy atarax http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10555 buy atarax Sun, 22 Mar 2009 06:26:34 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10555 Atarax (hydroxyzine) for Anxiety: I take this along with Lexapro... I was having such hard times falling asleep due to nine million things going on through the day ... then the anxiety kicked in...sometimes I would be up for hours while everyone is sound to sleep...When I started taking this I fall asleep within thirty mins and usually sleep sound. It is not addicting... and good price for the good things the meds do Atarax (hydroxyzine) for Anxiety: I take this along with Lexapro… I was having such hard times falling asleep due to nine million things going on through the day … then the anxiety kicked in…sometimes I would be up for hours while everyone is sound to sleep…When I started taking this I fall asleep within thirty mins and usually sleep sound. It is not addicting… and good price for the good things the meds do

]]> By: Oyunlar http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10554 Oyunlar Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:18:57 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10554 Petrol price is rising! Petrol price is rising!

]]> By: Oyunlar http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10574 Oyunlar Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:18:00 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10574 Petrol price is rising! Petrol price is rising!

]]> By: oyun http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10553 oyun Mon, 05 May 2008 15:41:42 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10553 Martin, you’ve really got to the heart of the matter. Martin, you’ve really got to the heart of the matter.

]]> By: oyun http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10573 oyun Mon, 05 May 2008 15:41:00 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10573 Martin, you’ve really got to the heart of the matter. Martin, you’ve really got to the heart of the matter.

]]> By: Anton Sherwood http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10552 Anton Sherwood Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:14:40 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10552 At first I thought WW's post ended with <i>Obama's caliphate</i>. At first I thought WW’s post ended with Obama’s caliphate.

]]> By: Anonymous http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10564 Anonymous Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:14:00 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10564 At first I thought WW's post ended with <i>Obama's caliphate</i>. At first I thought WW’s post ended with Obama’s caliphate.

]]> By: Colin Kingsbury http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10551 Colin Kingsbury Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:52:34 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10551 While I'm sympathetic to the argument, it feels to me like you're hanging a lot on this one poll which for all we know is too eccentric to be useful for anything other than newspaper filler. It would be interesting to look at the correlation of this poll with GDP or other indicators over the past 20 or so years to see whether it tracks economic wellbeing in a meaningful fashion. The other problem I have here is that people neither marry nor vote by reason alone, or perhaps even primarily. Broadly speaking, you are right that a laid-off GE supervisor now working in a Wal-Mart without insurance would be more likely to survive cancer or a heart attack today than the CEO of GE would have been 30 years ago. However, I see two very large confounding factors here. First, products with warranties are worth more than equivalent ones without, even if consumers expect to not need the warranty during the life of the product. Recently I had an uninsured, low-income friend who needed major surgery, and while in the end she received very good care without being financially devastated, the minute she was able to afford insurance, she shelled out for it, and felt much better as a result. Second, the argument about everyone being better off than everyone was 20 or 30 years ago has the problem of requiring people to differentiate between relative and absolute outcomes. In my day job I do a lot of sales and marketing, and I've learned the hard way that consumers can't be trusted to understand anything that requires even one level of extrapolation. I can hear John Edwards saying, "This nut wants you to believe you're better off without insurance today than you were with insurance 10 or 20 years ago." While I’m sympathetic to the argument, it feels to me like you’re hanging a lot on this one poll which for all we know is too eccentric to be useful for anything other than newspaper filler. It would be interesting to look at the correlation of this poll with GDP or other indicators over the past 20 or so years to see whether it tracks economic wellbeing in a meaningful fashion.

The other problem I have here is that people neither marry nor vote by reason alone, or perhaps even primarily. Broadly speaking, you are right that a laid-off GE supervisor now working in a Wal-Mart without insurance would be more likely to survive cancer or a heart attack today than the CEO of GE would have been 30 years ago. However, I see two very large confounding factors here.

First, products with warranties are worth more than equivalent ones without, even if consumers expect to not need the warranty during the life of the product. Recently I had an uninsured, low-income friend who needed major surgery, and while in the end she received very good care without being financially devastated, the minute she was able to afford insurance, she shelled out for it, and felt much better as a result.

Second, the argument about everyone being better off than everyone was 20 or 30 years ago has the problem of requiring people to differentiate between relative and absolute outcomes. In my day job I do a lot of sales and marketing, and I’ve learned the hard way that consumers can’t be trusted to understand anything that requires even one level of extrapolation. I can hear John Edwards saying, “This nut wants you to believe you’re better off without insurance today than you were with insurance 10 or 20 years ago.”

