Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents • Hacker News Board

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#61

Post by paulpauper » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:28 PM UTC

danhak wrote: post #56

veed99 wrote: post #47

Most 18-22 years waste 4 years in university not acquiring any skills that would help them in a competitive job market. As a result, they move back in with mom and dad at age 22, now thousands of dollars in debt.

Increases in housing and healthcare costs have been absolutely dwarfing wage growth in most major metros, for decades now. This "it's your fault for majoring in gender studies" meme is a red herring. There was a time in the U.S. where one parent could support a family and purchase a house while the other stayed at home with the kids. With nothing more than a high school diploma.

Additionally, only a small percentage of grads major in the humanities and social sciences despite all the hype and blame such subjects get . https://greyenlightenment.com/how-popular-are-gender-studies...

most people major in more 'actionable' subjects such as business, nursing, phycology, etc.

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#62

Post by Allenaz » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:30 PM UTC

at_a_remove wrote: post #44

I have been taking care of my elderly mother, who would be vaguely defined as "not well" in the Southern sense of things, since my twenties. I did go into it with my eyes open, knowing the kinds of tradeoffs I was making. I could live alone, but this was a choice I made to help her. However, I was unprepared in the extreme for the ambient hostility toward men who live with their mothers, no matter the reason. I do no…

I would say that you got unlucky so far, everybody struggles with something at some point in time, the kind of people worth keeping near know and respect that.

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#63

Post by salamimonger » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:34 PM UTC

petra wrote: post #49

honkycat wrote: post #18

The US is a gerontocracy. We are going to end up exactly like Japan, a whole generation of young people passing on kids due to economic and environmental stress with no-one to replace them. The stats tell the story. Young people are the largest part of the workforce[0], but we work for lower wages and have a TINY amount of the wealth in comparison to older generations[1]. The number of my friends who are hamstrung by…

So the economic situation in the US is not as amazing as it was before. So what ? Compared to the rest of the world, people in the US have it easy. Heck, in many places in the western world, people can't even afford to buy an apartment , which many in the US own or will own houses.

I'd say people in other places have it way easier. They don't fear bankruptcy when considering whether or not to get a health checkup. They don't pay the majority of their wage to have a decent livingspace. They pay less for food and overall have less cost of living. Poor people in the third world can eat decent meals (and they don't even need to cook it themselves) for almost nothing compared to the US. What do our poor have access to? I guess dollar menus at fast food chains.

So no, I don't think it's fair to say people in the US have it easy. You have it easy, and maybe the people around you do. But that means nothing to all the other people whose pain and suffering are invalidated by people like you just because they happened to be born on a piece of land that happens to be classified as "first world."

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#64

Post by at_a_remove » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:34 PM UTC

Allenaz wrote: post #62

at_a_remove wrote: post #44

I have been taking care of my elderly mother, who would be vaguely defined as "not well" in the Southern sense of things, since my twenties. I did go into it with my eyes open, knowing the kinds of tradeoffs I was making. I could live alone, but this was a choice I made to help her. However, I was unprepared in the extreme for the ambient hostility toward men who live with their mothers, no matter the reason. I do no…

I would say that you got unlucky so far, everybody struggles with something at some point in time, the kind of people worth keeping near know and respect that.

After multiple decades without so much as a kiss, I think "luck" as a factor can be moved to the bottom of the list of explanations.

Like I said, I went into it with my eyes open. I didn't expect anyone to give me a cookie or anything. It's just that the generalized hostility was unexpected.

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#65

Post by watwut » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:37 PM UTC

DeonPenny wrote: post #28

rconti wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also have no idea what you're talking about. But, generally, I'm not sure that incentivizing people to legally bond themselves to another is necessarily an unquestionably positive thing.

Because married people throughout time are wealthier. Married people make more money, married millenials own 70% of all the houses millenials have bought, married people are half as likely to be in proverty. If you have to choose a way for people to get wealthy between a college degree and marriage marriage would be the better decision by far.

Marriage does not make people wealthy at all. Instead, wealth makes people more likely to marry.

People with real issues, whether mental or criminal or sick etcetc both don't marry and have significantly smaller income. People with issues divorce more often and have smaller income too.

