Like 50% of why developed democracies are Like This Now was the muted response to the 2008 GFC and 30% is bad zoning policy lol.

If you turn large swaths of the economy into zero sum games, turns out people start adopting a zero sum attitude that informs skepticism of democracy, strong opposition to immigration, and a general preference towards isolationism

It doesn't help that most (all?) of the economic growth from the 2008 and COVID stimulus packages went to the already-very-wealthy. The net-worth growth of the upper percentiles from 2000, 2008 and 2020 is obscene.

The banks were never brought to account, Obama hired Geithner so there was no movement in a correcting direction. Then the racism kicked in and the repugs were determined to make O a one termer.

South Korea didn't do any of this nonsense and kept growing through this era.

I mean its not even a good descriptions of most of Europe. OECD is too diverse for any discription. Also misses how much current dysfunction predates 2008. And the UK is sui generis among OECD countries.

Also I mean Korea is also hitting its "overclocked on growth model" hitting diminishing returns, consumption-suppression leading to low TFR, massive uptick in private sector debt to try to maintain demand etc.

Not just for the UK. The entire EU had a great opportunity to invest in infrastructure and renewables and... just didn't take it. 2008 until 2024 was a period of financial hardship and opportunity that's been completely wasted.

Tbf, the difference is that the EU got off austerity faster With the exception of Greece, most PIIGS nations had ended austerity by 2019 While the UK is continuing with it, and likely won't stop until 2029 at the earliest, a decade AFTER most of the EU, and TWO DECADES after the GFC

Be honest here, the Germans and later the Dutch wouldn't have allowed this. They're only relenting because outside parties are threatening war on their turf and there are still food fights over fiscal shares.

we were very much screaming this at the time!

The fact that US cities started any serious upzoning *after* zirp ended is such an enormous blunder. Reform California housing policies in 2012 and you'd have a few million more Californians and much cheaper rents today

Many such emotions inside of me MANY MANY such emotions

thanks NIMBYs!

A lot of that pressure went to the sunbelt instead, although honestly noone besides CA was thinking that kind of thing back during the extended fallout of the GFC

I may not have ever emigrated, or at least would have kept the condo I’d have owned by the pandemic.

Honestly not even retrospective, people NOW are saying the 2010s were our "lost decade" and that we might be in a section of "Lost Decades" like the Japanese were from the 1990s until basically COVID

It absolutely is one in Europe and we only dodged it being one by the skin of our teeth on these shores because growth picked up a bit during the latter half of the decade. IMF + Obama admin vs the Germans during the Greek showdown encapsulates much of the economic debate of that decade.

It was clear at the time they were going to be a lost decade.

especially with the brexit gutshot

not retrospective, this has been widely agreed upon lol