I have a lot of thoughts about all of this, but on the subject of wages, I've been hearing that same thing a lot filtered down from national news sources. All I can say is that even *if* wages for lowest earners are going up (and though that's happened where I live because everyone is so desperately understaffed, it still has a laughably low ceiling), it cannot begin to compare to the astronomical cost of housing. To give just one example, I was at my town's Growth Policy Meeting a couple weeks ago, and our long-term planning staff gave some eye opening statistical conditions:
2007 median home price: $319,000
2023 median home price: $1,389,578 [this is not a typo]
2007 median rent: $477
2023 median rent: >$2000
2007 median income: $48,813
2023 median income: $67,550
When residents in or visitors to our town complain about cafes being closed and slow service, it's become a nightmare task for anyone to try to explain to them that it's not that people don't want to work, it's that nobody can afford to live anywhere near where work is available. My sister manages a small chain of local cafes and hands down it's housing that's the problem.
Wow! Disturbing. Yes, this is an excellent point. Housing prices obviously vary widely, but it doesn't take a genius to see that the homeless situation is worst in cities with out-of-control housing. And that's all about land-use restrictions (especially low density).
I read a fascinating article not long ago about how much of this is directly attributable to... the decline of boarding houses. There used to be very cheap, temporary and long-term-ish housing for poor and young people. People shared houses, essentially. Then that was outlawed. (And, America being so individualistic, internalized the idea that everyone *must* have their own "place".)
It's ironic that what passes for boarding houses today is...Airbnb. Vacation homes for rich people!
Changing zoning to encourage low-density is really important. And also to invest in walkable communities while at the same time (this is crucial) ensuring that walkability doesn't immediately translate into gentrification.
(Sorry, I wrote a book about walking and walkability and the loss of both in America and have been immersed in these subjects since 2014!)
That's a good point about boarding houses turning into AirBnB! Though I don't think boarding houses are here or there. What matters is that housing exists for the local community or it doesn't. If it's not affordable, it doesn't. What gets built where I live now is all for the upper-tier of incomes, no matter how much time they spend here or don't.
This is a big reason why I'm a fan of Henry George's view of land ownership and community investment. People make money off of property because *communities* create value for that property. It's easy to think communities then benefit from higher property values but that just isn't how it works. George's idea was that the land belongs to the community and therefore any increase in value also belongs to the community; any improvements (like a building) and value increases belong to the owner of that building. But the important thing is to realize that communities create most of the value of property, not individual investors.
(Honestly, I don't understand the rent thing. I get how rents didn't rise all through covid, then in 2021, they jumped dramatically to make up for it. But to go from $477 to $2000 in 16 years? That seems insane. Is this some place like SF that has built essentially no new units?)
I really don't think supply is the issue in a lot of places even where people say it is. Maybe because I listen to very different sources of news than mainstream national ones, but a lot of places seem to be facing the same problem we are, and it's fundamentally about inequality.
There are two formerly low-rent apartment buildings in town that were bought by out-of-state developers, torn down after evicting everyone, and are being turned into luxury vacation condominiums. (One developer called his "lifestyle condominiums." I don't even know what that is but it's certain to not be affordable.) Same is true in nearby towns. My sister lost several of her best long-term employees when they were evicted from these places.
The supply WAS there, and it was taken away because someone could make more money off of turning it into vacation rentals or second-home condos. Housing -- normal, not fabulous but affordable housing -- is being torn down or repurposed to make part-time rentals for people who are already very well-off. It does not matter if people only use these places a few days a year. If investment firms or hedge funds can make a mint off of them, they'll do it. That is what's happening where I live -- that and a lot of people with more income moved here during Covid, could work remote on high salaries, and were willing to pay far more for housing than anyone local could. A friend of mine who sold her house for around $200K six years ago is trying to move back and can't find anything under a million.
Yeah. I mean, I'm now just repeating what I'm writing on my Substack today, LOL, but you cannot solve problems of inequality by giving the well-off (including developers) more money or profit incentives and assuming it'll work out.
Considering I've worked from home since 2002, I can hardly dismiss its benefits! It doesn't *have* to be this way. States can let local communities regulate what kind of housing can be built, limit percentages of vacation rentals, tax the shit out of the ultra-wealthy to minimize their ability to buy extra, barely-lived in houses in small towns or vast ranches in rural states. These things have solutions. But like so much else they need political will.
A few years back my town followed Bozeman in requiring developments within city limits to include affordable housing as 10% of units built. The state legislature promptly made that illegal. There's always political will to make a buck.
Oh, I *love* remote work. Don't get me wrong. I still think it's going to change the world. But there are unforeseen consequences that I didn't anticipate.
It sounds like we agree on a lot, but I do think it's important to remember that, apart from the uber-rich, this isn't necessarily a question of "bad guys" vs. "good guys." Or, rather, I think it's important try to see any issue from the POV of one's opponents, to try to forge some kind of common ground and consensus (because we all ultimately have an interest in livable cities). I read a piece recently where the writer spelled out how the NIMBYs are incredibly frustrating, and opposing necessary change, but OTOH, their POV does make logical sense. In a country where there are fewer and fewer ways for the middle class to gain and maintain wealth, it makes sense for people to want to preserve the value of their home. With the decline of pensions, home ownership has become one of the primary ways the middle class has created and preserved wealth. So, naturally, they want to maximize that, and now that they have, they want to preserve it. This is entirely rational from their POV, even if it's been terrible for society. But since, to enact any change at all, THESE are the voters we need to convince, we can't just say to them: You need to give up 1/2 of your net worth. Or, rather, we CAN say that, but we need really strong and compelling arguments about how communities will be *better* once they do. That's a big lift -- and it's even bigger in the midst of social breakdown like what we're seeing now.
Oh, Lord, this is too complicated an argument to have via comments. One day we can finish it in person, perhaps! LOL
Oh, it makes total sense. It always has and always will. And I don't think it's really an argument. To me, it comes down to the pressures that cannibal capitalism puts on all levels of humanity, and most people are just trying to survive it, even if people not being able to see oppressive structures frustrates me.
The one thing that I think gets lost in these conversations is the perspective of who is suffering. Change does take time -- another thing that always has and always will. I think it's important to remember that while that change is taking its time and people are slowly coming around -- which can take decades -- more and more people's suffering is getting worse. There is currently an ongoing battle in my county between the county commissioners, who have stunningly ignorant and old-fashioned views on homelessness ("it's a lifestyle choice"), and the people who have long-term been in the work of helping that community and see what the real causes and issues are (largely, untreated mental health, poverty, and lack of affordable housing). Pretty much everyone in both camps is self-proclaimed conservative and Christian. It's all a lot more nuanced when you get into these things at a granular level.
