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

wsj.com

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

#101

Post by djedipus »

uiri wrote: post #35

People who are 30 now were 22-23 in 2008-9 during the Great Recession. This particular cohort (plus/minus a year or two) of graduates will likely have slightly depressed lifetime earnings relative to those a couple years older or a couple years younger. I would expect this year and next to represent the bottoming out of this trend.

This is based on a history of recessions. Unfortunately this one is different (really)... We've never had interest rates so low for so long. It's possible, and I consider it likely, that those younger will be even more affected. Consider the possibility that parents run out of money and living in the basement isn't even an option. Also consider there is a decent chance for another recession before this one is even over.

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

#102

Post by eridius »

virmundi wrote: post #91
eridius wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Up until we finally get our collective heads out of our asses and implement something like Basic Income.

Then you're just a serf of the State. Do we want to go back to feudalism? -- edited for spelling --

The word is "serf", but your claim makes no sense anyway. A serf is not someone who receives money from their government. In fact, the whole point of Basic Income is you get the money even if you don't do any work at all, which is basically the complete opposite of a serf.

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

#103

Post by eridius »

vijayr wrote: post #90
eridius wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Up until we finally get our collective heads out of our asses and implement something like Basic Income.

That isn't going to happen easily. My experience: I've talked about this to many people (highly educated, smart people) - most of them are adamant on the idea that human beings absolutely have to work to deserve anything, even food and water. This might very well be anecdotal, but very few people get ideas like Basic Income intuitively. It would likely take tremendous amount to first make people understand, then acce…

I agree that it won't happen easily. Which is why I phrased it the way I did. But I do think that it must happen eventually (and really, it's just a stepping stone on the path to a post-scarcity society).

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

#104

Post by marssaxman »

brandonmenc wrote: post #89
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…

> We are taught that a very achievable ideal is a middle class existence with one parent working I'm pushing 40 (upbringing: United States, middle class, medium-sized city) and have never, ever heard of this dream of a single-income household.

I am 40, and it was a nostalgic conservative thing among my parents' generation. For my parents and their fundamentalist subculture, it was almost a religious obligation, tied up in ideas about gender roles.

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

#105

Post by dajohnson89 »

notadoc wrote: post #78
douche wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Yea, west coast real estate has become totally surreal.

New York, DC, Boston, are also insane.

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

#106

Post by virmundi »

eridius wrote: post #102
virmundi wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you're just a serf of the State. Do we want to go back to feudalism? -- edited for spelling --

The word is "serf", but your claim makes no sense anyway. A serf is not someone who receives money from their government. In fact, the whole point of Basic Income is you get the money even if you don't do any work at all, which is basically the complete opposite of a serf.

You're actually paying them to not riot. Serfs provided the core of a relatively stable body politic. They could be called on for war. They didn't have much economic power individually. They could be pushed around by the powers that be. They were also largely disarmed (Hillary and Obama).

BI == Serfs until the government can implement either forced sterilization or State assisted suicide.

For those down voting, picture the US if there was no welfare state. What would all of those people do if they didn't have the state to keep them fed just enough to not riot or declare war on their government? The answer to that question is not improve policies to balance environmental stewardship with pro-business expansion.

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

#107

Post by WalterBright »

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.

Don't forget the vast expansion of government spending. That wealth it dissipates has to come from somewhere.

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

#108

Post by hollerith »

rubidium wrote: post #31
hollerith wrote: post #22

People who will have children ("eventual parents" for the purpose of this comment) are healthier, smarter and wealthier than people who will never have children. If the question is whether things have gotten harder for the average person, it is misleading to compare a group consisting only of eventual parents with a group composed of both eventual parents and non-parents. A better comparison would be 30-years-olds of…

While I appreciate you pointing out a potential source of sampling error, the data accounts for this. See: https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-RD331_CHETTY_1...

How does that chart have any bearing on my previous comment?

I am completely mystified by your reply.

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

#109

Post by vibrato »

djedipus wrote: post #101
uiri wrote: post #35

People who are 30 now were 22-23 in 2008-9 during the Great Recession. This particular cohort (plus/minus a year or two) of graduates will likely have slightly depressed lifetime earnings relative to those a couple years older or a couple years younger. I would expect this year and next to represent the bottoming out of this trend.

This is based on a history of recessions. Unfortunately this one is different (really)... We've never had interest rates so low for so long. It's possible, and I consider it likely, that those younger will be even more affected. Consider the possibility that parents run out of money and living in the basement isn't even an option. Also consider there is a decent chance for another recession before this one is even ov…

The last recession ended in 2009.

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

#110

Post by AnimalMuppet »

refurb wrote: post #50
infogulch wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That chart is the core of the article and answers several questions from the comments here: yes it's inflation-adjusted, the ratio has gone down over time (90% of people born in the 1940's earned more than their parents at 30, and it's gone down to 50% now).

Is that really that surprising? People born in the 1940's would have lived through a massive economic upswing post WW2. While their parents probably experience the Great Depression through their 30's.

It would be interesting to see the same chart extended back another 50 years...
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