A Changing American Dream?

I might be pushing this with an article from a website as esteemed as Yahoo, but I have no doubts that the wars we've been having have at least done some damage to our economy (If you are having trouble understanding what I am saying, then you have missed the tone here).

Perhaps it's not so much important that America's standard of living is not going to do well, but that countries around the world are evening out with it. This is a good sign. It's no argument to convince a co-immigrant mother who seems to have unshakable faith in the American dream (money!), but it's something to keep in mind, at the very least.

"Worst Is Yet to Come:" Americans' Standard of Living Permanently Changed

Posted Feb 17, 2009 12:53pm EST by Aaron Task in Investing, Recession

Related: WMT, WFMI, FDO, ^GSPC, ^DJI, RTH, TGT

There's no question the American consumer is hurting in the face of a burst housing bubble, financial market meltdown and rising unemployment.

But "the worst is yet to come," according to Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, who believes American's standard of living is undergoing a "permanent change" - and not for the better as a result of:

• An $8 trillion negative wealth effect from declining home values.
• A $10 trillion negative wealth effect from weakened capital markets.
• A $14 trillion consumer debt load amid "exploding unemployment", leading to "exploding bankruptcies."

"The average American used to be able to borrow to buy a home, send their kids to a good school [and] buy a car," Davidowitz says. "A lot of that is gone."

Going forward, the veteran retail industry consultant foresees higher savings rate and people trading down in both the goods and services they buy - as well as their aspirations.

The end of rampant consumerism is ultimately a good thing, he says, but the unraveling of an economy built on debt-fueled spending will be painful for years to come.

Source: Yahoo News.

Link (unstable)

See? It's Not So Bad....

According to an article in The Guardian, the US is not doing so well on the "human index." In some respects, Israel is doing better.

Despite spending $230m (£115m) an hour on healthcare, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of almost every other developed country. And while it has the second-highest income per head in the world, the United States ranks 42nd in terms of life expectancy.

The reason?

....about 47 million people, are not covered by health insurance and so have limited access to healthcare.

As a result, the US is ranked 42nd in global life expectancy and 34th in terms of infants surviving to age one. The US infant mortality rate is on a par with that of Croatia, Cuba, Estonia and Poland. If the US could match top-ranked Sweden, about 20,000 more American babies a year would live to their first birthday.

And I am not trying to bash, but it is interesting to note that

[i]n fact, citizens of Israel, Greece, Singapore, Costa Rica, South Korea and every western European and Nordic country save one can expect to live longer than Americans.

The report lists more problems:

The US has a higher percentage of children living in poverty than any of the world's richest countries.

In fact, the report shows that 15% of American children - 10.7 million - live in families with incomes of less than $1,500 per month.

It also reveals 14% of the population - some 40 million Americans - lack the literacy skills to perform simple, everyday tasks such as understanding newspaper articles and instruction manuals.

And while in much of Europe, Canada, Japan and Russia, levels of enrol[l]ment of three and four-year-olds in pre-school are running at about 75%, in the US it is little more than 50%.

That last one, I don't think, is valid. That may indicate another problem altogether. Besides, who says these three or four-year-olds actually learn well, or at all?

The article continues....

The report not only highlights the differences between the US and other countries, it also picks up on the huge discrepancies between states, the country's 436 congressional districts and between ethnic groups.

"The Measure of America reveals huge gaps among some groups in our country to access opportunity and reach their potential," said the report's co-author, Sarah Burd-Sharps. "Some Americans are living anywhere from 30 to 50 years behind others when it comes to issues we all care about: health, education and standard of living.

"For example, the state human development index shows that people in last-ranked Mississippi are living 30 years behind those in first-ranked Connecticut."

Inequality remains stark. The richest fifth of Americans earn on average $168,170 a year, almost 15 times the average of the lowest fifth, who make do with $11,352.

The US is far behind many other countries in the support given to working families, particularly in terms of family leave, sick leave and childcare. The country has no federally mandated maternity leave.

The US also ranks first among the 30 rich countries of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of the number of people in prison, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the total population.

It has 5% of the world's people but 24% of its prisoners.

Sure, there might be some envy here, and maybe some other problems, but these are interesting data to note....It does make me wonder what is important to value in life. What really matters in a country?

On Law: Rough Ideas

Two events that influenced this post: I went to a courthouse (and its library) today. I downloaded and read a re- qualification exam for the Israeli bar (actually not as bad as I thought it would be, given I am educated on Israel-specific terms).

