Comments on: American Men Earning Less Than Dad

By: PaulD

PaulD — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:27:28 +0000

Darkboy asked, “PaulD, are people truly more affluent now, or are they simply giving the appearance of being more affluent.”
Perhaps many people are living on credit, but there is little doubt in my mind that people are far more affluent today than in the 1970′s and 1980′s. I could give example after example, but a few will suffice. I remember buying a new stereo when I graduated from college in 1980. I spend about $350.00 in 1980 dollars. I could purchase now a superiour stereo system for less than $100.00. The computer I am using now has more computer capacity than the top university super computers that existed in 1980. I have a upper middle income salary, but live in a house that was built by a high-level executive of a major corporation in the 1960′s. Common , almost universal conviences, that exist today such as central air conditioning, cable tv, second and third automobiles and automatic garage door openers were found only in affluent neighborhoods during the 1960′s.

By: dakboy

dakboy — Wed, 30 May 2007 02:28:12 +0000

PaulD, are people truly more affluent now, or are they simply giving the *appearance* of being more affluent, when in fact they’re doing it all on credit and setting up for a major collapse in a few years (subprime mortgages, leasing a fancy car or buying far more car than they can really afford, etc.)?

By: Chris Hynes

Chris Hynes — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:20:31 +0000

Here’s an anecdotal vote in the other direction — I’m less than 30, and make more than my dad (40 something) makes now.

By: Lazy Man and Money

Lazy Man and Money — Tue, 29 May 2007 17:37:28 +0000

One thing to keep in mind is that there may be quality of life improvements as well. I think that’s the real judge of “better off”. The spread of the World Wide Web, for instance, gives me information to save more money. So while the average cost of a gallon of milk may have gone up compared with wages, I can offset that by saving or making money elsewhere, like the deals on FatWallet.

By: J at IHB and HFF

J at IHB and HFF — Mon, 28 May 2007 22:02:28 +0000

PaulD is on the right track. I posted an article with specific examples for people to review (click name link) but those examples are only the tip of the iceberg. Thank you.

By: PaulD

PaulD — Mon, 28 May 2007 21:29:15 +0000

I haven’t read the fine print, but I am very skeptical about the report. I grew up during the 1960′s and 1970′s. My observation is that people today are far more affluent than when I grew up.
If incomes are lower, I wonder to what extent it reflects lower wages of recent immigrants, perhaps that people are delaying marriage longer and therefore are not as focused on earnings, and perhaps inflation has been overstated.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:10:00 +0000

J: Which fine print? What strange decisions? Please share.

By: J at IHB and HFF

J at IHB and HFF — Mon, 28 May 2007 17:56:50 +0000

Hello. Reading the Pew reportÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s fine print tells me that the report should be ignored because there are too many strange decisions in the methodology.