+ Significantly more income inequality than 20+ years ago
The opposite is occurring in countries that prioritized manufacturing jobs and skilled trades. The liberal arts, service led economy turned out to be a lie - as some of us knew all along.
+ Stagnated wages relative to inflation for much more than 20+ years
Inflation can be supply side, demand side, or both. US monetary policy, trade policy and foreign aid lifted about 2 billion people out of poverty in places like China, India and elsewhere. That is 2 billion new consumers of the same day-to-day living essentials you want -- at the very same time US supply side capacity was reduced by offshoring and new regs. We made the bed we are now sleeping in.
+ Economic mobility is significantly worse
For those without skills in demand this is true. Unskilled and wrong-skilled labor is largely worthless in the US, but pays a subsistence wage in some other countries - in exchange for horrid working conditions.
+ The education system is in worse shape than 20+ years ago + Higher education is more costly, and no longer improves prospects of gainful employment nor additional earning potential
I don't see the problem. I have kids in school and they are learning about gender equality, racism, white privilege and social justice. This is what the teachers want to teach, what the school boards support & what the media talks about most days. Isn't this an improvement from the barbaric reading, writing & arithmetic days of old?
+ Health insurance costs that significantly outpace inflation
Hold on there. My 83 year old father only expended hundreds of thousands of medicare dollars on chemo and supportive care for an extra three months of life - for which my family is very grateful. We cannot deprive the elderly of extra time, no matter how miserable it may be, just to make healthcare more affordable for kids and people in the prime of their life. That would be agism!
+ Kids today will be living under a surveillance state from day 1
But fortunately the surveillance will be from the CCP via TikTok, and from corporations via Instagram, SnapChat, etc. We don't need to worry about USGOV surveillance because its only weaponized against prominent political opponents, and not against the average citizen.
In sum... the status quo is what most people claimed they wanted without any serious consideration of the follow on effects. You get not only the government you deserve in a democracy, but also the economy and social structure you deserve.