The improvements in quality of food, shelter and clothing, the ease of production and the support of healthcare experienced over the prior four generations has been astonishing. Consistent with these improvements has been a general move towards a charitable attitude towards those less fortunate. So when I heard peers in my generation complain about the "entitled" attitude of the upcoming generation, I dismissed it as typical ideation of "the good ole days" at work.
But a recent discussion about Portland has caused me to reflect that there may be limits to entitlement. I have had quite a few anecdotes concerning the lawlessness of Portland and even know long-term Portlanders who are moving away. Portland is a lovely town which I had always viewed as safe and welcoming to all people and things artisanal. If this change is real (and I believe it is), what has caused the change?
It appears that the stay-at-home mandate of Covid has played a role in Portland's shift. As people stayed home and were allowed to do whatever they wanted, a natural thought occurred to many - "do we really need to work if the US Government could just print out money?" I fielded this narrative frequently as I explained the pitfalls of AOC's money theories. In fact, the inflationary impact of that approach is manifesting itself right now.
Our rising standards of living are driven by improvements in productivity. The dividends of these increases in productivity are more free time and more disposable income. In fact, the purchase of Portland's artisanal products are the result of the much (by Portlanders) derided improvements in mass production. Walmart is not the dream of Portlandia, but its productivity drivers do most of the heavy lifting to provide working people access to the dream.
This blindspot of connecting productivity with increased standards of living came into focus during the pandemic because people were blinded to how productivity via the internet was the means by which we navigated the pandemic. Instead, people simply attributed it to government largess. As discontent with capitalistic productivity simmered, it seemed to manifest itself with antagonism towards the police force.
The police recognize that criminal elements will always have a negative attitude towards them. However, given the hazards of their work, part of their reward and willingness to undertake those hazards is the general respect from the population. When the population at large views the police negatively, the attitude of the police naturally moves to the passive aggressive - "well, let's see how it works for you."
It is likely that an unintended consequence of the Fed's tightening is to remind the population that the solution for an increased standard of living does not lie in the credit creating machinery of the government. Rather, securing the value of the dollar creates a mechanism to measure and drive increases in productivity.