As for the social breakdown: This is the reason Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower" is one of the most terrifying books I've ever read. It's the only book that depicted the near-term of climate change in tandem with social breakdown. American individualism (with its uniquely Puritan flavor) is I think at the heart of a lot of it because a lot of the connections helping people maintain at least a modicum of caring about others and compromise seem to have snapped during Covid (I saw this happen no matter what political bent people have), but my husband's from England and we're seeing a lot of the same happen there. Decades of government disinvestment in communities, infrastructure, public services, etc., have a lot to do with it. I'm glad his mum has the National Health Service but it's such a wreck I'm not sure it'll stay stable long enough to see her through the next 10 years or so. It's a worry.
Building costs are definitely a factor in a lot of things. My spouse built a little woodshed a couple of years ago and I had to wade in and manage his materials because the price of a piece of plywood was shocking!
One of the things I write about now and then, or at least try to include when I write on these subjects, is that every region and community is different. We're all going to try different solutions and find different ways to address dire needs. I've been a fan of land trusts for a while but am even more a fan of Henry George's Single Tax, or Land Value Tax, which is harder to implement because, well, it's America and, *tax.* But my town is going to vote this year on whether to use a portion of resort taxes to go into an affordable housing fund, which I hope passes. Montana allows communities with a certain level of tourism to vote in an up to 3% tourism tax on a lot of goods sold within city limits. It's been tremendous. We've funded big infrastructure projects, mostly installing multi-use sidewalks when streets are redone, but also bought our town's main water supply from the small family-owned timber company that offered to sell us that land, which is pretty amazing.
Anyway, the vote is to take 10% of resort tax funds and put it toward building affordable housing. Feels like a strong, straightforward answer. It's not a new tax, just redirecting of an existing one.
My father-in-law grew up in a council house in Nottingham that his parents lived in until they died. I should ask about what's happened with those. It seems like Britain stopped building them? I'm not sure. I thought they went back to the council once people no longer used them, but haven't looked into it. My in-laws didn't have any claim on his parents' when they passed.
Hi Antonia, Thank you for information on Whitefish.
I live in Easton, Talbot county Maryland on Eastern Shore "The Land of Pleasant Living". Our citizens are still working as a community. All income levels can live in Talbot county. In Kiplinger’s 2020 ranking of “25 Small Towns With Big Millionaire Populations,” Easton was eighth. https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/601362/25-small-towns-with-big-millionaire-populations. Our area no RE available in certain price ranges 800k to 2 million. This is an interesting article how one business man can make changes to improve community.
We have relatives in Bluffton SC where wealthy folks from the North moved to gated "plantations" in last 10 years. The working local people are bussed in because no affordable housing is available.
I always enjoyed "Places Rated Almanac" since 1980s used to research locations. Since 2019 things have changed. Example my brother lives at Lake Anna, VA. now all the lights are on in lake houses during the week and RE doubled.
Very interesting information! I looked and my town isn’t on there — Whitefish, Montana — but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is in the future. It’s a little over 8000 people, a lot of wealthy part-timers. Three billionaires that I know of. I wonder if they count land ownership in the wealth status? Like “land-rich, cash-poor.” Interesting to see Williston, ND, on the list!
Land and RE is not counted. To clarify: That means they have at least $1 million in investable assets. Examples of investable assets include cash, stocks, bonds and funds, among a bunch of other types of investments and financial products.
Quick thoughts: 75% pinned on Rump and republicans. Rest started back with that POS Reagan who tossed the entirety of the country’s mentally ill population on the streets. Two in a streak of f*cking idiot republican presidents. I may come back with some more thoughts.🙃
Hi, y'all. Doesn't surprise me.....any of it. My gay husband and I retired to our beloved Spain 8 years ago. Haven't been back to the US, except Jim had to go for a family thing for a week. Found it weird. We arrived in Spain in December of 2015......then .....Trump. And the Christo-fascists.....and that IS the accurate name for them. We barely speak to my (only brother), and Jim hasn't spoken to his (only) sister in over 2 years. (Both siblings are raving Repukes and "Christians"). We are 2 married gay liberal Democrats, don't suffer fools gladly, and at this age (late 70's) do NOT need ignorant bullshit and stupidity brought into our lives. (Never did, actually....but now...say so, UP FRONT AND IN YOUR FACE!)
We love Spain. We love our eclectic group of friends. We love our life. We have NO intention of EVER going back to the disunited states of dystopian bullshit, filled with self-righteous religious whackos and racists and homophobes. No, thank you. (All our parents are dead...thank god). Wine time! Besos from the Costa Blanca, Spain. Glorious, friendly, beautiful, civilized country. I'm fluent. Jimmy says, "Buenos dias, gracias, and Un vino blanco"......total vocabulary......and gets along just fine!
I've also noticed the social decline in the US -- on pretty much all fronts. As someone who worked in mental health 40 years ago, allowing the mentally ill to live on their own on the streets is not doing them -- or anyone-- a favor. As a teacher for over 35 years, I've become angrier and angrier ever time we've had to practice "lock down" drills. When did this become acceptable?
In terms of why does all this social decay and hate seem so prevalent in America, I wonder how the American ethos of personal freedom as a right trips us up. The countries in Asia that you mentioned, as well as in Latin America, have much stronger values of social good BEFORE personal good. There's something to be said for both values, we just seem to be very out of kilter now.
As an optimist, I'm waiting for the pendulum to swing back. It can't happen soon enough for me.
Yes, as we have traveled, we have seen how America really is an extreme outlier in the importance it places on individuality and self-expression, and the very low importance of the common good and self-sacrifice. It's always *someone else* who must change and accommodate.
I too look forward to the pendulum's swing! Soon, please!
When St. E in DC was closed the city became the home of "Grate Men". Refers to living on the exhaust grates of large buildings. I worked for PEPCO our network transformer grates filled up with junkie syringes . This new problem was another hazard for our workers . Vaults were cleaned before any electrical work could be performed.
Becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter was one of the best investments I made this year.
This post is well-written, insightful, and depressing. Sometimes I look around and wonder what happened. Or if it’s always been this bad and I only woke up to it in 2016.
