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Comment by rademacher | Hacker News Reader

I think this is really the tale of two Millennials and is a phenomenon that actually effects all generations currently. There is a concentration of wealth in this country and the wage increases in the bottom 90% have not kept up with the cost of goods limiting the purchasing power of this group. This issue is exacerbated by the increasing costs of goods and education leading to higher levels of debt for Millennials.

Anecdotal evidence shows that a lot of new grads with technical degrees are getting offers around $200k in the bay area and seattle (these are the other Millennials). By 5 years they're making more than many boomers did over a very successful 30+ year career. Clearly this is only a small subset of Millennials, but it is an example of concentration. I'm not sure whether this discrepancy between "classes" of new grads existed previously, does anyone have insight?

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But isn't it fun lying about how you got a "good deal" on your rent

I enjoy being even more unrelatable when I just say "Yep." when people ask "Isn't that area expensive"

$200k if you add to this year-end taxes, cost of living, you can barely finish the month.

$200k as a solo person without kids gets you a fine life even in bay area. If you are a couple making $400k, you can even have kids and still be all right.

Yes, this is why us 10%ers have a responsibility to the 90%.

At the same time, I'm not sure how you can reasonably say things like 'The cost of goods went up'.

If you want to blame government inflation, sure, but the cost of technology has plummeted in the last 10/20/30 years. Food is the cheapest its ever been, cost to move a mile cheapest, etc...

Its not genuine to speak that prices are going up.

Yes, this is why us 10%ers have a responsibility to the 90%.

In the past, the wealthy created communal public spaces and affordable services of value. This is how they served the general public. Now, I see what used to be "every-person" activities re-cast as luxuries. Take your family out to a major league ball game? Take them out to the movies? What used to be cheap forms of entertainment will now set you back $100-200 bucks. Nowadays, for cheap entertainment, you have to take your family to see the bush league games, and you stay at home and rent movies when they go to streaming.

Yes, other things are cheaper. However, many of the things that go to having a sense of real physical community aren't getting cheaper, and social media, with all of its potential toxicity and truth warping is taking up more and more of our attention.

> In the past, the wealthy created communal public spaces and affordable services of value.

This ended, unsurprisingly, when government displaced them in that role.

I guess why that's why I see all those plaques and statues in public and private parks thanking the donors... because the government.

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