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Comment by thedevil | Hacker News Reader

The argument that people today live worse than people in the 80s is insane.

Yes, it seems so in the real GDP numbers, but it defies the rising standards of living that surround us, showing up everywhere but the numbers. Would anyone here want to live like the average Joe of the eighties, using only goods and services available then?

Traditional GDP and inflation figures seem to be losing usefulness

They clearly don't capture most of the tech gains (which have been huge).

And I suspect they don't adequately capture quality improvements.

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>The argument that kids today live worse than their parents is insane. Yes, it seems so in the real GDP numbers, but it defies the rising standards of living that surround us, showing up everywhere but the numbers. Would anyone here want to live like the average Joe of the eighties, using only goods and services available then?

Because it's not about whether you can have Netflix and modern gadgets and Uber, but whether you can afford shelter, whether you can provide for a family, whether you have to work like a dog and miss your whole life, whether you'll be able to pay your debt (student loans etc), whether you'll be able to afford healthcare, being able to retire etc.

Living with only "80s goods and services" is much better than not being able to afford basic today's services, but having a smartphone and broadband internet.

And of course wealth is relative to societal norm, not absolute. If you live in the USA like a 18th century peasant with the "goods and services" available to 18th century TODAY, you're not lucky just because you don't live in cavemen-era "goods and services".

The tech gains are mostly in areas which don't benefit consumers beyond fancier phones and bigger TV screens. Where it counts such as lower cost of living, better healthcare, and the like it's hasn't materialized for those in the lower economic segments. They're still coasting by on the Great Society programs despite their repeated gutting. If the current POTUS can't replace it with livable wages and jobs I suspect we'll see something akin to a Jacobin uprising (blood, heads, and all).

> The tech gains are mostly in areas which don't benefit consumers beyond fancier phones and bigger TV screens.

Mobile payments, video calls, mp3s, social networks, wikipedia, google, driving directions with live traffic updates, Coursera, YouTube, Uber, Upwork.

These are not trivial changes. Coursera, for example, was a life-changer for me as it allowed me to switch careers long after college.

Inequality and inefficient healthcare are big issues, sure, but I wouldn't trivialize the benefits of technology because of that.

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