We’re watching a slow motion collapse
(twitter.com)
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This isn't the whole story.
How many of us were foolish and then had to face the consequences of that? I see 22 year olds every day go out and buy a $90,000 pimped out truck because they see their 50 or 60 years old coworkers riding in one. They, like we did when we were kids, took what we saw as how it should be. Daddy has a garage full of tools and mommy has a full kitchen. They are financially secure so they can splurge on a vacation or tricked out ride.
The 12 to 18 year old didn't see the frugality that lead to that. They just decided that they needed to live that same life immediately - and no one stopped us, and no one is stopping their children.
But then they lose their first job and the truck gets repo'd and they have to move into a roach motel and eek out a meager living for a couple years and save. No one scrimps and saves for the future.
That's future you's problem.
We are all one emergency away because we spend everything from the moment we are born. It's not all our fault, but you can't just go "society!" You need to pull yourself up, get ahead, stock pile for the rainy days, and then relax and breathe. That's why you side hustle. That's why you buy a $500 1998 Ford Ranger with 500,000 miles and feed it a quart of oil every weekend with your paycheck while learning to repair it slowly over your 20s. Because ultimately, it's cheaper than buying a pimped out cruise mobile, random huge repairs included.
Yup. I'm only 38, and over the years I've seen the people all around me ignore all the old maxims, like wanting to live downtown "close to the action", or because they want to avoid a long commute despite it being more expensive.
The mindset of instant gratification and entertainment at all times needs to change.
This is only half the picture though. You can’t argue that wages haven’t stagnated since the 70s. To be equivalent for the purchasing power back then, minimum wage needs to be $60-something dollars now. And that’s minimum wage— aka entry level work. Not only all that, but the introduction of tech has actually increased workload for workers who are now expected to operate the same speed as machines. We have essentially been turned into machines. It’s like the beginning of the Industrial Revolution all over again, but for us it’s the beginning of the tech revolution. But yes it’s also true that kids have not been taught delayed gratification.
Everything will always change. You can't stand there and go "oh my gawd our parents had it sooo much better!" I can fill you with anecdotes all day long about people who did and who did not have it made and how they squandered it or even some who ran with it.
E.g. I had a 26 year old with a 4 year degree working at my last company buy a 400,000 house, 50% down working a job for 65k a year, no help from her parents.
Yes, it's harder. Just like it was hard to live through the great depression a scant four generations ago. And the civil war before that. And the revolutionary war before that. And plagues, famines, what have you.
If we don't stand up and overpower our circumstances, we are the weak men in the cycle of times.