Conspicuous Assumption →
[…] the Times swallows whole and passes along the myth that Americans got into this hole because of their discretionary, more or less frivolous, spending on non-essential consumer items. […] Americans’ debt trap was built by stagnating incomes and skyrocketing costs for housing, health care, and education—known to non-business reporters as “the essentials.”
Via friends.
Our parents’ generation could buy a great house for 2-3 times their annual salary.
Their parents’ generation could buy a great house for about one year’s salary.
Have you looked at housing prices recently?
Today, thanks to low or stagnant income growth, an average two-income family, after paying for housing, insurance, child care, and other essentials, has less disposable income than their single-income counterpart in the early 1970s. That’s incredible.