The death of the American Dream is now official(thehill.com)
13 pointsby Teever3 hours ago3 comments
  • cameldrv2 hours ago
    “Six thousand dollars. The cost of a half-decent secondhand car. A modest kitchen renovation.”

    I don’t know the last time this guy priced out a used car or a kitchen renovation but it must have been quite a while.

    • hattmall2 hours ago
      He said half-decent and modest. If you are implying they are far more expensive then it's you that's out of touch. The average car on the road is 13 years old. A half decent one can certainly be had for $6000. A modest kitchen renovation, for $6K, certainly. I wouldn't even call that modest. Quartz, countertops including demo and installation can be had for $40/Sq Ft. Assuming 50 SQ ft of counter space that's $2K. $2K of paint, cabinet work and ~$2k for new appliances would be much more than a modest renovation for most people. As this article is stating, most people, the majority, do not even have THAT amount.
  • diego_moita2 hours ago
    It is easy to blame Trump's incompetence, but I think there are 2 more important reasons to consider:

    1. Industrialization of Asia and factory automation

    2. The rise of efficient agriculture in 3rd world countries and the consolidation of American farms into big companies that also increased productivity through automation.

    True, Trump was incompetent because his policies only worsened a bad situation. But he alone isn't the problem.

    And there isn't too much the US government can do to revert this economic decline. The solution, if there is one, has to come from innovation from the private economy.

    Without a big change, the U.S. will only become more socially and politically unstable and more dangerous for itself and the world.

    • nsingh22 hours ago
      > The solution, if there is one, has to come from innovation from the private economy.

      Why? The problems of offshoring, consolidation, automation, you described came from private sector incentives (not to mention debt driven consumption, and turning basics like housing, healthcare, and education into profit centers)

      Why would those same incentives magically fix the problem on their own?

      > And there isn't too much the US government can do to revert this economic decline

      This is ahistorical. The post great depression economy that led to the “American Dream” was supported by huge public spending and actions by the government [1]. Revitalization happened before, it can happen again.

      So much came from FDR/New Deal, social security, labor law, housing finance, banking regulation, securities regulation. Saying the US government can't really do that much is ridiculous.

      [1] https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-frank...

  • casey22 hours ago
    By Americans' own choice. Nobody forced you to buy a $50k car on a loan you could never pay back. If most people just said no you could bike to work through a park. Or use the vehicle provided by your job. You though "If I'm the perfect bootlicker I could snipe this job from a local, I just need a fancy new car" And now your evil thoughts are coming to bite you.

    These Americans (I hesitate to call them people) refuse to hold their leaders accountable for everything, they sit and watch as 07' is applied to every asset class and ask for the boot shoved down their throat. They'll even clap, after movies, but also after their leaders add 100%+ tariffs on Chinese EVs. Can't have anything threaten their debt addiction.