[I_DRINK_KOOLAID]

> I'm telling you so, as a fact, not an opinion.

Facts are that if you look at places that are experiencing growth at 9% or 10% YoY in real terms, meaning after adjusting for inflation, they are all places which are pretty socially volatile and have a very fast turnover of humans.

Nigeria, Ethiopia, Namibia, Vietnam, Philippines, Honduras...

In the US , the hotspots for unpredictability , high social volatility and fast turnover due to dropouts and new arrivals were colleges.

Those kept propelling US growth after such phenomenons had long subdued in the American society at large.

Colleges just aren't as vibrant anymore, so as the last bastion of vibrant culture fell, so did US growth.

And besides, you don't have to be watching FNC to see how the US transitioned from being a country of go-getters to being afraid of losing all the health and wealth accumulated up to now due to the efforts of the aforementioned go-getters.

[fallingfrog]

I wish you would try listening for a change. You might learn something. Countries like Ethiopia are catching up from being way behind using imported technology, of course they're growing fast. Their population also has recently exploded, which accounts for much of the growth. How do you not see this?

"how the US transitioned from being a country of go-getters to being afraid of losing.."

This is just pure contempt and ignorance. It's all about your feelings of superiority and your psychological need to justify those feelings. How do you lack this self awareness? You're flat out wrong about young people and their willingness to take risks. I wish you would get your head out of your ass and turn off the TV and go outside.

[I_DRINK_KOOLAID]

> Countries like Ethiopia are catching up from being way behind using imported technology

And who do you think is doing all the importing? A young guy in his 20s , who is working 14 hours per day for his family import-export company and helping his dad cooking the books to convince the bank to loan them money to get access to such foreign technology.

That is to me both a survivor and a risk taker, not an American kid getting out of college today.

> You're flat out wrong about young people and their willingness to take risks

Taking risks entails being open to novel experiences and also believing you are invincible and the world is yours for the taking . So let me ask you:

Do you smoke? Do you drink? Do you gamble? How many drugs have you tried? Did you violate lockdowns to go partying? When was the last time you stole another man's girlfriend? When was the last time you had sex with another man's girlfriend? When was the last time you managed to outcompete other men in a club and brought a girl home leaving them with nothing?

I am asking because I did all that (well except escaping lockdowns), back when colleges were still vibrant.

Risk taking is correlated with all the above. It takes arrogance to start or takeover a company, you have to fight and push the barriers, you don't get to have selective arrogance which only applies to one realm of life.