A little perspective

[begreen]

Craig likes to remind us to stop once and awhile and take a look around at how things have changed, often for the better. This article points out 50 huge differences that have changed our lives in the past 100 yrs. or so. It's good to remember this when Justin Beeboob gets arrested yet again.

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...-were-living-through-the-greatest-period.aspx

 

[Lake Girl]

Interesting article ... hubby was startled by where his wages ranked. Remember conversations I used to have with my great-Auntie in the late 70s & 80s; she was born in 1900. I used to marvel at the innovations that occurred in her lifetime - telephones, airplanes, cars, space travel, computers, etc. Guess I can review my own lifetime with the same perspective - lots of change and innovation

 

[begreen]

Many don't realize they hit the lottery to be born in these times.

 

[Cynnergy]

I dunno, there are a lot of flip-sides to a lot of these. You can tell it was written by an economist. Hate to be a downer but if you're an endangered species you might not think a lot of these things are for the better. A random example: "22. According to the Census Bureau, the average new home now has more bathrooms than occupants." Is that really something to be proud of? Really?

 

[Lake Girl]

That one didn't fly in our house - two bathrooms for 8 people Mind you, usage probably doesn't change much.... just a waste of space and materials.

I was tempted to cut out the info on home/apt. sizes. My youngest daughter complains that her bedroom is small ... if she does any travelling overseas she could be in for culture shock!

A little steamed on the medical comments - been diagnosed with hyperparathyroid and because I don't fit the computer generated recommendation for surgery, I'm still waiting. My GP is still pitching for me to get to a surgery consult.

 

[Cynnergy]

Our 1/2 of the duplex here is 1000 sq ft and we have 1 1/2 bathrooms for the two of us. It's the biggest house I've lived in since I left home. We still have empty cupboards because I'm not used to all of the space after living in teeny tiny places in Europe for most of my adult life.

But pots, kettles and all that. We do have a cabin on an island too. Dinosaur juice usage goes up muchly with that.

 

[Lake Girl]

My biggest problem is the numerous "ancestor" pieces of furniture that are real wood that I would like to pass on to my children from grandparents, great-grandparents. Some things just have to wait in storage until they make homes of their own... getting closer. Meanwhile, I'm working my way through restoring many of the pieces that have had multiple layers of paint - depreciates the "antique" value but love to see the natural and varied wood species when their done. The kids have seen enough new furniture fall apart that they appreciate the efforts and really like the fact they don't have to buy everything when they move out.

Our dino usage is more in the line of daily commutes to work since we live on the lake ... couldn't see the point of maintaining two households. We started using small cars in the late 80s and got much abuse because of our dinky toys instead of the trucks most of our neighbors had. My son got the same abuse from his co-workers until they did the math when gas prices started climbing - about a year later, most of his co-workers had small cars too

 

[woodgeek]

I agree with the major point....that we forget that how much positive change there has been. A lot of the points about technology improvement and increased safety and leisure time, sure.

A lot of the biomedical stuff is stated in a misleading way, though. The major part of the increase to life expectancy has not been advances in cancer treatment, but reductions in infant/child mortality, much of that from vitamins, vaccines and antibiotics invented before any of our doctors were born. If you were a healthy 50 yo 100 years ago versus today, your life expectancy would not have been that different. A healthy 1 yo, huge difference.

And why are civil rights and freedoms not on the list? 80 years ago 20% of the population couldn't stay in a hotel, eat in many restaurants, or dare be caught in many small towns after dark. Heck, women couldn't get credit cards without their husbands or fathers signature until 1973. I'd call those noteworthy improvements compared to just about anything on the list.

 

[Ehouse]

Heck, women couldn't get credit cards without their husbands or fathers signature until 1973.

They shoulda' kept that one.

 

[Ehouse]

Change the word live to lived and I'd agree, but this is all about averages and depending on your demographic, may no longer be true. For example is 62 really the average retirement age now and ongoing? Many are working longer hours including forced overtime with little time off. The reluctance to institute a living wage (to support the above standards) is having a huge impact on all of these points. As we Boomers transition to fixed incomes and increased health and other support needs, and Corporate America continues to abandon it's citizen responsibilities, the glass has and will continue to go from half full to three quarters empty for increasing numbers.

 

[razerface]

you can't get unlimited from republic wireless for $5 unless you are on wifi network. That includes "zero" cell coverage . I know this because I pay my bill every month.

They stretched the truth on a few of those,,,but overall,,, i think we have it good.

 

[Lake Girl]

I object! The hubby spends far more on the credit card without giving it a thought.... I'm the frugal (cheap) one in the house

Civil rights were mentioned in a round about way in mentioning the literacy rates of African Americans ... but you're right, a lot of progress in that area.

As to the Baby Boomers, the planners for social security and medical systems didn't look far enough ahead and factor in the changes in longevity. Even for those that bargained in good faith with corporations on pensions, many are left high and dry with unfunded plans and the shutting down of a business.

