3 ms·

I'm thinking of the middle class of my own parents' generation. They did not have to worry too much about choosing between restaurant food and schooling. There

I'm thinking of the middle class of my own parents' generation. They did not have to worry too much about choosing between restaurant food and schooling. There are always going to be luxuries that you can't afford to indulge in regularly. That's what a luxury is! Colleges and restaurants didn't used to be luxuries. I didn't fully appreciate that they now are, so this article is eye-opening for me in that respect. (I'm from the UK where the college setup is different from the US, but it's moving in the same direction, a decade or two behind the curve.)

harryh 11y ago
I don't know about the UK, but 30 years ago in the US 20% of the population graduated from a 4 year college. Now it's 30%. Access to higher education is becoming easier not harder. Similarly, more people are eating out in restaurants more of the time.[1] I think you have a rosy view of the past that isn't supported by evidence. 1. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/americans-spending-on-dining-out-just-overtook-grocery-sales-for-the-first-time-ever http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/americans-...
- iainmerrick 11y ago
  I have a rosy view of the present, maybe! The big question is how well the middle class is doing today. They did pretty well in the past and the expectation was that things would continue getting better. (Edit to clarify:) I figured that things are actually still pretty good for many people, but this article's claimed "47% of people can't easily find $400 in an emergency" seems to fly in the face of that.
true_religion 11y ago
I'm not sure about college since its different in every locale, but as for resturants I think its more that the menu and clientelle changes which pushes up the price. In my neighborhood, some restaurants are $20 a meal. These places have been in business for over 15 years, and serve decent quality food but only staple ingredients with spices. The newer resturants that have openned serve fresh imports from another hemisphere away, and start at $50 a plate. So there's a choice at least here---you can get $10 sushi with tilapia, or you can go get $35 sushi with blowtorch cooked kobi beef. As I've gotten older, I trend more towards the Kobi beef place myself... and I think that's how it is with most of the middle class. Cheaper choices do exist, but we consider them 'below our standards for a night out' especially considering that age+experience leads to better home cooking.

harryh 11y ago

I don't know about the UK, but 30 years ago in the US 20% of the population graduated from a 4 year college. Now it's 30%. Access to higher education is becoming easier not harder. Similarly, more people are eating out in restaurants more of the time.[1] I think you have a rosy view of the past that isn't supported by evidence. 1. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/americans-spending-on-dining-out-just-overtook-grocery-sales-for-the-first-time-ever http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/americans-...

iainmerrick 11y ago
I have a rosy view of the present, maybe! The big question is how well the middle class is doing today. They did pretty well in the past and the expectation was that things would continue getting better. (Edit to clarify:) I figured that things are actually still pretty good for many people, but this article's claimed "47% of people can't easily find $400 in an emergency" seems to fly in the face of that.

true_religion 11y ago

I'm not sure about college since its different in every locale, but as for resturants I think its more that the menu and clientelle changes which pushes up the price. In my neighborhood, some restaurants are $20 a meal. These places have been in business for over 15 years, and serve decent quality food but only staple ingredients with spices. The newer resturants that have openned serve fresh imports from another hemisphere away, and start at $50 a plate. So there's a choice at least here---you can get $10 sushi with tilapia, or you can go get $35 sushi with blowtorch cooked kobi beef. As I've gotten older, I trend more towards the Kobi beef place myself... and I think that's how it is with most of the middle class. Cheaper choices do exist, but we consider them 'below our standards for a night out' especially considering that age+experience leads to better home cooking.