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The chart is ultra-deceptive because it isolates one variable and ignores all the other attendant charts which indicate massive generational loss of wealth. If
by cryoshon 11y ago
The chart is ultra-deceptive because it isolates one variable and ignores all the other attendant charts which indicate massive generational loss of wealth. If real income per hour has actually increased, the marginal lifestyle gain from that increase is beyond a doubt, zero.
Millenials own far fewer cars and homes than their parents ever did, in addition to having less (typically negative, due to debt) net worth. To reiterate, if millenials were to liquidate all of their assets (of which they have none anyway), they would still be in the hole for huge sums. I am fairly certain that my parents never had negative net worth; I know for a fact that they also had much more substantial savings and spending ability in their 20s despite coming from humble backgrounds and working menial jobs.
This isn't about keeping up with the Joneses, it's about reaching zero rather than being in the negative.
EDIT: And, as the other replier so far mentioned, millenials consume very little healthcare while being forced by law to spend vast sums to merely have the ability to spend more money (via high deductible plans) to get shitty quality care. For a time in the previous generation's course, it was normal to have mental health care as part of the standard of care, which has slipped away from us-- now, mental healthcare is barely consumed, and is ludicrously expensive when it is covered under the paltry plans at all.
- yummyfajitas 11y agoNope - cars per capita went up. http://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fXbqZxk67WU/TFjoyj0Mc9I/AAAAAAAAAEs/sym41J8tSe0/s1600/VehiclesPerCapitaUS.gif&imgrefurl=http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t%3D723466&h=340&w=475&tbnid=G0LI_OoRfaNFDM:&docid=ZHgtFnDg0NroVM&ei=jYtUVu7eEoa0aY2LjegF&tbm=isch&client=ms-android-google&ved=0ahUKEwiu2ZPzuKnJAhUGWhoKHY1FA10QMwgjKAQwBA http://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/... Homeownership has been 64% or higher since 1970. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Historic_U.S._Homeownership_Rate,_as_of_2014.svg/2000px-Historic_U.S._Homeownership_Rate,_as_of_2014.svg.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Hi... Houses have just become larger since then. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6843606169_618efc8942_d.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6843606169_618efc8942_d.j... You are just plain wrong on all counts.
- RamshackleJ 11y agoAll those statistics include the generations before the millennials. Perhaps It is our parents who are still buying more cars and bigger homes? your graphs are just plain useless on all counts
- cryoshon 11y agoThe first chart doesn't even go to the point where the generation in question came of age... it ends at 2005, before most millenials were even legal to drive. Look at 1979 in the second chart... the trendline for the present is dropping beneath it. The size of house isn't relevant. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/02/18/student-debt-is-terrible-in-charts/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/02/18/stude... http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/021914/money-habits-millennials.asp http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/021914... "Over 25% of them had late payments or are dealing with bill collectors, and well over half are still receiving some form of financial aid from their parents. One of the most disturbing findings of this study reveals that seven out of 10 young people define financial stability as being able to pay all of their bills each month." http://www.millennialmarketing.com/2010/11/whats-not-on-millennials-shopping-list-a-car/ http://www.millennialmarketing.com/2010/11/whats-not-on-mill... http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/30/homeownership-for-millennials-declines-to-historic-lows http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/30/homeownership... http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/chart-of-the-day-home-ownership-rate-still-falling/237976/ http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/chart-of... http://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-home-ownership-survey-2015-6?op=1 http://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-home-ownership-sur... http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/real-estate/2015/07/millennials-struggle-with-home-ownership-rates-but.html http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/real-estate/2015... ...