Oil's energy contribution has declined by about 12% since 1999. The world's economies have also declined by about 12%. (Using conventional metrics, which are time delayed determinations, this will only be seen in hind sight). The massive destruction of asset values now occurring testifies to it happening.
Peak is well behind us, world economies have peaked and will continue to decline.
Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:44 pm Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
rogerhb wrote:
I have a couple of kids and I'm appalled at the amount of adverts on TV during childrens TV. Children should not be the purchasing decision makers in a household.
So? You're the parent rogerhb; turn the damned brain drain off. Better yet get rid of it entirely. Kids shouldn't even be allowed to watch the blasted thing to begin with; the medium itself has been shown to be actually physically damaging to developing nervous systems (and yes they are still developing in children), never mind the atrocious content. _________________ "It means buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, because Kansas? Is goin' bye-bye... "
Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:42 pm Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
I guess I'll just say why I'm so miserable. And yes I'm a psychology student so I understand where that angle comes from... However, in talking with some of my professors about peak oil I've found that they are just as worried (all but one who believes ethanol will save us)as anyone else.
I have trouble seeing how the lives of this generation and those ahead will be better than those before us. Peak oil, global warming, globalism (the negative aspects for the U.S.) all point to a dismal future.
The only positive aspects of this change are a return to more environmentaly sound lifestyles. I'm attempting to structure my life around these new realities by going into the electronics field (to set up sustainable solar homes and businesses). That is a far cry from Psychology, but necessary in my opinion. For most however, in an economy built on finance, service and expansionism this is catastrophic.
I do not foresee a world like the one that I grew up in. We have to make changes (severe changes) to continue our way of life. If we want to actually make any headway we must retool our entire society. That won't be easy. I'm scared. To not be, would be foolish in my opinion.
There is hope, but it is slim, and relies on change, which I think all of us fear.
Joined: May 20, 2005 Posts: 204 Location: Austin, Tx
Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:43 pm Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
lotrfan55345 wrote:
You should all watch the movie "Mean Girls" to see what teenage American life is like.
A Lindsay Lohan movie will never be an accurate portrayal of American teenage life. Come on now. How can a movie where every teen has tons of money, has everything that comes out of their mouth written by a screenwriter, has perfect skin and great clothes, etc., etc. even begin to be an accurate portrayal of teen life?
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:19 am Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
If you think about western society as it is now, it has given a *LOT* more people the ability to be 19th century equivelant (if not more) kings and queens. _________________ Bringing sexy back..... to doom
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 3:20 am Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
I'm not a yank, but as a recentish addition to the workforce, it was like being hit by a baseball bat- once you graduate its supposed to be management, Lexuses and Armani suits all the way- instead it's unemployment, finally a crappy job and then terrible housing and overdue bills. WTF? No-one ever told me about this!
The other thing which depresses me is housing- Even on the average wage, I cannot afford a house in any way, shape or form; and they keep going up each year! So I save all my spare money and go on holidays
I only know one of my peer group who is able to afford a house. The rest are like me, free floating, never able to put down roots even if we wanted to.
Joined: Sep 06, 2004 Posts: 5315 Location: Smalltown New Zealand
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:09 am Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
SHiFTY wrote:
I only know one of my peer group who is able to afford a house. The rest are like me, free floating, never able to put down roots even if we wanted to.
How about
1. Save
2. Wait for the housing bubble to pop.
3. Buy a house from a distressed baby boomer with no pension! _________________ "Complex problems have simple, easy to understand, wrong answers." - Henry Louis Mencken
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:32 am Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
Join the club! Everyone I know is like that too. To my mind people should be less worried about running cars and more about undermining anyone under 35 in the housing department. Don’t worry about population folks because nobody can afford to breed. The government’s answer is to bring in a load of immigrants, which lowers the wages even more as they’re quite happy to work for £4 an hour and send it home – a relative fortune. This of course all at the expense of the future, and, as it turns out votes: With 25% of the electorate threatening to vote BNP.
