As a college student, especially someone hoping to work in business or policy someday, it’s kind of wild (and honestly frustrating) to read how different the economic outlook was for earlier generations. The statistic about how 92% of Americans born in 1940 out-earned their parents, compared to just 50% for those born in 1980, really stuck with me. It frames something a lot of people my age feel intuitively - that the “American Dream” doesn’t work the way it used to. The article does a good job breaking down that decline into three main theories, and I found all of them interesting in their own ways.
First, the idea that progress on civil rights actually triggered a backlash that hurt…
For my TeachEcoknowmics Blog Comment # 4 I chose the article "Why America Abandoned the Greatest Economy in History" by Roge Karma. This article presents an important problem Americans may face in today's world. Young professional adults have faced certain inequality dated back to Ronald Regan's presidency. Karma believes that Regan's administration did not promote economic growth but instead raised inequality and declined life expectancy compared to other rich nations. This was evident through the young professionals earning less than their parents in 1980, while before this time young professionals were making more. Karma also highlights certain civil rights issues that interplay with the downturn economy. With the emergence of civil rights for African Americans in 1960s, Karma alleges that…
This article focuses on how America’s economic priorities have shifted over time, especially since the 1970s. It talks about how both white and Black working-class Americans used to have more common ground when it came to things like strong unions, decent wages, and government programs that helped working families. It wasn’t unusual to see different communities fighting for the same economic interests back then. But over time, the focus moved toward free-market ideas, cutting government spending and promoting more individual responsibility.
One of the main points the article makes is that race was used to divide people who actually had a lot in common economically. For example, some politicians started framing public programs as only benefiting minorities, which caused a…
My first TeachEcoKnowmics blog comment, I decided to pick "Why America Abandoned the Greatest Economy in History" by Roge Karma in the Inequality section. It is a bit devastating to see that generations after 1940 were able to earn more than their parents. The New Deal is what gave them the opportunity to have strong unions, taxes on the rich, big investments for the public, and expanding social safety net. After the postwar consensus it took a shift on the American Dream due to the declining of voters. What did not shock me was the unfairness included in the article. Heather McGhee mentions there were large public swimming pools however, they were for whites only. "Rather than open up the…
This article serves as a stark reminder of the very real and avoidable systemic challenges within a capitalist society such as the United States. From its colonization, America has been business first, people second. This is reflected in the, as Karma so eloquently put it, “abandoning” of the harm-reducing, public welfare based New Deal economy to the Free-Market model, intensifying economic disparities, fueling racial and class tensions, and paving the way for Donald Trump.
It comes as no surprise that only 50% of those born in 1980 went on to earn more than their parents. The American Promise did die with the New Deal, and to this day used posthumously as a dangling carrot for natural born citizens and those…
As a college student, especially someone hoping to work in business or policy someday, it’s kind of wild (and honestly frustrating) to read how different the economic outlook was for earlier generations. The statistic about how 92% of Americans born in 1940 out-earned their parents, compared to just 50% for those born in 1980, really stuck with me. It frames something a lot of people my age feel intuitively - that the “American Dream” doesn’t work the way it used to. The article does a good job breaking down that decline into three main theories, and I found all of them interesting in their own ways.
First, the idea that progress on civil rights actually triggered a backlash that hurt…
For my TeachEcoknowmics Blog Comment # 4 I chose the article "Why America Abandoned the Greatest Economy in History" by Roge Karma. This article presents an important problem Americans may face in today's world. Young professional adults have faced certain inequality dated back to Ronald Regan's presidency. Karma believes that Regan's administration did not promote economic growth but instead raised inequality and declined life expectancy compared to other rich nations. This was evident through the young professionals earning less than their parents in 1980, while before this time young professionals were making more. Karma also highlights certain civil rights issues that interplay with the downturn economy. With the emergence of civil rights for African Americans in 1960s, Karma alleges that…
This article focuses on how America’s economic priorities have shifted over time, especially since the 1970s. It talks about how both white and Black working-class Americans used to have more common ground when it came to things like strong unions, decent wages, and government programs that helped working families. It wasn’t unusual to see different communities fighting for the same economic interests back then. But over time, the focus moved toward free-market ideas, cutting government spending and promoting more individual responsibility.
One of the main points the article makes is that race was used to divide people who actually had a lot in common economically. For example, some politicians started framing public programs as only benefiting minorities, which caused a…
My first TeachEcoKnowmics blog comment, I decided to pick "Why America Abandoned the Greatest Economy in History" by Roge Karma in the Inequality section. It is a bit devastating to see that generations after 1940 were able to earn more than their parents. The New Deal is what gave them the opportunity to have strong unions, taxes on the rich, big investments for the public, and expanding social safety net. After the postwar consensus it took a shift on the American Dream due to the declining of voters. What did not shock me was the unfairness included in the article. Heather McGhee mentions there were large public swimming pools however, they were for whites only. "Rather than open up the…
This article serves as a stark reminder of the very real and avoidable systemic challenges within a capitalist society such as the United States. From its colonization, America has been business first, people second. This is reflected in the, as Karma so eloquently put it, “abandoning” of the harm-reducing, public welfare based New Deal economy to the Free-Market model, intensifying economic disparities, fueling racial and class tensions, and paving the way for Donald Trump.
It comes as no surprise that only 50% of those born in 1980 went on to earn more than their parents. The American Promise did die with the New Deal, and to this day used posthumously as a dangling carrot for natural born citizens and those…