Unjerked E29 Are We Worse Off Part 2

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about whether we are worse off now than we were in the past. In what ways are we better off than we were 70 years ago or 140 years ago? In what ways are we worse off? Overall, are we as a society in a good or bad place right now?  This is Part 2 of 2 episodes.

Unlike the first episode, the second episode goes over ways in which we are worse off. The include a dropping personal savings rate, rising housing costs, and rising healthcare costs. There are also rising existential risks in terms of climate risks, pandemics, and more. We also discuss the growth of misinformation and mental health issues due to social media. Finally, we discuss probably the largest way in which society is becoming worse - the loss of social bonds in terms of friendships, relationships, and more. We then discuss the rise in deaths of despair, growing mistrust in institutions, and more.

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0:30 Personal savings rate

1:46 Households that are cost burdened in terms of housing

5:11 Healthcare costs (2)

8:43 Existential risks

13:56 Social media (2)

14:35 Friendship and human connection (2)

20:51 Substance abuse (2) (3) (4)

22:44 Deaths of despair

23:26 Lack of trust in institutions (2)

26:15 Fertility

32:00 Follow up discussion on mistrust of institutions

40:18 Are poor American wealthier than medieval kings?

47:56 Climate anxiety

52:00 Decline of US GDP

54:51 Inequality & debt crisis

 

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