The past decade is not so different from 1973 to 1983, which sucked. US inflation ran high (12% in 1974, 13% in 1979), unemployment high (11% in 1982), we had two rounds of gasoline embargoes and rationing, US dominance in heavy industry was fading fast (steel, oil, coal, lumber, etc), Americans had been kidnapped and held for 444 days and our vaunted military bungled their rescue (1979), and until then, being under-educated in the lower middle class had never been a barrier to a decent career and lifestyle -- then it was. Those were big letdowns from the preceding post-WWII two generation-long boom. Unsurprisingly, America's can-do attitude hit the skids.
But we got over it. The economy rebounded in the 1980s and then exploded in the 1990s, and has remained dynamic ever since. Startups redefined business as we knew it. Computing and networking revolutionized access to products and media. Some forty years later, we can make international calls instantly, for as long as we want, essentially FOR FREE. We're in touch with distant friends and relatives as much as we want, any time we want, and can share almost any experience with them through photo, audio, or video. We carry an unlimited amount of music and other media with us wherever we go. That's just amazing, and deep down, we know there will be more where that came from. Further surprises await.
As far as our dwelling on the negative, people are herd animals. It's easier to react to the mood of others than think independently for ourselves. It takes time but eventually we remember this, and that dwelling on failure is a stupid waste of time and it just makes you unhappy.
What generally happens is that somebody or something (like the moon landing in 1969, or the arrival of the PC in 1975, or the internet/web in 1990/1995) comes along and gives us a rejuvenating shot in the arm, reminding us that life inevitably changes from what we know (and love), and yes, there's nothing we can do to stop it. But there are also some pretty great opportunities out there, if we're willing to stop looking backward and get on with reinventing ourselves.
One big parameter that has changed is birthrates. It is possible that given the existence of raw resources, the simple fact that the population was growing at a certain rate may have provided a lower bound on economic growth.
The past decade is not so different from 1973 to 1983, which sucked. US inflation ran high (12% in 1974, 13% in 1979), unemployment high (11% in 1982), we had two rounds of gasoline embargoes and rationing, US dominance in heavy industry was fading fast (steel, oil, coal, lumber, etc), Americans had been kidnapped and held for 444 days and our vaunted military bungled their rescue (1979), and until then, being under-educated in the lower middle class had never been a barrier to a decent career and lifestyle -- then it was. Those were big letdowns from the preceding post-WWII two generation-long boom. Unsurprisingly, America's can-do attitude hit the skids.
But we got over it. The economy rebounded in the 1980s and then exploded in the 1990s, and has remained dynamic ever since. Startups redefined business as we knew it. Computing and networking revolutionized access to products and media. Some forty years later, we can make international calls instantly, for as long as we want, essentially FOR FREE. We're in touch with distant friends and relatives as much as we want, any time we want, and can share almost any experience with them through photo, audio, or video. We carry an unlimited amount of music and other media with us wherever we go. That's just amazing, and deep down, we know there will be more where that came from. Further surprises await.
As far as our dwelling on the negative, people are herd animals. It's easier to react to the mood of others than think independently for ourselves. It takes time but eventually we remember this, and that dwelling on failure is a stupid waste of time and it just makes you unhappy.
What generally happens is that somebody or something (like the moon landing in 1969, or the arrival of the PC in 1975, or the internet/web in 1990/1995) comes along and gives us a rejuvenating shot in the arm, reminding us that life inevitably changes from what we know (and love), and yes, there's nothing we can do to stop it. But there are also some pretty great opportunities out there, if we're willing to stop looking backward and get on with reinventing ourselves.