American dream is dead…

[Mick]

…according to technologists…

Why the tech world thinks the American dream is dying

…and the $38.5 trillion (and rising) debt

National debt is already killing the American dream, says top economist—and it might push the US into an outright depression

I don’t think those are fair, because I think the American dream has been dead for several generations.

I had a friend in high school. Her family bought a house in the early 1970s in Santa Cruz on a postman’s salary. I bought my first place in 1989, a third floor walkup condo that took my salary and my wife’s salary to afford in our late 20s. My youngest son is 30 and rents with a roommate in NYC despite an Ivy degree and an Nvidia income. Oldest son is 34, in private equity, his wife is highly placed at Meta. They share a condo in Santa Monica.

To put it in the most blunt, possible terms: we have twice the population and a static amount of resources compared with three generations ago.

Different priorities. The American dream has been dead for a very, very long time.

• This topic was modified 2 months, 4 weeks ago by Mick.

[Hurlburt88]

To me, all economic imbalances eventually get corrected.  The deeper the imbalance, the more turbulent the correction in general.   THus, the debt absolutely terrifies me as I struggle to see anything less severe than a Greece-type correction.

[Legend]

And yet I have 20-something’s that work for me who own homes and nice cars.   I’m thinking the American dream is dead if you think the dream is to own nyc or Silicon Valley real estate as a young person with a normal job.

If the American dream is to work hard for a chance to own property and make a good life for yourself, I’d argue it’s still alive. It’s just that if you live in a bastion of greed you have to deal with monetization of everything.

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Sic transit gloria mundi (so shut up and get back to work)

[Mick]

And yet I have 20-something’s that work for me who own homes and nice cars. I’m thinking the American dream is dead if you think the dream is to own nyc or Silicon Valley real estate as a young person with a normal job. If the American dream is to work hard for a chance to own property and make a good life for yourself, I’d argue it’s still alive. It’s just that if you live in a bastion of greed you have to deal with monetization of everything.

Both of my kids turned out fine and have their piece of the American dream. But you have to agree that it is much, much more limited than it was for our generation and certainly the generation prior to that one.

[Author]

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