Dwelling expenses have increased in large part because more people want to live in the same places, like I mentioned in my previous comment. In the last 50 year

Dwelling expenses have increased in large part because more people want to live in the same places, like I mentioned in my previous comment. In the last 50 years we've gained another 130 million people and a larger percentage of the population wants to live in urban centers than ever before. You want to live in an apartment on the Upper East Side in the 60's? $90: http://www.6sqft.com/new-york-in-the-60s-apartment-hunting-job-searching-and-starting-out-in-the-big-city/ http://www.6sqft.com/new-york-in-the-60s-apartment-hunting-j... With inflation, that $90 is $725, which won't get you a closet in Brooklyn these days. However, it will get you a cute little house, in downtown Lubbock, TX: http://lubbock.craigslist.org/apa/5559051429.html http://lubbock.craigslist.org/apa/5559051429.html This doesn't have anything to do with inflation or the Federal Reserve. This is just competition for the available space. Stay on the treadmill or get off of it, it doesn't matter. My point is that we work the same number of hours, not because of hidden policy decisions, or "the man" keeping us down, or what the Federal Reserve decides, but because we like it! You could have a very similar lifestyle to someone living in the 60's and only work ~14 a week if you wanted to, right now! You'd have to make some adjustments, with TV no longer transmitted by radio waves and all, and the population/city problem mentioned earlier, but it's definitely possible, even if you're raising a family, especially for a software engineer. We just really like the treadmill...