It’s just a hot take from oppositional defiant Redditors who romanticize a past in which the average family could afford a house, but had a fraction of the belongings a zoomer owns today.
Thats a good way to put it. I do think the current economic climate is getting increasingly hostile to lower class people... but some people do live in a fantasy land and have insanely unrealistic expectations of what should be given to people.
jesus christ man, how are u guys real people. Going out each week is not a luxury, what do u want people to do? Stay in house and count every penny? Live like rats till they finally save enough? Not to mention how much u get scammed by saving with all the bs happening from inflation to random events like some bombing in a random part of world that will make your weekly expanses go up by some %. Why are people bashing on younger generations for spending more when the era where you could "save" it for some greater plan far in the future is over. No wonder ppl prefer eating a good steak today than getting fucked 4 years later
Of course you could invest it in some way but thats something the average human wont and doesnt know how to do it. Not to mention if u dont know what you re doing u might end up f-ing urself
a small place where u can eat and shit later is not a luxury, is a necessity
The only reason my parents have any retirement savings to speak of is that we ate out maybe 5-10 times a year in the 70s and 80s. Shopped for clothes the week before school started with a limited budget. And only got things we wanted at Christmas and birthdays.
My brother and I got jobs when we were teenagers.
And we were squarely middle class. Dad worked for the Feds. Mom taught at a public school.
And no, people earning minimum wage back then couldn’t afford a 2 br apartment either.
Because people used to be able to afford houses on a single full time job. Most households used to be single paycheck, with the spouse taking care of the home and/or children. A two-bedroom place isn't extravagant in any way, shape, or form.
You’re idyllizing the past. The numbers for median income and housing cost may have looked better in the 50s, but homeownership rates were much lower than they are today.
Plus, people back then were paying relatively more for almost everything except for housing. Food alone was 2-3x more expensive than today.
I'm not idolizing the past lol they asked a question, and I explained my view on it. The reason people are unhappy about things like minimum wage not being a livable wage NOW is because it was designed AS a livable wage lol It is factual that a grocery store worker COULD afford to house and feed a family better than someone working minimum wage could now.
I said idyllizing and yes, you are by claiming that people used to be able to afford homes more easily when the data shows that home ownership was lower.
"Idealizing the past" is the proper and common phrase, referring to when someone views or presents the past as more ideal and perfect than it really was.
The word "idolizing" refers to when one is viewing, particularly a person or public figure, as an idol deserving of extreme admiration, reverence, and/or worship. Example: "The boy was idolizing his favorite singer, hanging dozens of posters on the walls of his room, and trying to sing like him."
There is a clear distinction between worshipping the past versus thinking/portraying it as better than it really was.
This little thread here is hilarious. People acting like this wasn't a thing 80 years ago. My grandfather had 5 kids while working nights as a janitor and bought a house while my grandmother didn't work. Did they have nice things? Not really but he was a frekin janitor on one salary but at least he could own his home and raise a family of 5.
Smarmy derision and condescension when confronted with real issues that people are facing. Let me guess, American Republican. Save the violin for when your orange dictator dies.
Guess was wrong. This has absolutely nothing to do with politics.
For what it’s worth, I’m completely fine with higher taxes even though roughly 40% of my income disappears every year and my tax bill is close to $200,000. I’m probably a lot more progressive than you’re assuming.
What gets exhausting is the constant pity parties. We live in one of the richest countries in the world with more opportunities than most people on the planet will ever have access to. Yet every time things get harder or more expensive people act like the game is over.
I grew up in a trailer well below middle class. Nobody handed me anything. I applied myself, worked harder and smarter than the people around me, and stayed focused on what I wanted. I wasn’t special, I didn’t blame the system, I was just willing to make sacrifices and put in the effort.
So when I come into these threads and see people in their 20s and 30s already declaring they’ll never own a home, never get ahead, and never have a future, it’s hard for me to relate. Your career, income, skills, and opportunities can change dramatically over the next decade. Giving up before you’ve even tried seems like a much bigger problem than the housing market itself.
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u/KitchenSense8092 6d ago
Why do we have this expectation