In response to your questions, Brent: All of the above. And then some. We might be fucked beyond repair.
Sad but I am not surprised. We used to live in Seattle, I grew up there actually. Now in Colorado in a small town, mostly unaffected by the problems you describe. It is such a multi faceted problem, the need for increased mental health care, The Defunding of Police, Family estrangement and loneliness. Single parent families. etc. You guys are on the right track living in Europe or Asia most of the time.
This. So spot on. Insidious. I don't know the solution. Everyone is so metaphorically isolated that it's impossible to come together as a group..
I just finished having tea with 2 neighbors. Just one current event was brought up and immediately Trump's name hit the room. All I could think about was 'my goodness... he's long gone... what's going on is in the here and now, and we still see the past as present... and yet emotions roil... and we relive whatever IS wrong and meld is with what WAS (imagined, perceived, or otherwise) wrong...' Tea was over. Simple is no longer here in the US... and as you mentioned isolation and the hiding behind social.media is exactly what is destroying us from the inside out.
I agree things have been different the last couple years, in the sense of everyone being angry and impatient and suspicious. The cost of living is such that nobody can live. COVID definitely changed attitudes, the recent political climate has majorly contributed to high tensions and discord, and manipulation by social media algorithms is pitting different groups against each other. But the part about the mental health crisis and shady people in the streets, it's always been that way since I can remember in my adult life.
I lived a few years in NYC and Los Angeles and it was always like that. I adapted and hardened myself a bit. I saw it when visiting places like Denver and Seattle and Anchorage too. Then when I became a nomad, I visited cities in Europe and I remember thinking everything was so Pollyanna out there. Mary Poppins vibes, lol. When I'd see Europeans talking crap about Americans in funny social media posts, I would think "how cute" and not get offended because I know they wouldn't last one minute over here.
I went back to NYC and got an AirBnB for a month last year. Some of my roommates were from other countries, one guy was from London or Oxford or something. He came to NYC to take acting classes and thought it was going to be this cosmopolitan experience, but he was shocked by how dirty and creepy NYC is. I overheard him talking to friends back home on the phone and he told them how men on the street were catcalling his girlfriend, and he heard gunshots near the AirBnB. It seemed like he was having a real culture shock and it kind of confirmed my suspicions about how America is more grisly than other first world countries.
I agree with you that SOME of this has always existed (and I've NEVER understood New York or LA -- I've never enjoyed either). But I've lived in Seattle for 30 years (minus the last six), and it feels *dramatically* different now. Or -- and I'm just thinking this now -- maybe I've been changed by living in Europe so long, and I see things with entirely different eyes. Maybe I've become one of those "soft" Europeans you just mentioned LOL
I don't think so. I think Seattle has changed. But yeah, your greater point is right. America is just an outlier in so many ways.
You definitely have more expertise than me on Seattle, so I believe you! I only visited once in 2016 and maybe that is still too recent. I was hitchhiking around the country, so maybe I was also seeing a different side of each city by traveling that way.
Regardless it's nice to see my own thoughts reflected in your article. I've been wondering if it was just me coming-of-age and realizing the country isn't what I thought it was, or if it really is an objective change that's been happening.
Seattle is much worse now. You are not hallucinating. Yes, we always had some addiction, mental health, and violence crises before our eyes in some areas, but it is far different now.
Our neighbor's daughter lived in Phili. could not go out at night and getting to work dangerous. She moved to Oxford UK for great job and social life. She did undergrad at Oxford and parents own a house in nice village near by. Parents own in Gozo, VA, Oxford and selling next door in Easton MD. to follow daughter.
It’s truly a sad state in America. I am Canadian and I have a lot of relatives in the USA. I used to visit them frequently. But right now, I don’t want to step in that country. The Canadian government has given a travel advisory about caution regarding violence towards LGBTQ communities and gun violence. My two girlfriends were planning to travel across the continent, and though they are not LGBTQ, they are afraid to be mistaken as such. My relatives don’t speak to each other anymore. And we don’t want to walk into awkward situations. Conversations have been strained because of the political climate. It’s so sad. Families have been broken.
We're in Vancouver right now (and loving it). I didn't know about that warning! LOL
The political climate is absolutely toxic. I thought it would get better after 2020, but it wasn't the landslide we needed, so things are worse than ever. So disturbing.
I can’t comment on the policy side, but I can share that for someone who has taken the subway since I was 14, (I am more than double that age now), I will not ride the subways anymore because of the fear of crazy people pushing me into the tracks. Wages are not the reason people behave in sick and disturbing ways. I was in London, not once did I think that anyone would shove me into the tracks. I don’t know what is happening in America but the rise of addiction definitely concerns me as a parent
I find this so tragic, on many levels. Your feelings are perfectly valid, but when people feel this fear it creates a ripple effect: more people in their cars, the decline of public transit, and on and on and on. But I agree with you about the US subways vs. London.
In my opinion, it’s not just the income inequality but the vast difference. There is the middle class earning about $100,000 per year, which comprises about 40% of the population, the uber wealthy making $1,000,000 + which comprises about 3% of the population and then the masses, 57% that are struggling to make ends meet, usually near or below the poverty line. The disparity is growing wider everyday. Money breeds money.
That is very true. Just being fairly wealthy gives you so many opportunities to build more wealth -- home ownership and 401(k)s for example. But that isn't true for the lower classes. So it feels like nothing will ever change.
Been back to the U.S. for the summer also. See all the same problems. Why does the richest country in the world have lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher medical costs, higher poverty rates, and higher incarceration rates than most all of the world’s developed countries? This country is broken socially, economically, and politically and won’t be fixed anytime soon. At least religion, guns, and MAGA nuts are rampant in the “greatest country ever”. Looking forward to heading back abroad.
Very troubling post indeed. At first, I rankled when your said social breakdown was happening "everywhere in America." Really? Every little corner of the country where you may never have set foot? But as I read, I had to admit to myself that I've become reclusive, even though I live in a semi-rural county in a very rural state, Nevada. Californians are swarming over the hill ... at least it feels that way sometimes, because California is a textbook example of everything you mentioned. And the malaise is truly across the country. I dare say it's mostly in urban areas, but as urbanites seek shelter in rural places, the conflicts increase there. And yes, it saddens and puzzles me how racism in this country has thrived despite the racial progresses we hoped and seemed to make with the 60s Civil Rights Movements. Alas, this article truly saddens me.
