In the last 5 to 10 years everything seems to suck: product’s and services quality plummeted, everything from homes to cars to food became really expensive, technology stopped to help us to be something designed to f@ck with us and our money, nobody seems to be able to hold a job anymore, everyone is broke. Life seems worse in general.

Why? Did COVID made this happen? How?

  • whaleross@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    260
    arrow-down
    7
    ·
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    Because corporate greed and the economic elite around the world hoarding more resources than ever before.

    And we let them.

    • FenrirIII@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      100
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      10 months ago

      We don’t just let them, we cheer them on. Look at the celebrity worship culture we humans have. If you took away the person and left only their actions, most of us would happily throw the rich into a woodchipper. But they use their money to convince us that they’re special and deserve praise, and most of us go along with it because we’re sheep.

      • 7u5k3n@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        31
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        10 months ago

        Pioneer woman.

        She’s got a huge ranch a huge house a specialty made kitchen just for her show… works super hard to look blue collar.

        It’s all crafted to separate you from your money…

    • Zippy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      34
      ·
      10 months ago

      That is such a lazy argument. More people then ever before are out of poverty in the history of mankind. Doesn’t mean there are not problems. In regards to COVID, we took millions of people out of the workforce while printing money and still paying many of them? Of course that will result in massive reduction of inventory levels that we will feel for a decade. That results in inflation as what do people expect when less items available to the same amount of people that want them.

      Regards to qualities etc. That varies. We have more access to products then at anytime in history as well. And many of these products have come down significantly in price. But that also means quality products and their prices get compared to shit products at lower prices. What do you think people buy? Secondary, people do far less informal work and that effects your perception of income. Our parents and grandparents maintained their own cars and houses for example and grew far more food. Now every hires that out and buys all their groceries at a store. That leaves you with far less money.

      Then there is one industry that has made gains but their costs has gone up ten fold. That is healthcare. You have access to some of the best medical procedures then at anytime in history. But some of those costs can be North of a million dollars. Our parents and grandparents simply did not access that and in some cases died. I am happy I have now options but this is coming at a huge cost of which much of it has to be paid for upfront before you retire.

      You could kill off every billionaire tomorrow but that won’t result in much more houses being built or available. Wealth inequality is an issue but if more cogs are not manufactured, our standard of living will not change much.

      • whaleross@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        14
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        10 months ago

        People in cities have not sustained on growing their own foods for hundreds of years. Refined crops and goods have been machined into the cities ever since the industrial revolution and before that it was farmers that brought their goods to be sold at the markets. The greatest achievement of humanity over other species on the planet is our ability to delegate and cooperate. You grow food, I make tools. Together we thrive.

        Yep, you have a rampant problem with housing and healthcare over there in America-land, I agree. But why is that? Because of massive hoarding of resources. Human essentials and needs are commoditized like a “smart” investment for the ruthless opportunists. Hell, your entire societal system is built around it, and it’s spilling into the rest of the world. It’s a dog eat dog economy that is hailed like an ideology by useful idiots bought by the elites by the trickling of pocket change. Then the ideology has been turned into a culture of over consumption, again hailed by other useful idiots to convince the regular people that it will give them purpose, fill the hole, numb the pain of the aimless grind for nothing meaningful ever. And who does all of this benefit? Where do all this wealth and all these resources end up that could transform the entire planet for something that benefits all mankind? To the owners of the owners of the owners, and the money that doesn’t crawl it’s way up is a good investment to keep the system intact.

        But no, let’s concentrate on the tools we use and not what they do. Let’s focus on the monetary system. Let’s get stuck in inflation and regression and unfortunate loopholes “but-what-can-you-do” and tax havens and desired unemployment rates and spoiling of food while people are starving - for the economy. Everything can be explained with the economy, and if you disagree you’re clearly uninformed or ignorant don’t have enough the smarts.

        People have done the double think and now the economy is no longer the tool, is no longer a representation, but it is the real thing. And more so the current economic system is forever and eternal and unchangeable like the word of God.

        It’s funny and sad that people actually believe this is all there is.