Quote:
Originally Posted by JetJockey
Not me. The only reason the economy was so great is because we had nearly zero competition. Due to the war. Women and minorities were second class citizens. And I'd probably be in a wheel chair in some institution because the medicine that keeps my joints working hadn't been invented
No thanks, I'll stay in 2012.
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I'd like to have been 20 years old in 1950: that was the best time for the American Middle Class and below. It is the time when those in my extended family (smart and not so smart; hard-working and not so much; educated and not; blue collar or white) all did very well for themselves and had both money, and free time (long vacations). There were opportunities. Businesses hired and thrived. You could buy a business and thrive. For everyone I know, it worked out great. After working never more than a 40 hour week, and more like 25 hours in the almost-retired years, these people are now VERY happily retired (at age 59 or 62) and simply travel, enjoy life, have no financial problems with full pensions and free health insurance for the rest of their lives, have plenty of money in the bank. In this period, it was hard NOT to succeed.
True, the 1950s economy was great because of the war. Big government spending on certain war-related technologies and industries for costly wars CAN help an economy grow (and it did in that case). Of course, once government has taxed and spent and borrowed to the limits of the financial system, continued waging war to help the economy is no longer possible without facing national bankruptcy. Our leaders face this today, but continue to ignore the problem since they think devaluing the currency to nothing will simply erase all those trillions we borrowed.
Of course, currency devaluation means the massive debt is actually being paid by all Americans, everyday, in a "stealth tax." It is primarily why gasoline is now over $4.00 a gallon--the world market for gasoline prices is set using the U.S. dollar, and that dollar is being quickly devalued--in other words, the dollar today has a buying power of just .50 cents. Too bad wages don't rise as the dollar is devalued--that would actually mean the average worker is NOT paying every day for the $14.6 trillion (and growing) national debt.
By my hypothetical age 40 in 1970 under this Wish, I'd start to see the beginning of the nation's major modern problems, with Currency devaluation accelerating. Note that the beginning of the swift devaluation of the dollar is right around 1971, when Nixon unilaterally ordered the cancellation of the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold.
History of the United States dollar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia But the Robber Baron CEOs had not yet arrived, and my work hours and pay would remain good, with opportunities for advancement. All I had to worry about was that the money I saved for retirement would be worthless in terms of buying power--but high interest rates at the time cancelled out that concern.
WWII also resulted in tax increases on American citizens and businesses (offset by economic activity and jobs being available). But the worst financial blow for the American citizen by far was a 1943 change in tax collection policy that allowed tax revenue to grow virtually without limit, at the whim of the government: withholding taxes from paychecks.
Withholding is an incredibly effective psychological trick designed to keep the wage earner from ever recognizing that he earned ALL the money for his labor, but only receives a portion of it because the government has a GREATER right to his earnings--the first cut. The amount is decided by government. Soon the taxpayer internalizes that the government has a RIGHT to whatever part of his earnings it wants/needs. And best of all, withholding allows the government to take FAR MORE from each individual than it could if it sent a bill at the end of the year.
How many of us would happily sit down and write a check to the government for $50,000 or more every April 15, when we know our cars are on their last legs and we need them to get to work, the kids need braces, the mortgage is far higher than the value of the house (even if you could sell it), you can't afford to stay in a place where property taxes are now approaching $15,000 a year on your small colonial house, and the working adults are having major health problems from working 80 hours a week for sadistic, moronic and ruthless supervisors that won't approve any vacation.
As history records it: "With the advent of World War II, employment increased, as did tax collections—to $7.3 billion. The withholding tax on wages was introduced in 1943 and was instrumental in increasing the number of taxpayers to 60 million and tax collections to $43 billion by 1945."
History of the Income Tax in the United States — Infoplease.com
After WWII the U.S. was the only nation in the world with a huge manufacturing and industrial sector that had not been severely damaged, and we basically supplied the world with high-cost and high-tech goods of all kinds. Thus, we had a productive "engine" for our economy, and this created many well-paying jobs which allowed the American Middle Class to form: "The wartime economic boom spurred and benefited from several important social trends. Foremost among these trends was the expansion of employment, which paralleled the expansion of industrial production. In 1944, unemployment dipped to 1.2 percent of the civilian labor force, a record low in American economic history and as near to "full employment" as is likely possible (Samuelson)."
