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He mentioned that wages went down 10%. But is it the whole story ? what about longer hours at terrible factories, child labor, leaving your country home to liv
by petra 10y ago
He mentioned that wages went down 10%. But is it the whole story ? what about longer hours at terrible factories, child labor, leaving your country home to live in some awfull dense city residence, possible lack of stability due to not owning land, etc ?
- shostack 10y agoThe compounding effects are interesting to consider. Wages have been depressed and housing costs have increased, particularly in areas people want to move to due to more job opportunities. Owning a home has been a forcing mechanism for savings for the US for some time. You get a highly-leveraged mortgage, build equity (ie. forced savings) and hopefully see your investment appreciate, and ultimately own your home clear and free for retiring there, or selling and downsizing to fund retirement. I wonder what will happen in 20-30 years time as we see more and more people unable to own a home. Their earning power will diminish as they age and retire, yet their house costs will continue growing if they rent.