To think our quality of life can’t keep going up forever?

[Wildflowers99]

I saw a post on a thread which said if you have 3 children (for example) you NEED 4 bedrooms, because children sharing a room is unacceptable in terms of their quality of life. And another saying being able to eat things like peppers out of season is essentially a right, and therefore they should have a price cap.

It got me thinking because what we expect as a basic quality of life seems very very different to even 50 years ago. But the problem is with the advent of climate change, cost of living, ageing population and so on, is it realistic for expectations to keep going up? Have we now reached a point where our quality of life will have to plateau or even reverse a bit because the economy and world cannot support what we have come to expect?

Hope that makes sense, I’m a bit zombified after a 5am start with my toddler…

Washing bit one side and spin dryer on other

They were top loading and had two tubs, one for washing/rinsing and one for spinning. I now have an automatic top loader (which I can open while it's washing) and plan to always have top loaders - I'm not in the UK so not restricted to having my machine in the kitchen as many of you seen to be.

@NattyTurtle59

It did because we were a family of six at the time . That was a lot of washing to do plus sheets and towels etc .

But was only done once a week. Not a load in daily

If I'd had a tea set I'd have kept it in a kitchen cupboard. Do you mean a kitchen cupboard?

I haven't RTFT but my basic answer to OP's question is no, it can't. And it won't. It is already decreasing, as a whole.

As others have said, globalisation has made luxuries much cheaper than 50 years ago whilst a culture of hyper-capitalism and wealth extraction by the rentier class has made necessities much more expensive.

I really think that the five or 6 decades after WW2 were a halcyon exception to the general rule for most British people of drudgery and barely scraping by. If we don't elect governments willing to address massive wealth inequality it won't get any better.

No, I mean a cabinet and by that I mean a cupboard with a see through glass window door. The whole point is that the best tea set is on display and never or rarely actually used.

Monday was washday. Obviously, people didn't wash their clothes after one wear like some people do today.

Which is why shirts came with two or more detachable collars. Shirt may be a bit grubby, but a nice clean collar.

The cost of essentials of living should be socialised and the cost of bells and whistles privatised. Security and profits, what's not to like...

I'm a boomer and don't own a tea set at all, let alone one for display only!! Nor do I have a grandfather clock, or even wanted one, and I don't have a front room to entertain guests.

Some of you have very odd ideas.

Boomers were born between 1946 an 1964, so some of them will only be 60 now and the oldest will be 79.

Yes, if you rea the thread you'll see that I did acknowledge that those things were probably more common in the generation that came before the boomers. The point was that different generations spend their money on different things.

Just as well I never had a tea set as I didn't have a glass fronted cabinet to put it in. I'm deprived aren't I.

There was definitely drudgery and barely scraping by in the 1950s. I remember my childhood in black and white, I can't remember any colour. Sunday's were particularly grim with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

The world now is infinitely preferable to the version that I grew up with. All of time has it's own challenges (I would not fancy a tussle with a mammoth because I would lose). I know you won't believe me, but now is the nicest, kindest version of the world we have ever had.

I am 68.

Our quality of life is most certainly not going up in the UK. Absolutely not.

OK, my quality of life is not going up because I am going to get more from outside sources. I am 68, I have what I have earned, and nobody is going to dob in more money; there's no inheritance to come. BUT, related to the people who didn't earn or think enough to save some money for the future, because I did earn and save, suddenly politics thinks my taxation level should be revised to pay for the improvident. That gets my goat. I worked, I saved, and now you are going to spread what I saved in 45 years work, across a population that have yet to understand that they need to provide for their own future. It makes me spit with rage.

I think things will only get worse as more and more you get generations have expectations of a champagne lifestyle on lemonade earnings.

I know of people in very average jobs, who spend a huge amount on fun stuff, holidays, eating out and anything that costs money. Even school kids go for a coffee - that’s £3-5 a time, going out with school friends to laser/bowling/cinema etc is £10-20 each - we used to go to the park or each others houses.

Everything costs money and most people want it all - so credit cards and loans and side hustles become the solution - until they aren’t the answer!

all the influencer and celebrities lifestyles are such a bad influence that I despair for future generations!

"BUT, related to the people who didn't earn or think enough to save some money for the future, because I did earn and save, suddenly politics thinks my taxation level should be revised to pay for the improvident."

Perhaps another way to look at it is, if everyone saved hard and didn't spend much, the consumerist economy we seem stuck with would have fallen on its bum even sooner ;)?

It was your comment, quoted here, that I really object to: "The NHS is becoming unsustainable with the ageing population, are people entitled to expect care and medicine to simply prolong their lifestyle?"

These are people who have contributed all their lives towards this country's finances and life - through taxation and other financial contributions, and voluntary efforts, and are now out of active financial contribution from work. It doesnt matter what the current ratios are - that impacts current workers and dependents. Pensioners have done their bit and deserve to receive in peace and quiet what they signed up to. Shame we allowed so many active working workers to leave.

It doesn't matter what you think pensioners deserve. No one has an entitlement to free healthcare just because they are fortunate enough to have lived a long time. As @strappyshoe said, the current healthcare system and some other current systems are clearly unsustainable. The ratios absolutely matter.

After Trump, they will have even less, unless Trump's 90 day pause continues.

He doesn't want cheap goods flooding America, yet he cannot manufacture t he same on American wages.

It's what Chairman Mau did in the 1960/70s.