4chan

This is my own personal conjecture so take it as you will:

Profits, incomes, and disposable incomes across the board are lower for those not in or above the multi millionaire class. People, businesses, and just general society spent more money on aesthetics 30 years ago. People had more time, money, and energy to utilize designers, artists, and talent. Nowadays it just feels like everything from architecture, to cars, to public infrastructure is just barebones utilitarian. Like, when was the last time you saw a new marble statue go up? When was the last time you saw a new building made in the same style as the city halls/state houses of 100 years ago? When was the last time you saw public art that was intricate and had form over function? When was the last time you saw huge sweeping infrastructure upgrades like third spaces, burying power lines, pedestrian paths, or underground tunnels?

In 150 years, people will look back at this time period and say we were all miserable and poor and couldn’t afford anything outside of necessitation.