As for university, most people are being sold a porker. In recent poll school kids of around 11 were asked what the future would be like. Apparently they envisage of future of people being taught lessons on celebrities and everyone will blast around on jet packs. You can’t blame the kids, they are people sold stuff that is completely unobtainable for the vast majority of people, perhaps a capitalists wet dream somewhere along the line. When they end up stacking shelves in Tescos after their 3 (soon to be reduced to 2) years media studies degree, and renting a small room in Dudley it must come as an awful shock.
It’s the non-stop advertising that generates much of this, and no doubt a proportion of crime too, perhaps coupled with being lavished with cheap Chinese goods as kids, then a sudden plunge into the real world. In fact if I hear that woman on the recent McDonald’s ad go ‘I want, I want, I want’, one more time I shall explode. It’s bad enough the kids doing it! I’m going permanently to Burger King now for repayment of the most unsophicated ad ever.
Just take a moment and step back and listen to all the crappy ads, and music which have become normalised…I have a list of ads that irritate the hell out of me.
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:39 am Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
SHiFTY wrote:
once you graduate its supposed to be management, Lexuses and Armani suits all the way- instead it's unemployment, finally a crappy job and then terrible housing and overdue bills. WTF? No-one ever told me about this!
Geez, sounds awfully familiar. Get an advanced degree and everything is peachy, right? No friggin' way. Labour markets are saturated with "talent" and educated people. Companies are flooded with resumes and can't see the forest through the trees. And then the wages, which have nicely eroded up to the point that you just can't afford a decent trench to live in. If things continue, 99.7% of those living in the "real world" are working, but for what, actually?
I do not wnat to sound like a party pooper, but most of us "economic losers" can have all the talent and motivation, but there is this nasty thing called statistics and knowing the right people: We live in a world that is ruled by ruthless probablilty theory. What goes around does NOT come around. We just need to settle for a lot less.
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:40 am Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
rogerhb wrote:
SHiFTY wrote:
I only know one of my peer group who is able to afford a house. The rest are like me, free floating, never able to put down roots even if we wanted to.
How about
1. Save
2. Wait for the housing bubble to pop.
3. Buy a house from a distressed baby boomer with no pension!
It's unlikely to burst. Because of the destruction of the family and the vast amounts of immigrants being let there's a shortage of housing and lack of space to build any more. Save? You must be joking. The Cheapest house round my way is £180k, you would need to be earning £50k a year and have savings of £30k. The average wage is nearer £15k in this neck of the woods, if that. You basically need to get married/have a partner with *both* people having very good jobs just to get onto the housing market in the UK. Makes me laugh when my granny tells me her house mortage was 1/12 of my Grandad's wage and they paid for it all on a couple of hours overtime driving trains for BR.
Oh and renting is even more expensive thanks to the 'buy to Let' fiasco that's taken over the economy. Considering we're supposed to have a socialist government they have done more to divide people than the Tories have ever done.
Joined: Aug 17, 2005 Posts: 582 Location: Portugal
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:43 am Post subject: Re: Why are younger Americans so miserable?
thor wrote:
SHiFTY wrote:
once you graduate its supposed to be management, Lexuses and Armani suits all the way- instead it's unemployment, finally a crappy job and then terrible housing and overdue bills. WTF? No-one ever told me about this!
Geez, sounds awfully familiar. Get an advanced degree and everything is peachy, right? No friggin' way. Labour markets are saturated with "talent" and educated people. Companies are flooded with resumes and can't see the forest through the trees. And then the wages, which have nicely eroded up to the point that you just can't afford a decent trench to live in. If things continue, 99.7% of those living in the "real world" are working, but for what, actually?
I do not wnat to sound like a party pooper, but most of us "economic losers" can have all the talent and motivation, but there is this nasty thing called statistics and knowing the right people: We live in a world that is ruled by ruthless probablilty theory. What goes around does NOT come around. We just need to settle for a lot less.
You cannot imagine how I identify myself with these two posts...
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