For many living in NYC, more than half of the paycheck goes towards rent. You really are working just to pay the land lord like a serf.
I'm happy to see this on Voat and getting some news because I think its the single biggest story of a generation that has gotten next to zero attention.
And too many young people mistakenly think that their parents generation is part of the problem or caused this etc but actualy the 40s people today did NOT do well and took a lot of the brunt and its actually shocking how many I know who didn't own a house. never owned a house. but those who did waited until the were closer to 40 AND now I'm seeing half of those people lose/sell the house and go renting instead. Not because they want to. This wasn't their dream.
Of course, its not the story about owning or renting. Its about what happened to that generation and why their dreams just weren't going to happen. (and may never).
[–] schwanstucker 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Well, yeah. MANY people lost their shirts in the downturn (engineered by (Bush's?) Obama's & Hillary's friends in the banks, thank you very much). They often haven't the time before retirement to re-make their monies. In addition, lots of those same people are completely broke, and have no hope of a normal life. All this courtesy of the bankers.
[–] AKnightAlone 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
They're organizing and leading the creation of wealth. If they weren't doing it, someone else would've filled that void. It's the workers actually creating wealth.
[–] physicscat 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
I'm over 40 and own my home. It's not always great. I have to pay for everything to be fixed. If I want to move...I have to find a buyer first. Upkeep....it's overrated.
[–] sonic_bison 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
Yep. There's something to be said for renting. Its certainly not practical, but it's very comforting to know I don't have to replace my HVAC tomorrow if it stops working.
I owned a home for a few years and sold it to move across the country. It was a relief to know I didn't have to pay that mortgage for the next 25 years.
[–] NeedMoarGuitars 3 points 6 points 9 points (+9|-3) ago
And virtually 100% of these renters have a new-model smart phone, big screen TV and cable, etc. Debt-ridden, toy-rich.
I'm not saying don't buy the toys but renting is a terrible long-term strategy. Save some and buy something solid.
Poor example. My phone was bought new in 2014. 550$. My 50" TV was also bought new in 2014, 460$. I'm not going broke over 1,010$
I believe it's more to do with vehicles. There's always so many newer vehicles on the road and vehicles aren't cheap. Pretty well everyone takes a loan out on them. My vehicle is worth about 10k and I don't need a new one. It's paid off, it owes me nothing. Still the maintenance can get expensive but I'm not shelling out 67k for a new one of the same model.
[–] NeedMoarGuitars ago
Renting is perfect for your situation. My concern is the huge number of people of all ages who have nothing set aside for retirement, either in a 401K/IRA or real estate. Lucky people live long enough to become old and retired, and they still need a place to live. Social security may feed them but that's about it. Unlucky people become sick or disabled and can't work, and they still need a place to live. They're all going to go on some sort of government assistance. And yet so many of these people are destitute but don't know it because they have a few shiny toys to distract them from reality.
[–] Sikozen 1 point -1 points 0 points (+0|-1) ago
This is why I don't understand why we keep calling it the 'Financial Crisis' and 'The Recession' when really it was another Great Depression orchestrated by the companies deemed too big to fail. We lived through the 2nd Great Depression and people should address it as such.