]]> By: Colin Kingsbury http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10572 Colin Kingsbury Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:52:00 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10572 While I'm sympathetic to the argument, it feels to me like you're hanging a lot on this one poll which for all we know is too eccentric to be useful for anything other than newspaper filler. It would be interesting to look at the correlation of this poll with GDP or other indicators over the past 20 or so years to see whether it tracks economic wellbeing in a meaningful fashion. The other problem I have here is that people neither marry nor vote by reason alone, or perhaps even primarily. Broadly speaking, you are right that a laid-off GE supervisor now working in a Wal-Mart without insurance would be more likely to survive cancer or a heart attack today than the CEO of GE would have been 30 years ago. However, I see two very large confounding factors here. First, products with warranties are worth more than equivalent ones without, even if consumers expect to not need the warranty during the life of the product. Recently I had an uninsured, low-income friend who needed major surgery, and while in the end she received very good care without being financially devastated, the minute she was able to afford insurance, she shelled out for it, and felt much better as a result. Second, the argument about everyone being better off than everyone was 20 or 30 years ago has the problem of requiring people to differentiate between relative and absolute outcomes. In my day job I do a lot of sales and marketing, and I've learned the hard way that consumers can't be trusted to understand anything that requires even one level of extrapolation. I can hear John Edwards saying, "This nut wants you to believe you're better off without insurance today than you were with insurance 10 or 20 years ago." While I’m sympathetic to the argument, it feels to me like you’re hanging a lot on this one poll which for all we know is too eccentric to be useful for anything other than newspaper filler. It would be interesting to look at the correlation of this poll with GDP or other indicators over the past 20 or so years to see whether it tracks economic wellbeing in a meaningful fashion.

The other problem I have here is that people neither marry nor vote by reason alone, or perhaps even primarily. Broadly speaking, you are right that a laid-off GE supervisor now working in a Wal-Mart without insurance would be more likely to survive cancer or a heart attack today than the CEO of GE would have been 30 years ago. However, I see two very large confounding factors here.

First, products with warranties are worth more than equivalent ones without, even if consumers expect to not need the warranty during the life of the product. Recently I had an uninsured, low-income friend who needed major surgery, and while in the end she received very good care without being financially devastated, the minute she was able to afford insurance, she shelled out for it, and felt much better as a result.

Second, the argument about everyone being better off than everyone was 20 or 30 years ago has the problem of requiring people to differentiate between relative and absolute outcomes. In my day job I do a lot of sales and marketing, and I’ve learned the hard way that consumers can’t be trusted to understand anything that requires even one level of extrapolation. I can hear John Edwards saying, “This nut wants you to believe you’re better off without insurance today than you were with insurance 10 or 20 years ago.”

]]> By: PaulD http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10550 PaulD Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:39:33 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10550 When I grew up in the 60's and 70's, mmost families had one car, no cable TV, no air conditioning, and homes had about 1/2 the square footage per person as today. I think if people today who are struggling with debt would adopt the type of lifestyle that was considered normal about 40 years ago, they would soon find themselves with large savings accounts. When I grew up in the 60′s and 70′s, mmost families had one car, no cable TV, no air conditioning, and homes had about 1/2 the square footage per person as today.
I think if people today who are struggling with debt would adopt the type of lifestyle that was considered normal about 40 years ago, they would soon find themselves with large savings accounts.

]]> By: PaulD http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10561 PaulD Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:39:00 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10561 When I grew up in the 60's and 70's, mmost families had one car, no cable TV, no air conditioning, and homes had about 1/2 the square footage per person as today. I think if people today who are struggling with debt would adopt the type of lifestyle that was considered normal about 40 years ago, they would soon find themselves with large savings accounts. When I grew up in the 60′s and 70′s, mmost families had one car, no cable TV, no air conditioning, and homes had about 1/2 the square footage per person as today.
I think if people today who are struggling with debt would adopt the type of lifestyle that was considered normal about 40 years ago, they would soon find themselves with large savings accounts.

]]> By: JeanE http://willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10549 JeanE Tue, 04 Sep 2007 05:28:05 +0000 http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2007/08/29/the-demand-for-populism-in-the-imaginary-age-of-anxiety/#comment-10549 I grew up in relative affluence- we weren't wealthy, but we had a nice house, two used cars, and enough money to pay tuition at a girl's school for my sister and I. My husband and I have all that my parents have and more, even as a single income family. We have better health insurance, money set aside for the kids for college, and our cars were new when we got them. There are real strains on family income- a recent report showed that many families local and state taxes have increased dramatically over the last 20 years- but in some cases I think that our parents generation was better off simply because they lived more modestly, so they had less to worry about. I grew up in relative affluence- we weren’t wealthy, but we had a nice house, two used cars, and enough money to pay tuition at a girl’s school for my sister and I. My husband and I have all that my parents have and more, even as a single income family. We have better health insurance, money set aside for the kids for college, and our cars were new when we got them.

There are real strains on family income- a recent report showed that many families local and state taxes have increased dramatically over the last 20 years- but in some cases I think that our parents generation was better off simply because they lived more modestly, so they had less to worry about.

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