Car affordability in 2022 and beyond

Then there is the old bit of banks not wanting to approve a mortgage for x, but your suppose to save more for a house while paying x or more in rent.

 

Well, the US is not bad at all with ONLY 16% of the population older than 65. That is at 36th on the list of the "Top 50 Countries With the Largest Percentage of Older Adults". There are more Millennials than Boomers now, and GenX and GenZ will topple the boomer soon, if not already. The generational shift has been taking place as usual. And you can't blame the change on any particular age group. But, if I had a choice, I would have retired early. And hopefully not live too old.

Countries With the Oldest Populations in the World | PRB

 

our kids are 43, 40 and 38, and we never have these discussions. they all worked hard in school, have good careers and own their own homes.
and yes, they can afford an automobile.i never hear them blaming the world for whatever problems they might have.

 

I don't understand why the older generation is expected to pass on the properties to the younger generation? I have sold a house twice in my life, but I never picked a buyer by their age.

Well, I don't know the stats, and I don't really care. The change has been taking place that may or may not be the same as the way things were 50 years ago. But that is the generation shift and change of time. We all have gone through this. Some unpredictable changes, and some repeated.

 

yeah, we felt the same way when we got married. driving an old beater and not being able to afford a house.
some people want it on a silver platter, and whine if they don't get it.

 

This all goes back to the perspective of the individual. Do you see the glass as half full or half empty? But IMHO, worrying about the future is fruitless. No one knows what the future holds. Besides, I feel house and car ownerships are first-world problems. I am certain that today's younger generations will survive and thrive through the change of time as the older generations did in their younger ages.

 

The new generation doesn't get to start with a clean slate with the shift.

The article wasn't about the future. It was about the past. Many looking at the economy are only focused on the last few years, and overlooking how the older history played a part. Issues can't be addressed if they aren't acknowledged.

 

The way I look at it, no generation starts with a clean slate. It is always built upon past history, good or bad.

Again, no one can change the past. Blaming the past generations' behavior is not going to change the predicament the younger generation is in right now, and what would hold for them in the future. Yeah, you can learn from it... but if history tells me something, I have to guess, mankind is very bad at learning from the past to make the future brighter.

 

https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs

Aging populations can open whole new areas for job growth that are attractive. The retirement boom also will speed career progression for many individuals. At my old place of work it would be hard to find someone in management who wasn't younger than 50 with the majority being in the 35 to 45 year old range.

The ability to work from home is a new opportunity for many that used to be unheard of. Medical fields, skilled trades, public safety are all Carrers than are booming right now. Many states have programs to help young people get into trade school and medical fields because of the shortages. The future is bright for individuals entering the work force with many opportunities that we could never have imagined 50 years ago

A Guide to Skilled Trades Apprenticeships and Internships | BestColleges

Here is just one state program to help fill their Skilled Trades deficit.

Apprenticeship in Ohio

Many states Community Colleges now offer incentives to get individuals into their two year medical degree programs- dental hygienist, physical therapist, reparatory therapist etc

This is an older program but there are many more

State-Incentive-Programs-Allied-Health-FR-2019.pdf (washington.edu)

 

The blaming in the article is because the author is pessimistic of the issues being addressed with the older generations still in charge.

"The median age of voting House lawmakers is 57.9 years... The new Senate’s median age, on the other hand, is 65.3 years..."
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2023/01/30/house-gets-younger-senate-gets-older-a-look-at-the-age-and-generation-of-lawmakers-in-the-118th-congress/

The shift there is slow. With younger members likely being newer, they are only going to be minority on the more important committees.

Regardless of how the article was framed, it had valid points. My responses here were in reaction to what appeared to be an attempt to brush it all aside. Yes, everyone had to deal with their parent's mess, but the mess isn't always the same.

 

Not only hedge funds, but foreign buyers and investors as well, and real estate companies

 

I’m cool man, no worries. I simply have a different opinion

 

Wait for another 30 years, all boomers will be purged out of the system, then Millennials can do whatever they want to do. But I suspect by then GenZ and the next generation will be complaining about the system Millenials built not working for them.

I acknowledge that the problem exists in current society, especially in the area of economic inequality. However, I have absolutely no interest in discussing monetary policy changes. My point is that blaming that societal problem on a single generation makes no sense. We are all in it together, one way or another.

 

It really is pretty sad that manufacturers now prefer to sell loaded models and trick you into entire packages just to get one item you like instead of wanting to make an effort to sell affordable models. On top of that the EPA is really making it hard to make cheap reliable cars. One interesting one is how diesel here is typically seen as unreliable and expensive to drive, where outside of the country they are cheap and reliable transportation for 90% of the world. I almost wonder if they made them economically unfeasible on purpose.
Gotta vote with the wallet folks. But really the only way to strike back on all of this nonsense outside of that is we need to learn how to start becoming more self reliant and fix and reuse things. They want to go to the "you will own nothing and you will be happy" thing to increase profits and keep up with their increase profits every year by any cost model by making you want a new phone every year, a new car every couple years, moving houses and jobs every couple years, throwing away things and appliances instead of fixing them, not learning how to do anything for yourself etc... It really does come to a point where you are stuck in a constant payment cycle and they really are right. Its as if you're renting the shit.
Welcome to the end of growth folks (for this time period), stagflation is about up, we are headed into deflation this year and I don't think the above policies will help save these businesses profit margins. Make sure your money is fdic insured this year.