4 ms·
Education, housing, and healthcare are inelastic. So the price will always increase to a level where people can barely afford them.
by xyzzy4 11y ago
Education, housing, and healthcare are inelastic. So the price will always increase to a level where people can barely afford them.
- dragandj 11y agoAt the time of the article (1932) many families in London lived in slums, several people in one room, and worked from morning to the evening for really poor wages. Today, they live in an apartment/house where everyone has a separate space, and work at jobs that compared to the people from 100 years ago would look as high class idling. So, I'd say that people will always spend huge sums to get the housing and services that are within their reach. They just get better housing for the comparable portion of their earnings.
- venomsnake 11y ago> At the time of the article (1932) many families in London lived in slums, several people in one room, and worked from morning to the evening for really poor wages. Having a lot of friends from Eastern Europe in London right now doing menial jobs - it is not much different for them. Due to reasons - housing is really squeezing people right now in a lot of places in the world.
- dragandj 11y agoI'm from Eastern Europe, and know many, many people from Eastern Europe, and, while they are poorer than the English of today, it can not even compare to the English from 100 years ago. Our perception of the older times is based on books, paintings, etc, and those, in most cases, show idealized rosy picture, often of the people from the highest class. Even when they show lower classes, it is much prettied. Our perception of today is, however, based on the harsh reality...
- venomsnake 11y agoI am from EE too. And I know the stories of people that are working in agriculture jobs or service economy. 3 people living in 20 sq meters with communal kitchen and bathroom is slums.
- dragandj 11y agoI know the stories of people living homeless, or in sewers etc. The point is that now it is not common at all, while 100 years ago it was rather common.
- Mikeb85 11y ago> 3 people living in 20 sq meters with communal kitchen and bathroom is slums. Or just roomates in many large cities...
- crdoconnor 11y ago"Always" meaning "just the last 30 years" presumably?
- xyzzy4 11y agoIt takes time for the prices to increase because it's not a liquid market. If wages or inflation are increasing faster then it creates a buffer time for these inelastic goods to catch up. There's also other factors, like institutions not maximizing profit, that slow down price increases. Also in the past there were less regulations, so it was easier for new homes to be built, for example.