Oh, don't write something more positive just because I'm bummed. That's the point of expressing opinions, right? Write what you want and state your case. I'm responsible for my reactions to it, not you. Thank you for your view of the world, Brent. It's valuable stuff to read. And like I said in my comment, I've become a recluse, so I don't know the extent of what's going on in the wider America or world.
Excellent discussion. Your experience and impressions are right on. The US is in a period of serious decline. And in addition to what you have said, we are already in a cold civil war as exhibited by our dysfunctional federal legislature and now Supreme Court. So much to fix and we seem stuck in fixing it. Meanwhile scapegoating is increasing. And then there are the guns! Guess you weren’t exposed so much to the culture of open carry (for the whites only of course).
Yes, it would be nice to be able to trust democracy, and I do. But these days, it seems like there are so many obstacles to the will of the people being enacted.
We have also spent a lot of time pondering the state of things since November of 2016.. to include a lot of this predates even that...
The best resource that I have found ie a glimmer of hope is this book: The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End, by Neil Howe
LONG story short.. history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme - ie it is cyclical rather than linear as we pretend and expect it to be.. that every 80-100 ish years there are otherwise predictable patterns that repeat over x4 generations that complement and conflict internally with each other.. aaaaaand how that pattern affects the world around us.
The original book in 1997 was VERY prescient.. this is the 2023 update and HIGHLY recommended..!
Soooo we are in the 'Crisis' period right now.. probably another 7-10 years of this.. BUT we will emerge from that with a renewed and reforged civic bonds and national purpose as we enter a new 'High' period.. BUT then the cycle will repeat itself and...
Very interesting! I've also read how every revolutionary technological change produces a massive, sweeping social change, which may be another way of saying the same thing.
That said, I think social media is a VERY destructive force, something very new to the world. We'll see how *that* plays out, if civilization is possible without any shared sense of reality.
7-10 years, eh? Oh, Lord, can we please speed that up? LOL
The book predicts the Crisis period shatter point around 2030.. but things should get better after that, 2032 to 2034 ish..?
It also references some previous social interaction parallels with technology in the 1920s, specifically radio.. sadly social media has the power to connect us (like this!) orrrrrr to tear us apart.. but a lot of this current partisan conflict is the result of our choices.. also indicative of the cyclical shattering of norms and values.. shared reality and objective truth..
The times we live in do not define us per se BUT they do go a long way toward shaping our expectations and interactions with generations older and younger..
Imagine if polio and its vaccine was introduced into the contemporary US and its reciprocal - if you dropped Covid into 1950s America, how they would have responded..
Sadly one cannot have spring without winter....?...!
Change location and avoid the crisis. We grew up in Buffalo NY area 1950s to 1970 great place and great education. The crisis hit hard in 1974 industry closed so no jobs. We completed college degrees in 1978 moved to DC area where "they" keep all the money at start of the boom. My wife completed Georgetown Medical and Baltimore residency to become OBGYN. Another crisis example Medical schools in this era included 1% to 10 % women in class. GTU medical was forward thinking 40 women of 200 in 1981. All the women held Master or PhD the men all basic BA/BS. I used my chemistry degrees at PEPCO DC power company to start new lab and high voltage analysis services. We lived in Arlington, Baltimore, Frederick and Easton based on medical education and practice opportunities. Retired 2015 we traveled 3 months FLA, 3 months Big Island, 3 months other locations USA, Egypt, Malta, Gozo, France, Cayman.... and enjoy Easton other months. Returned March 2020 when scam closed the fun activities such as scuba Hawaii. PS I do not get it we wore masks LOL. We just visited Buffalo area for a wedding sad to say NYS is still in crisis , now 50 years later. The rental house Dad and I remodeled in 1965 is a parking lot. Simple calculation house value divide by property/school taxes to determine "rebuy years" . Easton Md rebuy every 270 years and in upstate NY you rebuy your house every 27 years. Sad to say Governor Kathy graduated from hometown Hamburg HS.
It’s no surprise that your thoughtful post has generated such an in-depth discussion.
My “gap year” in Europe lasted four decades and I experienced similar feelings when we moved to Canada in 2018.
Europe isn’t immune to the issues either.
Back in the early 2000s, I made the comment that the more people with MBAs and business school degrees, the greater the economic challenge for many people.
It seems we’ve been educating people to make money for businesses instead of making businesses that provide value to people.
When my corporate career began, the number of people we employed was a measure of success. Today, the number of people a company fires can increase bonuses for the C-suite.
Maybe it’s not a great idea to look at people as “resources”, or “capital”. Companies have even lumped their personnel departments into procurement because they prefer contractors and unpaid interns...
How do we not see that for a society this won’t be a sustainable path to continued prosperity?
Trenchant thoughts. Yes, the business of America is business, and that helps explain why so much of the rest of society it falling apart. It really isn't a priority, is it?
Really sobering but excellent post and discussion. It’s shocking how things have changed and how dark the national mood has become. Unless you’re one of the super rich it’s hard to make it and, if you are, your experience is so removed from those who are suffering that you’ve likely lost all perspective and, worse still, compassion. What worries me are the numbers of 20- and 30-somethings (including in my immediate family) who have given up on this country and made a life for themselves in Europe or Asia where they’ve discovered more affordable housing, better food, and a happier, safer (no guns!) existence. When they visit the U.S., they too are utterly shocked at what they see, and no amount of pleading will convince them to return. “Why don’t you move here?” they ask. It’s definitely tempting.
I have a lot of thoughts about all of this, but on the subject of wages, I've been hearing that same thing a lot filtered down from national news sources. All I can say is that even *if* wages for lowest earners are going up (and though that's happened where I live because everyone is so desperately understaffed, it still has a laughably low ceiling), it cannot begin to compare to the astronomical cost of housing. To give just one example, I was at my town's Growth Policy Meeting a couple weeks ago, and our long-term planning staff gave some eye opening statistical conditions:
2007 median home price: $319,000
2023 median home price: $1,389,578 [this is not a typo]
2007 median rent: $477
2023 median rent: >$2000
2007 median income: $48,813
2023 median income: $67,550
When residents in or visitors to our town complain about cafes being closed and slow service, it's become a nightmare task for anyone to try to explain to them that it's not that people don't want to work, it's that nobody can afford to live anywhere near where work is available. My sister manages a small chain of local cafes and hands down it's housing that's the problem.
