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> The average family has more workers, doing more work hours in it now than it did a generation ago. I'm pretty sure that the average household has fewer worke

> The average family has more workers, doing more work hours in it now than it did a generation ago. I'm pretty sure that the average household has fewer workers than a generation ago. The number of single-parent households has risen from 12% in 1960 to 31% in 2016,[0] so more families are capped at one income-earning adult. Meanwhile in two-adult households, stay-at-home moms/dads are as common now as they were 30 years ago[1]. And with housing prices, we're not really comparing apples to apples, are we? The size (in sqft) of the median house has increased by ~40% since 1990 [2], even as the size of the average household falls. [0] https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-192.html https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-192... [1] https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/04/08/after-decades-of-decline-a-rise-in-stay-at-home-mothers/ https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/04/08/after-decades-of-... [2] https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/new-us-homes-today-are-1000-square-feet-larger-than-in-1973-and-living-space-per-person-has-nearly-doubled/ https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/new-us-homes-today-are-1000-s...

vkou 6y ago
> And with housing prices, we're not really comparing apples to apples, are we? The size (in sqft) of the median house has increased by ~40% since 1990 [2], even as the size of the average household falls. If all cars doubled in price tomorrow, but also started getting sold with three steering wheels, would you consider that to be great news - because cars are getting cheaper? The price per steering wheel went down by 33%... Houses got bigger because the cost of land grew faster than the cost of construction. It doesn't matter that you're getting more square footage - because you can't buy a 40% smaller home for 40% fewer dollars. If you don't need, don't want, or can't afford that square footage, housing has become less affordable. Likewise, colleges now provide all sorts of student services, that they didn't, back in the 90s. Also, tuition is now 5x-10x what it used to be, back in the 90s. Would you argue that college is now more affordable then ever, pointing at all the amazing services that are now provided by them?

vkou 6y ago

> And with housing prices, we're not really comparing apples to apples, are we? The size (in sqft) of the median house has increased by ~40% since 1990 [2], even as the size of the average household falls. If all cars doubled in price tomorrow, but also started getting sold with three steering wheels, would you consider that to be great news - because cars are getting cheaper? The price per steering wheel went down by 33%... Houses got bigger because the cost of land grew faster than the cost of construction. It doesn't matter that you're getting more square footage - because you can't buy a 40% smaller home for 40% fewer dollars. If you don't need, don't want, or can't afford that square footage, housing has become less affordable. Likewise, colleges now provide all sorts of student services, that they didn't, back in the 90s. Also, tuition is now 5x-10x what it used to be, back in the 90s. Would you argue that college is now more affordable then ever, pointing at all the amazing services that are now provided by them?