Agreed. Moreover, I’d like some more insight in the consumer patterns of Gen Z. A pie chart would be nice including groups like eduction, healthcare, subscription services, entertainment, etc.
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.
Good info. Yeah, I’m just curious to see a clear comparison laid out. I think being able to literally visualize it would be more conducive to the ongoing conversation. Tough to trust what one cohort on the internet says about their personal experience. Seems like everyone online is broke yet increasing interest rates tell another story about the market overall.
I can’t fix people’s narratives. I’m asking for data to illustrate the measurable impact of the economy on people’s personal finance and leisure over the decades.
For one example, to compare 2020 to 1960, what is considered “leisure”, what does that cost, and what percentage of a person’s income is spent on it. I’m not really interested in polls where “Gen Z says they’re struggling to afford a car” because that’s subjective and relative. It’s not at all about questioning their anecdotes; I’m curious what the graph or pie chart looks like over the decades.
I think, and am asking for something to prove me right or wrong simply because I’m curious, that there’s more leisure and luxury available to all people today than ever before. And I feel pretty strongly that the culture of consumerism has grown much stronger over the past 30-50 years making everyone feel like they need to spend more than they were in the first half of the last century.
Productivity Purchasing Power in The United States peaked in the '70s late '60s. The country’s overall productivity sucks today [see below comments]. I believe the numbers show that we’re all spending more of our income than we ever have before. And for those “earning” a salary based on archaic values set decades ago, it’s certainly logical they’d be most hurt by the culture of consumerism that’s so rampant today.
Also, I’d be very interested to compare the graphs to credit card debt over time. It’s too easy to click a button on our phones now to have something charged to a card without the stress of seeing it coming directly out of our checking account. This use of technology, I think, is a real factory for younger people who haven’t grown up learning how to balance a checkbook or the need to save real cash money to make major purchases. The success of services like Mint and Acorn and Chime indicate this isn’t my imagination.
No one likes when someone says your opinion is irrelevant when they’re asking for tangible numbers. I’m well aware that the economy is harder for young adults today. I’m also well aware that most people on the internet are ultra-sensitive and lack reading comprehension. There’s a large segment of the internet that can’t be bothered to read more than headlines and watch ten second TikTok videos. I know younger people aren’t the only ones guilty of this, but I have doubts they’re not the primary culprits.
“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. epi.org/…/raising-the-federal-minimum-wage-to-15-…
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. aflcio.org/what-unions-do/…/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.
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.
Hi! My less-than-10-year-old has their own iPad (registered under my apple id) and wants to be able to “text” with the rest of the family. Most of us are not Apple people though: Android phones, using some combo of SMS, Discord, and Signal. The little one doesn’t have a phone, so I think that prevents us from signing them...
The Fairness Doctrine only applies to network television, which Fox News need not abide by.
The report by the Congressional Research Service notes that broadcast is "distinct from cable, satellite, and the Internet, which are all services for which consumers must pay.
“It does not appear that the Fairness Doctrine may be applied constitutionally to cable or satellite service providers,” it continues.
This question could easily be a college thesis, if not an entire course. I think anyone asking this question and learning more about Reagan is on the right track to better understanding… I really want to say ‘everything’. Politics, human nature, consumerism, economics, negotiation, propaganda, cover ups, racism, homophobia, the fallacy of Democracy, and so so much more.
If you’re any more interested in the subject than reading through a handful of comments on the internet, I recommend the book “The Man Who Sold the World: Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street America”.
Learn to cook. Learn how to use fresh and pantry ingredients.
I can easily get by on $75 a week at a bougie produce market in the city (pasture eggs, free range chicken, etc). Or, I could get food delivery twice and spend more than that.
Yes, copyright exists to encourage new works - which the author ignored by creating content violating copyright law. Never mind the public, this dude stole from the copyright holders. He’s a pirate and he got caught.
It’s mind boggling how anyone could possibly consider otherwise. Aside from your own life, there’s nothing more belonging to oneself than their thoughts.
This entire sub is delusional. You believe in things which are untrue. You make things up to justify theft. It’s funny and it’s sad. I really don’t know where you get these irrational theories or how you’d ever justify them in a court.
If you want to live in literal communism, sure, you can establish that any idea anyone expresses belongs to the world. In the world we actually live in, we have laws protecting people’s intellectual property in order for them to generate content and profit from those original ideas. Otherwise, what’s the point of having an idea at all if anyone can make money from it. This further promotes new original ideas that aren’t derivative of existing ones. This is exactly what the OP stated and I agreed with.
I’m not getting into how long a copyright should last. I don’t have a meaningful opinion on it.
