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I only know this because a neighbor is one of the top auto injury lawyers in the country - he has an accident reconstruction facility etc. etc. anyway only around half of Pintos and whatever the Mercury version was called ever made made were recalled something like 1.5 million. Also the 27 deaths is a rock bottom number. The lawyer says it was probably at least 200.
The Tesla number is 44 or 45. However, Tesla's switch to more and eventually all lithium iron phosphate batteries will probably trim the fire death rate 6 or 8 fold maybe 20.
ETA: NOTES: Median (50th percentile) family wealth of 25- to 35-year-olds and 65- to 75-year-olds. Dollar values are CPI-U adjusted to 2019 dollars and are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
ETA: NOTES: Median (50th percentile) family wealth of 25- to 35-year-olds and 65- to 75-year-olds. Dollar values are CPI-U adjusted to 2019 dollars and are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
Big news older people have more accumulated wealth than younger people.
Bolded gets to the heart of the intergenerational who-had-it-easier comparison issues. Precise age matters; graduating with good timing on the recession / boom cycle and in a time of peace with no draft has over the last century been far more important for how easy or difficult your time of birth makes your life than what decade more broadly you entered the workforce.
That said that's for the average person. Inflation being really high on basic needs (housing, healthcare) and the interaction between degree inflation / credentialism and education cost inflation have been really rough on the lower end of the income distribution. Lots of the nice to haves in life have gotten much cheaper and much better (clothes, entertainment, technology), which leaves most people just as well off or even better off considering how amazing modern technology is, but things have gotten bad for people drowning under the basics. We really need to reduce home zoning restrictions, stop requiring degrees for jobs that don't really need them, and tackle the monopoly pricing problems in drugs and hospital services.
The point was that it was a pretty small salary and times were tough then - and you seem to not know or want to dismiss it but inflation was 2-3x what it is today and wages did not keep up. Gas, for example, went up to 4x what it was just a few years earlier. Housing was expensive because mortgages were 18%.
Also not a time of peace - that was cold war times and I spent 30 years in the military so for me, far from peaceful but no one has been drafted in over 40 years so not really an issue today. I also deal with the costs of college for my kids (one graduates this year) and they are not any big jump from what they were 40 years ago if you are smart about it. I have a bachelors and 2 masters (all from top 5 schools) - learning is important and is required for many jobs - it was for mine. You do not have to get a degree if you don't want it - really.
I think you have little knowledge of what was happening then because you seem to think it was so much better - every era has it's issues. Most of the rest is just a rant that belongs on another forum.
The point was that it was a pretty small salary and times were tough then - and you seem to not know or want to dismiss it but inflation was 2-3x what it is today and wages did not keep up. Gas, for example, went up to 4x what it was just a few years earlier. Housing was expensive because mortgages were 18%.
Also not a time of peace - that was cold war times and I spent 30 years in the military so for me, far from peaceful but no one has been drafted in over 40 years so not really an issue today. I also deal with the costs of college for my kids (one graduates this year) and they are not any big jump from what they were 40 years ago if you are smart about it. I have a bachelors and 2 masters (all from top 5 schools) - learning is important and is required for many jobs - it was for mine. You do not have to get a degree if you don't want it - really.
I think you have little knowledge of what was happening then because you seem to think it was so much better - every era has it's issues. Most of the rest is just a rant that belongs on another forum.
How dare you spend 30 years in the military and have found financial stability!! I mean, good old fashioned hard work and perseverance should not be expected of our youth... They watched their parents live that way and just won't have it! They want to split your Social Security with you and call it universal income so they can flake off.
I don't really get it. Even the best of our youth... My physical therapist who is 24 with a PhD just said that she is thinking of having children and maybe her and her husband can both just work part time. ????? I said "work part time with full time benefits?" I could see the wheels turning; but, there's a weird disconnect with that generation. ?????
Bolded gets to the heart of the intergenerational who-had-it-easier comparison issues. Precise age matters; graduating with good timing on the recession / boom cycle and in a time of peace with no draft has over the last century been far more important for how easy or difficult your time of birth makes your life than what decade more broadly you entered the workforce.
That said that's for the average person. Inflation being really high on basic needs (housing, healthcare) and the interaction between degree inflation / credentialism and education cost inflation have been really rough on the lower end of the income distribution. Lots of the nice to haves in life have gotten much cheaper and much better (clothes, entertainment, technology), which leaves most people just as well off or even better off considering how amazing modern technology is, but things have gotten bad for people drowning under the basics. We really need to reduce home zoning restrictions, stop requiring degrees for jobs that don't really need them, and tackle the monopoly pricing problems in drugs and hospital services.
Ease some zoning restrictions and no build zones - check
Stop requiring degrees for some jobs/telling every kid to go to college - check
Tackle monopoly pricing problems per drugs and hospital services - no, these sectors are not examples of monopolies nor does any company in the space have monopolistic pricing power, nor does anyone in the sector show monopolistic behaviors......Pharma Bro. Shkreli (sp?) tried and the yield is he went to prison, although IIRC he was actually jailed for securities fraud.
*There is a tiny asterisk - there are some examples of companies producing a drug out of or sometimes long out of patent and drastically increasing prices as they are the sole maker. Good arguments may be made this kind of thing is an example of monopolistic pricing power at least in the short run. It's a complex economic play but this kind of thing only happens:
A. Over the short run
B. Because of FDA rules and......
C. Because the FDA/lawyers/OSHA/insane tax policy/expensive and often not so good labor etc.
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I know the CEO of a very large Pharma company a little, through golf, his co's. margins across drug items, after regulatory, legal, rights fees, R&D, talent, IT, CapEx etc. etc. are about as terrible as the airlines. I mean shockingly low.
The idea these's companies regularly sell pills and elixirs with combined hard and soft costs of $X for $5000X is rubbish.
Having money helps, sure. “Investing it” in these things you mention aren’t exactly wealth building tools. It’s basically saying you have a license to squander capital and think you’re “saving”. You’re getting a subsidy from the government for doing it for a reason.
The people who have money to squander are great at making rules for the peasants and hired help. Put them in lockdown while they travel by private jet. Sounds like a plan.
I don't really get it. Even the best of our youth... My physical therapist who is 24 with a PhD just said that she is thinking of having children and maybe her and her husband can both just work part time. ????? I said "work part time with full time benefits?" I could see the wheels turning; but, there's a weird disconnect with that generation. ?????
I could be wrong, but I thought both Costco and Wegmans offered full benefits to their part-time workers for decades?
Sure they might be the exception instead of the rule, but there could be places out there that do offer full benefits to part-timers.
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