People under 30 less happy in US than Saudi Arabia

Based on the title of this thread one could draw the conclusion that people under 30 are happier in a religiously intolerant regimented society than in an overly permissive society in which a large percentage of younger people are addicted to social media.

 

What's really disheartening is that the US is ranked so low. American exceptionalism is such a ridiculous concept. This is a pretty 'effed up country. So many better places to live.

 

Wow. You found a GIF of Biden from 50 years ago.

 

How would any of this help people under 30 buy a home? In non-arrogant moron, please.

 

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The data we’re working with at present is purely descriptive. It doesn’t allow us to get at causes. But piecing together evidence from other studies, one can begin to understand what might be happening. Some of it is financial and economic. Job prospects for young people, in terms of the advancement that was foreseeable and anticipated 40 to 50 years ago, are just not there to the same degree. Debt from education has been weighing heavily on young people. Housing costs in cities are skyrocketing, while studies suggest that the majority of Gen Z wants to own a home but thinks it’s absolutely out of reach.

I think social media has contributed to declines in well-being. Past studies indicate that on average, the effects on well-being and mental health are negative, especially in those with high use. And high use is dramatically more common with young adults than others. Also, study after study — ours and others’ — have indicated that family life and participation in religious communities contribute across these aspects of flourishing. And participation in both of those are down substantially.

I think political polarization has had a role in this also. Many people feel: “How can I live in a country like this, where half the people are terrible?” Plus, the last five years have been a pretty turbulent time: the pandemic, Russia and Ukraine, concerns about climate change. We’re all confronting this, but older people have had longer periods of relative stability than those in their 20s. The world probably seems like a more threatening place.”

Why are young people so miserable? — Harvard Gazette

so a lot of things at once. And they were hit hardest by the pandemic, that age is the most social.

 

Actually, the younger Saudis are highly addicted to social media. Content is typically censored, of course.

The real reason is that Saudis derive their income from the king (and his oil fields) in some way or another, and they have servants to do the actual work. They have jobs, of course, but people from India, Malaysia, and other places do the physical work, and the Saudis are in charge of them. Workplaces are very casual and stress-free for the Saudis, and somewhat hot and stressful for the outsiders. The king "recommends" that employers increase pay (Saudi, not outsider) when Saudi youth are unhappy, or he orders Sabic or Aramco to build a new world-class soccer stadium.

The big fear in Saudi is what will happen when the country reaches peak oil in the next 20-40 years. The king's ability to hand out raises and soccer stadiums will diminish at that time. The Saudis are trying to both diversify (building downstream products from their oil--they have the world's largest chemical complex in Al Jubail) and reduce their own usage of oil (installing some of the world's largest solar farms, and encouraging electric vehicles and fuel-efficient cars). These things will help slow the crash.

 

The U.S. provides some of the best economic opportunities in the world, but it also provides great (and somewhat unrealistic) expectations, especially to someone addicted to social media. Because anyone can in theory become rich, people naturally ponder, "Why am I not getting rich?". Everyone naturally thinks that they are above average, and therefore, they should get rich. Even the "cash me outsigh" dimwit girl became rich just from being an idiot on social media. Jealousy is a powerful emotion.

 

It’s workable. I myself am (I think) reasonably happy operating like an atheist in Saudi Arabia. I’m referring to my views on the Germ Hypothesis.

 

Will this be like the way China collapsed in 1994 and ceased to be a serious global player ?

 

I was on a teams meeting today with 4 guys from Finland. When I congratulated them on being so damn happy they said the running joke in Finland is who the hell is voting in them polls?

 

For starters, Biden is giving first time home buyers a $10k tax credit, redeemable over two years. Do you understand what a tax credit is, Okeydokey?

President Biden wants to give homebuyers a $10,000 tax credit. Here's who would qualify.

 

Do you think 10K would make a difference?

 

To some people. Typically, first time buyers have trouble paying their bills in the first two years of home ownership, as there are unexpected costs to owning a home (need furniture, a lawn mower, etc.), and this would help with that. I wish I had $10k when I bought my first house.

 

I got a 10k purchase credit for my first home from my employer and it made a big difference for me.

 

My first employer (big-name company) gave me a $300 loan against my first paycheck to pay for utility deposits. I bought a carton of milk with my last $0.50 on Friday before getting my first paycheck (my co-workers noticed I was getting a bit skeletal, and bought me a hamburger). My second employer (small-name company) paid $4k for my moving costs to the new town, and paid the real estate commissions (about $9k) for buying a house within a year. The one nice thing about my first company is that they gave me a month's salary for every year of service when I left. In today's dollars, if you added it all up, between what I got leaving one job and starting another, I cleared about $100k.

 

The guy who worked in the real estate industry and understands finance added more to the national debt in 4 years than any of his 44 predecessors did in 4 or 8.