The American Economy during World War II | Economic History Services
It was at this point--full employment--with most of the men off fighting overseas, that women, and minorities, gained what power they have in modern society. They worked the men's jobs when the men went to war; they kept the country running in their absence. At this time, anyone who could work was NOT a second-class citizen. But that time ended when the war ended and the men came home.
America tried to go back to normal, with the women and minorities leaving the jobs to the men who returned. But self-esteem had been born, and began to infiltrate the former second class citizens. Many women/minorities decided to pursue careers in order to better their family's futures, since the barrier had been broken and there was some familiarity as to what to expect.
Consequently, the spending of the American Middle Class, from the 1950s right up until recently, supported the entire world economy. It was a very good thing and everyone benefitted, especially the U.S. citizenry. There were opportunities to advance, even if you weren't successful today.
Then came the Robber Baron CEOs, with pathological narcissists gathering Billion-dollar bank accounts by using the corporate structure to minimize employee numbers and compensation, and pocketing every penny he "freed up." Studies show that in the 1950s, business leaders were compensated proportionally to all other workers contributing to the business, and in general the leadership was 5-Star since they generally came up through the company ranks and had loyalty to the company.
Flash forward to today, where the Robber Baron CEOs and their small possees of top executives get paid mega-lottery sized paychecks every 2 weeks, along with tens of millions in perks and benefits. They know nothing of the business they are taking over; they are of defective intelligence, except in the areas of manipulation, bullying and showing supreme self-confidence; and they must have a psychological pathology that results in childish temper tantrums and screaming accusations at all lower-level staff.
Thanks to the rule of Robber Baron CEOs (who told our government to legalize and encourage Free Trade and Globalization), most of the well paying jobs were sent overseas or eliminated. Good jobs soon became scarce, and even those that remained were systematically ruined so that they were no longer "good" jobs--even if they paid well in our quickly devaluing currency.
And there went the bulk of the American Middle Class, down into the American working lower class.
As to modern medicine (a benefit of today), you are lucky your medicine is produced and available and hopefully affordable--though this benefit is sporadic at best on a national scale. The system works by having each company maximize it's profits and minimize its costs. So say a very effective drug is at the end of its patent (meaning the company can no longer charge $25 per pill; it must go generic and be copied by competitors at much lower prices). What does the typical company do? They unveil a "new" drug that the company calls "better" than the old drug, and they market it heavily to individual doctors along with free samples and gifts and any other legal incentives. The new drug of course is under patent, and costs a fortune. But probably 8 out of 10 doctors will prescribe the NEW drug, without researching whether there are significant new health risks being undertaken.
So in modern medicine, good as it can be (especially for the rich), we have a very messy interaction between millions of government interventions and their War on Drugs; Insurance Companies staying rich and imposing massive paperwork requirements to justify not paying claims; Big Pharma staying rich and battling the government on how much to over-regulate painkillers; doctors trying to keep up with far too many patients as well as paperwork and bureaucracy that drives up the cost of care astronomically.
Rambling, but the lot of the American Middle Class and working class was good after WWII right up until the early 1970s, and then things started to go wrong nationally. I can state for a fact that being born in 1961 means you don't get Social Security until age 67 (read: never), and have worked since 1983 (after graduating college) in a business world where job opportunities were always scarce, work hours were always increasing, wages were stagnant, massive layoffs every year made your work life a lottery, and benefits like vacations and pensions and employer-paid health care were disappearing. Work was no longer family, though they expected 100% loyalty, and morale became a word nobody even knew any more.
So send me back in time, baby, but not too far back. The 50s through early 70s in America was about as good as mankind has achieved. And a dire warning to those whose minds are still open and collecting information to help them maximize their chances at prosperity: You can't "play by the rules" and be prosperous in America today unless you are ultra-rich. If you do what most people do, you will lose. Best Bet for the ambitious: find a nation whose economy is led by intellectuals, is growing and minimizing government, and move there. You can come back here and buy a house later, when you have money.
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