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Young people have the least access to debt (ignoring college debt) and if they have access it’s at higher interest rates. They are the least able to take advant

Young people have the least access to debt (ignoring college debt) and if they have access it’s at higher interest rates. They are the least able to take advantage of high inflation. Unlike rich people who get lower interest rates and tend to own inflation resistance assets. High inflation benefits the rich. AFAIK wages are not keeping up with inflation. Plus looks like we’re going into a stagnation / recession. So even as someone who graduated into the Great Recession I think this generation has it worse. I wonder how much wage growth is actual a shift in the average from the lowest wage people losing their jobs. There has been a marked increase in hidden unemployment / non-participation.

UncleMeat 5y ago
Ignoring college debt seems unfair given the huge numbers it represents.
- cjbgkagh 5y ago
  College debt is restricted to only be spent on college and thus cannot be separated from the expected yield of college. That is an entirely different conversation especially given current and expected future economic circumstances. Then there is the ability to eschew student debt as much as possible by going cheap, going foreign, or not going at all. There is no need for college to be so expensive. There seems to be a hope that inflation will act as a debt forgiveness, or a gateway into MMT to support progressive spending. My point is inflation will exacerbate wealth inequality which is worse than the gain from the 'debt forgiveness' of student loans and MMT requires high taxes to avoid inflation. Which is fine until you're the one paying those taxes.
  - epistasis 5y ago
    Compensating for lots of debt forgiveness with high taxes seems kind of fair, considering that the high debt levels are in part (or largely?) due to defunding public university education.
    - cjbgkagh 5y ago
      With taxes the dose makes the poison. It's highly unlikely that it'll be a fair trade. The people who control the government (hint donors not voters) did not obtain that control in order to exercise it for the benefit of others. I wish I could believe in a solution that is predicated on good governance but I personally don't see a possible path to that any time soon. The whole situation feels very terminal.

UncleMeat 5y ago

Ignoring college debt seems unfair given the huge numbers it represents.

cjbgkagh 5y ago
College debt is restricted to only be spent on college and thus cannot be separated from the expected yield of college. That is an entirely different conversation especially given current and expected future economic circumstances. Then there is the ability to eschew student debt as much as possible by going cheap, going foreign, or not going at all. There is no need for college to be so expensive. There seems to be a hope that inflation will act as a debt forgiveness, or a gateway into MMT to support progressive spending. My point is inflation will exacerbate wealth inequality which is worse than the gain from the 'debt forgiveness' of student loans and MMT requires high taxes to avoid inflation. Which is fine until you're the one paying those taxes.
- epistasis 5y ago
  Compensating for lots of debt forgiveness with high taxes seems kind of fair, considering that the high debt levels are in part (or largely?) due to defunding public university education.
  - cjbgkagh 5y ago
    With taxes the dose makes the poison. It's highly unlikely that it'll be a fair trade. The people who control the government (hint donors not voters) did not obtain that control in order to exercise it for the benefit of others. I wish I could believe in a solution that is predicated on good governance but I personally don't see a possible path to that any time soon. The whole situation feels very terminal.