Americans have become lazy and it's hurting the economy (article)

[DawnM]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/12/news/economy/us-economy-big-problem-tyler-cowen/index.html

 

What do you guys think about the points made in this article?

 

Have we drastically stagnated?  Have we segregated more?

[kroe1]

I think the article has too many political references and does not qualify for discussion on this board.

 

However, just speaking about laziness in America, I believe it is true. Look at how fat we have become, how many fewer hours we work in general, how much fewer hours we exercise, and how much more addicted to chemicals we are compared to our 1960's counterparts.

[Rosie_0801]

I'm inclined to think it is misery, not laziness.

[Bluegoat]

Hmm, overall it doesn't resonate with me.

 

Probably what resonated with me most is the idea that people are more insular or segregated, spending time with people like themselves, and at home.  Media tech is part of that but not the whole thing.

 

As far as people not starting businesses or moving - I'm not sure.  People do seem more fearful, even when there is really nothing to fear, as he points out with kids being kept inside.  But, as far as starting businesses go, I actually think there are a lot of concrete things keeping people from taking those kinds of risks - things like access to affordable health insurance or start up capital. 

 

I'm not sure that I consider people moving a lot to be an overall positive, so I'm just on a different page there, I guess.

 

I feel like he's also neglecting a lot of things that are probably important in the ability of small businesses to survive.

 

Overall, it doesn't strike me as a very insightful piece.

[Rosie_0801]

As far as people not starting businesses or moving - I'm not sure.  People do seem more fearful, even when there is really nothing to fear, as he points out with kids being kept inside.  

 

People fear CPS. That's not unreasonable.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I don't think that we're lazy.  I think that people work long hours.  Most homes are dual income homes and often they still are living paycheck to paycheck.  As the affluence thread indicates, some of that is due to choices which give people high costs but still they are working hard for those things.  People can become fat from stress as well as from long hours sitting at a sedentary job.

 

I also don't think that we are so segregated but I'm sure that is highly dependent on area.  My street is 31% minority.  Obviously that isn't even 50% but it is still not a white enclave. 

[Junie]

People aren't starting new businesses and they aren't moving because of the housing bubble.  They can't sell their houses without losing money and they don't have the money to start new businesses.

[Bluegoat]

People fear CPS. That's not unreasonable.

 

Yeah, that's not really what I meant.  Why would anyone, CPS included, think kids being outside is dangerous in itself?  It's not really rational.

[IfIOnly]

Starting a new business is often a financial risk, even if executed conservatively and you work yourselves sick to make it successful. I think most people are wise to avoid that risk. I know we have spent more money than we've made trying and could be living much more comfortably with a mortgage paid off at least if we had invested differently. Now DH is self-employed as a contractor and does well, but the profits are generally used to fund other business ventures that haven't been all he'd hoped them to be.

[kiana]

But, as far as starting businesses go, I actually think there are a lot of concrete things keeping people from taking those kinds of risks - things like access to affordable health insurance or start up capital. 

 

Yes. Exactly. When most people didn't have health insurance and costs were lower, there was a lot lower barrier to striking out on your own. 

 

This is not a "let's go back to the days of yore" post btw but a simple statement that barriers are higher, both in actual cost to set oneself up and also the opportunity cost is higher than it used to be. 

[Murphy101]

Yet another article the boils down to the rhetoric that people in crummy circumstances must somehow just deserve it or have brought it upon themselves. How not true and trite.

 

It is not complacent or lazy to know they don't have start up capital. Heck, many are in the red, so the idea of having enough to start is silly talk. And then there's family needs like healthcare, housing, support network.

 

Yes, immigrants are moving. Because they literally might die otherwise. Is he advocating that if we just had similiar circumstances to what they are running from we would be better off?

[Murphy101]

Just move.

Just get a better job.

Just start a business.

 

Yeah. Sure. Because one can "just" do that. Whatever. 🙄

[Ausmumof3]

Rubbish. Generation before there were a lot of single income families with one person who had only to keep house. Now nearly everyone has two people working house jobs squished in after a full day.

[DawnM]

Yet another article the boils down to the rhetoric that people in crummy circumstances must somehow just deserve it or have brought it upon themselves. How not true and trite.

 

It is not complacent or lazy to know they don't have start up capital. Heck, many are in the red, so the idea of having enough to start is silly talk. And then there's family needs like healthcare, housing, support network.

