the friuts of increased productivity have not gone to the society as a whole, but to the same greedy characters who have always been there to slurp up all they can since they never seem to have enough. real wages haven't gone up. costs haven't gone down. quality of most stuff doesn't appear to have improved and the achievement of a resonably comfortable life appears to be less available to more people. a fantasy life via the various media(w/continual improvements in delivery and realism in content) looks to me like the biggest result of all our 'progress' since the start of the industrial age which once promised to liberate us all. so, where did it go?
Are you serious? Like seriously serious?
I would argue that the cost of living has been falling steadily since the Industrial Revolution, *if* you compare apples to apples, which you are not doing. Take the life your parents lived when they were your age, and add up all associated costs. I'd bet that they paid more, as a percentage of total income, than you do - for NECESSITIES. Necessities would include housing(i.e. rent), a car, decent food, insurance, health-care and the like. That would not include a sweet mobile phone with unlimited texts and data plan, a computer with a 26" plasma, and at least one car per adult, etc., however that is a reflection of what the average person these days expects to have, or - to put it a different way - feels entitled to.
Now, if you want to start talking about increasing individual tax burdens and tax liabilities, then we'll talk about the increased cost of living. Or, you might consider the impact of two-income households being the norm rather than single-income(women's liberation, my butt; we are all now equally enslaved to the government). To say that you do not enjoy the fruits of industry, however, would be to make a false statement.
Just imagine if innovation was not rewarded, as the author suggests. Do you think you would have HD television, or tiny cellphones, or a reliable vehicle? "Atlas Shrugged" is happening already... no need to speed things along.
You do have a point, I'd say, on product quality. Things are produced with such emphasis on cost control today that it's almost laughable to go into a store and ask for a computer that will last ten years(not one that will not become obsolete, but one that will still run well). I possess a working Atari 2600, Compaq Portable II, TRS-80 model 100... all still work, all are 20ish years old. My present desktop computer, six years old, is on its third video card, fourth power supply, third set of speakers... you get the idea. I do agree on your point, but I think we'd have different opinions on the root cause. You suggest that corporate and individual greed are the cause of increased costs, decreased quality and all that, where I'd say it's probably the result of - again - more regulation and higher taxation. Producers still charge what the market will bear, but so much more is taken out that there's less and less room for actual product. More is spent complying with regulations, paying taxes, etc.
To comment on the article itself: What a brain-dead pile of crap. Fine, machines can produce almost anything these days, as well as or better than human hands. I challenge the author to explain how goods would be transported, or services rendered, or ideas created, purely of goodwill. Hogwash.