Wow! Disturbing. Yes, this is an excellent point. Housing prices obviously vary widely, but it doesn't take a genius to see that the homeless situation is worst in cities with out-of-control housing. And that's all about land-use restrictions (especially low density).
I read a fascinating article not long ago about how much of this is directly attributable to... the decline of boarding houses. There used to be very cheap, temporary and long-term-ish housing for poor and young people. People shared houses, essentially. Then that was outlawed. (And, America being so individualistic, internalized the idea that everyone *must* have their own "place".)
It's ironic that what passes for boarding houses today is...Airbnb. Vacation homes for rich people!
Changing zoning to encourage low-density is really important. And also to invest in walkable communities while at the same time (this is crucial) ensuring that walkability doesn't immediately translate into gentrification.
(Sorry, I wrote a book about walking and walkability and the loss of both in America and have been immersed in these subjects since 2014!)
That's a good point about boarding houses turning into AirBnB! Though I don't think boarding houses are here or there. What matters is that housing exists for the local community or it doesn't. If it's not affordable, it doesn't. What gets built where I live now is all for the upper-tier of incomes, no matter how much time they spend here or don't.
This is a big reason why I'm a fan of Henry George's view of land ownership and community investment. People make money off of property because *communities* create value for that property. It's easy to think communities then benefit from higher property values but that just isn't how it works. George's idea was that the land belongs to the community and therefore any increase in value also belongs to the community; any improvements (like a building) and value increases belong to the owner of that building. But the important thing is to realize that communities create most of the value of property, not individual investors.
Hey, that's good to hear, thanks!
(Honestly, I don't understand the rent thing. I get how rents didn't rise all through covid, then in 2021, they jumped dramatically to make up for it. But to go from $477 to $2000 in 16 years? That seems insane. Is this some place like SF that has built essentially no new units?)
I really don't think supply is the issue in a lot of places even where people say it is. Maybe because I listen to very different sources of news than mainstream national ones, but a lot of places seem to be facing the same problem we are, and it's fundamentally about inequality.
There are two formerly low-rent apartment buildings in town that were bought by out-of-state developers, torn down after evicting everyone, and are being turned into luxury vacation condominiums. (One developer called his "lifestyle condominiums." I don't even know what that is but it's certain to not be affordable.) Same is true in nearby towns. My sister lost several of her best long-term employees when they were evicted from these places.
The supply WAS there, and it was taken away because someone could make more money off of turning it into vacation rentals or second-home condos. Housing -- normal, not fabulous but affordable housing -- is being torn down or repurposed to make part-time rentals for people who are already very well-off. It does not matter if people only use these places a few days a year. If investment firms or hedge funds can make a mint off of them, they'll do it. That is what's happening where I live -- that and a lot of people with more income moved here during Covid, could work remote on high salaries, and were willing to pay far more for housing than anyone local could. A friend of mine who sold her house for around $200K six years ago is trying to move back and can't find anything under a million.
That feels like the American way: everything is about making more money, making someone richer, consequences be damned.
And yeah, I used to think remote work was going to liberate us now. Now we're already seeing the dark sides.
Yeah. I mean, I'm now just repeating what I'm writing on my Substack today, LOL, but you cannot solve problems of inequality by giving the well-off (including developers) more money or profit incentives and assuming it'll work out.
Considering I've worked from home since 2002, I can hardly dismiss its benefits! It doesn't *have* to be this way. States can let local communities regulate what kind of housing can be built, limit percentages of vacation rentals, tax the shit out of the ultra-wealthy to minimize their ability to buy extra, barely-lived in houses in small towns or vast ranches in rural states. These things have solutions. But like so much else they need political will.
A few years back my town followed Bozeman in requiring developments within city limits to include affordable housing as 10% of units built. The state legislature promptly made that illegal. There's always political will to make a buck.
Oh, I *love* remote work. Don't get me wrong. I still think it's going to change the world. But there are unforeseen consequences that I didn't anticipate.
It sounds like we agree on a lot, but I do think it's important to remember that, apart from the uber-rich, this isn't necessarily a question of "bad guys" vs. "good guys." Or, rather, I think it's important try to see any issue from the POV of one's opponents, to try to forge some kind of common ground and consensus (because we all ultimately have an interest in livable cities). I read a piece recently where the writer spelled out how the NIMBYs are incredibly frustrating, and opposing necessary change, but OTOH, their POV does make logical sense. In a country where there are fewer and fewer ways for the middle class to gain and maintain wealth, it makes sense for people to want to preserve the value of their home. With the decline of pensions, home ownership has become one of the primary ways the middle class has created and preserved wealth. So, naturally, they want to maximize that, and now that they have, they want to preserve it. This is entirely rational from their POV, even if it's been terrible for society. But since, to enact any change at all, THESE are the voters we need to convince, we can't just say to them: You need to give up 1/2 of your net worth. Or, rather, we CAN say that, but we need really strong and compelling arguments about how communities will be *better* once they do. That's a big lift -- and it's even bigger in the midst of social breakdown like what we're seeing now.
Oh, Lord, this is too complicated an argument to have via comments. One day we can finish it in person, perhaps! LOL
Oh, it makes total sense. It always has and always will. And I don't think it's really an argument. To me, it comes down to the pressures that cannibal capitalism puts on all levels of humanity, and most people are just trying to survive it, even if people not being able to see oppressive structures frustrates me.
The one thing that I think gets lost in these conversations is the perspective of who is suffering. Change does take time -- another thing that always has and always will. I think it's important to remember that while that change is taking its time and people are slowly coming around -- which can take decades -- more and more people's suffering is getting worse. There is currently an ongoing battle in my county between the county commissioners, who have stunningly ignorant and old-fashioned views on homelessness ("it's a lifestyle choice"), and the people who have long-term been in the work of helping that community and see what the real causes and issues are (largely, untreated mental health, poverty, and lack of affordable housing). Pretty much everyone in both camps is self-proclaimed conservative and Christian. It's all a lot more nuanced when you get into these things at a granular level.
As for the social breakdown: This is the reason Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower" is one of the most terrifying books I've ever read. It's the only book that depicted the near-term of climate change in tandem with social breakdown. American individualism (with its uniquely Puritan flavor) is I think at the heart of a lot of it because a lot of the connections helping people maintain at least a modicum of caring about others and compromise seem to have snapped during Covid (I saw this happen no matter what political bent people have), but my husband's from England and we're seeing a lot of the same happen there. Decades of government disinvestment in communities, infrastructure, public services, etc., have a lot to do with it. I'm glad his mum has the National Health Service but it's such a wreck I'm not sure it'll stay stable long enough to see her through the next 10 years or so. It's a worry.
