Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 394 posts

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#51

Post by rubidium »

was_boring wrote: post #36

What makes me upset is that the economic realities do not match what is taught in large swaths of America. We are taught (at least in my community, and I am 30 now still living within 20 miles of where I grew up) that a very achievable ideal is a middle class existence with one parent working, and a small house in the suburbs. I am in the top 1% income earners for my generation and do not even come close to this. I t…

You must be exaggerating or living in New York/San Fran.

Here in the midwest is is very reasonable for a top 20% income for 30 yr old age bracket to have only one parent work. If you're top 1% you can definitely afford a house in the suburbs and have one parent stay home.

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#52

Post by douche »

notadoc wrote: post #23
harryh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Price per square foot for housing has remained remarkably constant over time. People are spending more on houses than they used to because they are buying bigger houses.

That's simply not true, at least on the west coast in any reasonably active real estate market. It was never $1,455/sq ft like it is today in Palo Alto, nor $500/sq ft or even $200 per sq ft. This is a recent phenomena. Furthermore, price per square foot actually tends to increase nowadays on smaller homes, where you'll pay even more per square foot if you're trying to buy anything under 2000sq ft, and it gets really…

Whew, in places near where I grew up, those are the prices for land by the acre

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#53

Post by tcoppi »

CodeCube wrote: post #41
notadoc wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most consumers are tapped out, bad news for a consumer driven economy. There can only be so much more debt accrued.

This feels correct, anecdotally ... but is there data to support this claim? For example, savings rates going down, credit/debt going up, and consumer spending going down?

Here's savings rate data: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT

Note that this is savings rate net of taxes. It has been on a mostly steady decline since it has been calculated, with some spikes and a leveling out slightly higher than the rate before the last recession.

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#54

Post by falcolas »

CodeCube wrote: post #41
notadoc wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most consumers are tapped out, bad news for a consumer driven economy. There can only be so much more debt accrued.

This feels correct, anecdotally ... but is there data to support this claim? For example, savings rates going down, credit/debt going up, and consumer spending going down?

You also have to watch for savings going up and credit going down, to reflect people who are sick of being in debt and shying away from it wherever possible.

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#55

Post by djKianoosh »

was_boring wrote: post #36

What makes me upset is that the economic realities do not match what is taught in large swaths of America. We are taught (at least in my community, and I am 30 now still living within 20 miles of where I grew up) that a very achievable ideal is a middle class existence with one parent working, and a small house in the suburbs. I am in the top 1% income earners for my generation and do not even come close to this. I t…

>> I am in the top 1% income earners for my generation and do not even come close to this.

what? how is that even possible? what are your debts? how long have you been in the top 1%? something doesnt add up.

most of the people I know are making way more than their parents, and are able to move out of big metro areas and live in the suburbs just fine.

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#56

Post by harryh »

djb_hackernews wrote: post #42
harryh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Price per square foot for housing has remained remarkably constant over time. People are spending more on houses than they used to because they are buying bigger houses.

30 year olds are buying larger houses because typically those are the only options. It comes down to NIMBY local regulation enacted by the boomers with their FU I got mine attitude. Municipalities enforce size restrictions, ie you can't build too small, in order to ensure there isn't housing poor folk can afford. They enact parcel size restrictions which means a piece of land that could have 20 homes on it can only f…

Houses getting bigger due to regulatory changes (as opposed to buyer preference) is a perspective I had not considered. Interesting! Thanks!

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#57

Post by vvanders »

djKianoosh wrote: post #55
was_boring wrote: post #36

What makes me upset is that the economic realities do not match what is taught in large swaths of America. We are taught (at least in my community, and I am 30 now still living within 20 miles of where I grew up) that a very achievable ideal is a middle class existence with one parent working, and a small house in the suburbs. I am in the top 1% income earners for my generation and do not even come close to this. I t…

>> I am in the top 1% income earners for my generation and do not even come close to this. what? how is that even possible? what are your debts? how long have you been in the top 1%? something doesnt add up. most of the people I know are making way more than their parents, and are able to move out of big metro areas and live in the suburbs just fine.

The tech sector is this nice bubble where we've seen lots of economic prosperity. If you look at the statistics you'll see that's not the case for a large swath of America.

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#58

Post by crdoconnor »

rhino369 wrote: post #40
djb_hackernews wrote: post #10

Compound that with the percentage of income 30 year olds spend on housing, education, health care and child care compared to their parents and we have a recipe for disaster.

The cherry on top is that our parents generation, who made more and had access to cheaper house, education, healthcare, etc., still barely saved for retirement. Unless, god forbid, your parents drop dead early, we are going to be stuck supporting them for a long time.

If the 0.1% can successfully convince people to blame their grandparents and magical robots for stealing all of the country's wealth then this trend is likely to continue.

Re: Barely Half of 30-Year-Olds in the U.S. Earn More Than Their Parents Did at 30

#59

Post by falcolas »

harryh wrote: post #12
djb_hackernews wrote: post #10

Compound that with the percentage of income 30 year olds spend on housing, education, health care and child care compared to their parents and we have a recipe for disaster.

Price per square foot for housing has remained remarkably constant over time. People are spending more on houses than they used to because they are buying bigger houses.

Anecdotally, this is not the case, even in more rural areas. My parents bought 5 acres and built a house for $100,000 (adjusted for inflation). I recently bought a house with half the square footage and 1/10th of the land for double the amount. And I got a great deal in the current market by being willing to live even further from town.
Post reply on HN