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Gen Z is choosing not to drive (www.newsweek.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/fuck_cars@lemmy.ml
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[–] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

Fair enough. This is a version of the chart I've seen and had in mind. I suppose the difference is in relation to minimum wage.

"We have seen that complete divorce between wages and productivity and massively increased inequality with most gains going to people at the top."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/minimum-wage-26-dollars-economy-productivity/

"Purchasing power" is the metric I've been thinking about.

This decline in purchasing power means low-wage workers have to work longer hours now just to achieve the standard of living that was considered the bare minimum half a century ago.
https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-federal-minimum-wage-to-15-by-2024-would-lift-pay-for-nearly-40-million-workers/

Here specifically is the web page I've kept in mind when referring to productivity (and I admit that off the top of my head "the 70s" was a bit off).

In fact, had the federal minimum wage kept pace with workers’ productivity since 1968 the inflation-adjusted minimum wage would be $24 an hour.
https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do/social-economic-justice/minimum-wage

I concede that "young adults" and "low wage workers" shouldn't be confused.

I've edited my previous comment. Thank you for the point.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I have a hard time understanding how you can present this information (people working harder and longer for less purchasing power than before) and arrive at the conclusion that young adults' personal spending habits are to blame. The system is clearly engineered to keep the majority poor and enrich a tiny minority.

    Want to know where the profits from the increase in productivity went instead of worker's wages? I suggest looking up CEO wages from the '50s to the present day, and compare with the chart from my previous comment.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    the conclusion that young adults’ personal spending habits are to blame.

    At what point did I ever suggest anything close to a conclusion or blame? But since you didn't ask, I blame Reaganomics, consumerism, and the deregulation of Wall Street. I blame the exportation of jobs for pennies and the mistreatment of workers. I blame disinterest and carelessness and I blame our value and reward of ownership over generosity. I blame "The New American Dream".

    Can't you stop whining about being a victim for a moment and consider the implications of studying the history of economic and personal finance patterns to plan for the future? I am utterly bored of the repetitive copy/paste talking points and the whining with zero proposals for a solution other than "the boomers did it to us" and we're all out of ideas.

    Look at the real historical data. Present hard evidence and propose how the country is doomed for economic turmoil in ten to twenty years. A couple of charts and anecdotal polls aren't going to push congress to do anything. No one cares if you can't afford to buy a car when the economy says people are loaded with money right now. I mean, General Motors just had their best year since 2019 so they don't care if young people aren't buying cars. So prove them wrong. I want to prove them wrong - why don't you?

    This is what I mean by you can't fix people's narratives. You're blinded by your grief. No one is saying it's your fault. You, like the boomers before you, are so self-centered that, unless you get your faces out of your screens and fix this shit, you'll end up being responsible for a country worse than it's ever been (slavery aside / if it makes it through this election cycle). I'm absolutely terrified for future generations.

    I really don't get it. I don't get all the stories and anecdotes and complaining yet no one has provided a full story of the reality of personal finance over the decades. Maybe this does exist and I just don't know it - it's probably paywalled. But it seems that without it, this "discussion" exists to divide us and generate clicks and ad revenue and political and corporate control. It's bullshit.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    I have a feeling, without the data, that a lot of young people are spending way more on novelty and entertainment things than ever before while they're complaining about not being able to afford things.

    Here, in that first comment, is where you suggest that young people's spending habits are to blame for them not being able to afford things.

    Can't you stop whining about being a victim for a moment

    I hardly see how I've whined during our exchange, it feels to me like you're having a conversation with someone who exists in your head and not me. We seem to agree on the major parts but I just can't understand your obsession with tying personal finance into the struggles capitalism is imposing on the current working population. It's largely irrelevant on a societal scale.

    I really don't understand where you're coming from and this comment in particular is all over the place. Best wishes, hope the world isn't too rough on you.

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