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Most people in the US are worse off than their parents were at their age, and they are starting to notice.

ben_w 2y ago
Most people's parents weren't around in 1930 to see the publication of the book saying "in 2030, we will be able to enjoy our current (1930) lifestyle with only 15 hours of work each week" (or whatever the actual quote in the book was). If anything, that prediction was pessimistic — if you really want a 1930 lifestyle, you can probably do it with 5 hours a week.
- schmidtleonard 2y ago
  Exactly what land do you think you can buy with 5 hours a week of labor, lol?
  - ben_w 2y ago
    In 1930, fewer than 10% of farms in the US had access to electricity; that kind of land is still cheap. Mocking responses like yours seem to keep missing how bad 1930 living conditions were: such a lifestyle is with one where the average person had no electricity and no indoor plumbing, no phone service, no internet, no TV: sure 5 hours per week is sufficient for that lifestyle. (Also, according to this graph, just under half of USA households in 1930 owned land, likewise just under half owned a car: https://oldurbanist.blogspot.com/2013/02/was-rise-of-car-ownership-responsible.html https://oldurbanist.blogspot.com/2013/02/was-rise-of-car-own...) You want land commensurate with that lifestyle? Sure, OK. $20/h (IIRC, the average American is about $43/h) * 5h/week * 52 weeks in a year = $5200, here's three options in the US where you could buy that in a year, which is much faster than what you need to pay off a house today: 1. 0.17 Acres, IN: https://www.land.com/property/Michigan-City-Indiana-46360/12589667/ https://www.land.com/property/Michigan-City-Indiana-46360/12... 2. 0.66 Acres, AR: https://www.land.com/property/1001-Ash-Flat-Dr-Horseshoe-Bend-Arkansas-72512/19628673/ https://www.land.com/property/1001-Ash-Flat-Dr-Horseshoe-Ben... 3. 1.13 Acres, NV: https://www.land.com/property/Spring-Creek-Nevada-89815/20311909/ https://www.land.com/property/Spring-Creek-Nevada-89815/2031... What do you live in on this land? Again, I want to emphasise that the average person in 1930 lived in conditions that Westerners would no longer accept including no indoor plumbing, no electricity, no TV, no internet, no phone (mobile or landline). We won't accept them today, but glorified garden sheds like this are what a lot of people called homes in 1930: https://www.kaufland.de/product/396861319/?vid=396861513 https://www.kaufland.de/product/396861319/?vid=396861513 And even adding $15k for the house to $5k for the land gets a total of $20k — a four year cost for someone working 5h per week on half the US average hourly rate. The current ratio of USA wages to house prices is $495,100 to $77,463/year, or 6.4 years.

Most people's parents weren't around in 1930 to see the publication of the book saying "in 2030, we will be able to enjoy our current (1930) lifestyle with only 15 hours of work each week" (or whatever the actual quote in the book was). If anything, that prediction was pessimistic — if you really want a 1930 lifestyle, you can probably do it with 5 hours a week.

schmidtleonard 2y ago
Exactly what land do you think you can buy with 5 hours a week of labor, lol?
- ben_w 2y ago
  In 1930, fewer than 10% of farms in the US had access to electricity; that kind of land is still cheap. Mocking responses like yours seem to keep missing how bad 1930 living conditions were: such a lifestyle is with one where the average person had no electricity and no indoor plumbing, no phone service, no internet, no TV: sure 5 hours per week is sufficient for that lifestyle. (Also, according to this graph, just under half of USA households in 1930 owned land, likewise just under half owned a car: https://oldurbanist.blogspot.com/2013/02/was-rise-of-car-ownership-responsible.html https://oldurbanist.blogspot.com/2013/02/was-rise-of-car-own...) You want land commensurate with that lifestyle? Sure, OK. $20/h (IIRC, the average American is about $43/h) * 5h/week * 52 weeks in a year = $5200, here's three options in the US where you could buy that in a year, which is much faster than what you need to pay off a house today: 1. 0.17 Acres, IN: https://www.land.com/property/Michigan-City-Indiana-46360/12589667/ https://www.land.com/property/Michigan-City-Indiana-46360/12... 2. 0.66 Acres, AR: https://www.land.com/property/1001-Ash-Flat-Dr-Horseshoe-Bend-Arkansas-72512/19628673/ https://www.land.com/property/1001-Ash-Flat-Dr-Horseshoe-Ben... 3. 1.13 Acres, NV: https://www.land.com/property/Spring-Creek-Nevada-89815/20311909/ https://www.land.com/property/Spring-Creek-Nevada-89815/2031... What do you live in on this land? Again, I want to emphasise that the average person in 1930 lived in conditions that Westerners would no longer accept including no indoor plumbing, no electricity, no TV, no internet, no phone (mobile or landline). We won't accept them today, but glorified garden sheds like this are what a lot of people called homes in 1930: https://www.kaufland.de/product/396861319/?vid=396861513 https://www.kaufland.de/product/396861319/?vid=396861513 And even adding $15k for the house to $5k for the land gets a total of $20k — a four year cost for someone working 5h per week on half the US average hourly rate. The current ratio of USA wages to house prices is $495,100 to $77,463/year, or 6.4 years.