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#66

Post by xlm1717 » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:38 PM UTC

at_a_remove wrote: post #44

I have been taking care of my elderly mother, who would be vaguely defined as "not well" in the Southern sense of things, since my twenties. I did go into it with my eyes open, knowing the kinds of tradeoffs I was making. I could live alone, but this was a choice I made to help her. However, I was unprepared in the extreme for the ambient hostility toward men who live with their mothers, no matter the reason. I do no…

I am a man living with my mother. My mother is relatively healthy, she can work, but she cannot afford to live on her own (even before the pandemic), so she lives with me and I pay the rent, and it has been this way for me since my twenties too. I am always extremely hesitant to tell anyone I am living with my mother, and yeah, it puts a freeze on dating to the point that I don't even attempt to date anymore either.

At least being men our dating prospects can actually improve the older we get, and for me I'll be pretty well off financially when I do live on my own, but that's small comfort in the present...

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#67

Post by westwing » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:41 PM UTC

petra wrote: post #49

honkycat wrote: post #18

The US is a gerontocracy. We are going to end up exactly like Japan, a whole generation of young people passing on kids due to economic and environmental stress with no-one to replace them. The stats tell the story. Young people are the largest part of the workforce[0], but we work for lower wages and have a TINY amount of the wealth in comparison to older generations[1]. The number of my friends who are hamstrung by…

So the economic situation in the US is not as amazing as it was before. So what ? Compared to the rest of the world, people in the US have it easy. Heck, in many places in the western world, people can't even afford to buy an apartment , which many in the US own or will own houses.

Look at tax/insurance burden in all these developed and aging countries. Most of that money is going towards paying off the older generations, their ailments and their debt, and it's still not enough, debt just keeps growing.

Then look at the tax/insurance burden of developing countries. Sure, these people earn nominally less, but they often live relatively better lives. They're living lives closer to what our boomer parents lived.

Real estate prices are a distraction. These are high because interest rates are low. It's probably not a good idea to buy real estate even if you can afford it.

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#68

Post by nickelcitymario » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:47 PM UTC

DeonPenny wrote: post #41

honkycat wrote: post #18

The US is a gerontocracy. We are going to end up exactly like Japan, a whole generation of young people passing on kids due to economic and environmental stress with no-one to replace them. The stats tell the story. Young people are the largest part of the workforce[0], but we work for lower wages and have a TINY amount of the wealth in comparison to older generations[1]. The number of my friends who are hamstrung by…

The millennial generation has made terrible decision egged on by the previous. No one needed all those degrees to begin with. Most are useless to the larger economy. That along with the choice to stay single longer has doomed this generation.

> egged on by the previous.

This. All I heard growing up was "go to post-secondary." Zero concern for what the actual degree would be. Any degree would do.

Now, I'm a big believer in education and post-secondary. 100%. The top earners across the board are more educated than the lower half.

BUT: It depends on the degree. So many of my friends are still paying for degrees that went nowhere, and I'm in my mid-30s.

I've got 4 kids and my message to them is to keep their options open, figure out what kind of work they want to do for the rest of their lives, and get the right education for that. If they want to be an engineer, fantastic. University it is. But so many degrees lead to poor job prospects or low wages that do not in any way justify the cost. It's crazy town.

If the type of work you want to do doesn't pay especially well, that's fine. There's more to life than money. But don't go into debt over it.

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#69

Post by feoren » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:49 PM UTC

DeonPenny wrote: post #28

rconti wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also have no idea what you're talking about. But, generally, I'm not sure that incentivizing people to legally bond themselves to another is necessarily an unquestionably positive thing.

Because married people throughout time are wealthier. Married people make more money, married millenials own 70% of all the houses millenials have bought, married people are half as likely to be in proverty. If you have to choose a way for people to get wealthy between a college degree and marriage marriage would be the better decision by far.

Even if I assume you have stats to back that up, don't you think there's an itsy bitsy chance you're operating with a huge correlation / causation fallacy here? Does getting married automatically make you more wealthy, or are people who are already wealthy more likely to get married? It seems almost obvious that if there is any causation, it's in the latter direction.

Re: Over Half of U.S. Young Adults Now Live with Their Parents

#70

Post by feoren » Mon, Nov 30, 2020, 7:52 PM UTC

falcolas wrote: post #51

nemothekid wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feel like you are putting the cart before the horse here. It's not like the government gives you a house and 40 acres for getting married.

You do get tax breaks, and a number of other benefits (in particular related to having children). You also get a tax break on a certain amount of paid interest on a house purchase. Plus, there's the whole " allowed to be next to your loved one in the hospital" thing that's overlooked until it's needed. So, no 40 acres, but there are benefits beyond two incomes.

I have no idea what tax breaks I'm supposed to have gotten from being married. Our collective taxes went up after being married. Is the tax thing folklore from the era when only one partner worked? And mortgage interest being deductible has nothing to do with marriage.