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Gen Z does not dream of labor

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Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#231

Post by missedthecue »

closeparen wrote: post #51
burlesona wrote: post #14

> “My dad got a job straight out of high school, saved up, and bought a house in his 20s,” said Anne Dakota, a 21-year-old receptionist from Asheville, North Carolina, who earns minimum wage. “I don’t even think that’s possible for me, at least with the current money I make.” I think this is pretty much the whole story. It’s very hard to be motivated to work when you could save your entire adult life and still strugg…

Asheville is an increasingly trendy and prestigious resort town for very rich people from all over. It is not a place I would expect anyone to buy their first home.

It's very difficult for me to believe they're making $7.25 in Asheville like the article says. If you're making that, it's a matter of choice.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#233

Post by iso1210 »

syshum wrote: post #125
ThePrankster wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdote: I am Gen Z. This story holds true for my parents and I. My dad was a solider in Latin America, my mom, a nurse. Their job required, at most, 2 years of education beyond High School. I am a data analyst, with a Bachelor's and a Master's. I earn more than they both did together, adjusted for inflation. My friends are in "specialized jobs" as well -- some even being doctors and lawyers. We still have zero hope…

I am late late GenX, and I have no higher education, own my car out right (late model pretty nice), I will pay off my home in the next 5 years, and I financially support one of my parents. I make less than 6 figures so I would not consider myself to be "rich" I think the key for me is the fact I choose not to incur educational debt getting a BS and/or MS, I also choose to live in a non-coastal region that does not ha…

> * To be clear this is just basic support like a stable roof over my head,

Over the course of a few years that's well into 6 figures of support

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#234

Post by erosenbe0 »

StevePerkins wrote: post #210
skulk wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He could've been a plumber/electrician/welder who would do really well in the current market. False. A plumber making $80k (US median seems to be around $60k) isn't going to be able to save up for a down payment if they're paying a typical mid-sized city's rent (~$1.2k a month). Not to mention housing costs going up during this period of saving up.

Not to mention that plumber probably doesn't have health coverage. The people who love to talk about what a fine profession that would be (for other people's kids, of course, never their own kids) are the same people who fight tooth and nail against any kind of health care policy that might make a non-white collar career more viable.

Plumbers and pipefitters have a union that has plenty of power in current market. No health insurance and they won't work. Plumbing pays more than 80k in major cities. Plumbing contractors have to carry workers comp insurance.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#235

Post by thereare5lights »

zdragnar wrote: post #146
skulk wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He could've been a plumber/electrician/welder who would do really well in the current market. False. A plumber making $80k (US median seems to be around $60k) isn't going to be able to save up for a down payment if they're paying a typical mid-sized city's rent (~$1.2k a month). Not to mention housing costs going up during this period of saving up.

Growing, but still rural city in the Midwest I visited a few weeks back has decent homes for sale in the 50-80k range. This is not an outlier. Roughly 2/3 of Americans own homes. If you live in an area where homes are priced like luxury investments, then yes, you'll have a hard time buying when you also cannot afford other luxuries. If you live in an area where they are not, it isn't unattainable at all, especially i…

Not a great suggestion if you’re not white. The Midwest is not place I would want to subject my children to.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#236

Post by missedthecue »

Jerred wrote: post #38

As a Gen Z it's not that our entire generation is lazy it's that we've seen our parents give their entire lives to a company or industry just counting down the years to retirement. That personally is my worst case scenario for my career. Sure some people my age just want to be famous and not do any hard work, but I'd say the majority just don't want to be a "good employee" for 40 years just increasing the number ever…

If you're Gen Z, your parents most likely began careers in the early 1990s, probably later than that. What careers did they have then that were such an easy piece of cake? The 1990s were not the 1950s.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#237

Post by watwut »

cmckn wrote: post #127
eulers_secret wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is part of why I left my job. I had the realization that my dream (homeownership/2 kids) was untenable with my income (~$135K TC) in my area. I could certainly get the credit for it, but my life would be one long hardship living under wage slavery, being house-poor, having little free time, paying exorbitantly to watch others raise my kids, and not having the opportunities I currently have... I kinda gave up on…

Sounds like you haven’t given up on your ‘dream’ if you’re currently still grinding to attain it. Hate to break it to you, but many, many people raise kids and own a home with way less than $135k, even in your area. If you don’t want to attempt it because it’ll be hard, stressful, risky, etc.; maybe that’s worth reflecting on? Sometimes your standards/expectations are what need to change.

Maybe it should not be risky to have 2 kids for an average person.

And also simultaneously, especially American culture is super judgemental of people whonhave kids and struggle financially in any way. It is big in personal responsibility in relation to having them, paying health care or ensuring school or even supervising etc. I find it unfair that in same environment people end up blamed for having too high standards when they internalize all that and insist on being responsible and financially well off.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#238

Post by thereare5lights »

zdragnar wrote: post #199
skulk wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you should try to understand why certain kinds of people (of, perhaps the non-white kind) would not want to move into an insular community?

Maybe if they visited, they'd find their assumptions to be unwarranted racism. It isn't as diverse as some other parts of the country, but there's groups of people from all over the world. Within a 2 hour drive from me, you'll find enclaves from Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Mexico and others.

Have visited. The constant microaggressions are exactly what I expected.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#239

Post by leeroyjenkins11 »

jseliger wrote: post #72
burlesona wrote: post #14

> “My dad got a job straight out of high school, saved up, and bought a house in his 20s,” said Anne Dakota, a 21-year-old receptionist from Asheville, North Carolina, who earns minimum wage. “I don’t even think that’s possible for me, at least with the current money I make.” I think this is pretty much the whole story. It’s very hard to be motivated to work when you could save your entire adult life and still strugg…

It is interesting to me that relatively few people respond to this situation—housing constraints leading to high prices ( https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/mac.20170388)—by working to remove the regulatory constraints that prevent people from being able to buy or rent housing units.

I think things would be better if interest rates were higher as well. Inflated home prices are from high demand, but also because so many people can get loans for 350k. People would be less willing to deal with that price tag if they had to deal with 5-7% interest. You'd start having smaller homes being built and lower competition in the market. It would also incentivise people to save for down payments instead of the pay as you go model we have now.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#240

Post by bb88 »

karaterobot wrote: post #149
skulk wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He could've been a plumber/electrician/welder who would do really well in the current market. False. A plumber making $80k (US median seems to be around $60k) isn't going to be able to save up for a down payment if they're paying a typical mid-sized city's rent (~$1.2k a month). Not to mention housing costs going up during this period of saving up.

I don't agree. I made under $80k in household income when I bought my first home in 2014. This was in (well, just outside) Seattle, which was and remains one of the more expensive markets in the country. I saved up for a down payment; it took years. It wasn't my dream home, but it allowed me to build equity and continue saving for the one that was. I am not ready to say "kids these days want everything handed to them…

The traditional rule for a mortgage was 20% down and the house itself was no more than 2.5 times salary.

Where I live, Boise, housing prices have shot up dramatically, over twice. Median house prices in Boise is $536k. So you would really need to make $214K/year to afford the mortgage under the old rules. And nobody makes that kind of money here.

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