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Realtor Goes Viral By Explaining Nuances Of Today’s Salaries And Housing Compared To 1980
It has always been difficult for representatives of different generations to understand each other. In fact, today’s ‘baby boomers’ also had conflicts with their parents, but they still all lived within the same paradigm. And it’s a completely different matter with millennials and Gen Z, because life has changed more in recent decades than it has changed in the entire history of humanity.
Complaints from the older generation that “young people just don’t want to work hard and earn money” have become widespread – but how justified are these complaints? In a TikTok post, realtor Freddy Smith suggested turning to the simplest arguments – numbers.
More info: TikTok
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The author of the video is a realtor and he makes an analysis of the rent/wages ratio of 2024 compared to 1980
Image credits: fmsmith319
So, the Original Poster (OP) quotes many representatives of the older generation about how they rented apartments themselves from an early age in their youth, and worked, worked, worked… Okay, let’s leave aside all aspects of modern work, and focus on rent.
In 1980, Smith says, average rent was $243, while the federal minimum wage was $3.10 per hour, so rent took up almost 49% of the monthly gross income. Today, according to the OP, average rent is $1,747 but the federal minimum wage is just $7.25. So, basic arithmetic proves that you won’t be able to rent an apartment on the minimum wage.
Image credits: fmsmith319
Okay, Mr. Smith continues, that’s just the minimum wage, and many Walmart and roadhouse workers make around $15 a day nowadays. But even if we double the minimum wage, taxes turn that into 75% – making it nearly impossible to rent even the smallest apartment.
College graduates are no better off. So, according to the author of the video, the starting rate for bachelors nowadays is around $24 – which means that rent is 45.4% of their gross monthly income in 2024.
Image credits: Markus Winkler (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)
Today, even college graduates have to spend the same share of their incomes on rent, as minimum-wage workers spent in 1980, the author concludes
Now let’s go back to the second paragraph of the text, where rent had almost the same share in the income of minimum wage workers in 1980! But then the worker just studied for a couple of weeks and started their job, and to get a bachelor’s degree today, you need to spend several years in college. And to pay for your tuition too.
In other words, Freddie Smith states, today bachelors spend the equivalent on rent of what minimum wage workers spent in 1980. And you want to object to something about ‘childish’ millennials and Gen Z?
You can watch the original video here
@fmsmith319Boomer: “Millennials and Gen Z need to stop complaining about housing prices.”♬ original sound – Freddie Smith
Well, it is not surprising that the cost of rent has increased compared to 1980 – after all, inflation has done its job over the past four decades. If we look at this CPI inflation calculator, we’ll see that $1 in 1980 is worth $3.81 today. That is, almost four times. On the other hand, rent has grown much more since then.
Thus, data from the website iPropertyManagement shows us that in 1980, the average rent was indeed $243, and according to last year’s data, as Forbes claims, it was $1,372. That is, the growth over the same period of time was 5.64 times.
And even if we take the states with the lowest rent – according to Forbes, these are North Dakota, Iowa and South Dakota – then the growth in the cost of rent will be from 3.65 to 4.02 times. As we can see, this is much closer to the dollar inflation rate over the past 44 years.
But this is all a world of dispassionate numbers, and in the real world, the situation is much more turbulent. And the comments to the original video only emphasize this. In particular, some commenters point out that rentals were much less convenient in 1980 than they are today. On the other hand, rental conditions also differ from the figures in statistical reports…
“Don’t forget that apartments require 3 times the amount of rent along with non refundable application fees first months last months and security deposit down,” one of the commenters reasonably wrote. “And it’s going to be even worse this year due to the raise in taxes,” another responder added.
In general, people in the comments almost unanimously come to the conclusion that the older generation is not familiar with these problems – after all, forty years ago the situation was completely different. “[They] will never get it. They were handed so many affordable things,” one of the commenters summarized. And do you, our dear readers, also agree with this?
