Generation Z Is Getting a Bad Deal on Housing

It's almost like there's been decades of economic policy allowing a tiny fraction of the population to absorb most of the wealth produced by productivity gains, leaving many unable to afford even basic necessities.

Yay the next round of intergenerational conflict has begun! Here are some of the well-worn rhetorical tools we will be handing down to you:

- Shit is the most expensive it has ever been. Fixate entirely on the absolute cost of things, and ignore other factors such as inflation or technological advances. Remember, the 1970s were the same as today if you just ignore the availability of computers, medicine, and many modern conveniences!

- Precisely until this generation, all that was needed to get a job was a face and a resume. Feel free to go off on a tangent about race and gender, and make some sort of case that discrimination is worse now than it’s ever been.

- College didn’t prepare you for the work force and student loan debt has bankrupted you. This is uniquely true today - previous generation had less absolute debt to the point that it can be ignored (see point 1 about ignoring inflation)

- If you encounter writer’s block, just repeat: Real wages have flatlined since 1970. Real wages have flatlined since 1970. Real wages have flatlined since 1970. Repeat ad nauseum and ignore all evidence to the contrary

- Houses - fuhgeddaboutit! A house in Manhattan costs 5 gazillion dollars, which is unaffordable for the average minimum wage employee. Ignore entire swaths of the country where housing IS affordable - because every young person has a right to a single bedroom apartment, in a quiet, comfortable, safe, fun neighborhood, near all friends and good jobs - just like every generation before was awarded!

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Instead, here’s some real advice: recognize that previous generations went through many of the same problems you did. Ask for their advice on how to get through it. We really do want to help you - everyone struggles in their 20s, it’s really a natural progression. You’ll make it through and be stronger for it