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Younger generations believe their elders have pulled up the ladder, and it appears they're correct on many dimensions. They're increasing unified in these belie

Younger generations believe their elders have pulled up the ladder, and it appears they're correct on many dimensions. They're increasing unified in these beliefs, even if some go too far in their classification of injustices. Doubtful that just agreeing to be optimistic will actually improve things. Past generations faced their own challenges, and many solutions were born from discontent and not from naive optimism.

prottog 4y ago
I agree with you that they are increasingly unified in those beliefs, but being unified doesn't make the beliefs true. Do you think that they are true, that their elders have in fact pulled up the ladder behind them?
- Fatnino 4y ago
  Of course they have. For example look at real estate. It used to be that a young person could get out of school, find a job, and save enough to buy a home within a year. But now many of those same formerly young people are holding on to their many homes and only renting them out or putting them on airbnb if they are lazier. (or even just letting them sit vacant). Anything to keep supply down and price up to the detriment of the current generation.
  - s1artibartfast 4y ago
    Can you point to the time on this chart where any young person could own a house. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/08/homeownership-by-age.html https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/08/homeownership... or perhaps this one going back to boomers born in 1940. https://www.prb.org/resources/u-s-homeownership-rates-fall-among-young-adults-african-americans/ https://www.prb.org/resources/u-s-homeownership-rates-fall-a... I do see a slow decline for young people, but no golden times of free houses. I suspect it might also have something to do with the factors of house size and urbanization. See: https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/todays-new-homes-are-1000-square-feet-larger-than-in-1973-and-living-space-per-person-has-doubled-over-last-41-years/ https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/todays-new-homes-are-1000-squ... and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Urban_and_rural_populations_in_the_United_States_(US_Census_Bureau_(1790_to_2010)),_OWID.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization_in_the_United_Sta...
    - paulryanrogers 4y ago
      Boomers bought houses on one income, often without a college degree and while supporting more kids. My grandfather purchased 2 houses, 2 cars, a boat, and raised 4 kids as a cookie salesman with no degree. My father 1 house, 2 cars, and 2 kids as an engineer from a top-tier university. Now my cousins struggle to afford even 1 house with dual incomes, no kids, and college degrees. Houses have all been of comparable size and in similar areas. Rent and food are also an increasingly large portion of income.
      - s1artibartfast 4y ago
        I can name a dozen cases that went the opposite direction. I don't disagree that things have gotten more expensive, but I dont think it is accurate to treat it as binary switch, or act as if the price change happened in a bubble without other factors in the world changing.
        paulryanrogers 4y ago
        Who is claiming anything is binary? So you agree things are objectively more expensive. Now the distinction is... that it's not entirely the Boomer's fault? Sure, there are likely a few other factors involved but that doesn't mean Boomers hands are clean. Boomers had a good run despite the challenges of their era, benefited much from policies they rolled back, and remain largely in control of government and wealth in the US to this day. They oppose changes needed for the new generations to come into their own: NIMBYism, longer careers, owning multiple homes, denying voting initiatives like ranked choice or same day primaries, deregulated industries, rolled back most estate taxes, opposed unions, teaching fantasy economics and berating the kids who find it's not working.
        s1artibartfast 4y ago
        The binary thinking was Fatino's preconception that in the past any young person could easily get a house 1 year out of school, while now boomers are intentionally holding houses off the market in a decentralized price fixing conspiracy. Regarding the economy, I think that boomers generally rode a wave of global growth and benefited greatly. I dont think it is so much that the pulled up the ladder, but failed to build new rungs as the tide went out.

prottog 4y ago

I agree with you that they are increasingly unified in those beliefs, but being unified doesn't make the beliefs true. Do you think that they are true, that their elders have in fact pulled up the ladder behind them?

Fatnino 4y ago
Of course they have. For example look at real estate. It used to be that a young person could get out of school, find a job, and save enough to buy a home within a year. But now many of those same formerly young people are holding on to their many homes and only renting them out or putting them on airbnb if they are lazier. (or even just letting them sit vacant). Anything to keep supply down and price up to the detriment of the current generation.
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  Can you point to the time on this chart where any young person could own a house. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/08/homeownership-by-age.html https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/08/homeownership... or perhaps this one going back to boomers born in 1940. https://www.prb.org/resources/u-s-homeownership-rates-fall-among-young-adults-african-americans/ https://www.prb.org/resources/u-s-homeownership-rates-fall-a... I do see a slow decline for young people, but no golden times of free houses. I suspect it might also have something to do with the factors of house size and urbanization. See: https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/todays-new-homes-are-1000-square-feet-larger-than-in-1973-and-living-space-per-person-has-doubled-over-last-41-years/ https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/todays-new-homes-are-1000-squ... and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Urban_and_rural_populations_in_the_United_States_(US_Census_Bureau_(1790_to_2010)),_OWID.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization_in_the_United_Sta...
  - paulryanrogers 4y ago
    Boomers bought houses on one income, often without a college degree and while supporting more kids. My grandfather purchased 2 houses, 2 cars, a boat, and raised 4 kids as a cookie salesman with no degree. My father 1 house, 2 cars, and 2 kids as an engineer from a top-tier university. Now my cousins struggle to afford even 1 house with dual incomes, no kids, and college degrees. Houses have all been of comparable size and in similar areas. Rent and food are also an increasingly large portion of income.
    - s1artibartfast 4y ago
      I can name a dozen cases that went the opposite direction. I don't disagree that things have gotten more expensive, but I dont think it is accurate to treat it as binary switch, or act as if the price change happened in a bubble without other factors in the world changing.
      - paulryanrogers 4y ago
        Who is claiming anything is binary? So you agree things are objectively more expensive. Now the distinction is... that it's not entirely the Boomer's fault? Sure, there are likely a few other factors involved but that doesn't mean Boomers hands are clean. Boomers had a good run despite the challenges of their era, benefited much from policies they rolled back, and remain largely in control of government and wealth in the US to this day. They oppose changes needed for the new generations to come into their own: NIMBYism, longer careers, owning multiple homes, denying voting initiatives like ranked choice or same day primaries, deregulated industries, rolled back most estate taxes, opposed unions, teaching fantasy economics and berating the kids who find it's not working.
        s1artibartfast 4y ago
        The binary thinking was Fatino's preconception that in the past any young person could easily get a house 1 year out of school, while now boomers are intentionally holding houses off the market in a decentralized price fixing conspiracy. Regarding the economy, I think that boomers generally rode a wave of global growth and benefited greatly. I dont think it is so much that the pulled up the ladder, but failed to build new rungs as the tide went out.