 

Yes, immigrants are moving. Because they literally might die otherwise. Is he advocating that if we just had similiar circumstances to what they are running from we would be better off?

 

 

That is a good point.  

 

I was trying to put my finger on why I disagreed so much with this article, but you brought up some of what I was trying to put into words.

 

Which is why I brought it here to discuss.

 

Thanks.

[FaithManor]

Most people I know work far more hours per week than the previous generation.

 

Quitting your job that has health benefits to start a business which is a financial risk, and will not come with group health insurance is nuts for most people. Small business tax is very high with virtually no loopholes like the big companies get.

 

Since the housing bubble burst and banks got a kick in the butt, loans for starting businesses have dried up in lot of communities.

 

Wages have not kept pace with COL, and college tuition has hiked at a rate of 415% in last twenty years compared to income.

 

Student debt, property values tanking in the areas that heavily relied on manufacturing, insurance premiums skyrocketing, and people so desperate to keep their jobs that they endure inhumane treatment, unpaid overtime, and unrealistic deadlines and quotas to keep management off their backs.

 

The author can stick it. This person is one hundred percent out of loop with what a huge portion of the population is enduring.

 

I am really tired of the baby boomers and gen xers constantly harping on the younger generations who do.not.have.the.leg.up. that previous generations got post WWII.

[Spy Car]

Would someone mind synopsizing the article for me? 

 

I'd read it myself, but you know :D

 

Bill

[Pawz4me]

People are still recovering from 2007/2008. Home values and investment accounts are still recovering for many. And then the big issue is the astronomical cost of health care/health insurance. When I was a kid my parents ran two businesses. Health care wasn't a concern. It wasn't that we were that well off, but the cost of doctor visits and even hospitalizations was a much smaller percentage of their income than it would be now. On the whole if anything I think Americans work too hard. And the segregation thing -- it probably depends on where you live. I've lived in this area all my life and things are much less segregated than they used to be.

[redsquirrel]

Oh please.  This is just a rehashing of 1000 articles just like it. America wasn't like it was when I was a kid, you young whippersnappers are so spoiled with your electric iceboxes and moving pictures. And that newfangled mandatory school day is just going to make kids lazy. Why, back in my time we sent four year olds outside naked and told them not to come home unless they had a job.

 

Yawn

[Guest]

Lol naw man.

[Rosie_0801]

Would someone mind synopsizing the article for me? 

 

I'd read it myself, but you know :D

 

Bill

 

 

Roughly speaking, Wah Wah Wah Wah.   :tongue_smilie:

[Crimson Wife]

The age distribution of the population has shifted. People tend to move around more when they are young and not as frequently when they are older. Starting businesses is also more common in youth since people don't have mortgages to pay and kids to feed.

 

I would like to see data comparing rates in a given age group then vs. now to factor out the aging of the US population

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LucyStoner]

Bullshit.

 

The fact is that American worker productivity drastically increased over the last few decades while benefits have shrunk. Many hourly employers don't offer fixed schedules or guarantee FT hours. Many people on salary are doing work that was previously split between several or more employees. Pointing to a slower growth in productivity or the number of people who are underemployed/unable to find FT work is a poor basis for the conclusion that people are lazy. Productivity is not a limitless thing per worker or business owner.

 

Why do people not just start businesses? Most people I know who would like to start a business but have not are tied to a company that is large enough it can offer medical benefits.

 

If we didn't have kids with special needs, my husband would be more entrepreneurial. As it stands though, the number one thing we need is health insurance and even if that means working a less than ideal job, he wakes up everyday and puts in a full day of work because we need healthcare.

Edited April 13, 2017 by LucyStoner

[Junie]

Would someone mind synopsizing the article for me? 

 

I'd read it myself, but you know :D

 

Bill

 

You're too lazy to read it.  I'm too lazy to write a synopsis.  Maybe the author has a point...   :lol:

[DawnM]

Bullshit.

 

The fact is that American worker productivity drastically increased over the last few decades while benefits have shrunk. Many hourly employers don't offer fixed schedules or guarantee FT hours. Many people on salary are doing work that was previous split between several or more employees. Pointing to a slower growth in productivity or the number of people who are underemployed/unable to find FT work is a poor basis for the conclusion that people are lazy.

