Are We Better Off Than Our Parents?

I was watching Fox News this morning, and Frank Luntz, the best pollster around, got into a discussion with his focus group about whether or not they are better off than their parents. He was somewhat surprised when most of the group answered yes. That, in turn, led to a very early morning (not the best time of day) between myself and my wife as to whether we are better off than our parents. After much “too heavy for 7:00 AM” discussion, we decided that our answer is yes….but!

On the face of it, there is no question that we are better off, and so is most of the country. The percentage of home ownership in the United States, especially among minorities, is the highest in US history. Look at the size of the homes that are being built for the middle class. Three cars garages are the norm, and some have 4 car garages. Square footage is up substantially. A house with less than 2 full baths just doesn’t sell these days.

When I was growing up, we had one car. When we got a second car, it was a stripped down Plymouth with vinyl floors, a heater, and no radio. Air conditioning? Fuggetaboutit. We called it “the radiator” in Italian. We had one television set in the living room, and one telephone in an alcove in the hallway, and a radio in the kitchen. We ate out one or two times a month.

Today, I have 4 cars, one of them being a 1991 Caddy. Houses without air conditioning are the exception instead of the rule. I have 5 television sets in various parts of the house, along with 8 telephones (kitchen, family room, 3 bedrooms, and 3 phones in my very long basement). Two phone lines go to two of the phones. That doesn’t count the three cells phones I pay for. Although we don’t do a whole lot of traveling (we are just too pooped to pop), people around me are flying off to Florida and Las Vegas like they were driving to Warren.

When I was growing up, if you got cancer, it was a death sentence. If you had a heart attack or a stroke, you would die. The average life expectancy continues to increase. Although there are some challenges to our health care system, people still flock to the United States for the best health care in the world.

But does all of the above mean we are better off than our parents? It’s the intangibles that are missing. When my parents got a job, it was for life. Today, the average person will change jobs 4 -5 times. My parents knew what was right and what was wrong. Today, it is shades of grey. My parents had a sense of control over their lives. Today, we are the mercy of computers, digital machines, phone trees, and private and government bureaucrats. In my parents’ day, the nuclear family was the bedrock upon which our society was built. Now, Mom and Dad and Junior are the minority, as single family households lead the pack in our society. Familial commitment is a thing of the past. Our parents were secure in themselves. Today, there is nothing secure about anything, including social “security”.

Our national sense of destiny died with Ronald Reagan. Today, political ideologies have morphed into perversions of the American dream. What took a family now takes a village. The bad guys are the good guys. Self reliance is replaced by an omnipresent government that is looking out for you. The largest industry in the United States is now government, employing almost 60% of the workforce at some level. That is a scary statistic.

Are we better off than our parents? I suppose. But here is my question: Will my son be better off than me?