Pros of Law* in Israel (/Cons of Law in US)
1. There will not be 50 states with laws and case studies of their own.
2. There will be fewer "states" and maybe even case studies (Israel is at least a new democracy).
3. Hebrew: I want to love to use it.
4. English: I know it better than the natives do.
5. Life outside of work!

Cons of Law in Israel (/Pros of Law in US)
1. Aramaic (who knew?! There were some Aramaic words on the re-qualification exam).
2. Hebrew: the natives know it better than I do.
3. Opportunities -- will there be more or fewer?

The verdict: I need to do research. I can't even make up my mind without it!

*N.B "Law" here refers to "law," "being a lawyer" and all relevant terms

Reason #7: I'm sick of English (some thoughts)

I was sitting on the train today and saw a relatively old-aged woman reading an "Introduction to Public Health" book. It made me imagine myself as an old person and still reading books in English.

I did not like the thought of that.

Here's what I thought of:

1. English seems like a weaker language to me. Hebrew is simpler than English.
Part of the reason is that Hebrew inflects. "I was dancing and singing" can be said in two "words" (or three). While this can be a disadvantage (no internal grammatical distinction between different past tenses: I was walking, vs. I walked), I'd prefer to lose something here and be able speak more concisely. While it also true that Hebrew can get unwieldy or awkward, it is concise much of the time.

2. English is not connected to the original Bible.

3. Hebrew is easier to speak more quickly in, it seems.
Part of it is Hebrew's ability to inflect.

4. English does not seem as quirky as Hebrew to me. I like quirky.
Part of it is Hebrew's ability to steal from other languages (like English) and part of it is Hebrew's need to adjust to modernity (I've read that many computer terms, for instance, are identical to ones used in English).

5. English is not a challenge for me.
This can be an advantage and a disadvantage, but I'll take it!

6. English does not open as large a world of discovery for me as does Hebrew.

7. I like that fewer people speak Hebrew.
While I'll lose some of the privacy that Hebrew affords me here, it is also true that I cannot use Hebrew to its full extent here. I cannot speak it. I am wondering how much I want that privacy.

8. I want to use Hebrew to its full extent.

. . . the list goes on.

Why Move?: Reason # 6

I had hoped this blog would be mostly positive, but I can't decide to go to Israel and not also decide to mostly leave America.

There was an article on the "25 Best Heavy Metal Bands" today and it made me wish Aviv Geffen was on it; of course, that feeling didn't really make sense. Aviv's music, which can generally described as Pop/Rock (which is itself a really broad categorization), is described as glam rock, (new) prog rock, post punk rock and others on such sources as Wikipedia. What really matters, though, is the feeling I had that Israeli artists should be included on it.

Israeli music is the kind I listen to, unlike user "craig c," who wrote, "So where is Motley Crue?[] I spent a lot of my youth listening to these bands and Crue was always there!" Unlike this user, I didn't get a chance to grow up listening to a band. I got my music from VH1 and Magic 106.7, which was my mom's favorite station. In my early high school days, and all through high school, my mom didn't let me listen to music (I am not blaming her; while it is also true that I had no time to listen to music, if listening to non-classical music was at least encouraged at home, things would have turned out differently; my mom might have wanted to do so to encourage me to maintain my Hebrew skills, for example). Instead, my youth and teenage years began and are still continuing through college. Israeli music is my new "youth."

I want to go to Israel because I want to read about my youth in the papers. I want lists to include Israeli artists. I don't even mind not knowing the bands, because then I will both enjoy the music and/or learn the language. I didn't know all of the bands on Rob O'Conner's [Yahoo's] list, but I am too sick of English to care. That is a subject for another post.

Why Move? -- Some Reasons

Because I keep going back and forth on whether or not I actually want to do this, I am going to make a partial list. Sure, it's not all original, but as long as it has meaning for me, it's worth it. It boils down to language, culture, and religious spirit.

Language-related reasons:
1. I want to think, read, write, and speak in Hebrew.
2. I want to go to a concert in Hebrew with ease, especially Aviv Geffen's concerts.
3. I want to buy Israeli music with ease.
4. I want to buy Israeli books with ease.
5. I want to immerse myself in the weird cultural world that is Israel. I will have the chance to discover a brand new world.

Other reasons:
1. I want people to tell me what they think -- none of this fake "and how are you?!" business, no smiles that hide cruel thoughts (it's not like that won't happen in Israel, but it won't be as sugar-covered as it is over here).
2. I want a better sense of community. I believe that at the end of the day, people are people and they will care about themselves, but I believe that there must be a little more community in Israel, or, more accurately, a greater attempt to create one.
3. I want to be in a young country.
4. I want my Judaism to be more "natural" in my country.