Yesterday I made two posts defending rich people, todayβ¦
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Yesterday I made two posts defending rich people, today I'm sympathizing with everyone else. The last salary I had was $160,000 (I think) but that was 15 years ago. Since then I've become out of touch with salaries and expenses. Yesterday I looked to see what kind of house that salary could qualify to buy. It was depressing. The Millenials and Gen Z folk have big money problems and have largely been priced out of owning a home. Sadly they are blaming the wrong people, and the changes they demand will make the problem worse not better.
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Didn't see the previous posts or didn't pay attention..
First thought , my last salary was couple years ago 600 TND (~200 USD) was enough to pay transportation , food water coffee while am at work, and worse part, I don't pay rent or bills.
the end of the month I borrow from my father, yep.
No way to do a comparaison. Salary vanish slowly while I work.
But modest salary in the USA , if managed well( sacrifices in lifestyle) can provide a modest home.
2 friends works best n gas station bought 2 houses in Texas , and reworked it well, they have pools in it.
So it can be achieved...
First thought , my last salary was couple years ago 600 TND (~200 USD) was enough to pay transportation , food water coffee while am at work, and worse part, I don't pay rent or bills.
the end of the month I borrow from my father, yep.
No way to do a comparaison. Salary vanish slowly while I work.
But modest salary in the USA , if managed well( sacrifices in lifestyle) can provide a modest home.
2 friends works best n gas station bought 2 houses in Texas , and reworked it well, they have pools in it.
So it can be achieved...
Government deficit spending in collaboration with the Federal Reserve for monetizing it, and the Federal reserve intervening in the market. It floods the system with cash, which gets stuffed into assets, and the rate manipulation causes the asset values to increase faster than wages can, because rates are temporary but wages are sticky. It is the single greatest reason that the rich get richer and anyone trying to catch up is forced further onto the risk curve to try to beat inflation.
The policies that the people suffering demand would create more deficit spending and lower rates, which will accelerate the situation. Universal Basic Income accelerates it. Taxing wealth will worsen the situation in the other direction by crashing every market where wealth is stored. The government and the Fed are trapped and you can't win elections without promising financial destruction.
The policies that the people suffering demand would create more deficit spending and lower rates, which will accelerate the situation. Universal Basic Income accelerates it. Taxing wealth will worsen the situation in the other direction by crashing every market where wealth is stored. The government and the Fed are trapped and you can't win elections without promising financial destruction.
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I asked GPT to respond to you as a progressive liberal:
Youβre right about one thing: asset inflation has outpaced wage growth for decades, and that does disproportionately benefit people who already own assets. Thatβs a real problem.
But the conclusion youβre drawingβthat deficit spending, the Fed, or policies like UBI are the primary drivers and that nothing can be done without βfinancial destructionββdoesnβt hold up.
First, inequality didnβt start with recent monetary policy. It accelerated long before that, alongside things like weakened labor bargaining power, globalization, corporate consolidation, tax policy changes, and the decline of unions. Blaming the Fed alone ignores those structural shifts.
Second, not all deficit spending is the same. Spending targeted toward infrastructure, healthcare, education, or direct support to households doesnβt just βinflate assetsββit can increase productivity, reduce costs of living, and strengthen wage growth. The design matters.
Third, on interest rates: yes, low rates can inflate assetsβbut raising rates also disproportionately harms workers through layoffs and slower hiring. That tradeoff is exactly why monetary policy alone canβt solve inequality. It needs to be paired with fiscal and regulatory policy.
On UBI: the idea that it automatically accelerates asset inflation assumes supply doesnβt respond and that all money flows into assets. In reality, a well-designed income floor can increase demand in the real economy, reduce poverty traps, and give workers leverageβnot just fuel speculation.
On taxing wealth: the claim that it would βcrash every marketβ is overstated. Wealth taxes or similar policies are about marginal redistribution at the top end. Markets donβt collapse every time tax policy changesβthey adjust. Weβve had higher top tax rates in the past alongside strong growth.
Finally, the idea that βthe system is trappedβ is more of a political statement than an economic inevitability. Policy choices shape outcomes. If asset inflation is outpacing wages, the answer isnβt to do nothingβitβs to rebalance the system so growth is more broadly shared.
Right now, the bigger risk isnβt trying to fix inequalityβitβs accepting it as unavoidable.
Youβre right about one thing: asset inflation has outpaced wage growth for decades, and that does disproportionately benefit people who already own assets. Thatβs a real problem.
But the conclusion youβre drawingβthat deficit spending, the Fed, or policies like UBI are the primary drivers and that nothing can be done without βfinancial destructionββdoesnβt hold up.
First, inequality didnβt start with recent monetary policy. It accelerated long before that, alongside things like weakened labor bargaining power, globalization, corporate consolidation, tax policy changes, and the decline of unions. Blaming the Fed alone ignores those structural shifts.
Second, not all deficit spending is the same. Spending targeted toward infrastructure, healthcare, education, or direct support to households doesnβt just βinflate assetsββit can increase productivity, reduce costs of living, and strengthen wage growth. The design matters.
Third, on interest rates: yes, low rates can inflate assetsβbut raising rates also disproportionately harms workers through layoffs and slower hiring. That tradeoff is exactly why monetary policy alone canβt solve inequality. It needs to be paired with fiscal and regulatory policy.
On UBI: the idea that it automatically accelerates asset inflation assumes supply doesnβt respond and that all money flows into assets. In reality, a well-designed income floor can increase demand in the real economy, reduce poverty traps, and give workers leverageβnot just fuel speculation.
On taxing wealth: the claim that it would βcrash every marketβ is overstated. Wealth taxes or similar policies are about marginal redistribution at the top end. Markets donβt collapse every time tax policy changesβthey adjust. Weβve had higher top tax rates in the past alongside strong growth.
Finally, the idea that βthe system is trappedβ is more of a political statement than an economic inevitability. Policy choices shape outcomes. If asset inflation is outpacing wages, the answer isnβt to do nothingβitβs to rebalance the system so growth is more broadly shared.
Right now, the bigger risk isnβt trying to fix inequalityβitβs accepting it as unavoidable.
Count me in π is that salary amount annual? because it worth 1,96,36032 BDT which is big enough to buy a new house, launch a start up or business or can be saved for next 5-7 years by doing nothing.
It seems that in the US that salary is only enough to rent something modest in one of the big cities.
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Sorry I didn't get you, is this monthly amount of salary? O MY! if so I would do job for a month in US and come back BD to settle my life here, LOLπ€£