Whenever government leaders or the press says we must get used to the new normal, it always means they are imposing a degraded quality of life on the majority population. The 1960's saw the peak of public funding and quality of life for middle class Americans. Schools, libraries, hospitals, and public universities were well funded by the government. There was significant investment in public infrastructure. Since then, there has been a gradual withdrawal of government funding which consequently brought a reduction in quality of services and life for most Americans.
Each incremental step in reduction of government-paid services brought with it a new normal, which was a more expensive, diminished quality of public life.
Until the 1980's most public schools had adequate funding for full-time school librarians, music, art, theatre, extracurricular and athletics programs. They were considered a basic part of public school education. Sometime in that decade, funding was cut and thousands of schools around the country lost these programs. Not having them became the new normal.
Public universities used to charge small tuitions and in some cases were free. The new normal is about $32,000 per year with on-campus housing. Communities across the country used to have government-funded public hospitals. Mail was delivered twice a day. Cities had free recreation centers.
We didn't used to be treated like criminals at the airport. Airline fares included meals and free baggage check. Cities had user-friendly low cost public transit systems. Children could safely play outside with minimum adult supervision. Towns and cities had thriving, bustling commercial high streets with infrastructure that supported small mom and pop businesses. Millions lived in pedestrian-friendly communities that fostered human connection and networking.
Owning a single family home was a realistic dream for working class families. Salaries were sufficient to permit families to live comfortably with one parent working and the other at home raising the children. Employment came with job security and pensions. The percentage of unionized jobs has fallen from 32% in the early 1960's to 10% in 2023. By the end of World War II, the tax rate for the richest Americans was 94%. By 1965 it was 70% and today it is 37%.
In the post COVID new normal, consumer prices are higher and there are more shortages of goods. There are more restrictions on our ability to travel and assemble in public. There are more mandated vaccines and testing. Our lives have been forced to become more dependent on the internet and expensive computer/smartphone hardware.
