re: Is The Economy really bad?

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I didnt say you said all.

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That’s exactly what you said

Say what you mean and mean what you say

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Want and able to afford are very different things.

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I would say that many Boomers lived by " it's not what you make, it's what you spend". I think the vast majority of Gen Z and Millennials dont know what it's like to truly struggle and budget. Obviously home prices are outrageous, and the cost of living has went up significantly. But how many people who want to own a home are willing to truly struggle and budget hardcore to make that happen? Most arent willing to do that in my opinion. They would rather spend their money on other areas and then want to bitch and moan about not being able to afford a house as well.

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you actually think companies will lower their prices, when we keep spending. fricking morons amongst us

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I think a lot of people don't realize that the US has a 2% inflation target, which we've basically gotten close to these last few quarters.

I keep getting the sense that people want prices to go down which is deflation and not something we want. So all those prices that shot up from Bidenflation are here to stay. Thanks Joe!

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Olds just want young people to have to work harder and give up more in order to get the same returns they got. The goal of society shouldn’t be to decrease or make harder the same standard of living, that’s arse backwards

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Ok, but here's a microcosm. What kind of dorm did everyone stay in when they were in college? What was their expectation?

I shared a probably 150 sq ft room with another dude and there was one shared bathroom on our floor. Nowadays it seems most college students have to have their own bathroom (or one for their pod), own bedroom, and access to a kitchen. That costs a lot more but that's the expectation and there is a much higher cost associated with it. It's not them giving up more in order to get a similar quality of life, it's them paying more to have a better quality of life.

Other expenses we didn't have back then: cell phone plans, gym memberships, streaming packages, wifi, app subscriptions, and a shitload of other things that "kids" nowadays "have to have".

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This is true and not true. This is what this thread devolves into every single time. Olds just want young people to have to work harder and give up more in order to get the same returns they got. The goal of society shouldn’t be to decrease or make harder the same standard of living, that’s arse backwards

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I don’t think “working harder” is the issue with young adults, it more “spending stupid.” Many didn’t struggle growing up, work, make hard decisions, plan or experience “delayed satisfaction.” That has warped their minds into thinking, anything I want i get it now.

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I shared a probably 150 sq ft room with another dude and there was one shared bathroom on our floor. Nowadays it seems most college students have to have their own bathroom (or one for their pod), own bedroom, and access to a kitchen. That costs a lot more but that's the expectation and there is a much higher cost associated with it. It's not them giving up more in order to get a similar quality of life, it's them paying more to have a better quality of life.

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This is an idiotic example as current college students have exactly zero say on how the dorms they live in are built. And to boot the reason all this shite is done on college campuses is because the more those colleges spend the more guaranteed revenue they bring in via student loans

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Other expenses we didn't have back then: cell phone plans, gym memberships, streaming packages, wifi, app subscriptions, and a shitload of other things that "kids" nowadays "have to have".

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Some of these are certainly “luxuries” but a healthy society should be able to afford these basic luxuries. Cell phones and internet are basic necessities at this point, you can’t operate in society without them.

And boomers were paying $300 for tvs that still cost $300 40 years later

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you and your generation came up at a far more balanced time (in regards to wages earned vs. how much shite costs) than exists now.

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I think almost all of that difference is explained by the relative luxury that is considered the base. here are some differences that I see:

- We hardly ever ate out or ordered out. Now it’s done by poor young people regularly. That is hugely expensive.
- I’m not going to include smart phones because that is a necessary accouterment, but constantly upgrading them is a wasteful luxury that is indulged in by “struggling” young people.
- We did not go on bachelor parties, or “guy trips”, to Las Vegas, Miami and Florida beach towns.
- The houses we bought were actually starter houses. Young people today want to start out in houses that are as nice as their parents’ current homes. In fact, contractors hardly build what we used to call starter homes. Is that because there is no market for them?
- When we were young a college education was usually one with a job named after it (or it was something like business administration that had clear usefulness). People who majored in General Studies got made fun of. Now the degrees are often laughable.

I think that the young people, like my four kids (plus two more we took on as mentors), who avoid the pitfalls and excesses listed above have it just as easy as we did.

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I think almost all of that difference is explained by the relative luxury that is considered the base

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It’s not.

This isn’t an opinion.

There is ample data available to explain the difference, much of which has been posted in this thread.

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I think that the young people, like my four kids (plus two more we took on as mentors), who avoid the pitfalls and excesses listed above have it just as easy as we did.

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Again, good for you and yours. No one says it’s impossible, we are talking about an average.

If you think there’s no difference between the ease of accomplishing these things now and when you were coming up, then you’re just wrong. Theres really nothing else to talk about.

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A company I used to work for helped low income people find housing and it was amazing to me that they always had the latest phones/plans and ate out every meal and couldn't understand why they had no savings for a house.

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It's crazy how people living in those places also drive nicer cars than I do. It's such a weird concept to put some of the blame on personal fiscal responsibility rather than placing it on Boomers. The majority of the posters bitching in this thread probably want student loans forgiven too.