by
Chris Martenson
Charles Hugh Smith
by
charleshughsmith
Executive Summary
- The erosion of community is due to many factors
- Understanding these factors enables us to begin combating them
- The 10 reasons American social capital is declining
- What it will take for a revival in social cooperation
If you have not yet read The Erosion of Community, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
In Part 1, we surveyed a number of explanations for the erosion of community, starting with the landmark 1950 book, The Lonely Crowd, and found that no one theory adequately accounted for the decline of social capital in America.
Here are ten other factors that could be factors in this long-term erosion:
1. The explosion of choices in the mass media (mentioned by Robert Putnam and Kevin K.) now offers endless opportunities to form a protective bubble around oneself: if you only want to hear views that confirm your existing biases, it's now very easy to do so, and you don’t even need to go out into the real world to do so.
Since confirming our own beliefs is safe and comfortable, our collective reaction may be to avoid people who might disagree with us. Eventually, such isolated individuals “socializing” in self-selected groups online lose the ability to function productively in diverse groups of real people in a real community.
2. The mobility demanded of labor. The mobility of labor in America–that workers can pull up stakes and move to better job opportunities–is often lauded as the key to the U.S. economy's flexibility and resilience. This is no doubt true, but that mobility eviscerates community: if you move every 2-3 years (as required of military personnel, Corporate America managers and many others), what's the motivation for joining and contributing to local groups?…
The 10 Factors Destroying our Social Health
PREVIEW by charleshughsmithExecutive Summary
- The erosion of community is due to many factors
- Understanding these factors enables us to begin combating them
- The 10 reasons American social capital is declining
- What it will take for a revival in social cooperation
If you have not yet read The Erosion of Community, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
In Part 1, we surveyed a number of explanations for the erosion of community, starting with the landmark 1950 book, The Lonely Crowd, and found that no one theory adequately accounted for the decline of social capital in America.
Here are ten other factors that could be factors in this long-term erosion:
1. The explosion of choices in the mass media (mentioned by Robert Putnam and Kevin K.) now offers endless opportunities to form a protective bubble around oneself: if you only want to hear views that confirm your existing biases, it's now very easy to do so, and you don’t even need to go out into the real world to do so.
Since confirming our own beliefs is safe and comfortable, our collective reaction may be to avoid people who might disagree with us. Eventually, such isolated individuals “socializing” in self-selected groups online lose the ability to function productively in diverse groups of real people in a real community.
2. The mobility demanded of labor. The mobility of labor in America–that workers can pull up stakes and move to better job opportunities–is often lauded as the key to the U.S. economy's flexibility and resilience. This is no doubt true, but that mobility eviscerates community: if you move every 2-3 years (as required of military personnel, Corporate America managers and many others), what's the motivation for joining and contributing to local groups?…
by
charleshughsmith
Executive Summary
- The productive class will increasingly look for ways to protect its income and wealth from State hands
- Geographic redistribution of classes will increase, favoring lower-cost locales
- Expect tax revolts to start breaking out
- Diminishing returns and increased fragility of the status quo will result in a resurgence of volatility
If you have not yet read Part I of The Trends to Watch For in 2014, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
In Part I, I listed eight more trends to watch in 2014, in addition to the eight that are still in play from 2013. Following last year’s format, here are some of the consequences to look for in 2014-15:
Outcomes
1. Opting out will become increasingly attractive for the productive class. Since the Status Quo suppresses political resistance (in official eyes, the line between protest and domestic terrorism is awfully thin) while it loads on higher costs of friction, complexity, junk fees, taxes, etc. on the still-productive, opting out—retiring, quitting, cutting back, selling out—becomes a compelling option for those who can afford to do so.
Many have opted out simply because they have no other choice. Those who are close to retirement age and unable to find employment that pays more than Social Security benefits opt to retire and take the benefits early. The Social Security Administration has professed surprise that Baby Boomers are retiring early in larger numbers than the SSA projected. (File under “Duh!”) Millions of others have managed to qualify for Social Security disability (SSI), another form of opting out.
The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is one of many forces incentivizing opting out. The perverse incentives of the ACA make it “smart” to not enroll and not pay the penalty, either, as the IRS has already said that it won’t enforce the penalty for some time.
The ACA also heavily incentivizes managing your income to levels that qualify the household for subsidies. Higher-income households have a big incentive to lower their incomes to avoid paying sky-high premiums. Those with salaries cannot easily adjust their incomes, but households with self-employed or contract workers can opt to work less and thus earn less…
Outcomes to Bet On in 2014
PREVIEW by charleshughsmithExecutive Summary
- The productive class will increasingly look for ways to protect its income and wealth from State hands
- Geographic redistribution of classes will increase, favoring lower-cost locales
- Expect tax revolts to start breaking out
- Diminishing returns and increased fragility of the status quo will result in a resurgence of volatility
If you have not yet read Part I of The Trends to Watch For in 2014, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
In Part I, I listed eight more trends to watch in 2014, in addition to the eight that are still in play from 2013. Following last year’s format, here are some of the consequences to look for in 2014-15:
Outcomes
1. Opting out will become increasingly attractive for the productive class. Since the Status Quo suppresses political resistance (in official eyes, the line between protest and domestic terrorism is awfully thin) while it loads on higher costs of friction, complexity, junk fees, taxes, etc. on the still-productive, opting out—retiring, quitting, cutting back, selling out—becomes a compelling option for those who can afford to do so.
Many have opted out simply because they have no other choice. Those who are close to retirement age and unable to find employment that pays more than Social Security benefits opt to retire and take the benefits early. The Social Security Administration has professed surprise that Baby Boomers are retiring early in larger numbers than the SSA projected. (File under “Duh!”) Millions of others have managed to qualify for Social Security disability (SSI), another form of opting out.
The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is one of many forces incentivizing opting out. The perverse incentives of the ACA make it “smart” to not enroll and not pay the penalty, either, as the IRS has already said that it won’t enforce the penalty for some time.
The ACA also heavily incentivizes managing your income to levels that qualify the household for subsidies. Higher-income households have a big incentive to lower their incomes to avoid paying sky-high premiums. Those with salaries cannot easily adjust their incomes, but households with self-employed or contract workers can opt to work less and thus earn less…
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Fauci's Private Diary Exposes Stark Contradictions on Lab Leak, Lethality, Lockdowns & Vaccines
by sand_puppy 
ImmuneMist
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