Building costs are definitely a factor in a lot of things. My spouse built a little woodshed a couple of years ago and I had to wade in and manage his materials because the price of a piece of plywood was shocking!
One of the things I write about now and then, or at least try to include when I write on these subjects, is that every region and community is different. We're all going to try different solutions and find different ways to address dire needs. I've been a fan of land trusts for a while but am even more a fan of Henry George's Single Tax, or Land Value Tax, which is harder to implement because, well, it's America and, *tax.* But my town is going to vote this year on whether to use a portion of resort taxes to go into an affordable housing fund, which I hope passes. Montana allows communities with a certain level of tourism to vote in an up to 3% tourism tax on a lot of goods sold within city limits. It's been tremendous. We've funded big infrastructure projects, mostly installing multi-use sidewalks when streets are redone, but also bought our town's main water supply from the small family-owned timber company that offered to sell us that land, which is pretty amazing.
Anyway, the vote is to take 10% of resort tax funds and put it toward building affordable housing. Feels like a strong, straightforward answer. It's not a new tax, just redirecting of an existing one.
My father-in-law grew up in a council house in Nottingham that his parents lived in until they died. I should ask about what's happened with those. It seems like Britain stopped building them? I'm not sure. I thought they went back to the council once people no longer used them, but haven't looked into it. My in-laws didn't have any claim on his parents' when they passed.
Hi Antonia, Thank you for information on Whitefish.
I live in Easton, Talbot county Maryland on Eastern Shore "The Land of Pleasant Living". Our citizens are still working as a community. All income levels can live in Talbot county. In Kiplinger’s 2020 ranking of “25 Small Towns With Big Millionaire Populations,” Easton was eighth. https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/601362/25-small-towns-with-big-millionaire-populations. Our area no RE available in certain price ranges 800k to 2 million. This is an interesting article how one business man can make changes to improve community.
https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/01/15/paul-prager-king-easton-new-york-energy-mogul-remaking-eastern-shore-town/
We have relatives in Bluffton SC where wealthy folks from the North moved to gated "plantations" in last 10 years. The working local people are bussed in because no affordable housing is available.
I always enjoyed "Places Rated Almanac" since 1980s used to research locations. Since 2019 things have changed. Example my brother lives at Lake Anna, VA. now all the lights are on in lake houses during the week and RE doubled.
Keep Smiling Steve
PS The term Whitefish is an old plumber joke.
Very interesting information! I looked and my town isn’t on there — Whitefish, Montana — but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is in the future. It’s a little over 8000 people, a lot of wealthy part-timers. Three billionaires that I know of. I wonder if they count land ownership in the wealth status? Like “land-rich, cash-poor.” Interesting to see Williston, ND, on the list!
Land and RE is not counted. To clarify: That means they have at least $1 million in investable assets. Examples of investable assets include cash, stocks, bonds and funds, among a bunch of other types of investments and financial products.
Gotcha. Thanks!
Quick thoughts: 75% pinned on Rump and republicans. Rest started back with that POS Reagan who tossed the entirety of the country’s mentally ill population on the streets. Two in a streak of f*cking idiot republican presidents. I may come back with some more thoughts.🙃
Yes, I put a huge portion of the blame there, absolutely.
Hi, y'all. Doesn't surprise me.....any of it. My gay husband and I retired to our beloved Spain 8 years ago. Haven't been back to the US, except Jim had to go for a family thing for a week. Found it weird. We arrived in Spain in December of 2015......then .....Trump. And the Christo-fascists.....and that IS the accurate name for them. We barely speak to my (only brother), and Jim hasn't spoken to his (only) sister in over 2 years. (Both siblings are raving Repukes and "Christians"). We are 2 married gay liberal Democrats, don't suffer fools gladly, and at this age (late 70's) do NOT need ignorant bullshit and stupidity brought into our lives. (Never did, actually....but now...say so, UP FRONT AND IN YOUR FACE!)
We love Spain. We love our eclectic group of friends. We love our life. We have NO intention of EVER going back to the disunited states of dystopian bullshit, filled with self-righteous religious whackos and racists and homophobes. No, thank you. (All our parents are dead...thank god). Wine time! Besos from the Costa Blanca, Spain. Glorious, friendly, beautiful, civilized country. I'm fluent. Jimmy says, "Buenos dias, gracias, and Un vino blanco"......total vocabulary......and gets along just fine!
Yeah, the political polarization is horrible. Just off-the-charts.
And we may soon join you in Spain! LOL It sounds lovely. Wine time, indeed.
@Kary Walker--I absolutely love your comments! Thank you.
Thank you, Roberto. As Jimmy says, about 3 years ago I lost ALL my filters! Heh, heh, heh.
P.S. Spain is my favorite country as well. I spend as much time there as I can. I am envious!
I've also noticed the social decline in the US -- on pretty much all fronts. As someone who worked in mental health 40 years ago, allowing the mentally ill to live on their own on the streets is not doing them -- or anyone-- a favor. As a teacher for over 35 years, I've become angrier and angrier ever time we've had to practice "lock down" drills. When did this become acceptable?
In terms of why does all this social decay and hate seem so prevalent in America, I wonder how the American ethos of personal freedom as a right trips us up. The countries in Asia that you mentioned, as well as in Latin America, have much stronger values of social good BEFORE personal good. There's something to be said for both values, we just seem to be very out of kilter now.
As an optimist, I'm waiting for the pendulum to swing back. It can't happen soon enough for me.
I don't see how that is "compassionate" either.
Yes, as we have traveled, we have seen how America really is an extreme outlier in the importance it places on individuality and self-expression, and the very low importance of the common good and self-sacrifice. It's always *someone else* who must change and accommodate.
I too look forward to the pendulum's swing! Soon, please!
When St. E in DC was closed the city became the home of "Grate Men". Refers to living on the exhaust grates of large buildings. I worked for PEPCO our network transformer grates filled up with junkie syringes . This new problem was another hazard for our workers . Vaults were cleaned before any electrical work could be performed.
Becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter was one of the best investments I made this year.
This post is well-written, insightful, and depressing. Sometimes I look around and wonder what happened. Or if it’s always been this bad and I only woke up to it in 2016.
