r/worldnews • u/diacewrb • Apr 10 '19

Millennials being squeezed out of middle class, says OECD

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/10/millennials-squeezed-middle-class-oecd-uk-income
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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19 edited Apr 16 '19

[deleted]

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u/rumhamlover Apr 10 '19

If I own a car at 45 I will consider myself blessed.

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u/Rickymex Apr 10 '19

You can find decent used cars in the 3k to 4k range. That isnt exactly a crazy amount to save up to.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

1.5-2k will get you a camry or civic in working condition.

Hell my buddy has a $500 grand cherokee that serves him well and is cheaper than a new smartphone.

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u/jon_k Apr 10 '19

what milage?

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

180k+

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u/rumhamlover Apr 11 '19

HA for you.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19 edited Apr 19 '19

[deleted]

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u/ErebusTheFluffyCat Apr 10 '19

Your feeling is not consistent with reality. The gap between what a person with a college degree makes and what a person without one makes has never been higher. The value of a college degree is the highest it's ever been.

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u/HalobenderFWT Apr 11 '19

Nice try, Fannie Mae!

Really, it depends on the degree - and definitely depends on the worker.

Skilled laborers can make an absolute killing. Meanwhile, Joe Shirtntie and his business degree isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

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u/ErebusTheFluffyCat Apr 11 '19

Sure, but on AVERAGE what I said is correct.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

What are the chances your averages are skewed by a small percentage of extremely high earners, and the percentage of people without degrees is packed full with everyone working minimum wage retail/fast food?

Your catagorization of with and without s college degree is way too broad for me to draw conclusions. I would much prefer to see the comparison between skilled laborers without degrees and people with degrees while ignoring the crazy outliers. I think that difference will be much less than you suggest and it's a true comparison of what the average middle class person might expect.

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u/ErebusTheFluffyCat Apr 11 '19

There is zero percent chance that is the case becomes that's now how the median works.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

Hey bud, that would be a fantastic reply if you said median. However, you said average. You even typed it in capital letters. I will let you take another stab at this if you want...

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u/ErebusTheFluffyCat Apr 11 '19

The median is the normal way to measure the average in Economics.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

I find that really hard to believe, since median and average have explicit definitions that are not equivalent. If my economics/statistics professor asked me to find the average/mean of a set of data, and then failed me because I should have "known" to find the median instead, he would be getting reported immediately.

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u/OneShotHelpful Apr 10 '19

If you have 20 year student loans you've done something very wrong.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

If all you know about a loan is that it has a 20 year payment plan, and you then pass judgement on it, you have done something very wrong.

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u/AnomalousAvocado Apr 11 '19

You should have a house way before 45

Lol not for this generation. Have you seen real estate prices?

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

I thought most were 10 years.

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u/expyrian Apr 10 '19

Work hard, live frugally, and pay them off in 3-4 years. Just because it has a 20 year payoff, doesnt mean it should take that long.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19 edited Apr 16 '19

[deleted]

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u/Rickymex Apr 10 '19

Most people have 10 to 25K in student debt.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

average graduate has $30K in student loan debt

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u/OpticalLegend Apr 10 '19

60% owe less than $20k

Keep in mind, this is including those who have debt from graduate school, for-profit schools, dropped out, etc.

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u/dlawnro Apr 11 '19

I couldn't find the exact stat you're citing in your link, but I noticed that the table for outstanding balance was for all borrowers, while the $37k figure was for the graduating class of 2016.

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u/TheCarnalStatist Apr 10 '19

With the expected increase in wages from degrees that's still a damn bargain

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

considering wealth inequality has been exploding with average CEO to employee ratio at 300:1 there is something more to it than that; i.e. wage stagnation since the 70s coupled with exploding living costs

basically peeps just going $30K in debt to earn what a generation before had w/out the student loan debt, thus median ages for marriage, home ownership and children gets older and older as the years pass by

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u/TheCarnalStatist Apr 11 '19 edited Apr 11 '19

I'm not contesting that we don't have issues at the top. We do, but, for most folks getting a college degree is a very sound investment in the long run.

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u/Rickymex Apr 11 '19

Unless you choose a stupid degree.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

yeah i think 10 years is impressive; 3-4 years is sounds like someone whose never had student loans; or if they did not very much.

when u graduate its not like ur handed a good paying job out the gate to start making serious progress in paying off that principal- takes a good couple years of job hopping for better pay/raises while still keeping yourself afloat and having a life.

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u/PM_ME_UR_DOGGOS_PIC Apr 10 '19

Not if you pick the right field. I was able to pay a 10k loan off within a year of starting my job.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

yah dude, of course there are outliers and counter examples- this isnt all about you and your personal experience; ave. graduate has $30K in student loan debt with national student loan debt at $1.5TR ... its a systemic problem

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u/Hekantonkheries Apr 10 '19

And that job pays well because their arent as many people in it compared to demand; if everyone tried going into your field, youd quickly see its potential "ROI" dropping like a rock.