Comments on: Why Isn't Everything Worse?

By: jumbolachi

jumbolachi — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:41:44 +0000

Just realized the link in my previous post is faulty. If you would like to see the the data to which I referred, go here, put a check next to the 4th item down (entitle: "Constant (1982) Median wkly earnings, Emp FT, Wage & sal wrkrs - LEU0252881600 ), and click the "retrieve data" button.

By: jumbolachi

jumbolachi — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:41:44 +0000

By: GilM

GilM — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:44:07 +0000

No, it's just right.

Not only are there many new and better products and technologies, but they are cheap enough for many to own (as well as former luxuries). And, medicine has improved a lot too. Lots of former death-sentence conditions are now treatable and often curable.

I wouldn't want to go back to 2000. And, I REALLY wouldn't want to go back to the 1970s (which I'm still hearing offered a similar living standard to the middle class compared with today).

The level of employment has been very high recently, and people have been enjoying considerably more and better leisure than ever before.

I realize that it's not always easy to see, and perspective can be difficult to maintain. But, I think it's worth the effort.

By: jumbolachi

jumbolachi — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:09:38 +0000

Check out this chart - median weekly real earnings in the second quarter of 2000 were $320, which is exactly the same figure as the second quarter of this year. Eight years have passed and the average person's living standards have not changed much.

And the quality and variety of products and services have not changed much in 8 years. Sure we have things like ipods and better computers now, but most of the things people buy (food, furniture, gasoline, housing, appliances) haven't changed significantly since 2000.

To say, as Will does, "living standards have improved considerably for most people since 2000," is just wrong.

By: GilM

GilM — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:47:24 +0000

Are you claiming that their employers are paying less for the health insurance benefits they offer each employee than they did in the past?

If so, I don't think that's typical.

By: muirgeo

muirgeo — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:29:17 +0000

I'm a physician and my patient's are not getting more insurance coverage they are getting less with huge deductibles and Co-pays. The balance of their benefits package is putting their true income or purchasing power or compensation even more negative not more positive as you claim.

By: GilM

GilM — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:05:53 +0000

Income is not the same as compensation.

Health Insurance costs have sky-rocketed, for example, so your compensation can increase without your income increasing.

And, what is this "good regulatory policy" you speak of?

By: muirgeo

muirgeo — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:53:52 +0000

"Average total compensation rose something like 18 percent from 2001 -2005"

Come on now we all know that average income numbers are tainted by the exreme growth at the top.
Median incomes have stagnated for lower income brackets. During Clintons years we saw greater growth all around and a better economy overall.

That's all I'm saying the evidence suggest good regulatory policy beats hands off policies. I think the evidence is overwhelming that a lot of the income inequality especially recently is not related to issues of productivity but of gaming the system and the end result is a weaker economy overall.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/C...

By: GilM

GilM — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:13:06 +0000

And that increase doesn't even account for improvements in quality and variety of products and services.

I think it's really common to be biased towards anxiety about the economy and obliviousness to improvements. And, frequent elections create lots of opportunities for candidates to exploit this, and amplify the false impression.

By: Will Wilkinson

Will Wilkinson — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:52:00 +0000

Average total compensation rose something like 18 percent from 2001 -2005. I'm sure that's slowing down right about now. But yeah, living standards have improved considerably for most people since 2000.