People in the comments mostly sided with the author, claiming that the rental situation nowadays is quite difficult
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What do you think ?
Traveling Lady Railfan 4 months ago
Where is the poll option for "some people understand and empathize and others will never get it"? Because it's ageist to lump all boomers together just because they were born 15 or so years after the end of the second world war. Not all boomers think the same way, not all women think the same way not all whites think the same way...lump all people together and you're just perpetuating stereotypes
DragonflyGreen 4 months ago
This article is true, but even Gen X gets dinged. We had it bad in the interim. I never expected a high salary when I graduated college, I knew I'd have to work for years to get to where I am now. I lived paycheck to paycheck, not knowing where the money would come from should a major, unexpected expense pop up. And it did. When you are scraping by, you have a crappy car, and breakdowns happen. It's scary. That was never not an expectation. I've worked full time and had four side gigs at the same time to get here now. . I just persevered until I finally made it. In my 40s.
Traveling Lady Railfan 4 months ago
Gen Xer here:most of my high school teachers shoveled out bologna, as much as I wanted to believe them I knew that it was garbage what they were saying... But getting a trade and going to college equal low paid, low respected work. That going to university would equal a degree and equal high paid, great jobs. Two teachers told me the truth. One said "your generation will not have it anywhere as good as your parents' generation. You won't have the same wages relative to expenses, pensions, benefits, etc. You won't have a job straight out of high school and keep the same job until retirement." The other said "going into a skilled trade is the best thing you can do. The schools tell you it's just for dummies who can't get A's, but they're going to be making more money than you are with your honors bachelor of arts University degree working retail, tourism or fast food" .They were right. Most of the teachers/guidance counselor were SO clueless with their advice to the next generation.
Load More Replies...
Ben Aziza 4 months ago
I am speaking in generalities here every generation has good people in it. TLDR : Boomers got tricked by the rich ,powerful,scummy and psychopathic of their generation who got better and better at it. To the point it made the lives of their kids and grandkids hell. BUT since Fools can't admit to being tricked they rather blame their kids for their failings.
Traveling Lady Railfan 4 months ago
Where is the poll option for "some people understand and empathize and others will never get it"? Because it's ageist to lump all boomers together just because they were born 15 or so years after the end of the second world war. Not all boomers think the same way, not all women think the same way not all whites think the same way...lump all people together and you're just perpetuating stereotypes
DragonflyGreen 4 months ago
This article is true, but even Gen X gets dinged. We had it bad in the interim. I never expected a high salary when I graduated college, I knew I'd have to work for years to get to where I am now. I lived paycheck to paycheck, not knowing where the money would come from should a major, unexpected expense pop up. And it did. When you are scraping by, you have a crappy car, and breakdowns happen. It's scary. That was never not an expectation. I've worked full time and had four side gigs at the same time to get here now. . I just persevered until I finally made it. In my 40s.
Traveling Lady Railfan 4 months ago
Gen Xer here:most of my high school teachers shoveled out bologna, as much as I wanted to believe them I knew that it was garbage what they were saying... But getting a trade and going to college equal low paid, low respected work. That going to university would equal a degree and equal high paid, great jobs. Two teachers told me the truth. One said "your generation will not have it anywhere as good as your parents' generation. You won't have the same wages relative to expenses, pensions, benefits, etc. You won't have a job straight out of high school and keep the same job until retirement." The other said "going into a skilled trade is the best thing you can do. The schools tell you it's just for dummies who can't get A's, but they're going to be making more money than you are with your honors bachelor of arts University degree working retail, tourism or fast food" .They were right. Most of the teachers/guidance counselor were SO clueless with their advice to the next generation.
Load More Replies... Ben Aziza 4 months ago
I am speaking in generalities here every generation has good people in it. TLDR : Boomers got tricked by the rich ,powerful,scummy and psychopathic of their generation who got better and better at it. To the point it made the lives of their kids and grandkids hell. BUT since Fools can't admit to being tricked they rather blame their kids for their failings.
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