how do we live the LEISURE LIFE when we lose our jobs?

Question

i remember seeing exhibits at the last world's fair that was held in manhattan about the future. much to do was about women wearing disposable dresses (mod style of course, back then) made of paper. and a great number of themes were all about the upcoming "leisure society" that all americans would enjoy in years soon to come.

since then, since somewhere in the early '60s, the population of the planet has skyrocketed, mostly in third world countries. we lose jobs to those people by buying items that our companies contract out to make. back in the early '60s, ever since the end of WWII, there was a sense of pride in the goods that we in our own country made: we bought items that were advertised as "made in america," and citizens of our country bought houses at reasonable cost and raised their families in them even with mom staying home because by making and buying american, our economy soared.

so how is it that commercials show baby boomers up in the air in gliders, ...

...flying around in gliders, relaxed because they are living off of 401K benefits, which certainly, not all have -- how are we going to be able to live a life of leisure without savings, without good jobs, without job security? when i went to grammar school, we were taught to put 1/4 of our monthly earnings into savings, and it really was possible then! the rest of living was managable on the remaining 3/4, and you were supposed to retire to a life of comfort in your own, fully paid for, house in the burbs, next to the private golf course, obviously.

our ads scream out on us to buy, buy, and buy newer, more sophisticated gadgets, all to make our lives easier, more leisurable and more relaxed. yet i am watching people in their 40s losing jobs, with no substantial savings to fall back on because we allow the jobs to GO OVERSEAS.

how do you propose to live the life of leisure as you age and when you are old? do you think you did and can save up enough money? what if not? then?

what will happen if you cannot save money to look forward to the life of leisure now advertised as though it is our "right?" how can your kids imagine a life of leisure when their world is so tough?

i think we are living on the edge. if not for politics, our planet would easily house, clothe, feed, school, and medicate THREE TIMES the current world population. yet i see strife and stress taking over our well being, our health. today it's even true that elderly people lucky enough to own their homes can tap into the equity (reverse equity mortgages) to pay the bills--but they may not leave their heirs anything of value...

what shall we do about this? what can you and i do to change our society, and our income and benefits, so that we will not all kill one another fighting in the street over food and clean water?

is there an answer? should we boycott the american companies that send our jobs overseas? if we do, our goods will cost more. then what? ... ???

Answer 1

And where is this "world of the future" anyway?

I think we were sold a bill of goods

Answer 2

This is quite a rant, but I'll see if I can give somewhat of a response.

Your basic premise is faulty, so that your conclusions that flow from that premise are also faulty.

Nobody ever promised you, or me, that we would live a life of leisure. Where you got that idea is any-body's guess.

Jobs that are exported to third-world countries are third-world jobs. We no longer have steel smelters polluting everything around them here - they do in Korea and Bangladesh. We no longer have sweat shops making clothes - they do have those in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

For much, if not most of the unskilled labor jobs in this country, we have to import labor - or let them sneak across the border.

There have always been homes in areas of town out of the financial reach of most citizens. Now, those areas are bigger - if you want a cheap house, you have to travel farther.

There is a response to each of your claims, but the bottom line is that you seems to be angered because your unrealistic expectations are just that - unrealistic.

You probably have more economic wealth, access to health care and leisure activities, than 98% of the rest of the people in the world. Once you appreciate that, you should become a bit less frustrated.

Good luck to you