[quote]
(03-12-2015 11:55 AM)speakeasy Wrote:
[quote='RioNomad' pid='977899' dateline='1426167286']
I'm 30 and only a couple of my friends from HS are married. Many have kids and long term girlfriends, but don't seem to be in a hurry to get married.
I'd say most guys from HS don't have particularly well paying jobs, even the college educated ones. Most don't own homes and mostly seem to living paycheck to paycheck.
Now, most of us come from lower-middle class families whose parents struggled their whole lives also. So there isn't much family money or connections. The ones I see doing best career wise seem to be firefighters. They make decent cash, but throw in a wife, baby and mortgage and they are basically living paycheck to paycheck also I think.
From what I see, it seems more difficult for people now to get a job that pays enough to live that American dream that leads to marriage, having kids, buying homes, etc.
My grandpa is 76. He got out of the army, went to work for PG&E for 30 years, got married, raised a family, bought a home, and got a very good retirement. Maybe it's just the area I'm from, but I don't really see that happening much anymore.
Combine all of that with divorce and custody laws and I think men my age just don't want to get married. I also think they see how miserable their parents are and don't want to repeat the same mistakes.[/quote]
[quote]
Quote:
My whole theory behind this is that laissez-faire capitalism and rising inequality is destroying our social fabric. [/quote]
Sorry, I gotta ask this and I don't mean to derail the thread: what alternate reality version of America are you living in that actually has laissez-faire capitalism? The right and the left in this country are running a gigantic con. Corporatism is what we have here and they like to blame socialism or capitalism for its (and their) failures. It's complete nonsense.