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There was some statistical kerfuffle, I believe last summer(?), between publications in the FT and WSJ, claiming completely opposite results: young people are POORER than previous generations vs young people are RICHER than previous generations.
It all basically came down to uses of different price indices, highlighting how specific version of deflators like CPI matters not just on the margin for assessing what is and isn't happening in our (monetary) economies.
Here's John Stossel for Reason ridiculing all these silly online trolls who got it into their thick heads that young people are doing poorly:
One popular meme says when baby boomers like me were young, "A family could own a home, a car, and send their kids to college, all on one income." "That's a fantasy," says economist Norbert Michel. "We are much better off than we were."
On social media, many young people say things like, "Most people don't live in houses because it's too expensive." Yes, homes cost more now, but census data show more Americans own their homes now than when I was a kid. And today's homes are much bigger and twice as likely to have central air, dishwashers, garbage disposals, etc.
which, of course is why we get graphs like these...

OOOPS, Messrs Stossel and Michel

No idea what figures they're looking at to reach these conclusions, honestly.
The following, though, I actually believe is correct:
Today, Americans actually spend a smaller percentage of our money on food, clothing, and housing than we used to, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data. Few people flew places for vacation. They didn't have the money, and flying cost much more. Adjusted for inflation, a cross-country flight cost $1,000. Now it's about $300. "People did not just go on vacation," says Michel, "did not fly all across the country."

"Gen Z, overall, is doing better than young people once did. A typical 25-year-old Gen Zer has annual household income that's 50 percent above Baby Boomers'."

Again, double-check the numbers (and price index deflators) on such claims.
Finally, yes, it's true—a family could own a car. But it wasn't anything like today's cars. It wasn't as safe or comfortable, and it broke down sooner. Today's cars last more than twice as long as cars did then.
OK fine, but SHOW ME the shitty cars I can buy? Oh, they're illegal bc regulations, and too gas-guzzling for California? Hm, ok, so technically they're cheaper but practically they're not...?
that's cool, but again, those houses and cars aren't really available, are they?
I'm with the internet trolls and doomers on this one.
44 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 2h
An unscientific gauge, but when we were young (ages 15-35) our social lives revolved around drinking in bars every damn weekend. I'm not recommending that lifestyle, but just about everyone could afford it.
No young people can afford to do that anymore. Hell, after a lifetime of working, I can't afford to do that now.
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SHOW ME the shitty cars I can buy?
I think that's the heart of the matter and why there's truth to what both camps are saying.
We are productive enough to afford to live like people did in the 50's, but it's f'ing illegal to do so.
The nice thing about this situation is that they could hypothetically just decriminalize that lifestyle.
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192 sats \ 2 replies \ @Scoresby 12h
While I am very sympathetic to the houses and cars are nicer and bigger than before and we made it illegal to build 'em shitty like we used to viewpoint...
I have torn apart a few old houses in my day and am currently living in a 2000s era house which I am tearing apart -- and there's no contest: the old houses were better built, with nicer materials, and many of their elements were 50 to 100 years old. The house I am currently in will be lucky to still stand at age 50 and I'm confident that none of the fixtures will survive that long.
I do believe we've regulated ourselves into expensive lifestyles. But real actual inflation pumping assets deserves a healthy dose of blame here.
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I totally agree with that. It's a very complex picture, isn't it?
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49 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scoresby 11h
Yeah. Maybe that's why people put up with inflation so long. All the moving parts and you only occasionally get clear glimpses of the thing.
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Fucking illegal, LOL!
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Exactly.
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12 sats \ 0 replies \ @fourrules 5h
Let's just forget about the unfunded liabilities and demographic decline I suppose...
Boomers haven't paid for their elderly care, it's being paid for with debt and taxes. But the capacity to borrow and to tax is decreasing, so at some point the rug will be pulled, but it's ok because Boomers might be dead by then.
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Bah, by all the metrics that are supposed to make for a good life: having relationships, getting married, having children, owning your own property, young people seem to be doing much worse than previous generations at the same age. It doesn't matter how much technology is in their pocket, or how much doordash they can order.
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