You guys always leave out that they were basically able to do this right out of high school. They didn’t have to spend thousands on a college education to get a decent paying job that came with an amazing benefits package. Now even a bachelors seems to be not enough and jobs want a masters but only pays $30 an hour.
My dad was already on his 3rd car at the age of 28 or so. I remember my mom fighting with him for buying a new car without consulting her when the previous car was only a few years old.
Here I am at almost 40 and I still take the bus to work.
Public schools have been beating the “college success” drum for far too long. In California welders, electricians, plumbers all make a very livable wage. Between my wife and I we only have one two year degree, although her two year degree required four years of schooling. I have been a police officer since 2007 and my wife has been an Xray Tech since 2004. Our lawyer, teacher and engineer friends are about the only ones that have a career based on their four year degrees. Our son is a senior and was thinking about becoming a teacher. His 23yr old high school chemistry teacher talked him out of it. He said the pay and benefits are garbage. A UCLA degree and he can’t even afford to live on his own. My sister in law and her husband have a masters and doctorate in social work. Talk about a waste of an education. They borrowed money from my wife and I so they could buy a house.
Lots of people were promised lots of things for going to college and doing all their homework and then when they got out, all they had was a huge debt hanging over their heads and mediocre job prospects.
The median income was $21k. Today it’s $80k. No doubt housing costs have increased faster than inflation… same with education, healthcare and all of the other places government dips its toe.
Gold standard and amount of US gold was being questioned, and Nikons Econ guy negotiated the petrol dollar which solidified the dominance of the US dollar. One dubious value system to the next one
Bullshit. They went into the military which gave them VA loans so they could buy houses at 22 and not pay rent. The EXACT SAME OPPORTUNITY EXISTS TODAY.
Not all of them and I didn’t say anything about buying a home. Actually I don’t have any older relatives that went in to the military except my grandpa and he was from the silent generation. There are boomers that were born in the late 50s and early 60s that never enlisted and were able to live like this in the 80s.
And, yes actually I benefit from VA benefits because my husband is a disabled veteran. We were able to get a VA loan but it didn’t give us the $140k we need for the down payment for the home we live. My parents bought a home in the 80s for $120k total and it is now valued at $1.2 mil. We are not living the same life they did.
140k down payment is crazy, you’re likely living in a 700k+ house
Of course your house hasn’t 10x, you haven’t lived in it for 40 years like your parents. Expecting that off the jump is foolish. But don’t worry, I’m sure your McMansion will undergo a similar process within your parents time frame
My husband is a veteran and we couldn't afford to buy a house without the help of my grandparents. The "guaranteed loan" still only covers the bare minimum. The best we could have gotten on his "guaranteed loan" was a mold and termite infested two room house. It doesn't update very well with house prices skyrocketing
Not to mention that moldy home wouldn't have even passed the VA inspection, meaning the seller likely would have torn up the sale because they aren't willing to make the repairs. Or Greystar would have just made an all cash offer at asking price with no inspections or repairs requested and snagged it out from under you anyway.
Lol my husband is a veteran, and even when we made a combined 6 figures we couldn't get approved for a VA loan in a LCOL area. The home my dad bought on his VA loan was $150k. The same house, a "starter home" is now selling for $600k
Except all the home under $300k in my area are falling apart and don't qualify for the VA loan because they're not move in ready. We'd have to move 3 states away to find a house in our price range. We can't afford to move and also can't move out of state due to a custody agreement. So instead we get to rent a house for nearly double what the mortgage actually is
Owned a home since I was thirty but will be renting the rest of my life thanks to a divorce. I do live in a lower cost of living state but rent on a crappy 1400 square foot house is as much as the payment was on the 4800 square foot house I lived in for 20 years
Yeah, and I'd wager those places aren't where the person you're replying to lives and works. I'd also wager that the average pay in those areas is way lower. "There's starter homes for 150k in Bumblefuck Iowa" isn't helpful if moving to Bumblefuck Iowa would also involve a huge pay cut.
But it does like to place blame. Please (anyone) tell me how the comment in the orig. post is the average boomer's fault, because that is how I see it portrayed.
They instantly became the largest voting bloc in America when they reached adulthood and have been the largest voting bloc until very very recently….so what’s that ≈ 45 years of controlling American politics.
So yes we are absolutely living in a country that was shaped and molded by Boomer values and beliefs, and people were put into government that acted on those beliefs.
They may not have directly told the government what to do but they absolutely put the people in power that made those decisions on what to do.
My step son has adhd. Had a terrible time in school, behavioral problems etc. Graduates high school and spends 2 years trying to work out what he wanted to do with his life. It was really just 2 years playing video games and basically living in his room. We had a conversation with him and put a boot up his ass, gave him a deadline to do something with his life. He bounced between a few things before eventually enlisting in the navy. He just graduated boot camp, has $20kin signing bonus and is now being paid for a year to learn. He is absolutely thriving, he loves the structure and discipline. He is saving money and is on track to eventually buy a house and start a family.
He has grown so much and doesn't blame the word or some group of people anymore for his situation.
Im a mechanical engineer making $30 an hour after 3 years of being here. I didnt get benefits until over 2 years because they made me stay "temporary" even though I was working 40 hour weeks.
Been looking for a new job for over 2 years. Can't seem to get hired anywhere else. At least 4 of the jobs Ive applied to within the last year, where I say through multiple interviews (phone, in person 1, in person 2) would reject me and then immediately post the position online again.
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u/silence-glaive1 15h ago
You guys always leave out that they were basically able to do this right out of high school. They didn’t have to spend thousands on a college education to get a decent paying job that came with an amazing benefits package. Now even a bachelors seems to be not enough and jobs want a masters but only pays $30 an hour.