I don't know who @KStreetHipster is, but over the weekend she unleashed a Twitter rant that does an amazing job of highlighting the central economic paradox of the times we live in. There's a lot along these lines on her feed, which I just started following and would recommend.
But these are the key points.
American society has a lot of needs
Look around. Work exists everywhere. There are schools to improve & bridges to repair. Roads to pave, and records to convert to electronic.
— KStreetHipster (@KStreetHipster) June 7, 2015
There is plenty of work we can easily identify. Veterans Affairs backlog, plastics to be purified from the rivers, homes to be built.
— KStreetHipster (@KStreetHipster) June 7, 2015
Lots of people are out of work, or stuck in bad jobs
Lots of work exists. There are endless things in need of improvement. But jobs, those are far more scarce. A competitive resource.
— KStreetHipster (@KStreetHipster) June 7, 2015
There is only one rational conclusion IMHO. There's a disconnect between the work to be done and the jobs we have designated.
— KStreetHipster (@KStreetHipster) June 7, 2015
Our economy doesn't reward solving big problems
There's a whole society to improve. Crime and inequality and poverty and on and on, but (most of) our jobs aren't for improving society.
— KStreetHipster (@KStreetHipster) June 7, 2015
Instead out jobs are (typically) *for* enriching someone. Not a societal good in and of itself, but a private good.
— KStreetHipster (@KStreetHipster) June 7, 2015
We need a bigger and better public sector
Capitalism was at its classical best when it was accompanied with massive public works. Joining the two gave us modernity.
— KStreetHipster (@KStreetHipster) June 7, 2015
But somehow we let public works wither on a vine somewhere while we all decided to place capital in a position of near worship.
— KStreetHipster (@KStreetHipster) June 7, 2015
Private affluence and public squalor
This is an old problem that John Kenneth Galbraith referred to as private affluence amid public squalor. Our roads are full of nicer and nicer cars, with vehicles that make what was available a generation ago look pathetic. But actual traffic congestion is worse than ever, our roads are mismanaged, and new investments in mass transit haven't remotely kept pace with the growth of the population.
Houses are bigger than ever, but our water mains are less reliable. It's easier than ever to get food delivered to your house, but punishingly expensive to get child care for your kids.
Of course, there are challenges to getting this stuff right that go beyond willingness to spend money. But finding a way to a conclusion starts with the recognition that the biggest problems most people face are essentially public and social in nature, and need solutions that match.
