3 ms·

If wages are up and CPI is accurate why are living standards down?

• JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > wages are up and CPI is accurate why are living standards down Living standards are not down over ten years. Statistically and, for me, anecdotally. I’m making no comparison over lifetimes because we haven’t been collecting e.g. real median household income over that interval. Fortunately, it’s beside the point. You alleged “wages start[ed] to tick up then all of the sudden” rates were raised. That’s untrue. Wages were rising for a decade, including precipitously through the pandemic, before we did anything about it.
  • willcipriano 3y ago
    When economists say standards of living are higher they mostly mean life expectancy has increased and we have iPhones. Go around at talk to some of the young people you know, are they willing to trade a few years at the end of their life and their iPhone to get out of student debt and own a home?
    • JumpCrisscross 3y ago
      > When economists say standards of living are higher they mostly mean life expectancy has increased and we have iPhones This is incorrect. > talk to some of the young people you know We’re paying down our debt and buying homes. We’re more stretched than our grandparents were at our age, but our objective quality of life is far superior. I wouldn’t give up modern telecommunications for a bigger house.
      • willcipriano 3y ago
        You own nothing and you are happy?
        • JumpCrisscross 3y ago
          > You own nothing and you are happy? I own assets and am happy. (The home owning is often a source of stress that competes with my happiness.) The last ten years saw my prospects increase materially. I’ve also noticed as much in my friends with more blue-collar jobs. Statistics show a similar trend: broad gains with pockets of instability.