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The idea that it was worse back then has been thoroughly debunked. The unfortunate truth is that property values have soared (due to lack of supply), inflation

by hnhmp 3y ago

The idea that it was worse back then has been thoroughly debunked. The unfortunate truth is that property values have soared (due to lack of supply), inflation continues as it does, and wages have totally stagnated. Those combined together mean that however bad it was for families back then (and I'm sure it was bad! Housing insecurity is something folks should never have to face, and I'm sorry you went through it too), it's just worse for people today, full stop. This isn't the oppression olympics, I don't want to tell you that you didn't have it bad, or anything like that. But it just sucks to be facing a very real problem today and have people incorrectly tell you that it was worse before. Not only does the existence of a problem 50 years ago not negate the existence of a problem today, but people in politics and on the internet want to tell us that it's not as bad as we think it is, when in reality it's much worse than they think.

taylodl 3y ago
You're only looking at one aspect - housing. What's missing in this analysis is that fuel costs had risen 400% in a very short time frame, and in an economy that was much more fuel-dependent than it is today. Imagine if gasoline were to rapidly rise to over $12 per gallon? Natural gas was even worse, we had actual shortages, so you can imagine what that did to the market. I still remember the president of the United States addressing the nation from the Oval Office wearing a cardigan to set an example that it was okay to turn the thermostat down and bundle up. The speed limit on the interstate had been dropped to 55 MPH to encourage people to driver slower and conserve fuel. Housing was just yet another problem at the time. The problem with housing today is an amazing lack of foresight from our so-called leaders then. Everyone accommodated the Boomers (I'm Gen X). They didn't have enough houses for the Boomers - let alone the kids the Boomers would have (the Millennials) who would be living as adults at the same time as their parents. There was a rash of home-building in the 40's, 50's and 60's, and then it slowed way down, never to reach those levels again. Meanwhile, advances in healthcare increased people's lifetimes, exacerbating a housing shortage that all the experts were warning about even back in the 70's and yet nothing was being done about. I say all this to say I see the same thing happening with the climate "debate" today. We know what's coming. What know what the economic impacts are going to be. But we sit and equivocate and do nothing. If you think today's housing crises is bad, wait until you see what hits us in 30-40 years! Funny too how the ever-vaunted market failed to solve the housing issue...but that's a story for another time.

by hnhmp 3y ago

taylodl 3y ago

You're only looking at one aspect - housing. What's missing in this analysis is that fuel costs had risen 400% in a very short time frame, and in an economy that was much more fuel-dependent than it is today. Imagine if gasoline were to rapidly rise to over $12 per gallon? Natural gas was even worse, we had actual shortages, so you can imagine what that did to the market. I still remember the president of the United States addressing the nation from the Oval Office wearing a cardigan to set an example that it was okay to turn the thermostat down and bundle up. The speed limit on the interstate had been dropped to 55 MPH to encourage people to driver slower and conserve fuel. Housing was just yet another problem at the time. The problem with housing today is an amazing lack of foresight from our so-called leaders then. Everyone accommodated the Boomers (I'm Gen X). They didn't have enough houses for the Boomers - let alone the kids the Boomers would have (the Millennials) who would be living as adults at the same time as their parents. There was a rash of home-building in the 40's, 50's and 60's, and then it slowed way down, never to reach those levels again. Meanwhile, advances in healthcare increased people's lifetimes, exacerbating a housing shortage that all the experts were warning about even back in the 70's and yet nothing was being done about. I say all this to say I see the same thing happening with the climate "debate" today. We know what's coming. What know what the economic impacts are going to be. But we sit and equivocate and do nothing. If you think today's housing crises is bad, wait until you see what hits us in 30-40 years! Funny too how the ever-vaunted market failed to solve the housing issue...but that's a story for another time.