Updated 2 years ago
There’s been a lot of talk about tuition lately, so here’s a comparison from 1973 to 2022 in very simple terms, all adjusted for inflation:
Wages stagnated a little.
Homes doubled.
Rent almost tripled.
And tuition went up 10x.
A lot of things that were exorbitant and exotic back then – media, long-distance calling, and computers – are inconsequential now.
Income inequality is at historic levels. We seem to be headed towards a tech-rich but socially stratified dystopia similar to Neil Stephenson’s novels such as the Diamond Age.
This change defines both parties’ agendas today. It got Trump elected, and Biden is dealing with its ramifications now.
Why did this happen?
After WW2, Fortress America for the first time ever in its existence had a huge advantage; much of the first world which had been bombed into oblivion. This was a fluke, an aberration, that (naturally) slowly evaporated and global competitiveness kicked back in. Cold, hard reality again became the default.
We can’t turn back the clock where only men work, and we are probably way too big to be as generous as Sweden or Denmark. We are going to have to adapt or die, and I have faith America will, and as long as we keep adapting to new technologies within a framework of hyperadaptable welfare capitalism, I am optimistic.
But to bring this back to the 1973 comparison, if all this were up to me, I think we need to move towards a little more welfare and a little less dog-eat-dog capitalism. We shouldn’t kill what makes America special, but as we approach 19th century robber baron levels of income inequality, the safety net needs to be strengthened. I support Biden’s very measured approach. Within the GOP, they call it “compassionate conservatism,” which got its start with wildly successful runs by California governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sadly, thanks to Trump, this wing has gone out of favor, being called RINOs. And COVID has shown us that we need to think a bit more in the aggregate – more in social terms, and less on every man for himself.
Baby steps.
