Think you're not getting ahead? You're right

[ceejay74]

Why you can't get ahead; US standard of living falling? -- MSN Money

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

That was depressing.

Toward the end of the article it said that some people may feel better off than their parents at a similar age because they have so much inexpensive bling that their parents did not have. Well, I do have a bit of that, but not much, and not truly blingy. LOL. I can't come up with much more to pay for health insurance, so that could shorten and make miserable our lives, but I feel fairly secure even if we don't have X, Y, and Z bling that the average household seems to have.

[disneysteve]

Sorry but articles like this are bogus attention-getters that gloss over important things like facts.

Yes, the median price of a new home today is more than it was 30 years ago, but the average new home today is double the size of those in 1980 so they aren't comparing apples to apples.

Average health care spending is up for sure, but health care has advanced by leaps and bounds since 1980. Conditions that were fatal back then, like AIDS, are now mere inconveniences. I personally have patients who have been HIV positive for over 20 years. Cancers that were deadly 25 years ago are routinely survivable today. All of that has come at a substantial cost for diagnostic testing and treatment, but when the alternative is death, do we really want to return to the health care world of 1980?

It is ridiculous to suggest that the average American isn't living better than his/her parents' generation.

[briandownie]

DS is right on the money. The only reason people think they aren't living as good as their parents and grandparents before them is because they expect too much and aren't willing to "make do" like past generations did.

For whatever strange reason people seem to have a sense of entitlement that absolutely fascinates me.

Brian

[Tonyall]

My Grandfather

One thing that I heard my grandfather say when I was a child that always stuck in my head. He was telling stories about the Depression. At one point, he said "nowadays, you get a lot and expect a lot. That isn't any fun."

I think there is a lot of truth to that even though they are often not words I live by. We have a lot more but "need" so much more now so feel poorer than ever...

[ceejay74]

All good points...but that salary index is still sitting there unaddressed.

[PrincessPerky]

DS is right on the money. The only reason people think they aren't living as good as their parents and grandparents before them is because they expect too much and aren't willing to "make do" like past generations did.

For whatever strange reason people seem to have a sense of entitlement that absolutely fascinates me.

Brian

Fascinates isn't quite the word I would use.....

[maat55]

DS is right on the money. The only reason people think they aren't living as good as their parents and grandparents before them is because they expect too much and aren't willing to "make do" like past generations did.

For whatever strange reason people seem to have a sense of entitlement that absolutely fascinates me.

Brian

It is likely due to government programs and safety nets.