 

Why do people not just start businesses? Most people I know who would like to start a business but have not are tied to a company that is large enough it can offer medical benefits. Stagnant earnings and low returns on the investment vehicles available to the

 

If we didn't have kids with special needs, my husband would be more entrepreneurial. As it stands though, the number one thing we need is health insurance and even if that means working a less than ideal job, he wakes up everyday and puts in a full day of work because we need healthcare.

 

 

Health insurance is a huge burden that dictates what we do, doesn't it?  we too have a special needs son and I want to make sure he is cared for.

[goldberry]

What an incredibly poorly written article.  He goes from laziness to lack of risk-taking to segregation, without drawing any real connections or offering any factual support.  I could hardly tell what he was even trying to say.

Edited April 13, 2017 by goldberry

[73349]

Those of us who graduated from college tens of thousands of dollars in debt (because our parents could not pay for it for us and working minimum wage jobs yields just about enough to pay for books and personal expenses) went for a salary and benefits, and saved for a house and a kid (or a few). Why would we want to take risks like starting a business, especially in a country that is so dominated by big corporations, and where medical bills are a leading cause of bankruptcy? And it doesn't follow that if more business are started, there's more growth--it may just be that more fail.

 

IME people who move a lot are having financial trouble; I don't see the benefit to that for anybody but U-Haul. In my metro area, segregation was enforced until the fairly recent past, and housing development is still economically segregated, encouraging its persistence.

 

I think some economists are in for some further shock as they come to realize that a lot of young people don't want or like a lot of the stuff that has been keeping the economy afloat.

Edited April 13, 2017 by whitehawk

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Health insurance is god.

 

The ways we've (Americans) all scrambled to keep families together in a decent place to live, while making sure somebody's earning the job that provides the healthcare that one family member vitally and desperately needs...keeping that insurance is primary and paramount, like a religion, and inescapable, like slavery.

 

My family is back on "normal" ground, all of us living together and bills paid, but I will never, ever forget the terror of worrying that we'd lose our health insurance WHILE our 18yo son was in NICU - my DH had insufficient hours due to a political situation (that I won't explain b/c of board rules, but it meant that his entire industry was short on work). He could have lost coverage right at that moment, unless he found work within a day or two. He found a new job in another state, that he couldn't afford to drive to, but he took it so his son could stay in the hospital. Then he had to leave for that job, not knowing if his son would live or die while he was gone. I am telling you, that was terrible. He worked out of state for two years, home on most weekends, until the political climate changed a bit here and he was able to go back to work.

 

Happy ending, our son lived, I never had to call my husband and tell him that the great god insurance had decided that our sacrifices were insufficient.

 

Unlike a young man in our state who died of Prader Willi Syndrome this week, due to being denied access to the health care that might have saved his life.

 

Fix healthcare, let hourly people have 40 hours again (because employers won't have to either short their hours or provide health care benefits), watch families relax a tiny bit knowing that their kids' health needs are covered AND they don't have to try to patchwork together two 20-30hr/wk jobs that both want them on call 24/7.

 

I did not read the article.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Tibbie Dunbar

[LucyStoner]

Another factor for people starting fewer businesses:

 

Access to capital.

 

Not everyone with a solid business idea has the necessary amount of money to get the idea up and running and see it to profitability.

 

And in getting access to capital, many business owners go bankrupt or lose most or all of their business, even if it goes onto be successful.

[Ravin]

Complete bunk.

 

I posit that productivity has hit a parabolic curve--people can only work so hard, and part of the increases in productivity in the 90's were because of technology. Now, we are getting into a phase of outright displacement of human workers, while those who remain are already working fingers to the bone, metaphorically speaking. Stagnant wages haven't helped, either.

 

"Risk averse" also does not equal "lazy."

[Murphy101]

Saying risk adverse = lazy is like saying people who dodge after the first punch to the face are just jittery people.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Well the first paragraph doesn't apply to DH and I.  We have started our own business in the past, we have lived in 6 states in the past 12 years, and we specifically choose to live in diverse neighborhoods.  DH has worked hard at improving his skill set and went from a Preventative Maintenance Tech (very low on the skill scale) to an Engineering Tech (he does the job of and is paid the same as the degreed Engineers) all in the last 14 years.  But yeah, I actually agree we've gotten... not lazy, but complacent and aimless.  My sisters still live a mile or two from my mom.  My brother got an associates and instead of moving here where he'd make a lot more $$ and have the ability to progress he got a job at the same place as my mom works.... there is some opportunity for him but it will be very slow.  DH complains all the time how co-workers don't know how to "think" to solve problems.  How after only a short time they'll throw up their hands and say it's impossible (that's when they call him). 

