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Post by Distind on Nov 7, 2011 10:48:44 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/us-wealth-gap-between-young-old-widest-ever-050259922.htmlThe short version for those who can't read it: Gap between net worth of those homes headed by someone over 65 and under 35 is 47 to 1 Gap had been 10 to 1 in 1984 With the 65 and up crowd up 42% from 1984 And the 35 and under down 68% from 1984 What I find funny is that people are making noise about the 47 : 1 rather than the down 68% bit. The ranking is based on net worth, what you've brought in/own less what you owe/have paid out. Old people who have everything paid for are going to be far better off in that respect, which is reflected in the earlier gap. The real issue here is that younger people are more or less screwed right now. We're making less and working as hard to get it, we're taking on more debt to get half as far. But hey, this old geezer in the comments worked 3 jobs when he was a kid, so we should all totally be able to make it, even those who can't get one fucking job. Not that I expect anyone who can sit happily on a pedestal and look down on the young people and their lack of apparent money making ability here. Just an interesting article and a quick way to point out some really lousy use of statistics.
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Post by N. De Plume on Nov 7, 2011 11:36:44 GMT -5
What I find funny is that people are making noise about the 47 : 1 rather than the down 68% bit. Yeah, it would be one thing if the gap grew simply because the older crowd is now getting richer at a faster rate. That would just indicate that wealth over time has become easier to achieve. But the the down 68% shows that the gap is due to the younger generation getting poorer. Yeah, the job market is totally identical to 1962.  Is the public perception of what a statistic shows ever the same as what it actually shows? |
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Post by Her3tiK on Nov 7, 2011 13:11:31 GMT -5
The real issue here is that younger people are more or less screwed right now. We're making less and working as hard to get it, we're taking on more debt to get half as far. But hey, this old geezer in the comments worked 3 jobs when he was a kid, so we should all totally be able to make it, even those who can't get one fucking job. People like that make me sick. I'm dealing with this same shit from people I'd considered family. But no, we're clearly all fucking lazy whiners who need to shut up and take it because we haven't 'paid our dues' yet. Fuck you. If that's the attitude you get towards others by "growing up", I'll have no part of it. It's shit like this that's why I'm not a conservative. |
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Post by Tenfold_Maquette on Nov 7, 2011 13:43:22 GMT -5
If that's the attitude you get towards others by "growing up", I'll have no part of it. One of the biggest things I loath about humanity is the "Well I suffered, so why the hell should anyone else get help?!" attitude. I mean...if something sucks, what kind of a sadist do you have to be to ensure the guy behind you gets it just as bad? Wouldn't you want to make sure that what you went through never has to happen to anyone else? I would think that's the case, but there are too many spiteful, self-centered assholes that have this weird retribution mindset toward their fellow man. |
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Post by Aqualung on Nov 7, 2011 13:54:55 GMT -5
If that's the attitude you get towards others by "growing up", I'll have no part of it. One of the biggest things I loath about humanity is the "Well I suffered, so why the hell should anyone else get help?!" attitude. I mean...if something sucks, what kind of a sadist do you have to be to ensure the guy behind you gets it just as bad? Wouldn't you want to make sure that what you went through never has to happen to anyone else? I would think that's the case, but there are too many spiteful, self-centered assholes that have this weird retribution mindset toward their fellow man. Indeed, though I think it's mostly an American thing. |
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Post by Her3tiK on Nov 7, 2011 14:30:03 GMT -5
One of the biggest things I loath about humanity is the "Well I suffered, so why the hell should anyone else get help?!" attitude. I mean...if something sucks, what kind of a sadist do you have to be to ensure the guy behind you gets it just as bad? Wouldn't you want to make sure that what you went through never has to happen to anyone else? I would think that's the case, but there are too many spiteful, self-centered assholes that have this weird retribution mindset toward their fellow man. Indeed, though I think it's mostly an American thing. It is. I've been asking a lot of my friends from other countries (my school has a large international base), and they're pretty consistently amazed at how insane this place is. Reality TV, attitude towards sex, lack of health coverage/social safety nets, you name it. One of them's even flying back to Europe for dental work because the round-trip flight is cheaper than having the work done here. |
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Post by Old Viking on Nov 7, 2011 17:11:17 GMT -5
Stop this arguing! I'm trying to count my money.
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Post by Distind on Nov 7, 2011 17:33:17 GMT -5
Stop this arguing! I'm trying to count my money. Get him! We can collect his social security so long as they don't find the body! |
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Post by N. De Plume on Nov 7, 2011 17:48:42 GMT -5
Stop this arguing! I'm trying to count my money. Get him! We can collect his social security so long as they don't find the body! I thought we just had to lock him in the basement. |
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Post by Thejebusfire on Nov 7, 2011 17:52:13 GMT -5
Too soon dude.
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Post by brendanrizzo on Nov 7, 2011 17:56:23 GMT -5
Indeed, though I think it's mostly an American thing. It is. I've been asking a lot of my friends from other countries (my school has a large international base), and they're pretty consistently amazed at how insane this place is. Reality TV, attitude towards sex, lack of health coverage/social safety nets, you name it. One of them's even flying back to Europe for dental work because the round-trip flight is cheaper than having the work done here. Lies. Don't make me list all the European fundies there are... |
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Post by Vene on Nov 7, 2011 18:02:23 GMT -5
It is. I've been asking a lot of my friends from other countries (my school has a large international base), and they're pretty consistently amazed at how insane this place is. Reality TV, attitude towards sex, lack of health coverage/social safety nets, you name it. One of them's even flying back to Europe for dental work because the round-trip flight is cheaper than having the work done here. Lies. Don't make me list all the European fundies there are... That's a stupid refutation. European nations (especially western Europe) do have lower levels of religiosity and better social security nets. They also have less problems with substance abuse, STDs, and teenage pregnancy. Throwing in outliers doesn't mean anything. |
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Post by ltfred on Nov 7, 2011 18:25:15 GMT -5
The sad thing is that the elderly are also under attack. Their precarious income (social security, medicare) is under serious threat, from both parties. That gap might very well be closing.
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Post by lighthorseman on Nov 7, 2011 18:53:31 GMT -5
If that's the attitude you get towards others by "growing up", I'll have no part of it. One of the biggest things I loath about humanity is the "Well I suffered, so why the hell should anyone else get help?!" attitude. I mean...if something sucks, what kind of a sadist do you have to be to ensure the guy behind you gets it just as bad? Wouldn't you want to make sure that what you went through never has to happen to anyone else? I would think that's the case, but there are too many spiteful, self-centered assholes that have this weird retribution mindset toward their fellow man. Well said! Indeed, though I think it's mostly an American thing. Sadly, this desperately struggling to make sure no one else gets a crumb more than you ever did crab bucket mentality is the life blood of Australian politics. |
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Post by Her3tiK on Nov 7, 2011 19:21:33 GMT -5
It is. I've been asking a lot of my friends from other countries (my school has a large international base), and they're pretty consistently amazed at how insane this place is. Reality TV, attitude towards sex, lack of health coverage/social safety nets, you name it. One of them's even flying back to Europe for dental work because the round-trip flight is cheaper than having the work done here. Lies. Don't make me list all the European fundies there are... I'm not ruling out the fact that I know a very small number of people from across the Atlantic, and thus that their experiences are statistical anomalies, but they're from all over Europe (UK, Sweden, France, Italy, Romania, etc.) and generally have the same reaction to American culture. To me, that says a bit about the differences between here and Europe. |
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