David Leonhardt quantifies the American Dream & explains how it’s changed over the last few decades

[@letzigstudio]

This was a very sober and soul searching conversation. Thank you, Katie and David!

[@reallymysterious4520]

I think that the 80s is the decade which started the economic downfall of the middle class. Reaganomics helped to increase the gap between the rich and the middle class/poor. Also the discretionary items which people were buying that weren't necessary - that exploded in the 80s. I studied economics in University and understand the basics fairly well. I am not against capitalism but when you combine it with a tax and legal system which benefits the rich then that is a recipe for disaster for the middle class and the poor. Things are only getting worse - both in the U.S. and up here in Canada.

[@BillySBC]

Don't you think "Middle Class" and "Poor" are relative terms really? Maybe even "Rich" is a relative term. I mean suppose you are a homeless person, but you have $500,000 dollars in the bank, are you still "Poor" or are you "Middle Class" or are you "Rich"? I don't understand these terms because would you say it has more to do with how FREE you are than the things you own or the job you have or the salary you make? I think we need a "Freedom Scale" rather than a "Class Scale", because there are plenty of people who fit in the upper categories who are not really free.

[@RM-xf9gi]

​@@BillySBCor your credit score, does that make you a middle-class or a wealthy person or a poor person? Credit scores are a scam by bankers.

[@diogeneslamp8004]

@@BillySBC If you have 500 large in the bank but are homeless, that’s a choice. That much money gives you options. You’re candidate middle class, but you’re choosing not to exercise your options to realize your status.

[@r.graysongarner6350]

Katie, we are the same age (+/- about 3 days). I completely agree that "the American Dream," has taken many turns in our life time. Excellent interview!

[@rainmanjr2007]

Asking for what's likely impossible (even unfair) is how any good negotiation begins. The reply is not to kill those making the ask. It is to counter with an opposing position until two parties find agreement. That's what a good Union does, and did in 1981, so David buys into the Red Party (like most Dems actually do).

[@cheriewolfsen2491]

Thank You for an illuminating conversation. I feel Hopeful.

[@philosophy-of-science-and-law]

Thank you, Katie and Leonard, great discussion! I think the libertarian rejection of public education is why, ultimately, their ideology is doomed to self interested anarchy, with an apocalyptic fantasy about a return to tribal slavery still exhibited in the world. Refusing to know the truth should not be so well supported by any political organization.

[@oldschool7715]

Encouragement is a powerful thing… “It’s all what you make it.” My mom- Happy TG

[@williespruill3469]

Love the podcast.

[@marclegarreta]

This was really, really good!

[@official_ashhh]

these socio economic issues effect all of us in todays day and age.

[@Kevin-px3gk]

bow out gracefully insurmountably . Be nice beyond the end of the day.

[@BillySBC]

The American Dream is not DEBT... The American Dream is simple freedom, which you can't achieve if all you are going to do is keep buying things you can't afford and forcing yourself to slave for the things you want. Save your money and live as simply as possible so you can be free. That is the American Dream, freedom.

[@diogeneslamp8004]

That’s your dream. I want stuff.

[@BillySBC]

@@diogeneslamp8004 Well good luck overpaying for everything and worrying about the economy going south every other week.

[@diogeneslamp8004]

@@BillySBC But I’m not worried about the economy. Economy’s fine. What are you worried about?

[@timzgonina7873]

Communitarianism, "We're all in this together..." What made these attitudes possible in the past was the crucible of the Great Depression and World War II, which leveled all playing fields. The post-war Pax Americana then fueled upward mobility, resulting in the huge wealth and political gaps of today.

[@jcbjcb2]

1960s crime rise was due to "Baby Boom" demographics - younger adults commit more crime (many criminals spend their younger years in prison.) Additionally, the military draft pushed many men through Vietnam - heroin addiction wasn't uncommon. The 1970s instance of Carville's "It's the economy, stupid" was stagflation - induced by two OPEC "oil shocks". The "Reagan Miracle" of the early to mid-1980s was merely the reverse of stagflation - as OPEC collapsed. (Economic measures continue to parallel oil prices, though not as tightly.) From ~1990, oligarchs began hijacking daytime AM radio - often left on at "pink collar" and "blue collar" workplaces. This functions as the initial programming (the term that the KSM voraciously adopted, after HRC mentioned it once). The Slow Coup - David Leonhardt mentions the kochapparat's now requisite elections theft, (court-packing, etc). Surveys etc have shown that the educated Democrats lean "STEM" - in other words, highly skilled workers. Relatively few Democrats are managers, owners, and other arbitrageurs. The Democratic Party is politically centrist. "Left" social issues (Jim Crow, gay rights, etc) aren't directly left vs right, but are past vs future.

[@patricksimmons9672]

I know he wrote about history, but neither of them mentioned AI in going forward. Most white collar jobs will be obsolete. Many blue collar jobs in industry will be obsolete because of robotics. Even college is becoming obsolete. Knowing the history is helpful, but we might be seeing a bigger change to society coming than the industrial revolution was.

[@RM-xf9gi]

Disruption is coming but it doesn't have to be scary. We could have inexpensive A.I. doctors that will take care of us without bias. Healthcare as we know it can change into something wonderful.

[@jcbjcb2]

The "replacements for humans" must be designed, built, maintained, and decommissioned - as always.

[@brainstem2023]

Nobody alive today has memories of the violence accompanying the early labor movement. Things were pretty ugly for a long time.

[@brainstem2023]

Why am I not surprised that Katie talked about that exact Hillary statement? 🤣

[@rainmanjr2007]

The verbal vitriol is a result of each generation's relaxing of language and structure. That's why slang is offensive to those who are more educated (as a result of being older). That relaxation is all that's really different and even that has happened before. John Quincy Adams was a nasty old man, for instance.

[@brainstem2023]

I like what David said about the political middle, and I agree. Overall, I lean a little left. But I'm in the middle on a lot of issues. I'm fairly conservative on some issue, and very liberal on some issues. As an example, I'm very much pro life. But I also don't think it's for man to decide - and I don't mean just what a woman can do with her body. God gave us agency. The only one who can pass judgement is God. So while I think abortions as a means of birth control is vile, it's not my place to make a choice for another person. Doing so would interfere with their agency and thus be the work of Satan. The issues are not black and white. But - the political parties have weaponized the most extreme views and created the highly polarized electorate we're not stuck with for the time being.

[@ossiedunstan4419]

katie your welcome to my place for wheatbix and coffee any time.

[@ReneCesena-d2t]

The ratings are up... WNBC

[@dominique217]

Romney's dad was certainly a better person in that decision.

[@michellemichon]

The Republicans tout Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and tend to ignore Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments. The first book without the second would leave us with an unjust and unequal society. VOTE BLUE.

[@diogeneslamp8004]

WELL SAID! This is precisely to Leonhardt‘s point about the superiority of democratic capitalism over pure capitalism.

[@thomaswilson7441]

👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

[@neiljeffers4746]

Happy Thanksgiving nature space air water food free $0.00 share we

[@robertcoyle1738]

After 7 minutes lots of blah blah blah