Does anyone know why wages aren’t increasing? Unemployment is almost at a 50-year low.
Supply curve and demand curves have shifted due to increases in labor supply and decreases in demand, decreasing the price of labor.
The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
81–90 of 269 posts
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#82> But unlike the prophecies of talking cartoon bears, all this money didn’t drive inflation through the roof and crash the stock market. It doesn’t seem to have really gone…anywhere.
It sure did drive inflation. It went into asset prices, which have been massively inflated by low interest rates.
Absurdly, the article is ranting about the rate at which real estate and rent are increasing, then pretending the inflation from printing all that money didn't go anywhere. From one paragraph to the next, somehow the author managed that disconnect. The Fed's zero interest rate policy, spurred the big recovery in housing prices (intentionally), and has enabled people to spend more on housing via artificially cheap mortgages than they otherwise could have, pushing prices up rapidly.
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#83Here’s a controversial perspective. Maybe most people’s expectations are too lofty, and their abilities much lower than the think they are. In 2000, less than 25% of the working popultion had a bachelors degree. Today, every young person I talk to expects to finish a Phd, JD, and MBA. And, now everyone wants to live in the trendiest (highest-cost areas). There are plenty of places in the US where a house can be purca…
Due to gains in efficiency and scale, it’s more winner take all than ever before. Look at the public markets, it’s halved in the number of companies even listed on it, and of those listed there’s basically a handful capturing all the gains. The bigger companies will continue to gain pricing power so unless you’re in some regulated niche like doctors, expect to not be in control of your destiny if all you plan to do is work a job.
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not the root cause. It shouldn't be the case that you need such a massive loan for education or housing. The government has failed if it cannot control the cost of these basic items.
Assuming you are, like the article, referring to the USA, the only schooling that may necessitate a massive loan is post-secondary (as in after primary and secondary) schooling. The government has done a great job of controlling costs of schooling up to that point. It is confusing to me why you call that optional tertiary level of schooling a basic item? According to the OCED, only 48% of American adults have post-se…
Loan for housing is just lazy writing on my part. I should have made it clear I meant the cost of housing.
For education, OP's article made a strong case for tertiary education (as the only group seeing wage growth). Also, if you believe that inequality and lack of social mobility are bad things then you should believe that all people should have easy access to tertiary education.
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#85I very interesting article. This kind of numbers should be on the news all the time (like global warming) so people focus more on them instead of what is the last Twitt from the president. > "Get rich or die trying" I have always seen this as USA's major flaws. You are not supposed to have a good life but to risk everything for riches. This was working when the rest of the world was under-developed. USA citizens had…
How many TV shows I have seen that people laugh at the janitor looking down to him?
Zero? In fact, the Scrubs janitor comes to mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v2mEg9Cpvs
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
It costs around the same in Europe if you don't have insurance. I'm pretty sure it's the same in the USA - this is the rate that would be charged to your insurance company. Rates are way lower for uninsured people if you ask them and tell them that you're not insured (I got a bill lowered 10 times when I broke my hand); and of course most people have some kind of insurance. To the people downvoting: please read prope…
That's absolutely not true. If it is, name an EU country where that is the case. If you are a citizen of an EU country, you are entitled to use the healthcare system in that country(and any other EU state), purely by virtue of being a citizen. The only case that would maybe trigger a payment would be if you were a visitor to EU and had a baby - but most likely no hospital would bill you as hospitals are just not equi…
as hospitals are just not equipped for billing
In Sweden every visit to a doctor or hospital is billed, as is every night spend at the hospital, so they are definitely equipped to handle it.
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#87Here’s a controversial perspective. Maybe most people’s expectations are too lofty, and their abilities much lower than the think they are. In 2000, less than 25% of the working popultion had a bachelors degree. Today, every young person I talk to expects to finish a Phd, JD, and MBA. And, now everyone wants to live in the trendiest (highest-cost areas). There are plenty of places in the US where a house can be purca…
Isnt that just reflectin of who you talk with? I am pretty sure that 100% of young americans do not plan PhD nor MBA.
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
Assuming you are, like the article, referring to the USA, the only schooling that may necessitate a massive loan is post-secondary (as in after primary and secondary) schooling. The government has done a great job of controlling costs of schooling up to that point. It is confusing to me why you call that optional tertiary level of schooling a basic item? According to the OCED, only 48% of American adults have post-se…
Loan for housing is just lazy writing on my part. I should have made it clear I meant the cost of housing. For education, OP's article made a strong case for tertiary education (as the only group seeing wage growth). Also, if you believe that inequality and lack of social mobility are bad things then you should believe that all people should have easy access to tertiary education.
> OP's article made a strong case for tertiary education (as the only group seeing wage growth
If wages are growing for this group, then it stands to reason that costs of joining this group should also be also rising. Economically speaking, there cannot be a disparity where simply having a tertiary education leaves you better off than not having it. If there is, then people will join that group, driving up costs and negating the disparity. The economy always finds equilibrium given enough time.
It's a similar situation to housing. As an advocate for lost-cost rural living, I have asked a lot of people why they choose the high-cost city. The answer is always the same: Their higher paying job justifies the higher cost of living. And thus living costs are rising to reach equilibrium with rural areas. There, again, cannot be a financial advantage to living in the city, else people will move there, drive up costs and negate the disparity.
Any time wages rise for a particular group, costs have to as well. It is the only way the balance will remain in the economy. The exception is when you don't let all people join that group. Without access, then people cannot move to find that balance. There is why everyone who is ultra-wealthy are so due to exclusive property rights (land, intellectual property, etc.) that are out of reach to everyone else.
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#89I very interesting article. This kind of numbers should be on the news all the time (like global warming) so people focus more on them instead of what is the last Twitt from the president. > "Get rich or die trying" I have always seen this as USA's major flaws. You are not supposed to have a good life but to risk everything for riches. This was working when the rest of the world was under-developed. USA citizens had…
>countersignal here that dang warns me about
Re: The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
Assuming you don't have healthcare insurance, which 90% of Americans do, it would set you back around $3000, according to: https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/considering-baby/financing...
But if I understand it correctly, for some unfathomable reason American health insurance policies usually have a deductible on them - so even if you are insured, you could still be paying few thousand dollars out of your pocket, no? That's insane.
My wife's C-section delivery in the Bay Area cost ~$2,100 out of pocket. We had very good insurance.