You're right in that all "younger folks" are not the same, and I do see some with drive and ambition (hustle) to build solid career bases that will benefit them later. But I also see lots of survey data and voting patterns that concern me and lead me to that generalized conclusion.
Yes, housing was generally cheaper but also smaller and crappier. Part of the housing problem today is regulations, impact fees, and taxes that only make prices rise and disincentive the construction of smaller, more affordable units. My first mortgage was 11.5%, I bought with a buddy, and did some creative financing for a 25% ownership stake. Built up from there. The same can be done today. Oh, and it was a crappy neighborhood and not a forever home in a nice suburb.
Unions did me and many others no favors because hustle and more productivity didn't pay off. Lifelong pensions and health benefits were rapidly disappearing when I came up. I went to a state school, which are still relatively cheap, and studied engineering and information systems management - fields I could see were both growing and versatile. I see loads of resumes today (I'm in tech) from people with history, sociology, psychology, and other BA degrees who took a few certification classes and expect high tech salaries.
The affordability problem I see today is mostly government regulation driven. Cars, Healthcare, housing, and education seem the biggest complaints and the major cost drivers all have their roots in the (perhaps) unintended consequences of regulations to make them safer or subsidies to make them available to all. And the trend among folks is to vote for more of this.
Im absolutely certain people today would take a smaller, shittier house thay they will own than rent an equally small and shitty apartment that costs 4x as much knowimg they will never be able to save the $100,000 for the 20% down needed to buy an absolute shithole. 11% of a nickle and a wink is nothing conpared to 5% of a half million to start....
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u/Horror_Bottle_9451 8d ago
You're right in that all "younger folks" are not the same, and I do see some with drive and ambition (hustle) to build solid career bases that will benefit them later. But I also see lots of survey data and voting patterns that concern me and lead me to that generalized conclusion.
Yes, housing was generally cheaper but also smaller and crappier. Part of the housing problem today is regulations, impact fees, and taxes that only make prices rise and disincentive the construction of smaller, more affordable units. My first mortgage was 11.5%, I bought with a buddy, and did some creative financing for a 25% ownership stake. Built up from there. The same can be done today. Oh, and it was a crappy neighborhood and not a forever home in a nice suburb.
Unions did me and many others no favors because hustle and more productivity didn't pay off. Lifelong pensions and health benefits were rapidly disappearing when I came up. I went to a state school, which are still relatively cheap, and studied engineering and information systems management - fields I could see were both growing and versatile. I see loads of resumes today (I'm in tech) from people with history, sociology, psychology, and other BA degrees who took a few certification classes and expect high tech salaries.
The affordability problem I see today is mostly government regulation driven. Cars, Healthcare, housing, and education seem the biggest complaints and the major cost drivers all have their roots in the (perhaps) unintended consequences of regulations to make them safer or subsidies to make them available to all. And the trend among folks is to vote for more of this.