4 ms·

It is depressing that my generation is framing a forced downgrade in our quality of life as a trendy lifestyle choice. In both the U.S. and China the economy i

It is depressing that my generation is framing a forced downgrade in our quality of life as a trendy lifestyle choice. In both the U.S. and China the economy is growing, but a greater and greater percentage of those gains go to the owners of capital. Instead of demanding a higher percentage of the product of our labor, we're content to take what we're given and downgrade our expectations. I am a "highly paid" software engineer who works in San Francisco. Plugging in 30% of my take-home pay into Craigslist yields an anemic, depressing list of available properties. So instead of getting ripped off by some scumbag landlord, I built a tiny house in someone's back yard. If I could afford it, I would rent something nice, or even buy a house, but even with my 6-figure salary, it's not possible. And this is a scam. My generation, even those of us that are getting the best deal going under Capitalism, are getting ripped off. and it's time we started talking about it that way instead of pretending like we're "living with less" because of some moral or ethical or lifestyle imperative. And I should be clear -- I think Americans can stand to live with less, I think that co-housing is a legitimate option and I'd choose it if it were available to me. I also think that Americans should be seeing the benefit of increased worker productivity in their compensation, instead of 100% of that productivity increase flowing to the owners of capital.

guard-of-terra 11y ago
People are increasingly trying to crowd into a depressingly small and shrinking list of places. Mostly megapolises like London or hubs like SF, where they then forced to live far enough that commute takes hours and their job takes the rest. Money concentrate and people feel the need to concentrate as well. Frankly I don't want to live that way. And I'm on my way to not to.
- ghaff 11y ago
  Some may indeed not have a real choice for whatever reason but to live in a very high cost-of-living area. However, many do have choice but choose to live in core urban areas of a handful of mostly coastal cities. This is a somewhat new thing in SF and has certainly intensified in recent years. However, the new grad who lived in squalor in Manhattan because they couldn't imagine living in Queens or (heaven forbid) New Jersey goes back decades. And many, many people don't live in those most expensive cities. There probably is an increasing concentration in some industries. But there's often a choice nonetheless.
- marssaxman 11y ago
  Forced? Dude. People move to the big city because it's where the fun happens. Sure, it's expensive, but you get what you pay for and then some.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    Whether or not it's a good value is in the eye of the beholder. But it is a luxury item.

guard-of-terra 11y ago

People are increasingly trying to crowd into a depressingly small and shrinking list of places. Mostly megapolises like London or hubs like SF, where they then forced to live far enough that commute takes hours and their job takes the rest. Money concentrate and people feel the need to concentrate as well. Frankly I don't want to live that way. And I'm on my way to not to.

ghaff 11y ago
Some may indeed not have a real choice for whatever reason but to live in a very high cost-of-living area. However, many do have choice but choose to live in core urban areas of a handful of mostly coastal cities. This is a somewhat new thing in SF and has certainly intensified in recent years. However, the new grad who lived in squalor in Manhattan because they couldn't imagine living in Queens or (heaven forbid) New Jersey goes back decades. And many, many people don't live in those most expensive cities. There probably is an increasing concentration in some industries. But there's often a choice nonetheless.
marssaxman 11y ago
Forced? Dude. People move to the big city because it's where the fun happens. Sure, it's expensive, but you get what you pay for and then some.
- ghaff 11y ago
  Whether or not it's a good value is in the eye of the beholder. But it is a luxury item.