5 ms·

I sort of agree with you, but I don't think you completely understand the problem. Yes, it doesn't really "matter" if people are living with their parents or on

by dikdik 10y ago

I sort of agree with you, but I don't think you completely understand the problem. Yes, it doesn't really "matter" if people are living with their parents or on their own. The problem is what this shift signals. People are not much different than they were 50 years ago. If it took just as much resources to live on your own 50 years ago as today, there would "not be the same urgency to leave home." Of course no one wants to leave home if it's going to cost them 40% of their take home pay, but if it only costs them 10-20% of their pay, I really doubt you will see a ton of millenials that don't care about living at home. This shift in housing signals a dearth of resources available to the current generation. Do we think that's a good thing? A bad thing? Or is it completely neutral? Does it have implications elsewhere for our economy? These are the things that are actually important.

white-flame 10y ago
Or is this a signal that the broad and rapid American growth in the middle of the 20th century was anomalous, not a baseline? It might not be a "dearth of resources" but a return to the true long-term norm.
- ProAm 10y ago
  It wasnt anomalous, we were pretty much the only country not bombed to pieces and had an infrastructure to build upon while most countries were simply rebuilding.
- closeparen 10y ago
  Given a large enough time horizon, the only "baseline" lifestyle is subsistence agriculture.
  - tonyedgecombe 10y ago
    I think it's probably sensible to start after the industrial revolution.
- Clubber 10y ago
  The broad, rapid American growth has a lot to do with the fact that Europe and the Far East was in complete ruins after WWII and the US was in the immediate position to rebuild Europe. Remember, right before the mid century prosperity, we were in a massive depression caused by the "Roaring 20s" which was fueled by another smoldering Europe. The time period before WWI; the late 1800s and early 1900s were pretty bleak. Before that, the North was fairly prosperous but the South was under reconstruction, so that region was pretty bleak as well. Of course, there is plenty of wealth to go around today, it's just concentrated due to a war on the middle class by industry, aided by goverment, dating back to at least Reagan.
  - linkregister 10y ago
    The time period from 1890 to 1929 experienced steady growth in the U.S. [1] The Roaring 20s was not the cause of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was caused by a variety of factors, primarily unsustainable debt issuance and overproduction in the agricultural sector. Other important factors include crushing wartime debts owed by European nations to American creditors (vastly harming exports), a liquidity crunch and massive deflation due to adherence to the gold standard, and uncertainty by Capital resulting in a lack of expansion.[2] 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_United_States#Economic_growth_and_the_1910_break https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_United... 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression
    - pjmorris 10y ago
      I always thought that the 'Roaring 20s' were caused by 'unsustainable debt issuance'. You seem to not connect the two... can you elaborate?
      - linkregister 10y ago
        It's a common misconception that the stock speculation bought on leverage was the cause of the depression. Indeed, margin calls caused automatic stock sales to cover the leverage, forcing stock prices down. However, the cascade of bank failures occurred due to due to defaulting agricultural loans. The loans' refinancing requests were suddenly refused when European powers pulled currency out of U.S. banks in order to pay their war debts and reparations. The stock market crash was not the cause of the depression; just one of many larger factors that precipitated it.

by dikdik 10y ago

white-flame 10y ago

Or is this a signal that the broad and rapid American growth in the middle of the 20th century was anomalous, not a baseline? It might not be a "dearth of resources" but a return to the true long-term norm.

ProAm 10y ago
It wasnt anomalous, we were pretty much the only country not bombed to pieces and had an infrastructure to build upon while most countries were simply rebuilding.
closeparen 10y ago
Given a large enough time horizon, the only "baseline" lifestyle is subsistence agriculture.
- tonyedgecombe 10y ago
  I think it's probably sensible to start after the industrial revolution.
Clubber 10y ago
The broad, rapid American growth has a lot to do with the fact that Europe and the Far East was in complete ruins after WWII and the US was in the immediate position to rebuild Europe. Remember, right before the mid century prosperity, we were in a massive depression caused by the "Roaring 20s" which was fueled by another smoldering Europe. The time period before WWI; the late 1800s and early 1900s were pretty bleak. Before that, the North was fairly prosperous but the South was under reconstruction, so that region was pretty bleak as well. Of course, there is plenty of wealth to go around today, it's just concentrated due to a war on the middle class by industry, aided by goverment, dating back to at least Reagan.
- linkregister 10y ago
  The time period from 1890 to 1929 experienced steady growth in the U.S. [1] The Roaring 20s was not the cause of the Great Depression. The Great Depression was caused by a variety of factors, primarily unsustainable debt issuance and overproduction in the agricultural sector. Other important factors include crushing wartime debts owed by European nations to American creditors (vastly harming exports), a liquidity crunch and massive deflation due to adherence to the gold standard, and uncertainty by Capital resulting in a lack of expansion.[2] 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_United_States#Economic_growth_and_the_1910_break https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_United... 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Great_Depression
  - pjmorris 10y ago
    I always thought that the 'Roaring 20s' were caused by 'unsustainable debt issuance'. You seem to not connect the two... can you elaborate?
    - linkregister 10y ago
      It's a common misconception that the stock speculation bought on leverage was the cause of the depression. Indeed, margin calls caused automatic stock sales to cover the leverage, forcing stock prices down. However, the cascade of bank failures occurred due to due to defaulting agricultural loans. The loans' refinancing requests were suddenly refused when European powers pulled currency out of U.S. banks in order to pay their war debts and reparations. The stock market crash was not the cause of the depression; just one of many larger factors that precipitated it.