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The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

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Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#951
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started as a trainee broadcast engineer in London on £17,800 a year in 2003. This left me with £1,082 a month (back then student loan payments were far higher than now). Rent for a tiny bedsit with a shared bathroom was £520 a month, 2 mile walk from work. I could live further out, but commuting costs outweighed any savings. That's the equivalent of £828 a month now. Bills were included. You can actually pick up a…

Similar story, also 2003. Think the pay was £24K, but I had to be in for work quite early in the morning so that limited the location. Rent was £800 a month for new building, but in a not-so-nice neighborhood. It was a 1BR, the sort of size that's big for a student but small for anyone else. Had its own kitchen and bathroom. Moved in with a friend after that, saved about £100 a month, but also in a nicer part of town…

> saved about £100 a month

Do that every month from age 21 and you'd be able to get a 10% deposit on a house by the time you're 40.

Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#952

Earlier quoted context omitted.

corporations != people The press does it's fair share, but you're wrong. Don't be afraid of change. If something isn't working; we should fix it.

Perhaps corporations are not people, however "the press" is made of corporations. If there is to be no restriction on the press then what is to stop any corporate entity from advancing the cause of their politics as a member of the so-called press? > Don't be afraid of change. If something isn't working; we should fix it. Furthermore, this is a binary line of thinking that isn't even fit for a children's book. The wo…

By all means, extrapolate your position. The press is corporate, but every story I've ever seen has a byline. That means the actual speech is from a person.

Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#953

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but as above even with high rates the payment was lower.

Inflation adjusted housing cost per square foot has remained remarkably constant for decades. Thus, given higher interest rates over the same fixed timeframe, relative payments were higher.

> Inflation adjusted housing cost per square foot has remained remarkably constant for decades

I think you mean for the first year. With higher inflation everyone got big wage rises each year which quickly made mortgages more affordable. Now wages are stagnating so even 10 years later most people dont earn much more than when they first took out the mortgage.

Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#954
post #903

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. You can always get a roommate and split the cost.

I mean, should this be a design goal? I'm mostly voicing a much more general confusion here. I think you have to bolt down our [lets be honest] mostly imaginary system to reality in some spots. Rents can simply be adjusted to whatever people can pay. That way there is no technological or economic progress to be had for those at the bottom. The fix is in? Or let me put it like this: If I want a banana I want to pay fo…

You clearly do not understand the economics behind renting. Wealth extraction as you call it, isn't pure profit for the layers above. Your rent pays for the landlord's mortgage, maintenance, inspection and risk being taken on from a tenant. Your landlord pays the bank, who use the money to pay off their own obligations, including your grandparents pension plan. It would never be possible to adjust that system.

The other reason things are so high is there are too many people and not enough houses, so there's little opportunity for competition.

Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#955
post #903

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, should this be a design goal? I'm mostly voicing a much more general confusion here. I think you have to bolt down our [lets be honest] mostly imaginary system to reality in some spots. Rents can simply be adjusted to whatever people can pay. That way there is no technological or economic progress to be had for those at the bottom. The fix is in? Or let me put it like this: If I want a banana I want to pay fo…

You clearly do not understand the economics behind renting. Wealth extraction as you call it, isn't pure profit for the layers above. Your rent pays for the landlord's mortgage, maintenance, inspection and risk being taken on from a tenant. Your landlord pays the bank, who use the money to pay off their own obligations, including your grandparents pension plan. It would never be possible to adjust that system. The ot…

When, if or where people are either poor or primitive enough it works like this: You build a house then you live in it.

There is nothing in this that suggests one needs to spend 1/4 or 2/3 of the productive labor in their lives to maintain the house.

Progress is to reduce the maintenance cost. The lower it is the lower the salaries can be which increase productivity exponentially.

IOW grandpa's pension plan is for a large part to continue to pay for housing. He spend his entire life busting his ass but some how didn't manage to earn a place to live.

Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#956
post #955

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You clearly do not understand the economics behind renting. Wealth extraction as you call it, isn't pure profit for the layers above. Your rent pays for the landlord's mortgage, maintenance, inspection and risk being taken on from a tenant. Your landlord pays the bank, who use the money to pay off their own obligations, including your grandparents pension plan. It would never be possible to adjust that system. The ot…

When, if or where people are either poor or primitive enough it works like this: You build a house then you live in it. There is nothing in this that suggests one needs to spend 1/4 or 2/3 of the productive labor in their lives to maintain the house. Progress is to reduce the maintenance cost. The lower it is the lower the salaries can be which increase productivity exponentially. IOW grandpa's pension plan is for a…

It's still possible possible to build a house today and live in it, and there is plenty of land, even some going for cheap. But most people don't want that because they make that trade off for today's luxuries.

Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#957

I remember our family of five children, two cars, pool (but above ground), most vacations were camping but we did make it to Disney World. We had lots of nice stuff as kids, but it was solidly middle class. My mother stayed home while my father worked an eight hour day as an engineer at the local factory. He never worked overtime or weekends. All this with a bachelor's degree. My mother eventually went back to work s…

> American workers have been conned into creating the very wealthiest people in the world by continuing to give up more and more earning power

This pendulum seems to swing back and forth. The phrase "conned into" implies that American workers had some kind of choice and were lied to or otherwise induced to making the wrong choice.

That may be true, or there may have been systemic changes, not under the control of American workers, or there may have been choices made by other groups in American society (older workers, politicians, etc.), that led to the current state.

Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#958

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it's true this seems like a strong US thing, I haven't heard many happy long-term stories of folks living intergenerationally. In my experience (talking to people from a variety of countries), most couples in their 20s/30s want their own place (even in the countries where it's not common). It seems it can even lead to happier intergenerational relationships when the roomate-type fights don't need to happen. It…

I think your random sampling of people is just unlucky. It's not my experience the people living intergenerationally are unhappy. It's normal here in Asia. I know of no one complaining. It's very common to see 50s mom and 20s daughters spending days together as friends. Browse a dating site and it's not uncommon to see people even in their 40s living with parents. It's also not uncommon for people to move out for col…

The economic incentives are the whole thing.

Had the US not participated the suburban American dream, the excess WWII capacity would be wasted instead of being redirected to home construction, auto manufacturing, and all manner of new industry. And we would’ve plunged into yet another depression.

Re: The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US are now living with their parents

#960

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Inflation adjusted housing cost per square foot has remained remarkably constant for decades. Thus, given higher interest rates over the same fixed timeframe, relative payments were higher.

> Inflation adjusted housing cost per square foot has remained remarkably constant for decades I think you mean for the first year. With higher inflation everyone got big wage rises each year which quickly made mortgages more affordable. Now wages are stagnating so even 10 years later most people dont earn much more than when they first took out the mortgage.

Care to show me these big wage rises each year?
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