Some comparisons between today and the 1960s.

Money is not that good of a measure for quality of life. No amount of money, millions, billions, or even trillions of dollars could have purchased a smartphone, in the 1960s, as its capabilities did not exist. If those capabilities were to even partially exist, back then, it would be worth millions, yet today, it could cost well a few hundred dollars; much less than one month's rent for most US apartments.

Today, we struggle to produce enough value, in goods and services, to pay the cost of living. With warning signs flashing, from climate change and / or the federal debt, anxiety is through the roof. Add to this, worry about the trade deficit.

In early childhood, I saw a movie, at the Cordova Theater in Pullman, called "Babes in Toyland." They figured out how to get the machine running faster and faster making more and more toys till the machine blew up. The lights went dark, as they hid outside the factory. Peering through a window, they saw the dead toy machine in eerie silence.

I remember being scared of the dark for a long time after that.

More recently, I watched that movie again on YouTube. It seemed to have a hidden political message about society, consumption and moneymaking that went over my head as a child.

One of the joys of my childhood was the transistor radio. Today I think of it as the smartphone of the 1960s. It was far, far less capable than so many of the products, we have today, but the feeling of wealth, that it provided, seemed comparable to what people feel today, if not greater.

In earlier decades, our expectations seemed lower, yet mundane things; like a place to call home and ability to see the dentist, were a given; if one was middle class at least.

Today, we are more aware of neighbors around us, in USA, with struggles for survival. Some of that trauma was more swept under the carpet, back then at least.

One difference between a portable radio and the smartphone is a smartphone's dependency on the network. Without elaborate systems of the internet and cell towers, the smartphone loses just about all it's capability. On the other hand, the radio is more independent with it's own battery for power. It works without a phone network, or subscription to cellphone service.

Radios can still be a dream product for independent minded survivalists. They work off the grid, but they still rely on civilization to function. There needs to be radio stations for radios to pick up the signal and the programming. Without radio stations, the radio only gets static which might be useful on the AM band for warning if a thunderstorm is nearby. The crackle of distant lightning has a characteristic sound on AM radios.

Still, radio stations are important for radios to work. Aside from so many people's low opinions about the fabric of community that we share, our devices and riches are still pretty much dependent on community. Even the transistor radio, which could be king of the toolbox for survivalists, needs radio stations equipped with auxiliary generators to power the station in an emergency.

Wealth, measured in money, is dependent on what the market will price things at. Perception of well being is more than just GDP, as measured in money, and we really can't detach ourselves from community and the world.