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We recently sent out an email asking a simple question. Do you think life in America is better today than it was 50 years ago?

The response was rather extraordinary. As of today we have received almost 10,000 written responses – almost all of them very thoughtful. 78% of respondents said things have gotten worse while 22% said things are better.

It is clear that this issue is very much on the minds of progressives and, I suspect, most Americans. As a nation are we going forwards or backwards? What are the pluses and minuses of modern society? Is life better today than it was 50 years ago?

Here is a cross-section of some of the responses we received. I hope you’ll read them and get a sense as to what people around the country are thinking.

Some people said things were getting worse:

Fires, floods, violent storms, droughts, a pandemic that killed more than a million Americans, right-wing Republicans trying (and often succeeding) to destroy Democracy. I worry about the future of this planet and the human race.
- Judith from California

Housing costs are obscenely worse, car costs are worse and still polluting, food costs are higher, purchasing power is lower, healthcare is more. Making considerably more than parents did in 1990, but inflation makes it worth much less than theirs and that doesn’t even count housing insanity.
- Lee from Oregon

The cost of living has risen far more than wages for the working class. Corporations have consolidated many parts of the market and due to their near monopoly of market sectors have used "inflation" as an excuse to raise prices far beyond their cost increases to improve their overall profits to record highs
- Michael from Florida

My parents could afford to raise a family of 9 and were able to purchase a house with only one income.
- Kathryn from Alabama

Americans find themselves needing more and more money to pay for almost everything and average wages have not risen along with the cost of living. Here in NC the minimum wage is still $7.25 per hr. That's a joke.
- Bobby from North Carolina

Most people no longer have pensions. The cost of housing has skyrocketed and is a tremendous burden for most. Student loan and medical debt is out of control.
- John from New York

I believed that I could retire at 55 and have an adventure sailing a small boat around the world. It worked. I do not see any of my grandchildren even able to think such dreams. They, like many of my friends now, will be working into their 80’s.
- Julius from New Hampshire

The rich are getting richer and the middle class is shrinking. A democratic authoritarianism looms while far-right groups and individuals have untold weapons and use them. The planet is burning. We really appear to be at a precipice and I fear what comes next.
- Julie from New York

I am 55. When I was a kid, my parents had basic jobs — a secretary at the County, and bread delivery man. We owned our house and fixed up another as a rental. We added a game room to our house. We had medical insurance. We could afford vacations every so often. Once we even went by train. We didn't worry about getting shot at school. We were middle class. It was pretty great.
- Dana from Oregon

The cost of housing, food, healthcare, education, and just about everything else needed for survival takes a larger proportion of income than ever before. It doesn’t matter if electronic devices cost less than they did a few years ago or we have more powerful computers in our cell phones than the Apollo astronauts had. People need water, food, shelter, clothing and healthcare to survive—and it’s the rapid increase in the price of necessities that makes life worse now than it was in the 70s.
- Kathryn from North Carolina

Others said things were getting better:

I say better because it's not worse but just different. We have cell phones and computers, solar panels and EVs but also we have more homeless people, fewer possibilities to buy a house and crushing debt. We need to adapt to the changes coming very fast due to climate crises and AI. We need more and better education to maintain and strengthen our democracy. Power and money has concentrated into fewer and fewer hands — this especially must change.
- Victoria from Maine

Despite the media trying to convince us all that it’s the end of the world, life is longer, healthier and more comfortable. Food is better. Art and entertainment is easier access. More is understood and accepted about autism and addiction. Medicine has advanced. We take two steps forward and one step backward but progress marches on.
- Michael from Ohio

I believe that the Biden administration's efforts to improve and protect the social support systems for the poor and middle class is/will continue to make life better. This will only work if corporations and the rich pay their fair share, and their abusive greed and control/power over the majority of us is stopped.
- Linda from Maryland

We have cures for many illnesses, society as a whole are more accepting towards queer people, and the country is less racist than it was 50 years ago. We still have a lot of problems but I think things got better for many minorities.
- C from California

For women, light years better. Also, Better health care, higher standard of living, technology advances, better rights for women and minorities, better mobility, better able to accumulate wealth, and so much more
- Lori in Michigan

And some of the responses we received acknowledged that we've moved forward in some ways but backwards in other ways:

I don’t think it’s fair to say things are plainly better or worse. So much is better than it was 50 years ago— modern medicine, accessible knowledge and connection through the internet worldwide, safety regulations for things like cars and buildings, more variety and open-mindedness in culture and food, etc etc. But the middle class is disappearing, home prices have skyrocketed, and I’m living paycheck to paycheck with serious medical problems and no idea how I’ll ever own a home or save money to retire. Wage growth did not keep up with inflation and rising prices, medical care is too expensive, and the billionaire class should not exist.
- Siobhan from California

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, the opportunities I have for a fulfilling life on my own terms are exponentially better today than they would have been in 1973. However, I don't feel that I am as financially secure for the long term as my parents' generation, and I have deep concerns about human rights pretty much everywhere on Earth, as well as our climate in a context where greed and unquestioned technology keep expanding.
- River from Minnesota

It's both. The corruption in politics and really all around us is frightening. 50 years ago, housing was affordable. These days we have to help our son with rent. No American dream anymore, just struggling to survive. We are better off with technology and things are much more efficient but at what cost?? so I say both are true. You are the only politician I trust!!!
- Cyndi from California

Thanks to my union, I have a pension, a retirement plan and a traditional Medicare plan. I have a rent-controlled apartment. Younger workers are not receiving as good benefits as me, so they are definitely worse off.
- Brad in New York

50 years ago I was 19 and struggling but I got a union job with USPS at 25 and was able to make something with my life and retire with a decent retirement. I feel that it is A LOT harder for young people today starting off with the cost of living so high.
- Jeanne from Oregon

Thank you for reading. This is an important discussion that I look forward to continuing.

Bernie

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