Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
Sun Aug 12, 2018, 08:54 AM Aug 2018

I think we need to stop glamorizing the Post WWII expansion if we're going to move forward

Workers made less in real terms then than now. But there was a social hierarchy that funneled more of that money into white men's hands, made white women dependent on white men for upkeep, and kept minorities of both sexes from complaining about the situation through violence and coercion. So the people who "mattered" socially and politically were better off than now. But "workers", in the inclusive sense, were absolutely not better off than now.

Poverty was more common in the 1950s and early 1960s than it is now, or even than it was at the depth of the Great Recession. The US home ownership rate between 1950 and 1964 never broke 60% (we're freaking out because it's down to something like 64% now). We have this idea that back then a high school graduate could go get a factory job and afford a house, but that really wasn't the case except for a fairly small section of the country and even there, only for white men.

Looking back to a misremembered golden age is almost always a bad idea in politics. I don't want to return to this economy. I don't think you do either. Rather than making up fake stories about the past, we should be talking about what we want the current and future economy to look like.

7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
I think we need to stop glamorizing the Post WWII expansion if we're going to move forward (Original Post) Recursion Aug 2018 OP
Many want to go back to the "Leave it to Beaver" America. honest.abe Aug 2018 #1
An architect I know pointed out something interesting about that show Recursion Aug 2018 #2
But this was Mayfield.. maybe bigger houses were normal there. honest.abe Aug 2018 #4
Can I confess, I've never actually seen the show? Recursion Aug 2018 #5
I think I saw every episode. honest.abe Aug 2018 #6
Leave It To Beaver was total fantasy. Boomerproud Aug 2018 #3
a lot of those shows were JonLP24 Aug 2018 #7

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
2. An architect I know pointed out something interesting about that show
Sun Aug 12, 2018, 09:07 AM
Aug 2018

That house behind them looks like maybe 1200, 1250 square feet? Sort of an average, modest home today, right? But in 1956, the average new home size was 800 square feet, and second stories in subdivisions were almost unheard of. That house was, by the standards of the time, a McMansion.

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
5. Can I confess, I've never actually seen the show?
Sun Aug 12, 2018, 09:16 AM
Aug 2018

I was born in '76 kind of right when it was coming off reruns during the day, and just never managed to catch it on any of the "classics" channels later.

Boomerproud

(7,952 posts)
3. Leave It To Beaver was total fantasy.
Sun Aug 12, 2018, 09:12 AM
Aug 2018

I know we all know that. It's a lie if the generation after the boomers believe that was real life.

JonLP24

(29,322 posts)
7. a lot of those shows were
Sun Aug 12, 2018, 09:28 AM
Aug 2018

Bo Jackson who grew up in a big family didn't understand how the Brady Bunch could have all those kids and always have food in the refridgerator in his book Bo Knows Bo.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Knows_Bo

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»I think we need to stop g...