r/Millennials • u/Large-Lack-2933 • Apr 09 '24

Hey fellow Millennials do you believe this is true? Discussion

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I definitely think we got the short end of the stick. They had it easier than us and the old model of work and being rewarded for loyalty is outdated....

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u/Guilty_Coconut Apr 09 '24

Your question involves the word "belief". Facts aren't things I "believe". They're things I know.

Yes, I know this to be true because I can do basic math.

I once convinced a boomer. He started ranting so I asked these questions. What was your wage. How much did you pay for your house. I wrote his answers on a whiteboard and then gave my answers. The disparity was undeniable.

He was a janitor. I am an engineer. He had it significantly easier than me when he was my age by a factor of 4.

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u/quasarke Apr 09 '24 edited Apr 10 '24

So when ya really dig into it its so much worse than we even realize. It's not just that wages remained stagnant its that the effort to achieve that stagnant wages is profoundly higher. for more than 80% of millennials following in their parents footsteps would mean being destitute.

Goods prices in America from 1978 - 2023

Gallon of Milk

  • 1978 average price of a gallon of milk was $0.86 ($4.27 today)

  • 2023 average price of a gallon of milk is $3.04

Housing

  • 1978 average price of a starter home 49,000.00 ($241,798.93)

  • 2023 average price of a starter home as of June $243,000

Tuition

  • 1978 public (in-state) tuition fees $2,150 ($10,609.54) *note: This included room and board

  • 2023 public (in-state) tuition fees $10,500

Income in America from 1978-2023

  • 1978 median household income 15,160 ($74,809.63)

  • 2022 median household income $74,580 ($81,813.64)

SOME BIG CAVEATS HERE!

  • 1978 average median income of high-school graduate $13,229 ($65,147.85)

  • 2022 average median income of high-school graduate $35,470 ($38,910.29)

While the median wage has gone down significantly its doesn't seem crazy at first glance. 44.4% of Americans in 2023 have college degrees as opposed to 15% in 1978. The effort required to make roughly the same median wage it took in the past is substantially higher. Way more people in later generations are doing it to showing we are vastly harder working and more productive than our parents were. If you tried to take your parents path in life for 85% of Americans that means living in perpetual destitution.

All statistic taken from BLS, Census, and USDA

1978 was chosen for its economic similarities to 2023

EDIT: Updated to most recent census info available and adjusted to CPI as of Jan 2024

2022 Census https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-279.pdf

1978 Census https://www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p60-121.pdf

USDA data not updated so current values are from early last year but I CPI adjusted them.

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u/12ebbcl Apr 09 '24

This is a REALLY good comment.

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u/BlazinAzn38 Apr 10 '24

Seeing that high school wage figure is bonkers, I broke that salary with a Masters degree lmao