Maybe it is just me but it feels like media is sending a message that we should be happy with less.
Now don’t get me wrong. I believe in minimalism, downsizing and lifestyle choices. We clearly have to consider the resources we use.
With that said, it feels as though Boomers are enjoying a standard of living and those who are not Boomers have to accept less. Everyone less than 60 generally doesn’t own a house, has difficulty paying their bills, and has less economic opportunity than the past did.
This is presented as an economic shift. We have to take one for the team, and it will hurt in the short term but be ok in the long term. I don’t think this is progress. I think this is a badly failed attempt to get people to accept less money and allow rich people to not pay taxes.
We have been told recently that it is normal to have scarcity. Instead of 30 dolls, 2 dolls is fine. In fact, we are having less inventory in stores because companies are not delivering products at the harbor like in the past. We are going to experience scarcity, because people voted for someone who doesn’t understand economics.
With the gig economy we have been told that we should accept less in wages. Everything is about minimizing the value of people’s knowledge and experience instead of celebrating it and investing in people. We think that AI and technology will replace people and they won’t.
We talk about freedom from materialism which is helpful. However it also masks that some people in the US and world don’t have enough food, shelter and the things we need. When the standard of living is decreasing, how is that freedom from materialism?
Why are we voting for people who don’t care about us?