In response to your questions, Brent: All of the above. And then some. We might be fucked beyond repair.
Why thank you!
I often ask myself this same question. I *do* think that there used to be a stronger shared concept of reality. That seems like one big change.
Always buy information and Patreon the folks you enjoy. Avoid all MSM.
Sad but I am not surprised. We used to live in Seattle, I grew up there actually. Now in Colorado in a small town, mostly unaffected by the problems you describe. It is such a multi faceted problem, the need for increased mental health care, The Defunding of Police, Family estrangement and loneliness. Single parent families. etc. You guys are on the right track living in Europe or Asia most of the time.
Yes, we have never regretted leaving. I also think social media and America's out-of-control individualism is a HUGE part of the problem.
This. So spot on. Insidious. I don't know the solution. Everyone is so metaphorically isolated that it's impossible to come together as a group..
I just finished having tea with 2 neighbors. Just one current event was brought up and immediately Trump's name hit the room. All I could think about was 'my goodness... he's long gone... what's going on is in the here and now, and we still see the past as present... and yet emotions roil... and we relive whatever IS wrong and meld is with what WAS (imagined, perceived, or otherwise) wrong...' Tea was over. Simple is no longer here in the US... and as you mentioned isolation and the hiding behind social.media is exactly what is destroying us from the inside out.
I agree things have been different the last couple years, in the sense of everyone being angry and impatient and suspicious. The cost of living is such that nobody can live. COVID definitely changed attitudes, the recent political climate has majorly contributed to high tensions and discord, and manipulation by social media algorithms is pitting different groups against each other. But the part about the mental health crisis and shady people in the streets, it's always been that way since I can remember in my adult life.
I lived a few years in NYC and Los Angeles and it was always like that. I adapted and hardened myself a bit. I saw it when visiting places like Denver and Seattle and Anchorage too. Then when I became a nomad, I visited cities in Europe and I remember thinking everything was so Pollyanna out there. Mary Poppins vibes, lol. When I'd see Europeans talking crap about Americans in funny social media posts, I would think "how cute" and not get offended because I know they wouldn't last one minute over here.
I went back to NYC and got an AirBnB for a month last year. Some of my roommates were from other countries, one guy was from London or Oxford or something. He came to NYC to take acting classes and thought it was going to be this cosmopolitan experience, but he was shocked by how dirty and creepy NYC is. I overheard him talking to friends back home on the phone and he told them how men on the street were catcalling his girlfriend, and he heard gunshots near the AirBnB. It seemed like he was having a real culture shock and it kind of confirmed my suspicions about how America is more grisly than other first world countries.
Haha, Mary Poppins vibes! lol
I agree with you that SOME of this has always existed (and I've NEVER understood New York or LA -- I've never enjoyed either). But I've lived in Seattle for 30 years (minus the last six), and it feels *dramatically* different now. Or -- and I'm just thinking this now -- maybe I've been changed by living in Europe so long, and I see things with entirely different eyes. Maybe I've become one of those "soft" Europeans you just mentioned LOL
I don't think so. I think Seattle has changed. But yeah, your greater point is right. America is just an outlier in so many ways.
You definitely have more expertise than me on Seattle, so I believe you! I only visited once in 2016 and maybe that is still too recent. I was hitchhiking around the country, so maybe I was also seeing a different side of each city by traveling that way.
Regardless it's nice to see my own thoughts reflected in your article. I've been wondering if it was just me coming-of-age and realizing the country isn't what I thought it was, or if it really is an objective change that's been happening.
Yes, I've been going through the same change, and the same questioning. It's very strange!
It's a crazy change, an extreme now.
Seattle is much worse now. You are not hallucinating. Yes, we always had some addiction, mental health, and violence crises before our eyes in some areas, but it is far different now.
Our neighbor's daughter lived in Phili. could not go out at night and getting to work dangerous. She moved to Oxford UK for great job and social life. She did undergrad at Oxford and parents own a house in nice village near by. Parents own in Gozo, VA, Oxford and selling next door in Easton MD. to follow daughter.
It’s truly a sad state in America. I am Canadian and I have a lot of relatives in the USA. I used to visit them frequently. But right now, I don’t want to step in that country. The Canadian government has given a travel advisory about caution regarding violence towards LGBTQ communities and gun violence. My two girlfriends were planning to travel across the continent, and though they are not LGBTQ, they are afraid to be mistaken as such. My relatives don’t speak to each other anymore. And we don’t want to walk into awkward situations. Conversations have been strained because of the political climate. It’s so sad. Families have been broken.
We're in Vancouver right now (and loving it). I didn't know about that warning! LOL
The political climate is absolutely toxic. I thought it would get better after 2020, but it wasn't the landslide we needed, so things are worse than ever. So disturbing.
I can’t comment on the policy side, but I can share that for someone who has taken the subway since I was 14, (I am more than double that age now), I will not ride the subways anymore because of the fear of crazy people pushing me into the tracks. Wages are not the reason people behave in sick and disturbing ways. I was in London, not once did I think that anyone would shove me into the tracks. I don’t know what is happening in America but the rise of addiction definitely concerns me as a parent
I find this so tragic, on many levels. Your feelings are perfectly valid, but when people feel this fear it creates a ripple effect: more people in their cars, the decline of public transit, and on and on and on. But I agree with you about the US subways vs. London.
In my opinion, it’s not just the income inequality but the vast difference. There is the middle class earning about $100,000 per year, which comprises about 40% of the population, the uber wealthy making $1,000,000 + which comprises about 3% of the population and then the masses, 57% that are struggling to make ends meet, usually near or below the poverty line. The disparity is growing wider everyday. Money breeds money.
And the politicians are in the top 10%.
That is very true. Just being fairly wealthy gives you so many opportunities to build more wealth -- home ownership and 401(k)s for example. But that isn't true for the lower classes. So it feels like nothing will ever change.
Been back to the U.S. for the summer also. See all the same problems. Why does the richest country in the world have lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher medical costs, higher poverty rates, and higher incarceration rates than most all of the world’s developed countries? This country is broken socially, economically, and politically and won’t be fixed anytime soon. At least religion, guns, and MAGA nuts are rampant in the “greatest country ever”. Looking forward to heading back abroad.
I don't understand either. I guess because we value billionaires more than all those things. In Canada now, and what a difference!