[creekland]

Personally, I think most Americans work too much.  When we travel, most folks from other countries think so too.  We personally love the feel in other countries and outside of major cities.  Drop the rat race!

 

US productivity hasn't gone down I don't think (too lazy to look it up right now).  The problem is the vast majority of the profits from it have gone to the Top 1% leaving esp the bottom 50% earning the same amount as many years ago, with higher costs to pay for everything.

 

Why aren't there as many businesses opening now?  Same reason many are closing.  Too much internet competition.  It's tough for b & m to survive.  I still see plenty of service new businesses from dog grooming to restaurants.

[SparklyUnicorn]

blah blah...slow news day or somethin....

 

 

[kewb]

The article did not resonate with me. I don't know anytone who is staying home and relaxing becasue they are lazy.  I know a lot of people staying home because they can't afford to go do anything.  Even free things because it would require gas or public transit money. 

 

From the time I got my first job decades ago to now, over the years I worked longer hours for less pay.  And heaven forbid you took time off or used your sick days.  You had to put in the face time, first in last out.  With technology, now we are available 24/7 for work. 

 

Not letting kids outside, depending on where you live, their lives depend on it. Or you fear your neighbor will call cps on you if you are not sitting outside with your 7 year oild while they play. Or you are both at work and your latch key kid would rather play video games and there is no one to say "go outside".

 

As a society we have become obese because we have lost our connection to making our own food.  Convenience food is often inexpensive and loaded with stuff you shouldn't be eating.  Designed to make you crave more of it. But when you are exhausted from working long hours and you have hungry mouths to feed it is easy to grab the quick thing.  Even though it really doesn't take much longer to make the meal from scratch -open box- open microwave-dinner is done is very appealing.  People have forgotten how to cook or never learned.  It takes some level of planning and who wants to spend their one day off in the kitchen prepping for the week?

 

I don't see it as laziness.  I see it as beaten down by life and trying to survive.

 

Edited April 13, 2017 by kewb

[SKL]

I looked at it yesterday before anyone commented.  I thought, "this article doesn't actually say anything of substance" but decided to see what others thought.

 

In my observation, people are more sedentary, but many are doing sedentary jobs, so does that qualify as "lazy," and does it hurt the economy?  I see trends going in both directions, and I'm not sure how it averages out.

• People working multiple jobs.
• People between jobs, not doing much other than looking for another job.
• People working at home on their computers.
• People starting computer-based businesses - I see this a lot, but maybe this is just my fb community.  :P
• More kids doing computer-based work as entrepreneurs or for pay.
• Fewer kids doing visible jobs - at least where I live, paper routes, babysitting, etc. stopped being kid jobs long ago.
• People out in the community in the evenings - this would be most people I know, whether for kid activities or professional activities.
• People staying home in the evenings so they can focus on their family more.
• An ageing population - more retirees and people who are shut-in for health reasons.
• Better park resources and similar - more retirees and families out getting some fresh air and exercise.

I don't know any people over 18 who are actually lazy IMO, but I know some who are lethargic because of mental health issues and/or difficulty getting a job.  I know lots of people who think they work their fingers to the bone, but actually work less than they would have 50 years ago.  But I'm not sure it's a bad thing that manual labor is down somewhat on average.  Sure, some of us could use more exercise, but standing in a factory breathing bad air or bending over crops for 12+ hours doesn't seem to be the optimal solution.  :)

[SKL]

Forgot to address the thing about moving.

 

To me, not having to move is a good thing.  In recent history, too many people got up and moved to a place with more jobs, only to find themselves unemployed and far from family in a high-cost area.  It's usually a good idea to stay put if you can be successful that way, IMO.

 

I'm sure there are many articles out there saying Americans move too much.  Now they aren't moving enough.  They buy new too often, now it's not often enough.  It sounds silly to me.

[Carol in Cal.]

I have a relative who has been underemployed, like, forever.

He is about my age, with grown kids, (so he could move without disturbing their education) and I give him a lot of credit for retraining into something that uses computer skills.  But his job in that field is a bit seasonal--on average he works about 3 weeks out of 4, year round, but sometimes it's fulltime and sometimes it's half time.  

