Diminished purchasing power

This is extremely salient. Our wages are not keeping up with inflation and our housing prices are way out pacing inflation. The single family home white picket fence American dream is not fiscally possible for most millennial working Americans. https://t.co/1FkHV86NcY

— Jennifer Zilla (@jennifer_zilla) January 24, 2023

Reminds me of a conversation with my puzzled barber many years ago.

"I think you're a smart guy. So, I don't get it. Why don't you have a house?"

I looked at the Boomer Barber with mild amusement and asked, "What was the price of your house when you bought it?"

"$55,000."

"Do you remember your annual income at the time?"

"Hmm, about $20,000."

"What was your mortgage payment?"

"Oh, my dad gave me a gift and I borrowed money from a relative."

"How long did it take to pay off this loan?"

"About two years."

So, sometime, in the 1970s, a barber in Canada, with zero college degrees and a single income, and a family loan, bought a house and had it all paid off in two years.

During that haircut, my post-university-degree income was about $50,000 and the average price of a house was close to $1,000,000. Alas, no monetary gift from dad or a family loan. Forget two, it's not even possible in twenty years! It's so bizarre when these people can't see or recognize this basic math.