> all other things being equal That is the case in countries with both access to cheap food and free education: i've heard that Berkeley used to cost 100$/yea

> all other things being equal That is the case in countries with both access to cheap food and free education: i've heard that Berkeley used to cost 100$/year in the 70s. Also medical care costs are balooning everywhere (even where it's socialized). I'm not talking about huge cost you can read about US healthcare: when you're young, you will probably be lucky enough to avoid needing critical healthcare, but the price to do regular checkup and preventive care is higher than it was, everywhere in the world. That will have a cost on everybody in the near future imho.