tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post4558134162489840889..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: Everything Gets Cheaper Except SatisfactionDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-61038052628898891212009-01-30T12:40:00.000-05:002009-01-30T12:40:00.000-05:00Actually, that's a good point, BA. Most people wo...Actually, that's a good point, BA. Most people would certainly like to make several times what they currently make, but the level of comfort we have attained does result in most people not actually being willing to sacrifice too much of their other lifestyle aspects to do so.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-21374600324436781372009-01-29T17:10:00.000-05:002009-01-29T17:10:00.000-05:00Your previous post addresses the main reason this ...Your previous post addresses the main reason this might be the case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-7859029057062323342009-01-29T17:04:00.000-05:002009-01-29T17:04:00.000-05:00The Blackadder Says: DeLong has a point, but I als...The Blackadder Says: <BR/><BR/>DeLong has a point, but I also think it's overstated a bit. The truth is that people today aren't as focused on maximizing their accumulation of material goods as in prior ages.<BR/><BR/>I know this sounds like a crazy thing to say. After all, doesn't the modern American have a lot more stuff now than in prior ages? But the fact is that the relative bountifulness of consumer goods has made people less willing to work hard to acquire more and more of such goods. I know a lot of people, for example, who are willing to work for much less than they could get at another job because they would find this other work less meaningful or more unpleasant to do. Based on conversations with friends from places like India and China this kind of attitude (that what matters in a career is following your dreams, finding fulfilling work, etc. rather than what puts bread on the table) can be rather mystifying to people for whom a certain level of prosperity isn't taken for granted. <BR/><BR/>Studies also indicate that people today work less, spend more time in school, retire earlier, etc. None of this is too surprising once you recognize that consumption is subject to the law of diminishing returns, so that past a certain point people will require greater and greater levels of compensation in order to induce them into additional amounts of labor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-61807693661328249862009-01-29T15:48:00.000-05:002009-01-29T15:48:00.000-05:00Funny that coming from DeLong. The guy is almost ...Funny that coming from DeLong. The guy is almost as bad as Krugman for being vitriolic in his hatred of conservatives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com