 

He could move to a more urban area and do a lot better.  I think he should.  He would have free lodging, and he would increase his social security benefits significantly for the rest of his and his wife's lives, and he would be able to get off of food stamps.  But he won't.  Because he likes the natural beauty of his area.  Well, shoot.  I like the natural beauty of the eastern part of my state, but there isn't any work up there to speak of, so we live here so we can work and support ourselves.  I think that that is the grown up thing to do.

[Happy2BaMom]

Just one more article by someone who supports the mentality of the top 1% (or 5%) whatever of this country. Yes, the rest of us are just lazy and unmotivated and shiftless and slack-jawed.

 

No. We're f*&(ing exhausted. Exhausted by fighting to raise our children in a healthy manner, despite the onslaught of advertising, entertainment, easy sexuality shown on every show and dumbing down of everything from education to enrichment classes. We're exhausted by having to try and meet completely unrealistic expectations for corporate profit-making in our jobs, offering our time and minds for expoitation so that we might - just might - continue to have a job and health insurance. We're exhausted by trying to feed ourselves and our families healthy food, which costs a lot more and takes work to prepare, because it is more acceptable for the U.S. gov't to provide BILLIONS of dollars in subsidies to agribusiness and monoculture farmers (which then ends up as cheap junk food in our aisles) but somehow the suggestion that perhaps we could subsidize healthy, ready-to-eat rations for ALL families is practically considered a form of communism.  

 

As far as not starting a business? He's clueless. The regulations and gov't subsidies that exist in our country immensely favor large corporate interests. Just as one example: I practice a lot of kitchen-table herbalism, and I USED to know a number of herbalists that also grew and marketed herbs and tinctures for their local communities. Then the large herbal companies (often owned by multi-nationals) got regulations passed (GMP) that make it very, very difficult for small enterprises to meet, let alone compete on a cost basis. *Poof*, suddenly a number of these mom-and-pop shops can't compete anymore and stopped selling herbs and tinctures. No more competition for the big guys! Of course, it was all done in the name of "ensuring safety". But I'd trust someone I know and see regularly over some multi-national.  And that's just one example. 

 

We're exhausted and tired of being told that we need to work harder / smarter / more, all just to *hopefully* stay afloat while the rich continue to take the majority of the wealth. 

 

Rant over. 

Edited April 13, 2017 by Happy2BaMom

[Carol in Cal.]

Re starting a business--

1.  Lots of people never knew anyone who owned their own business.  It's not nearly as common as it needs to be for organic knowledge of how to do it to float around and catch on.  In my case, aside from MLMers, the people who I know who have had good sole proprietor businesses were of my grandparents' generation, and I'm almost 60 now.  (Side note:  I'm glad to have been in an MLM for a while.  Although I did not make money at it, I learned a great deal about having your own business; enough to feel confident in starting one years later.  I know I'm unusual in this.)

2.  The chains are taking over a lot of businesses that used to more typically be small and local.  Examples include book stores, convenience stores, gas stations, hobby shops, hardware stores, appliance stores, flooring and window treatment stores, and kitchen stores.

3.  People who have owned individual stores like that for many years are realizing to their horror that they can't sell them, so they have not built up realizable equity in them.

4.  People who want to start a business tend not to have enough capital to purchase one, and people who have enough capital tend not to want to have to work 60 hours per week to get something off the ground.  This plays into 3. as well.

 

I have seen quite a few individual yarn or kitchen or book stores close in the last 10 years after the owner tried unsuccessfully to sell them.  It's rough on everyone.  I don't know what the solution is.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Carol in Cal.

[DawnM]

it was actually written by a woman, which surprises me even more.

[kiana]

I also think that it's not at all unreasonable or "lazy" to choose to work enough to support the lifestyle you want and not more than that. As a matter of fact it seems to be perfectly sensible to me. 

[Carol in Cal.]

I also think that it's not at all unreasonable or "lazy" to choose to work enough to support the lifestyle you want and not more than that. As a matter of fact it seems to be perfectly sensible to me. 

I think that there is really good sense to this, as long as people are prudently saving for retirement simultaneously.

[Jane in NC]

The traditional industries of my area are fishing and agriculture.  Barriers to the former include the cost of a boat, fuel, etc. but the reality is that Americans are shrimp-happy yet they don't want to pay the price for American shrimp.  They'd rather eat cheap, chemical laden shrimp from Asia. (Reminder:  Friends don't let friends eat imported shrimp.)

