Comments by "GTW" (@gtw4546) on "Poverty in America ... The New Normal" video.

Not the government: feminism. Women went to work and families had more money to spend so double-digit inflation hit the 1970s. When you have half the labor force, you pay them more. When the labor force doubles, you can pay less. Mix in the new needs of the two-income families for child care, work wardrobes, appliances to make home life easier, and compensating the kids with "stuff" to make up for the neglect of both parents working and you have a perfect storm. BTW, I'm female so I have a love-hate relationship with feminism. I just don't see how we could ever go back.
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Then the Industrial Revolution happened and we've been on the hamster wheel ever since.
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@ Don’t know were you pulled those numbers but here’s reality for 1968: Median income: $8,600/year for a family Gas price: $0.35/gallon Based on those two that I’ve verified, I’ll assume the others you provided are wrong as well or perhaps it’s a typo and you meant 1986, not 1968? For more reference, in 1968: Minimum wage for farm workers: $1.15/hour Minimum wage for non-farm workers: $1.60/hour
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@ YouTube comments REQUIRE "a stunning simplification of a complex situation." Should I drag in the Middle East Crisis, gas rationing, and Watergate to appear more complex?
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Not entirely the same lifestyle though, is it? I mean who had subscription services 8 years ago and now it's hard to avoid them so we end up forever renting what we used to just buy once. How many of the things we bought 8 years ago are now obsolete and the available replacements are "smart" versions that require a monthly fee for the service that goes with them?
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@ Either that or the middle class tries to live like they’re the top 15%. I suspect the truth is a combination of both those things, eroded purchasing power combined with amplified expectations. If I tried to live like my middle-class parents did, I’d be considered poor by today’s standards - making my own clothes, never eating out and only cooking from scratch, changing my own oil, and working the worst shifts for a few extra cents per hour. And I’d ALSO own an average-sized home near decent schools, have one basic/no-frills family car, and pay my credit card in full every month. Maybe it’s as much a matter of priorities?
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@LeaveMyGun Yes, but lets not forget that the house was 1/2 the size, they had maybe one car, the wife did all the cooking from scratch, and the kids made toys from cardboard boxes, and if they were really lucky, they'd have a B/W TV with a 12" screen and 3 channels. It's nearly impossible to get a true comparison because our lives have changed SO much. If we could go back in a Time Machine and try living in each era, I suspect most people would end up choosing right where we are because the trade offs would be too uncomfortable.
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Globalization is homogenizing us. The 9-9-6 culture of Asia and the poverty that most of the world experiences have been imported to American in return for more cheap junk in our landfills. We've been on this slippery slope for decades now but we haven't hit bottom yet. All we need to do is become aware of things like coffin apartments in Hong Kong or child labor in Bangladesh to know it can still get much worse.
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@ I’m not implying that we were worse off but rather that our expectations today have inflated. Yes, we may well have been healthier and happier in some ways but it is a trade off. It’s ALWAYS a trade off for anyone who seeks to live within their means. Example: Do I update my 8-1/2 y.o. laptop and forget about new clothes/shoes for a year or so? Or would I prefer a few new outfits and continue with what I’ve got? (Hint: planned obsolescence meant my old laptop wouldn’t run TurboTax 2024 so I’ll be dressing outdated for a couple more years.) How many people would think being middle class means you shouldn’t have to make that choice and would buy on credit?
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