Was there ever a time when your average nine to fiver could afford the American Dream?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
"Do your own research!" |
Anonymous
Thanks for those great insights...hence why UMD was included. However, it was more to show that back in the day there was very little meaningful difference in cost between Harvard and UMD. Again, the thread is affording the American Dream. I guess if you define the American Dream as attending community college and renting forever, then you are good with things. |
Anonymous
No need to be snide about community college. --child of a CC professor. |
Anonymous
No it didn't. Most black families could not afford to have one stay at home parent. |
Anonymous
CC is fine, but still, it is worth noting the little difference in cost for Harvard and UMD in the 50s and the difference now. The analysis by the PP holds water, even if one rents forever (which again, isn't necessarily cheaper, esp. if you're a family, and then you don't have home equity as an asset), even if one goes to state school, even if one doesn't own a car (which then requires affording rent/housing near public transport access plus monthly cost of public transport), and most especially, accounting for the difference between having a guaranteed pension and pinching pennies in 401ks. |
Anonymous
Buying a house is a key component of the American Dream |
Anonymous
My father needed a scholarship to attend a college in the late 1950s. He also worked numerous jobs to afford college. This was not uncommon among his working class demographic. Yes, tuitions have soared. As have costs of homes generally but not in all areas of the country (my parents house would sell, adjusted for inflation, for about as much today as when they bought it 50 years ago). But it's also true that what people expect at college, fancy dorms, fancy athletic facilities, fancy dining services, are way different than what was expected in the 1950s when my dad lived all four years in his parent's 1 bedroom 900 sq ft house and took the bus to campus. And expectations of how big a house should be and how many bedrooms and bathrooms have also grown. The average sized house in 1950 was less than 1000 sq ft. Today it's over 2400 sq ft. Even though family size has decreased. If builders were still building smaller houses they'd be much less expensive, you can't disagree with that. These issues require nuance to understand. Looking back nostalgically at at time when families of 5-10 people lived in small 1-2 bedroom, 1 bathroom houses is bizarre. Yes, those families lived on one salary. Who wants to live in such small housing today? Very few. Wages at the lower end of the scale absolutely have not grown at enough pace with inflation. Compensation of CEOs and at the high end of the pay scale has skyrocketed to outrageous levels. Unions have lost their grip, though luckily may be making a comeback. Wage extremism in both directions, high and low, does not do a society good. |
Anonymous
Not to mention that UC schools were free until the late 1960s and tuition was only $1,500/year in 1990. They are still a relatively good deal at $14,500 in-state tuition. However, median HHI in 1990 was $36,000 in CA, so that was still only 4.2% of HHI. Today, Median CA HHI is $92,000, so it is 15.8% of HHI. |
Anonymous
|
My 16 year old daughter blames it on feminists forcing women to work outside the home. I guess my kid isn't picking up on the cues to be a feminist very well. You sound proud. Even if she chooses to stay home you should encourage her to get an education and be prepared to support her quiver full of kids. Early death and divorces happen despite our best made plans. Sixteen is almost an adult and pretty late for childish fantasies. |
Anonymous
PP was not being snide about CC. They were being snide about not having goals. CC is a means to a higher education. Your parent has at least a Master’s degree. |
Anonymous
People feel good about their own data. 
|
Anonymous
Were Black families even Americans in the 70s? They couldn't even be Mormons back then. |
Anonymous
"If you define the American Dream as attending community college and renting forever." Yes that is meant to be snide. Don't gaslight. Many students attend CC primarily as a means to a better job. It's snide to imply that the American Dream has to include an Master's degree or even a BA. |
Anonymous
| It isnt that is is unaffordable, rather the American Dream isn’t what it used to be. Due to the internet and social media plus modern technology, people feel highly compelled to be aggressive consumers, far beyond their means. Everything from Stanley mugs to constant take out, Starbucks daily, leasing a new car every 3 years, having tons of clothes (and just an over abundance of stuff in general). People feel they deserve ( and their kids) the best of everything and will buy it. |
Anonymous
My 16 year old daughter blames it on feminists forcing women to work outside the home. I guess my kid isn't picking up on the cues to be a feminist very well. You sound proud. Even if she chooses to stay home you should encourage her to get an education and be prepared to support her quiver full of kids. Early death and divorces happen despite our best made plans. Sixteen is almost an adult and pretty late for childish fantasies. The dual income trap is real. As more women entered the workforce, it did lead to a rise in the cost of living and basic goods like housing. IT's simply because families had more money to chase after the same basket of goods. It's an economic phenomena and which in turn caused more women to go back to the workplace and brought the end of housewives to an end. All this is separate from the other arguments of feminism - discrimination against women was absolutely very real. |