 

Barriers to agriculture include the cost of land itself let alone the cost of equipment.  One young farmer I know leases his land from a family with long ties to the area who have placed part of their land in an agricultural easement for tax purposes.  Both parties are winning but many young idealists cannot find places to farm. 

 

No one expects to get rich from fishing or farming.  Frankly I am glad that someone carries on in these traditional industries, that not everyone has left the land and sea. But I suspect that the author of the article would not view these small businesses as innovative or important. 

 

I agree with the many who noted that health insurance is a significant barrier for many.  I have a friend who works at Whole Foods which has a generous benefits package.  She told me that several of her colleagues work for insurance--not a paycheck--often because their partners are self-employed. I suspect that this is not atypical.

[creekland]

I also think that it's not at all unreasonable or "lazy" to choose to work enough to support the lifestyle you want and not more than that. As a matter of fact it seems to be perfectly sensible to me. 

 

This is what we do.  No regrets.  We don't fit the article though.  Hubby owns his own business... though he started it back in 1999, so maybe we do fit it I suppose.

[Bluegoat]

I've been thinking more about this article.

 

I don't quite feel it has the negative vibe as some others do.  More that it's just a little - simplistic.  And the language isn't great. 

 

He talks about segregaton, which I think people are taking to mean racial segregation.  But I'm not sure that is really what he's reaching for, as he seems to connect it with social media and people mixing less in ther wider communities.  I think maybe he is trying to get at an echo chamber effect, maybe also the tendency of some to move into things like gated communities.  All of which tends to reinforce aspects of class and political segregation.  Race of course is contained within that, but it's only part of it.

 

He isn't clear about how he relates this to laziness.  Maybe - he sees the economic secotor as being related, in most cases, to community participation?  That's probably true to some extent, but I think that would turn out to be a complex issue.

 

But, I think maybe what he is trying to get at is not totally incompatible with the idea that there are other factors, like time and money, at play.  The lack of the ability to really contemplate that kind of decision, I think, must start to impact the wider culture - how we think about employment and business.  Just as people who live in places where it's easy to start up a low cost business as in some developing economies, or in cultures where the way to security is to join the civil service - when that is how a society operates over time, it impacts thinking and choices.

 

In a culture where getting by means finding work with a big employer - pretty much the definition of a capitalist culture - you aren't going to find people overall very oriented to small business.

 

Where he seems to really go astray is he seems to think the culture could change just by calling it "lazy".  He's got it backwards.

[BarbecueMom]

I know someone who started a landscaping business. Tried to get decent employees, but couldn't keep anyone due to their constant court dates, drugs, and just plain didn't want to work.

 

Every single week in the county paper, there are at least two obituaries (out of about 15 total obits) of 20-35yo men, who "worked in the landscaping business". Overdoses. How do you keep a business going when your employees don't show up to the job site because they're dead? Why bother?

[Bluegoat]

Forgot to address the thing about moving.

 

To me, not having to move is a good thing.  In recent history, too many people got up and moved to a place with more jobs, only to find themselves unemployed and far from family in a high-cost area.  It's usually a good idea to stay put if you can be successful that way, IMO.

 

I'm sure there are many articles out there saying Americans move too much.  Now they aren't moving enough.  They buy new too often, now it's not often enough.  It sounds silly to me.

 

The moving is good the neoliberal "flexible modern workforce" call.  Great for big employers, not so good for employees.

[SamanthaCarter]

I think the culture at large is just in shock that the astounding economic success that the baby boom generation experienced turned out to be unsustainable. It not laziness, it's change, it's the baby boom ways not working. 

[luuknam]

"His advice to people is to take more risk in their own lives, whether it's in their careers or personal lives."

 

BTDT, did not work out well. Which is the thing with risk... taking more risks doesn't guarantee things will be better - they can just as easily be worse. Recovering from that takes time, and with elementary age kids, stability really *does* have its pros. That said, I do let my kids play outside alone, so I'm not sure he's talking about us anyway. In fact, he seemed a bit all over the place mentioning all sorts of different kinds of things. 

[Carol in Cal.]

 

 

I agree with the many who noted that health insurance is a significant barrier for many.  I have a friend who works at Whole Foods which has a generous benefits package.  She told me that several of her colleagues work for insurance--not a paycheck--often because their partners are self-employed. I suspect that this is not atypical.

Yes, totally.

I was hoping that the ACA, despite all its flaws, would fix this.  But it hasn't because health insurance is so much more expensive now.