30 Days, 9 Cities, 1 Question: Where Did American Prosperity Go?
8 days ago
- #economic inequality
- #housing crisis
- #AI impact
- Peter Thiel's critique of capitalism highlights a growing sentiment that the system isn't working for young people, with issues like housing, student debt, and AI exacerbating feelings of lost prosperity.
- A 30-day journey across the U.S. and Europe revealed a disconnect between visible decay in daily life (commutes, childcare, housing) and invisible prosperity (stock portfolios, data centers).
- Economic and material struggles are fueling cultural and political tensions, with young people, burdened by debt and poor job prospects, increasingly supporting populist economic policies like taxing the rich and regulating big business.
- AI's impact on jobs and purpose is a major concern, with debates on whether it will extend human potential or devalue labor, echoing historical Luddite resistance to technology that doesn't improve lives.
- Housing affordability crises, particularly in states like New Hampshire and Florida, are linked to declining fertility rates and aging populations, creating a feedback loop that strains local economies and infrastructure.
- Institutions like Congress are criticized for prioritizing performative outrage over governance, mirroring the broader trend of optimizing for invisible metrics (e.g., social media engagement) while tangible infrastructure decays.
- Cities like New York and Prague exemplify contrasting approaches to prosperity: New York thrives on relentless ambition and visible investment, while Prague's functional systems (trams, sidewalks) build public trust and economic confidence.
- The rise of unions among college-educated workers reflects a shift from individualistic upward mobility to collective solutions for systemic failures, challenging the notion that degrees guarantee prosperity.
- The essay concludes with a call to make prosperity visible again by investing in tangible systems and communities, drawing parallels to Northern Ireland's peace process, where local collaboration fostered reconciliation.