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re: Is one major cause of wealth disparity a poor rate of return on social security?
Posted on 5/29/14 at 10:10 am to Taxing Authority
Posted on 5/29/14 at 10:10 am to Taxing Authority
quote:
I'm old enough to remember the mid 70s. I see the argument that we aren't generally much wealthier as unsupportable.
The mid 70's sucked. I was living but not old enough to understand.
That being said, would you be in agreement that the base expenses that one needs to have have skyrocketed to the point where we are unable to save the same % of income that we used to do?
I mean yes, calculators costed more, computers were for the wealthy, and the car example you mentioned.
I can't remember what it was, but I threw together an excel spreadsheet showing the average college graduate earnings in the 80's, 90's, 00's, and today and the payment on a mortgage, student loan, and car payment.
The net/net was we're basically at the same level we were at in the 80's. The 80's were way better than the 70's though.
2
Posted on 5/29/14 at 11:36 am to ironsides
dp
This post was edited on 5/29/14 at 11:56 am
Posted on 5/29/14 at 11:52 am to ironsides
quote:I'm not sure how one would answer that. Disposable income is largely a function of lifestyle choices. Hard to measure that across groups.
That being said, would you be in agreement that the base expenses that one needs to have have skyrocketed to the point where we are unable to save the same % of income that we used to do?
One of the things that seem constant is that no matter how much one makes--you can find a way to spend it. There have been huge shifts in spending habits since the 1970s.
Take spending on homes. Let's look at the average home size..
While simultaneously, household size has decreased
decreased...
quote:Interestingly... I looked for data on student loan amounts going back to 1970. Can't find any. It essentially didn't exist before the 1990s in any significant amount. Given the reduction in discretionary income as a result of student loan payments-- it seem reasonable that debt service influences the common perception that we are poorer today, when the opposite is true.
today and the payment on a mortgage, student loan, and car payment.
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