5 ms·

Suppose 30-year-olds make exactly the same as their parents did at 30. Then we would expect that barely half of 30-year-olds earn more than their parents did at

by gragas 10y ago

Suppose 30-year-olds make exactly the same as their parents did at 30. Then we would expect that barely half of 30-year-olds earn more than their parents did at 30. This title is stupid. It implies "oh hur dur the economy is so bad" when in reality it says nothing.

paulddraper 10y ago
Wow! Most 30-year-olds are making more than their parents did at the same age! --- I'm more worried about the near universal editorializing of real news than the less common totally fake variety.
- gragas 10y ago
  Have you ever noticed that the only people who talk about fake news all the time are the people who lost nearly all of the recent elections? "Don't worry, the reason we lost is because everyone who's on the other side is really stupid and believes fake news"
  - dang 10y ago
    Please keep partisan politics out of threads here.
Retric 10y ago
Economic growth is not 0. So, really it says that 1/2 the population is flat our worse off. Further, a rising tide lifts all boats is a complitly false analogy, and anyone using that phrase to talk about the economy is lying.
- gragas 10y ago
  >Economic growth is not 0. The numbers are in real USD, not nominal. So in reality, it's a huge fallacy to say that we're so much worse off that in the 1970s. We're almost exactly the same as the 1970s. The main difference to point out here is that the 1970s 30-year-olds made much more real USD than their parents' generation, while 30-year-olds today are making almost exactly the same. Just because income isn't growing as much doesn't mean the 30-year-olds today are worse off.
  - Retric 10y ago
    If the economy was static then zero real growth is fine. However, not all costs rise 1:1 with inflation. Housing for example requires land which is zero sum so when people fall behind they really are worse of in real terms. Remember, if 1/2 your costs double then it does not matter how much the rest of your costs decrease. AKA the inverse of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdahl%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdahl%27s_law
    - gragas 10y ago
      You make a good point. I agree.
- hiram112 10y ago
  Interestingly, I remember in the 90s when offshoring really started to take off beyond just steel and some manufacturing, the response from the politicians was that BS about rising tide lifting all boats. Then somewhere in the last 10 years, the mantra was that some sectors would be worse off with globalization, but if you got an education, you'd be fine. So everyone went to college and ignored the blue collar guys getting screwed. Now we see the legions of indebted college grads living at home at 30, PHDs working part time as baristas. Should have got stem degree, is what we're now told. Tell that to the guys who had to train their own replacements on H1b visas.
- hiram112 10y ago
  Interestingly, I remember in the 90s when offshoring really started to take off beyond just steel and some manufacturing, the response from the politicians was that BS about rising tide lifting all boats. Then somewhere in the last 10 years, the mantra was that some sectors would be worse off with globalization, but if you got an education, you'd be fine. So everyone went to college and ignored the blue collar guys getting screwed. Now we see the legions of indebted college grads living at home at 30, PHDs working part time as baristas. Should have got stem degree, is what we're now told. Tell that to the guys who had to train their own replacements on H1b visas.

by gragas 10y ago

paulddraper 10y ago

Wow! Most 30-year-olds are making more than their parents did at the same age! --- I'm more worried about the near universal editorializing of real news than the less common totally fake variety.

gragas 10y ago
Have you ever noticed that the only people who talk about fake news all the time are the people who lost nearly all of the recent elections? "Don't worry, the reason we lost is because everyone who's on the other side is really stupid and believes fake news"
- dang 10y ago
  Please keep partisan politics out of threads here.

Retric 10y ago

Economic growth is not 0. So, really it says that 1/2 the population is flat our worse off. Further, a rising tide lifts all boats is a complitly false analogy, and anyone using that phrase to talk about the economy is lying.

gragas 10y ago
>Economic growth is not 0. The numbers are in real USD, not nominal. So in reality, it's a huge fallacy to say that we're so much worse off that in the 1970s. We're almost exactly the same as the 1970s. The main difference to point out here is that the 1970s 30-year-olds made much more real USD than their parents' generation, while 30-year-olds today are making almost exactly the same. Just because income isn't growing as much doesn't mean the 30-year-olds today are worse off.
- Retric 10y ago
  If the economy was static then zero real growth is fine. However, not all costs rise 1:1 with inflation. Housing for example requires land which is zero sum so when people fall behind they really are worse of in real terms. Remember, if 1/2 your costs double then it does not matter how much the rest of your costs decrease. AKA the inverse of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdahl%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdahl%27s_law
  - gragas 10y ago
    You make a good point. I agree.
hiram112 10y ago
Interestingly, I remember in the 90s when offshoring really started to take off beyond just steel and some manufacturing, the response from the politicians was that BS about rising tide lifting all boats. Then somewhere in the last 10 years, the mantra was that some sectors would be worse off with globalization, but if you got an education, you'd be fine. So everyone went to college and ignored the blue collar guys getting screwed. Now we see the legions of indebted college grads living at home at 30, PHDs working part time as baristas. Should have got stem degree, is what we're now told. Tell that to the guys who had to train their own replacements on H1b visas.
hiram112 10y ago
Interestingly, I remember in the 90s when offshoring really started to take off beyond just steel and some manufacturing, the response from the politicians was that BS about rising tide lifting all boats. Then somewhere in the last 10 years, the mantra was that some sectors would be worse off with globalization, but if you got an education, you'd be fine. So everyone went to college and ignored the blue collar guys getting screwed. Now we see the legions of indebted college grads living at home at 30, PHDs working part time as baristas. Should have got stem degree, is what we're now told. Tell that to the guys who had to train their own replacements on H1b visas.