What it seems people are overlooking (or forgiving?) is that the guy published a book about characters (IP) he doesn’t own. Taking something that doesn’t belong to you is theft.
Whether or not Amazon should option his material is irrelevant if he didn’t get permission to use it in the first place. I mean, fan fiction is one thing. Creative license and educational purposes could be argued. But he published a freaking book!
Do you think Zack Snyder should get to put out a Rebel Moon and call it “Rebel Moon: A Star Wars Story” without getting permission or paying for licensing? Is this the reality this sub believes we live in? If you write a novel and I read it and soon start writing better more successful stories based explicitly on your characters without crediting you or sharing in my profit, how would you feel? Should your work be public domain? Is that what you (collective) feel is best for “the public”?
I don’t really have an opinion on what should happen with the work either. I could see some cases where it would be a major loss for the public to have the work erased. This could be catastrophic for classic literature. For something so new and not having any established cultural significance (as much as you wish it did), I’d go with whatever a judge believes is best under the law. You’re welcome to argue the validity of the law, and I may agree with you, but that’s a different conversation.
As a former UI I artist, I wholeheartedly disagree. The interfaces and operating systems that I’ve struggled with recently go against human interface guidelines. It’s more likely that middle management is creating projects to make themselves seem more relevant. Or, in the case with Apple, my assumption is that upper management is trying to push all their other devices towards synergy with Vision Pro - a product which has yet to hit market and find acceptance.
iPhones are far too big and have too many huge cameras for me. Everything requires a subscription or some login to do anything. Applications and operating systems are updated at the whims of CEOs while the job of UX designers is de-prioritized. Software updates keep breaking established workflows. I can no longer rely on devices or apps to maintain a consistent experience from one year to the next. It’s just been years and years and years of disappointment and stress as technology changes for the worse.
All this is pushing me towards a more unplugged lifestyle. Which is a bit ironic given how it adds more complexity with the need to own and travel with more things. A bag of five ‘things’ that always work regardless of network connection is better than a little tablet that could crash or die or be updated at any moment and having a significant impact on your lifestyle.
There’s just no fucking zen anymore. I feel like I’m living inside a simulation built by the same people who brought us Windows 95.
I’m looking for suggestions that zombie-me could follow through with. The problem is I can barely bring myself to get out of bed, let alone do a useful task. It just wastes typically 2–5 hours of my life as I wait for tiredness to finally (re)take hold.
Was up at 4am and thought… oh! I can scan some of those old family photos I’ve been meaning to get to. Just ended up on my iPad reading the news and browsing Etsy and eBay for two hours instead. Every time, I remind myself I need to keep screens out of the bedroom.
Otherwise, if it’s nearly morning anyway, I find it a good time to listen to music and make playlists. If it’s too early, I’ll read a book.
Without naming names, there’s a well advertised grammar editing tool that’s available either as an app download or browser extension. This is something I’d value for a number of reasons (good grammar is important!) but I’m super cautious about anything I’m giving permission to watch what I’m typing....
What's a food you love, that isn't worth making from scratch?
For me, crepes ain’t worth the stress to make fresh. Just buy a little pack from store and focus on filling is my go to.
Gen Z is choosing not to drive (www.newsweek.com)
What do you think is the coolest designed sci-fi gun?
I mean the physical design of the gun, not the projectile or effect.
What non-SMS non-Apple app can I use to "text" my younger kid on their iPad
Hi! My less-than-10-year-old has their own iPad (registered under my apple id) and wants to be able to “text” with the rest of the family. Most of us are not Apple people though: Android phones, using some combo of SMS, Discord, and Signal. The little one doesn’t have a phone, so I think that prevents us from signing them...
Why was Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan so bad for the American people?
What are your "poor person" money life hacks?
Let’s get a list going. Like with a Target debit card you can get $40 cash back and it takes 1 to 2 days to be withdraw from your checking.
Amazon and Tolkein Estate force author to destroy all copies of his work. Only pirated copies will survive. (variety.com)
What is a nifty little feature modern gadgets have lost? (lemmy.world)
For me it’s the notification light you used to find on older phones, was particularly good to know if your phone was charged without picking it up
What are some productive things to do when you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep for a few hours?
I’m looking for suggestions that zombie-me could follow through with. The problem is I can barely bring myself to get out of bed, let alone do a useful task. It just wastes typically 2–5 hours of my life as I wait for tiredness to finally (re)take hold.
Amazon Building its Own Linux-Based OS to Replace Android (www.omgubuntu.co.uk)
How safe are grammar editing tools?
Without naming names, there’s a well advertised grammar editing tool that’s available either as an app download or browser extension. This is something I’d value for a number of reasons (good grammar is important!) but I’m super cautious about anything I’m giving permission to watch what I’m typing....