Very troubling post indeed. At first, I rankled when your said social breakdown was happening "everywhere in America." Really? Every little corner of the country where you may never have set foot? But as I read, I had to admit to myself that I've become reclusive, even though I live in a semi-rural county in a very rural state, Nevada. Californians are swarming over the hill ... at least it feels that way sometimes, because California is a textbook example of everything you mentioned. And the malaise is truly across the country. I dare say it's mostly in urban areas, but as urbanites seek shelter in rural places, the conflicts increase there. And yes, it saddens and puzzles me how racism in this country has thrived despite the racial progresses we hoped and seemed to make with the 60s Civil Rights Movements. Alas, this article truly saddens me.
I am sorry. Being back in America has definitely been troubling. Something more upbeat next time, I promise!
Oh, don't write something more positive just because I'm bummed. That's the point of expressing opinions, right? Write what you want and state your case. I'm responsible for my reactions to it, not you. Thank you for your view of the world, Brent. It's valuable stuff to read. And like I said in my comment, I've become a recluse, so I don't know the extent of what's going on in the wider America or world.
Excellent discussion. Your experience and impressions are right on. The US is in a period of serious decline. And in addition to what you have said, we are already in a cold civil war as exhibited by our dysfunctional federal legislature and now Supreme Court. So much to fix and we seem stuck in fixing it. Meanwhile scapegoating is increasing. And then there are the guns! Guess you weren’t exposed so much to the culture of open carry (for the whites only of course).
Thank you, appreciate that.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to trust democracy, and I do. But these days, it seems like there are so many obstacles to the will of the people being enacted.
We have also spent a lot of time pondering the state of things since November of 2016.. to include a lot of this predates even that...
The best resource that I have found ie a glimmer of hope is this book: The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End, by Neil Howe
LONG story short.. history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme - ie it is cyclical rather than linear as we pretend and expect it to be.. that every 80-100 ish years there are otherwise predictable patterns that repeat over x4 generations that complement and conflict internally with each other.. aaaaaand how that pattern affects the world around us.
The original book in 1997 was VERY prescient.. this is the 2023 update and HIGHLY recommended..!
Soooo we are in the 'Crisis' period right now.. probably another 7-10 years of this.. BUT we will emerge from that with a renewed and reforged civic bonds and national purpose as we enter a new 'High' period.. BUT then the cycle will repeat itself and...
Very interesting! I've also read how every revolutionary technological change produces a massive, sweeping social change, which may be another way of saying the same thing.
That said, I think social media is a VERY destructive force, something very new to the world. We'll see how *that* plays out, if civilization is possible without any shared sense of reality.
7-10 years, eh? Oh, Lord, can we please speed that up? LOL
The book predicts the Crisis period shatter point around 2030.. but things should get better after that, 2032 to 2034 ish..?
It also references some previous social interaction parallels with technology in the 1920s, specifically radio.. sadly social media has the power to connect us (like this!) orrrrrr to tear us apart.. but a lot of this current partisan conflict is the result of our choices.. also indicative of the cyclical shattering of norms and values.. shared reality and objective truth..
The times we live in do not define us per se BUT they do go a long way toward shaping our expectations and interactions with generations older and younger..
Imagine if polio and its vaccine was introduced into the contemporary US and its reciprocal - if you dropped Covid into 1950s America, how they would have responded..
Sadly one cannot have spring without winter....?...!
Change location and avoid the crisis. We grew up in Buffalo NY area 1950s to 1970 great place and great education. The crisis hit hard in 1974 industry closed so no jobs. We completed college degrees in 1978 moved to DC area where "they" keep all the money at start of the boom. My wife completed Georgetown Medical and Baltimore residency to become OBGYN. Another crisis example Medical schools in this era included 1% to 10 % women in class. GTU medical was forward thinking 40 women of 200 in 1981. All the women held Master or PhD the men all basic BA/BS. I used my chemistry degrees at PEPCO DC power company to start new lab and high voltage analysis services. We lived in Arlington, Baltimore, Frederick and Easton based on medical education and practice opportunities. Retired 2015 we traveled 3 months FLA, 3 months Big Island, 3 months other locations USA, Egypt, Malta, Gozo, France, Cayman.... and enjoy Easton other months. Returned March 2020 when scam closed the fun activities such as scuba Hawaii. PS I do not get it we wore masks LOL. We just visited Buffalo area for a wedding sad to say NYS is still in crisis , now 50 years later. The rental house Dad and I remodeled in 1965 is a parking lot. Simple calculation house value divide by property/school taxes to determine "rebuy years" . Easton Md rebuy every 270 years and in upstate NY you rebuy your house every 27 years. Sad to say Governor Kathy graduated from hometown Hamburg HS.
Keep Smiling Steve
It’s no surprise that your thoughtful post has generated such an in-depth discussion.
My “gap year” in Europe lasted four decades and I experienced similar feelings when we moved to Canada in 2018.
Europe isn’t immune to the issues either.
Back in the early 2000s, I made the comment that the more people with MBAs and business school degrees, the greater the economic challenge for many people.
It seems we’ve been educating people to make money for businesses instead of making businesses that provide value to people.
When my corporate career began, the number of people we employed was a measure of success. Today, the number of people a company fires can increase bonuses for the C-suite.
Maybe it’s not a great idea to look at people as “resources”, or “capital”. Companies have even lumped their personnel departments into procurement because they prefer contractors and unpaid interns...
How do we not see that for a society this won’t be a sustainable path to continued prosperity?
Trenchant thoughts. Yes, the business of America is business, and that helps explain why so much of the rest of society it falling apart. It really isn't a priority, is it?
Thanks for the nice words.
Really sobering but excellent post and discussion. It’s shocking how things have changed and how dark the national mood has become. Unless you’re one of the super rich it’s hard to make it and, if you are, your experience is so removed from those who are suffering that you’ve likely lost all perspective and, worse still, compassion. What worries me are the numbers of 20- and 30-somethings (including in my immediate family) who have given up on this country and made a life for themselves in Europe or Asia where they’ve discovered more affordable housing, better food, and a happier, safer (no guns!) existence. When they visit the U.S., they too are utterly shocked at what they see, and no amount of pleading will convince them to return. “Why don’t you move here?” they ask. It’s definitely tempting.
Thank you, Ruth. I confess, I making that choice too -- probably won't ever return to the US to live (although I'm not in my 20s or 30s lol).
It does make me feel like a quitter. OTOH, I've been fighting this fight my whole life, and I confess to being tired of it...