Precariousness weighs heavily, and is not easily captured in macroeconomic statistics.
I tell my students this story: when my twins were born in Saskatchewan they had to be in neonatal intensive for a spell, because they were so tiny (they grew up fine, I should say). There were other babies in the unit in much more difficult circumstances, and one would see their parents, obviously distressed and worried for their child. But nobody worried about money, about economic consequences. Because there were none: such are the benefits of universal no-co-pay health insurance. The parents could focus on their children and nothing else. That is a massive effect on well-being that one doesn’t have with incomplete health coverage.
Income security matters so much for mental and family health, incalculable importance.
It should even be easily understood from a conventionalized understanding of utility; it is the story that many theorists friendly to capitalism talk about--a system where long-term calculation of expected utility is possible, where people can defer short-term gratification for longer-term utility gains. A system where most people can't believe that long-term returns are possible to calculate is a system that is profoundly destructive even to 'the economy' in this formalized sense.
And today I had my regular dental cleaning at the office I’ve been going to for 30 years. First 22 years, the same dentist. She was great. Sold practice. Today I met my new dentist, making two new ones in two years, following one I had for 7-8 years. I expect to have a new one soon. Annual eye appointment postponed seven months. UM eye physician has new responsibilities. Very rare sightings of my PCP I’ve had for 30 years but always seen by a different phys asst or resident. I suspect jobs/careers like this have become very unpleasant. And I’m one with “great health care.”
Prof Burke-Former student. This post definitely resonates. Do you feel hopeful that this relative decline in peoples standard of living will lead people to continue to demand radical change? We seem to be seeing a little bit of that with the labor movement
I think it starts with not gaslighting people about their fears, or telling them "the metrics say you're all ok". About admitting that business has violated the understanding it had with employees in a previous generation, and so on. I'm not sure what change people would demand beyond "this has got to get better, and not just on the numbers".
Precariousness weighs heavily, and is not easily captured in macroeconomic statistics.
I tell my students this story: when my twins were born in Saskatchewan they had to be in neonatal intensive for a spell, because they were so tiny (they grew up fine, I should say). There were other babies in the unit in much more difficult circumstances, and one would see their parents, obviously distressed and worried for their child. But nobody worried about money, about economic consequences. Because there were none: such are the benefits of universal no-co-pay health insurance. The parents could focus on their children and nothing else. That is a massive effect on well-being that one doesn’t have with incomplete health coverage.
Income security matters so much for mental and family health, incalculable importance.
It should even be easily understood from a conventionalized understanding of utility; it is the story that many theorists friendly to capitalism talk about--a system where long-term calculation of expected utility is possible, where people can defer short-term gratification for longer-term utility gains. A system where most people can't believe that long-term returns are possible to calculate is a system that is profoundly destructive even to 'the economy' in this formalized sense.
And today I had my regular dental cleaning at the office I’ve been going to for 30 years. First 22 years, the same dentist. She was great. Sold practice. Today I met my new dentist, making two new ones in two years, following one I had for 7-8 years. I expect to have a new one soon. Annual eye appointment postponed seven months. UM eye physician has new responsibilities. Very rare sightings of my PCP I’ve had for 30 years but always seen by a different phys asst or resident. I suspect jobs/careers like this have become very unpleasant. And I’m one with “great health care.”
Prof Burke-Former student. This post definitely resonates. Do you feel hopeful that this relative decline in peoples standard of living will lead people to continue to demand radical change? We seem to be seeing a little bit of that with the labor movement
I think it starts with not gaslighting people about their fears, or telling them "the metrics say you're all ok". About admitting that business has violated the understanding it had with employees in a previous generation, and so on. I'm not sure what change people would demand beyond "this has got to get better, and not just on the numbers".