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People are much more mobile today than in the 60s. So while the top 5th may be improving, I would guess that much of that is in major cities where the cost of h

People are much more mobile today than in the 60s. So while the top 5th may be improving, I would guess that much of that is in major cities where the cost of housing and education far exceeded income growth. It’s not just growth in income it’s growth in income relative to your local cost of living.

klyrs 6y ago
A quick search located a study on mobility from 1940 to 2000, finding that mobility is on the decline. Do you have evidence that mobility has been increasing since then? > We find that mobility increased from 1950 to 1980 but has declined sharply since 1980. http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/1/139.refs http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/1/139.refs
- kaczordon 6y ago
  They are definitely more mobile. One example(adjusted for inflation and family size): “Eighty-four percent of Americans have higher family incomes than their parents had at the same age, and across all levels of the income distribution, this generation is doing better than the one that came before it.” [1] https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/pursuingamericandreampdf.pdf https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_a...
  - AlexandrB 6y ago
    I think a flaw here is adjusting for overall inflation and not measuring something like "disposable income" from one generation to the next. Healthcare, housing, and education have all increased faster than inflation and are non-optional expenses[1]. [1] https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/09/considerations-on-cost-disease/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/09/considerations-on-cost...
    - kaczordon 6y ago
      In terms of percentage of income spent, the amount spent on food and clothing has gone way down, housing has stayed the same more or less. Education and healthcare both have very very heavy government involvement in the US so there’s your common factor.
- rdlecler1 6y ago
  Mobile and mobility are two different things. I have better things to do on a Saturday than to look up evidence, but intuitively people in the 60s were more likely to stay and work in their home town. As economies became more specialized people started to relocate for jobs. Moreover you have two body problems of married couples which limit career options, thereby REDUCING mobility and driving up housing costs.

klyrs 6y ago

A quick search located a study on mobility from 1940 to 2000, finding that mobility is on the decline. Do you have evidence that mobility has been increasing since then? > We find that mobility increased from 1950 to 1980 but has declined sharply since 1980. http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/1/139.refs http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/1/139.refs

kaczordon 6y ago
They are definitely more mobile. One example(adjusted for inflation and family size): “Eighty-four percent of Americans have higher family incomes than their parents had at the same age, and across all levels of the income distribution, this generation is doing better than the one that came before it.” [1] https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/pursuingamericandreampdf.pdf https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_a...
- AlexandrB 6y ago
  I think a flaw here is adjusting for overall inflation and not measuring something like "disposable income" from one generation to the next. Healthcare, housing, and education have all increased faster than inflation and are non-optional expenses[1]. [1] https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/09/considerations-on-cost-disease/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/09/considerations-on-cost...
  - kaczordon 6y ago
    In terms of percentage of income spent, the amount spent on food and clothing has gone way down, housing has stayed the same more or less. Education and healthcare both have very very heavy government involvement in the US so there’s your common factor.
rdlecler1 6y ago
Mobile and mobility are two different things. I have better things to do on a Saturday than to look up evidence, but intuitively people in the 60s were more likely to stay and work in their home town. As economies became more specialized people started to relocate for jobs. Moreover you have two body problems of married couples which limit career options, thereby REDUCING mobility and driving up housing costs.