Perspective is needed in viewing our lifestyle ... compared to other parts of the world, we're light years ahead! Thankful for what I have...

 

[ironpony]

my Dad was born in 1926, he is 87 now. Lived thru a lot of changes and he is very happy he is not going to be around to see the results of our current situation.

 

[woodgeek]

what current situation is that?

 

[ironpony]

economy, the news of killing each other for loud music, the internet luring people to job offers and being executed, mass school shootings, things have become insane.

 

[bag of hammers]

my 2c, FWIW - I agree we do tend to take things for granted, but relatively speaking that may not be new, rather just accelerated in recent decades. We should always be careful to remember that there's there's no free lunch. Everything comes at a cost. Not sayin' the benefits don't sometimes (perhaps often) outweigh those costs, but we need to at least try to understand and appreciate what it took / takes to get us here. The confusion between "I want" vs "I need" - 5 bathrooms in a house with 4 occupants? - that has to be filtered out of the "progress" discussion too. I worry about the overall sense of entitlement that our kids (and their kids, etc.) might derive from all this "gotta have it" mentality - does it mean maybe we've actually regressed in another sense? We're a TON better off from the comfy easy chair perspective, maybe, but what if you feel that life in a comfy easy chair kinda sucks? A gas furnace vs wood heat is "progress". Crank up the thermostat and settle into that chair for another episode of Survivor? Or go out and spend 60 minutes splitting on the wood pile? What happens when you choose the former - screw all that hard work - then the power goes out for 10 days? OMG - we're all freezing, but that's not the worst of it - the real horror is we don't know who got voted off the island this week. Perhaps it's just the wood burner in me ranting...

I'm really grateful that we don't live in the stone age, but while we're busy tying our proverbial panties in a knot over the latest stupid celebrity trick, at the same time some Wall Street suit is gassing up the Mangusta again this week courtesy of our disappearing retirement savings plan. How long until whatever deal we think we have going on now starts to unravel?

Guess what I'm saying is, I appreciate what I have, but I try not to let the fact that we have it pretty good these days lull me to sleep, or make me lazy or complacent. That seems to be happening a lot now (but maybe it's just me).

As for Bieber and Lohan and the rest of the annoying twits - assemble them all on an ice flow, one good collective shove, so they're never to be seen or heard from again. Now that would be newsworthy....

 

[ironpony]

to add to your analogy, my BIL is unemployed, his wife works part time at dollar store, cars are broke down can not pay their bills but they still have cable and cell phones. DUH.

 

[bag of hammers]

Yeah - another example - Canada's household debt to income ratio hit 163.7 percent late last year. I'm not an economist, but my simple brain tells me we are probably living way beyond our means. Maybe we think we have it so good because we have a pocket full of credit cards and box stores everywhere full of "essentials". And we haven't yet reached the end of the rope that's been handed to us (just enough rope to hang ourselves). In some ways, 'the good life" is mortgaged to the hilt.

I guess I may be reaching a bit outside the OP or the guts of the article that begreen shared here - a lot of that stuff is really important (e.g. medical technology today blows my mind). I just think we generally need to wake up a bit, take a deep breath and and prioritize, figure out what's really essential, and scale back on "stuff" - that would take some work, but life could still be good, maybe even better in some ways.

 

[begreen]

economy, the news of killing each other for loud music, the internet luring people to job offers and being executed, mass school shootings, things have become insane.

Right, he grew up in an age of killing by alcohol poisoning (prohibition), severe depression, world war, atomic threat, etc. Ya know, the good old daze. LOL

 

[Retired Guy]

My uncle used to talk about the "Decoration Day" parades when he was a kid - the Civil War vets marched in the first group.

 

[ironpony]

Right, he grew up in an age of killing by alcohol poisoning (prohibition), severe depression, world war, atomic threat, etc. Ya know, the good old daze. LOL

true, but the people stuck together. Today it is all about me and if I don't like it I kill you or maybe I kill you for fun

 

[begreen]

No, those are the exceptional stories, not the rule. Our media desperate for eyeballs often tends to hyperbolize negative incidents and not report the posititves. I find that by and large people are good and wanting to help one another. That's why Hearth.com is a success. With the Superbowl win I just saw an amazing example of a community pulling together and they did it without violence.

 

[ironpony]

No, those are the exceptional stories, not the rule. I find that by and large people are good and wanting to help one another. That's why Hearth.com is a success.

I have to agree with you here. TMI to quickly these days make it seem worse than it really is.

 

[BrotherBart]

The good old days, weren't.

 

[woodgeek]

I have to agree with you here. TMI to quickly these days make it seem worse than it really is.

Solution: you can turn it off.

Also, you think we only have serial killers now? Pfft. We only started catching them in the 20th century. Through history, you find some horrible crime scene...it was a werewolf or a vampire or a witch that done it. Mob up, go stake or burn the weirdest guy/gal in town and call it a day.

As a certified weirdo myself, I think that's some progress!