The Social Recession Is Accelerating
The concept of "social recession" highlights declining opportunities for home ownership, stable jobs, and family formation, worsened by the 2008 financial crisis, affecting both the U.S. and Japan.
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The concept of "social recession" describes a decline in opportunities for the majority of the population to achieve traditional milestones such as home ownership, stable employment, and family formation. This phenomenon has been exacerbated since the 2008 financial crisis, which favored the wealthy and led to a significant widening of the wealth gap. While economic indicators like GDP may suggest growth, the reality for many is stagnation in wages and opportunities. The birth rate in the U.S. has notably declined since 2009, reflecting a broader trend of disillusionment among young people regarding their future prospects. The erosion of the value of a college degree, coupled with rising costs of living, has further contributed to this social recession. Many individuals now face increased competition for fewer opportunities, often resulting in a sense of hopelessness and resignation. The situation is not unique to the U.S.; similar trends can be observed in Japan, where social isolation and declining birth rates have become prevalent. Overall, the social recession highlights the disconnect between economic growth metrics and the lived experiences of the majority, who struggle to achieve basic life goals.
- Social recession refers to the decline in opportunities for home ownership, stable jobs, and family formation.
- The 2008 financial crisis exacerbated wealth inequality, favoring the wealthy and widening the gap between the rich and poor.
- The U.S. birth rate has declined since 2009, indicating disillusionment among young people regarding their future.
- The value of a college degree has diminished, while living costs have risen, leading to increased competition for fewer opportunities.
- Similar social recession trends are observed in Japan, marked by social isolation and declining birth rates.
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6 commentsThe scope and scale of companies is just so high. Unlike the world as it used to be, where lots of companies were doing the same jobs, we've concentrated industries into so few titans.
It's hard to imagine how we keep the social contract alive, with conditions as is.
It feels like America has made leap and bounds of progress towards de-governance, towards making legislating and regulating harder and harder. The FTC has finally awoken from a near total slumber, but with the courts aligned as they are it's hard to see that they'll really be allowed leverage to tilt the scales towards more human scaled, competitive markets.
Competitive markets wouldn't just be good for consumers; making competition viable is necessary to allow new opportunities to get started. Right now, the Thomas Piketty cycle of rich organizations and people getting wealthier has no remedy, has so few vectors open for others to try to match this.
(Addressing housing and health care costs, such that the risk of doing other things is less, would help enormously.)
That's just scratching the surface. After all that, there's the decline and disappearance of third places, the hollow mirage of dating apps and the exorbitant cost of social activities (gyms, bowling, camping, even going for a coffee/drink etc.) which are now marketed as "lifestyle activities" with the corresponding markup.
Where is all that money going? How can a house cost so much more, but wages are stagnant? Who benefits?
Well…yeah. Hasn’t this always been true?
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